Etosha National Park

All--apologies--I've been keeping blog posts on my computer but only got the chance now that I am back in Windhoek to post these along with some photos...

I’ve been in and out of three countries in the last 48 hours and I am starting to fall far behind on my travel postings….so to catch you all up.  About two weeks ago our friend Karam arrived from the US.  Fresh from his plane we rushed him off to Etosha National Park.  Etosha is the most famous game park in Namibia and the place where I like to remind Doug (via the Lonely Planet)—“animals arrive at the watering hole not in twos, but in the hundreds.”  We were actually a little worried that we wouldn’t see much as it has been raining an incredible amount and lots of water actually means the animals don’t have to frequent the pans (watering holes) where they can be most easily viewed.  But no sooner had we driven into the park then did we get to see a CHEETAH and FOUR CUBS…this is a very special treat and there they were in the middle of the main entrance to the park.  Some people travel to Etosha twenty times and never get to see a cheetah.  So suffice to say, we were psyched.  In addition to our cheetah and four cubs we got to see zebra, spring bok, hartebeest, loads of giraffe, flamingo, eagles, jackals, impala, and the list goes on….

A large giraffe on the way out of the park..

Black faced impala and the randome two palm trees in the park

Zebras having a snack

In addition to all the animals we were able to see the very large (more than 60 KM wide) Etosha pan (think lake not watering hole) filled with water—again, this only happens every 20 years. It was quite a sight to see.

 

Stinky cheese sidenote:  The day before we picked Karam up, Doug and I went to a farmer’s market and bought several special treats for our trip.  In addition to some delicious meats, we picked up some very, very smelly and very, very tasty cheese from a local farmer.  Everytime that we would open the cooler, we thought that we were near a dead animal, but no worries—it’s just stinky cheese.    Maybe I’ll bring some home to the USJ