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The ghostlike eles, the lion in dung (the other 77 were certainly more dignified), some many beautiful reflection shots, and the kissing cousins in the sunset made that 104 heat all worth it! You really lots of fascinating waterhole activity.

 

At first I read this statement:

The density of herbivores here was simply astounding

 

as

 

The destiny of herbivores here was simply astounding

 

With all the lion activity around the waterholes, at times preventing the prey species from drinking, the second sentence is right too.

Edited by Atravelynn
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The sun and Giraffes is a magnificent photo!

My DH took this one on the HDR setting, otherwise you wouldn't see the giraffe!

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The ghostlike eles, the lion in dung (the other 77 were certainly more dignified), some many beautiful reflection shots, and the kissing cousins in the sunset made that 104 heat all worth it! You really lots of fascinating waterhole activity.

 

At first I read this statement:

The density of herbivores here was simply astounding

 

as

 

The destiny of herbivores here was simply astounding

 

With all the lion activity around the waterholes, at times preventing the prey species from drinking, the second sentence is right too.

There you go again, Miss Creativity! so true

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Here a few shots from the less visited and alas, less busy western part of Etosha. The lanscape here is much more interesting as there are hills and kopjes to break up the flatness. The grass further west was still quite long and there was plenty of water in the waterholes. we saw rangers even check on water flow. Once you fence in animals, you are now responsible for them, so good for them. BTW where would the animals have gone in the olden days, before the park fence when there were just a few springs of permanent water? Over to the Okavango, the Kunene?

 

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Probably just a few days old

 

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Mountain zebra wearing their pjamas

 

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Evidence of tall grass

 

 

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post-47216-0-21342000-1484882268_thumb.jpg

 

An unusual combination

 

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The only time i felt a little afraid of a lion. His stare was so intense that I closed the window half way up... just in case.

 

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His buddy or brother

 

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Almost missed this one. Any shade will do!

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Why do pics get uploaded without me telling them?

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Camping at Olifantsrus was pleasant. The hide was well done and I'm still mad at myself for leaving ten minutes before the lions showed up. A fellow camper was sure to let me know that when we washed dishes in the sink there. Drats, I hate knowing what i missed!

This happened in Okaukuejo as well. Missed the lion when we went and ate dinner at the campsite. The next night we ate at the waterhole, picnic style, and they came by... at 10:30 at night! ha, of all the plans of mice and men....

 

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Camping in the red sand

 

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the arched foot bridge to the hide

 

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Sitting in the two-story hide

 

 

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Why do pics get uploaded without me telling them?

 

Maybe it was Siri at work ;) ?

 

The Olifantrus camp looks very interesting indeed. Hopefully in May there will be some green on the trees.

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Why do pics get uploaded without me telling them?

 

Maybe it was Siri at work ;) ?

 

The Olifantrus camp looks very interesting indeed. Hopefully in May there will be some green on the trees.

 

Congrats on order of the Pith. when did this happen?

 

The western part was a lot greener and had more vegetation than the eastern part. It should be nice and green in May. We have yet to go on safari in the green season.

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One last batch of Etosha pics

 

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This was one of the most curious and surprising sightings of the trip. A predator is having spa time while the giraffe are drinking and looking on. This was a first for a safari guide next to us and that's saying something.

 

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Chudop waterhole, always some action there

 

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Dik-Dik finding something to nibble in the wasteland of eastern Etosha

 

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Western Etosha showed us quite a few eland, always a welcome sighting.

 

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Lions were lounging at many waterholes and it was surprising to note that the herbivores seemed to know when it was ok to come quite close.

in the case of the wildebeest below, this was not so. they came to drink with lions in full view, except they only noticed them after they had finished drinking and then panic ensued.

 

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Lions under the tree only elicited curious stares

 

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And with this shot of a magnificent lion from the western section of Etosha, I conclude my trip report.

 

Thanks to all who have "liked" it and left comments and I hope it has provided some entertainment for you arm chair safari goers.

 

Cheers and happy trails, always.

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Thank you for a lovely trip report. I really enjoyed it!

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  • 2 weeks later...
Canadian Robin

“We came specifically to Halali first in order to meet up with my Canadian forum friend and Africa self-drive mentor and her family.”

…and we are most grateful and happy that you did. It was a great pleasure to meet you both and share a lovely evening with you.

 

Given that we were in Etosha at the same time, I guess that it should come as no surprise that our experiences were very similar. The evidence of the drought was everywhere – we thought that Etosha looked rather sad. We hated seeing the animals suffer – and those being kept away from the waterholes by lions were clearly suffering. While the sightings and number of animals at the waterholes were amazing, there was nothing to be seen between waterholes. Our days were spent driving from one waterhole to the next – not much challenge in that.

 

Love those white elephants! We spent a long time at that waterhole.

 

So lucky! There were no lions under the Salvadora tree when we were there.

 

Love the baby elephant!

 

#80 – the ellie and lion shot is amazing - great timing!

 

I agree entirely about the food at the three main camps – poor quality and overpriced! Dolomite was far better.

 

I had not thought about it but, now that you mention it, we have met very few American self-drivers – in fact, perhaps not any – other than you, of course. :)

 

Why do people insist on telling us what we have missed – so annoying! :angry:

 

The did dik looks as though it is on the moon.

 

Amazing that the wildebeests missed the lions – that doesn’t happen often.

 

The light on the lion (the last photo of 88) is lovely.

 

Thank you again for this wonderful trip report. It brought back many fond memories.

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Thanks @@Canadian Robin, glad you enjoyed the read and I passed the compliment on the pics on to DH.

It sure was great meeting you and your family in person. I have so much respect for you guys and all your adventurous self-drives have inspired us to try it out as well. As you know-we love it! ❤️❤️

So we totally blame you for having infected us with the African virus.

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