Namibia: Etosha National Park & Damaraland

The road from the Caprivi Strip to Etosha National Park is very quick and easy as it cuts straight through the arid plains as if it was drawn by ruler. But Namibia is a huge country and the distances between human settlements of any size are impressive. We knew we'd travelled a long way west when we noticed that sunset in Etosha was 20 minutes later than in the Caprivi Strip. Travelling by road gives you great perspective on the sheer size of our planet and the physical forces shaping it and this was particularly clear here.


But the 'Green Mateitu,' the car that keeps on giving, was intent on scuppering our plans to meet our friends arrived in Namibia from Romania the previous day. First, as we stopped at a police checkpoint on the way, the car refused to start due to an electrical fault. Fortunately we had a starter pack at the ready and managed to defeat this stratagem. But then as we triumphantly pulled into our Etosha campsite for the night and greeted our friends, we heard the sound of doom - a boiling radiator. Fearing the worst, serious head gasket damage that is not uncommon for an overheated engine like ours, I went to bed wondering whether Namibia might be the final resting place of my trusty companion...

But again luck was on our side and after refilling the radiatior in the morning, we were ready to explore the park. Our first couple of outings into the open were a bit disappointing, the main highlight being losing one of our spare wheels after the bracket on the rear bumper broke off from the bumpy roads... In the end though, just as in South Luangwa in Zambia, we struck gold during a guided drive organized by the park. After an hour of shivering through the cold and dark morning before sunrise, we were rewarded by the magnificent sight of a young lion couple, male and female, during mating season. Though a bit bashful in front of an audience, hiding behind a tree to protect from prying eyes they answered the call of nature for a few short seconds. Apparently lions are very efficient!



Aside from the abundance of wildlife (we even saw a leopard lounging in a tree, a very rare sight during the day), the Park is also known for the impressive Etosha Pan. This is a huge, entirely flat area that fills with water during the rainy season but is entirely dry otherwise. It's the type of desert scenery one expects to see in Namibia and has the added benefit of pushing animals towards the few waterholes that remain during the dry season and are the focal points of the tourist circuit.


Etosha's three main camps - Namutoni, Halali and Okaukuejo - have been set up around such waterholes, which are floodlit at night to enable 24-hour animal viewing. It's the first time I've experienced this 'walk-in' type of safari and it didn't disappoint. Among other big mammals we saw a white rhino scaring away a rival by threatening to charge, which drove home the etymology of the famous Kenyan offroad conpetition called 'Rhinocharge.' Otherwise, accommodation at the state-owned camps in the park, with their somewhat surly staff and cramped quarters, was a little disappointing compared to the remote sites where we had stayed before. As my father remarked, a case of supply and demand at work.

From Etosha we headed south into Damaraland, an arid but very beautiful steppe which is perhaps best known for its prehistoric rock engravings. But first we stopped in the small town of Outjo for a quick mechanic check - the fifth of the last two weeks... The Afrikaans-speaking local mechanic, an old hand with Toyotas, reassured us that our issues were minor, and so we confidently continued on our way west to Abu Huab Camp, a community campsite in the desert.

On the way, we stopped at a Petrified Forest, where we walked among the millennia-old trees turned to rock. I had passed by several 'petrified' sites in the US without ever really understanding what they were. As it turns out, the ancient trees were buried deep underground during a previous Ice Age and their wood cells slowly replaced by minerals over time. The effects are impressive, for example a 40-meter tree preserved in all its splendour...

After yet another beautiful sunset - I can't remember a single evening on this trip when the sky didn't have a beautiful red glow - the next morning we went to visit the rock engravings at Twyfelfontein. The place name, meaning 'doubtful fountain' was apparently given in 1946 by a Jewish settler who was uncertain about the local water source. But much more interesting are the drawings of a variety of animals etched into the hills by San hunter-gatherers between 2,000 and 6,000 years ago. They include identifiable sketches of giraffes, rhinos, oryx (Namibia's national animal), and the like, but also of less expected creatures like seals and penguins, which must have been spotted on the coast around 100km west of the area. Interestingly, there was also a map of the local waterholes to allow the local community to orient itself. Cue endless jokes about this being the ancient Instagram and Google Maps of the San people :)

 At Twyfelfontein we also ran into a very unexpected sight - a large group of middle-aged Romanian tourists - confirming the adage that we are never as special as we think we are. In fact this was the third place our paths crossed in Namibia, but definitely the most memorable. Before setting off to see the engravings, the group's guide, also a Romanian, noticed that a member of the group was absent. 'A sir is missing!,' she said to mobilize the search party. It later turned out that the 'missing sir' was called Nae, a particularly rustic Romanian name. Thus 'Sir Nae' became our team mascot, accompanying us in spirit if not in person.

From here on to the Skeleton Coast and down to Spitzkoppe and Swakopmund.