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| Action at the water hole - elephant chases rhino - all my photos |
Etosha in Namibia is a wonderful wildlife reserve. It is a massive nature reserve which is dominated by a massive salt pan. Most of the year, there is no water in the pan and it is just a huge expanse of dry salt flats. The area is pretty dry, particularly in the winter months and there are many waterholes in the park which keep the animals alive. Obviously as water is in such sort supply, an excellent place to see wild-life is at the water holes. All three of the main rest camps have floodlit water holes with viewing areas. You can literally just spend the day and night at the water hole in the camps and everything comes to you. The main camps are Namutoni in the eastern side, Halali in the middle of the park and Okaukuejo towards the western side. Okaukuejo is the main administrative area of the reserve.
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| Old German fort in the camp |
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| Very nice accomodation in Namutoni |
The Rest camp on the Eastern side of the reserve is based around an old German fort. This camp is called Namutoni. There is also a floodlit water hole at this camp, but this is not very popular with the wildlife. I have not seen many animals at this water hole, but it is always worth a look. There are two waterholes outside the camp which appear to be very popular with the animals. The first of these is Klein Namutoni, some 11 km from the camp and Kalkheuwel about 21 km from the camp. The last time I was in Etosha, both of these waterholes were really good.
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| Black rhino at Kalkheuwel |
Etosha supports a huge number of elephants. This is a very dry area, with very limited vegetation. How these massive animals get enough to eat is a mystery. They also need water and they are frequent visitors to the waterholes. What I love doing is just spending time at the waterholes. Even if you arrive at the waterhole and there is nothing there, just sit and wait and they will come. I just love it when a herd of elephants come to the water. You first notice them coming out of the bush with there typical slow and steady walking gate. Then the younger ones cannot control their thirst anymore and they make a dash for the water. As soon as they get to the water, they drink, then they move to the source of the water - which is obviously cleaner and then they drink there. The elephants rue the waterhole. They are the boss. They often chase other animals away. This is mainly the younger elephants who want to stamp their authority around the waterhole. They are just the cutest
to see. They flap their trunk in a gesture just like a human would do with their hand and arm to chase someone or something away. Just love watching this.
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| Lots of Elephants |
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| Dash to the water hole |
There are also quite a few black rhinos in Etosha. They also are quite dominate at the waterholes, but do get chased away at the waterhole.
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| That first long drink |
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| The joy of the water hole. |
The waterholes are the rest camps at Halali and Okaukuejo are really great and very popular with the animals. My time spent in both of these camps was pretty much spent in the camp at the waterholes. These waterholes at night become very interesting when the lions come to drink. Fascinating to watch the dynamics between the animals. I did, on two occasions watch a black rhino chase lions away from the waterhole.
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| Giraffe drinking - always and interesting site |
Etosha is a "must see" for any serious nature lover in Southern Africa. Etosha rivals my favourite reserve of all time , namely the Kgalagadi.
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| Animals at Klien Namutoni water hole |
I have got many good photos from Etosha, so I will be doing a few posts on this amazing reserve. Other posts from Etosha can be found at:
https://passionatetraverler.blogspot.com/2018/07/the-elephant-and-i-story-from-etosha.html
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Elephants at the water hole.
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