Leaving Mundulea

I woke up when I heard Bruno arriving with the French guests and got ready quickly. They had left something at the bush camp so I entertained them as we waited for Bruno to fetch it and I helped him copy their pictures of Hooker bathing in front of the camp.

Bruno asked me to take Sakkie and deliver some beds and bedding to the camp for Tommy to set up, which I did but the land cruiser was very low on fuel so I raced along, holding the clutch on all downward slopes and getting there with an empty tank. When I tried to move the car into the shade the engine barely started. As Tommy and Sakkie swept and made beds I walked to the hill to call Bruno, he would bring fuel in a can for us.

I drove back and arrived at the house with a big white Hilux awaiting me and Richard and Renée, my uncle and aunt, standing outside the gate. It was great to see someone familiar again and we had a quick lunch on the veranda, sharing our experiences here in Africa.

The next 3 nights were spent at the bush camp with two other guests (gay men form Germany). R&R aren’t much walkers but joined the first ramble. After that I discussed an alternative program with Bruno and the next day was spent at the waterhole. Richard is a photography nut and brought 3 cameras with 3 lenses, including one huge one which he set up on a tripod. I enjoyed spotting animals for them and acting a bit like a guide, telling them stuff I had learnt.

As the green land rover is still out of order, we had driven the white Hilux to the bush camp, and this allowed us to tour the reserve a little. We spent the next day at the hide by the plain, with the tripod out again. It was a great day, we saw lot of animals including a huge eland bull, and had some great warthog sightings. One of them had a mud bath after which he sat on a rock with his front legs on the ground sliding his bum up and down; it was one of the funniest things I have ever seen and I could not stop laughing. Unfortunately we had to leave shortly after dark for dinner so didn’t spot any rhinos. Graham and Tim had returned late in the morning.

The next morning we left early for Etosha. I felt a little sad driving down the north road for the last time and closing the gate behind us; a lot of memories here, and the animals and places had begun to feel familiar. Next time I see a rhino I won’t know what its name is.

In Etosha we stayed in Namutoni and Okaukuejo. In the former I had my own room which palatially luxurious with an indoor and outdoor shower. The indoor shower was sunk into the floor and had two separate heads which I could angle differently. We had driven around the waterholes in the area without much luck, looking for Cheetah on advice Bruno had given us. At the camp waterhole we captured a beautiful sunset and a rhino walked past far in the dark distance.

From Namutoni to Okaukuejo we travelled along the roads hugging the southern edge of the pan looking for Cheetah still. Cheetah is the one big animal I have not yet seen in the wild in my time here. At one rest point I found tracks all along the road and we backtracked, scanning the bush carefully but to no luck. I did manage to find two male lions sleeping under a tree.

At Okaukuejo the sightings book mentioned a few lions at Okondeka, so we raced out hoping not to miss anything. When Renée and I arrived they had moved from their position under the tree and were spread out across the pans edge with the herds of wildebeest, zebra and ostrich stretching out behind them. Quite a sight. A male and female lay far out on the pan and occasionally mated. A few other females lay with 4 cubs in small tufts of grass. Eventually some females got up and moved into the grass, initiating a hunt which could last a few hours before anything exciting happened, but we had to get back to camp before the gate closed.

At the legendary Okaukuejo waterhole we managed to see a Black Rhino drinking before the sun went down and got some good photos. We had a waterhole chalet and I had the upstairs floor which had a fantastic view of the waterhole. I stayed up until about 1am watching the many rhinos and elephants visit. 2 elephant bulls wrestled a little and a few rhinos walked not more than 2 meters in front of the wall.

It was really awesome visiting all the waterholes I had seen in September, and fun to do it with family. The luxury was great as I was used to very basic stuff by then. Unfortunately we never saw a cheetah.

We spent yesterday in Windhoek drinking milkshakes, and I was going to stay in a guesthouse for the next three nights. However, R&R invited me to check out their lodge and see if I could stay with them. Im now at Goche/Ganas, a very luxurious lodge on a small private reserve. It’s a bit of a wellness retreat which I have no interest in, but its relaxing and I can catch up on sleep and admin, just like I intended in Windhoek.