It is Sunday, 14 Sept. and the 15th day of our safari adventure. Everyone is getting along well on the trip and we are all very satisfied with what we have seen and experienced to date.
Breakfast, packed and on the road by 7 once again as Mishek takes us to visit a couple of waterholes prior to hitting the pavement for our long drive.
On our second last waterhole we come across a pack of Hyenas which is epic! One of them has a nasty gash around its' neck and we can see others trying to console it, or so it seems so to our domestic minds. While looking at our photos close-up, we can see the gash goes completely around his/her neck and there is wire there as well, probably from a poacher or trap.
We see quite a few giraffes also and stop at the gate when we leave Etosha for a pee break. There are a couple of vans there with quite a few black children on board also stopped as they are just entering the park on a school field trip. Some in our group have their photos taken with them and I wonder about this as we really don't know them but later discover it is the African children who are requesting the photos as they often don't see white people. Some of the kids even have parkas on, although the temperature is already in the high 20,s at 9 in the morning.
We soon are on pavement which is a blessing as the dusty dirt roads are tough on the body after awhile.
It is around 5 PM when we arrive at Ndhovu Safari Lodge.prior to arriving there we see a lot of litter on both sides of the road and people lined up for water. We pull into the lodge and are greeted by 2 large dogs. One is a boxer and the other is a huge Great Dane. No one is overly anxious to get off the bus at first. Once we are off we go into the dining area which has an honour bar and a nice deck over the river. It is on this deck that we will later view hippos frolicking in the shallow waters of the Ochivango River.
Bob and I are given tent #3 and see that it has a small patio, mosquito nets over the beds, a an outside bathroom and one outlet we are supposed to use in the bathroom.
Supper that night is at 8 PM which is also where we gather to learn of our agenda for the next day as we will be spending 2 nights at this place.
It is hot and humid as we drift off to the new sounds of the river, with thoughts of hippos and crocs in our dreams.
I believe I am the first to waken as it is still dark outside and there are the new sounds that I listen to in bed before getting up to photograph the sunrise as it rises across the river. It is quite beautiful but a bit eerie as I am aware of the potential of a dangerous encounter with a hippo at this time of the morning. One has been sleeping in the yard the last couple of nights and the local guide indpstructed us to ensure we are not between it and the river as there are more people killed in Africa by Hippos Than any other animal. They are very territorial and quite aggressive. They have no natural enemies.
Coffee was supposed to be ready by 6, but the dining area is deserted when I get there. The sun is blood red and just coming up so I decide to go out on the deck over the river to take some shots as I step onto the deck something gives me a push on the back of my leg, above the knee. I am shocked and scared with a lot of different scenarios of my death racing thru my mind as I stifle a scream and jerk my head around to discover the boxer wagging his tail and looking for a pat on his head. So much for my wake up call, heh heh.
I shoot some shots, and head back to the tent to see Mike and Tim are up and down by the river getting some nice close ups of the hippos. I join them for a bit before we go to breakfast as we have an 8 AM game drive to go on.
The game drive lasts until noon and is pretty good as we see some animals we have not come across yet. We see Sable Antelope which are quite rare, some monkeys, and have a close encounter with an elephant who shakes his head and rushes the vehicle in a very threatening manner. Luckily he stops about 40 ft. away, as the motor is not running and he would have had no difficulty I trashing the vehicle and us. We had just been watching him uproot a small tree and pulling up the roots to munch on when he apparently got annoyed with our presence.
We stop and have a drink near some water and a 1000 yr old Baobob Tree. It is spectacular and I take some photos of it and some other misshapen trees in the area.
At 3:30 our group has a meeting where Mishek goes over our itinerary for the remaining days of our trip. We are to enter Botswana tomorrow and they will not accept Namibian dollars so we should get rid of it prior.
I am booked on a river cruise at 4:30 which is quite disappointing as there is little to see, the driver doesn't seem to have a good grasp on the boat and I felt my time would have been better spent at the lodge relaxing. Those that stayed were treated to a sight of a couple of elephants coming down to the river to drink. At least this sunset cruise only cost $20.00.
Supper is Oryx Stroganoff over rice and very tasty. It is a late (8Pm) supper once again. I mention something about supper and am corrected by our Australian friends that it is dinner lol.
We leave our canvas curtains up this evening to allow fresh air to come in which makes for a pleasant sleep.
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