The Matterhorn of Namibia and Etosha National Park

Only 10 days into our adventure we moved on from Swapkomund to the bush and Spitzkoppe, the Matterhorn of Namibia, height 1987 ms.  We visited a seal colony on the way up - the aroma was quite an experience but watching the seals playing around in the waves and the pups running together down the beach was probably worth visiting.  As a group though we were unimpressed on account of the smell.

Another bush camp that night and an even more amazing setting surrounded by huge granite blocks followed; the kitchen was set up in a cave and a camp fire was lit.  Africa at its best!  Spitzkoppe, the “Matterhorn of Namibia”, looked impressive in the distance but not the type of mountain I would want to climb.  I even failed to get up the granite blocks behind us a mere 50 ms or so – where have my mountain climbing skills gone?  A nutty 22 year old in our group managed to do it much to the chagrain of the rest of us!

We had an evening tour of the fauna and flora, brushing past a “lethally poisonous” grass before being shown what remains of some prehistoric paintings 2000-4000 years old.  There used to be a lot of them but unfortunately they have all been destroyed.  Another beautiful sunset and wonderful meal was followed by us all being given an African name.  Mine was Efuru, daughter of the heavens.  It was an early night.  We were all in our tents by 8.00pm.

(the lethally poisonous grass) 

(some of the paintings)

The next day we had another long drive to Etosha National Park, the first of three game parks visited on the trip.  On arrival in the evening we had our first game drive.  I was not expecting much regarding the wildlife but was pleasantly surprised.  We saw lots of animals but close encounters with cheetahs and lions were probably the most exciting.  I was also impressed by the stateliness of the Kodu, the national mammal of Namibia.  Quite pleased with my new camera.

The campsites in the park were good too but there was a bit of a scam going on with the wi-fi, and the “floodlit waterholes visited by many different species throughout the day and night” turned out to be a bit of a damp squib.  Animals do not need to visit waterholes built for tourists in the rainy season!  We all arose early the next morning in the hope of catching a leopard as we had seen almost everything else; the nutty member of our group also wanted to see wild dogs, but there was not much around.  Just elephants and zebra and impala and lots of birds and that sort of thing .... OK, perhaps we had been spoilt by the first drive.  After the activity of the night before it seemed strange that everything was so quiet but it was something to do with the rain overnight and the cloudy weather, or so we were told.  I didn't really come here for the animals but it would be good to see a leopard.