November 18, 2012
By Dulaney Miller (University of New Hampshire ’14)
Our day at Etosha National Park was an experience unlike any other we’ve had so far. Waking up, our camp was not nestled in a remote riverbed exclusively to ourselves, but instead camp was plots 5 and 6—the nook between a group of British high school girls and a French couple with their young son. There were some similarities to our usual routine; however, such as how we still woke up before everyone else and at 4:55 am I was still cooking oatmeal. When the gates opened at 6:30 am, we headed out in Pewa, Hardy Sue, and Ivy to be observers for the day, taking in all the wildlife we could on the nice relaxing roads of Etosha park. It wasn’t long (6:50 am) until we had sighted the unreal —12 lions basking in the open about 100 meters off the side of the road.
Is this possible? I thought because, after over a month of touring the Kunene region, I had only seen two lions in the wild and they were an extremely difficult find. As we gazed in awe of them, others seemed to drive by without a glance. Safari coach buses 20 feet high and open backed tourist vehicles with leather reclining chairs drove past, leaving 12 lions in the dust. These lions were quite a sight; rolling cubs, proud females, and a large majestic male, all seemingly unamused by our presence. After 30 minutes of gawking (and seeing hyena, jackal, and springbok), we continued on towards our destination: the Leeubron watering hole.
Before reaching the Leeubron watering hole, we came across an abundance of game, including Burchell’s zebra, African wildcat, springbok, and another exciting lion sighting! A Wildlife Safari tour vehicle was pulled over on the side of the road viewing the pride. Several adult females could be seen lying out beside an Acacia hebeclada. Inside the tree, there were about 6 cubs frolicking and taking shade amongst its draping branches and one great male was resting behind the tree, mostly hidden from the road. By the time we were all satisfied with our viewing, we took off down the road, leaving more tourist vehicles than there were when we came.
It seemed as though everybody’s destination was the Leeubron watering hole. More vehicles whizzed past us than there were stopped and viewing the immense bounty of carnivores and other large game right in the grass. Upon reaching our destination in the west side of the park, I was confused because the center of attention was only an oryx and a group of springbok. I took great pleasure in being more than an average tourist at that time because one lonely oryx would not be the grand finale of our Etosha trip.
After stopping at Okaukuejo camp for a snack and bathroom break, we began our drive to the east side of the park. Highlights in the east included a single female lion walking just 52 meters from our car (Miles broke out the range-finder!), the incredible phenomena known as Etosha Pan, and our first time seeing the red hartebeest. Another particularly interesting focal point of the trip was seeing approximately 17 elephants bathing in a watering hole. Baby elephants were slip-sliding all over each other; sub-adults were playfully fighting and battling with their tusks; adults were submerging themselves in the water to cool off on the hot day; and one particular elephant was rubbing his eye with the end of his trunk (the cutest thing I’ve ever seen).
Earlier in the day, a man had warned Vehi that he had seen a leopard hanging out in a tree over by another watering hole. When we stopped at the watering hole to find this leopard, we had no such luck. After several minutes of searching the trees with extreme caution and high anticipation, we presumed that what the man had seen was actually an eagle that was perched in that same tree. We headed back for camp. Driving along in Hardy Sue, Bekah, Miles, Maggie, and I drove past a truck parked on the side of the road. Bekah had a suspicion that it was worth stopping for and we turned around. At first I thought I saw a spotted hyena, just about 50 meters off the side of the road. When the car came to a stop I could get a better look and to my astonishment I saw a leopard! The energy in the car rose tremendously. Bekah called into the walky-talky, “Pewa, Pewa! Turn around it’s a LEOPARD!” To Pewa’s misfortune, they did not respond to our call. I could not take my eyes of the leopard. Through the tall grass, it gnawed on its kill—a baby springbok! My binoculars were glued to my eyeballs. Ivy arrived on the scene, but they were too late, as the leopard became disturbed by the commotion and retreated into a thicket. We didn’t get pictures! Determined to have the members of Ivy (Molly, Aileen, Mano, and Amanda) see the leopard as well, we stalked the thicket waiting for its move. After five minutes that seemed like an hour, Maggie exclaimed, “It’s behind us!” The sneaky leopard had managed to slink out of the thicket and run across the road. Ivy got full view of the leopard crossing the road, and many of us got pictures. Success!
The day had been quite long, but the wildlife viewings were not over. After dinner we all walked over to the watering hole at camp. There was a crowd along the fencing and we all watched in silence at the black rhino and lions illuminated by lamps in the night. The next day we were to travel the long distance back to Wereldsend and leave Etosha for the remainder of the trip. Seeing over 30 lions, a leopard, some black rhinos, and much more was a blessing for sure, and there is no doubt that our group was extremely lucky to have found all that we did. However, Etosha National park was not what we know to be the truth about wildlife. Compared to the Washington zoo, these animals may have seemed wild, but compared to what we now know Namibian wildlife to be, these were stocked animals in a park. Being true conservationists, I believe most of the group had a bit of an ethical dilemma while touring the park, and were happy to have had an exciting but brief exposure to it. Etosha National park is a place that most tourists have on their itinerary, but fortunately for us it was not our sole destination in Namibia, not even close.
