Trips

Mon., 9/4/2017 – Etosha and Ongava (means Rhino) Game Reserve
       We went out at 7:30 and drove for an hour and a half before seeing any animals in the reserve.  We learned from our driver/guide about termite mounds and plants and about the Mopani tree - for the third time.  We also learned to tell the difference between elephant and rhino dung.  He pointed out the euphorbia bush with the milky sap that is a neurotoxin that the Bushmen use for their poison arrows.
       We finally found a herd of hartebeests and a mother and 2-year-old white rhino.  Our jeep followed them for quite a while and finally left them alone.  It was a highlight but not real nice for the rhinos.
       On the way back to camp we met two APU men – anti-poaching unit.  They were heavily armed and have not had any poaching in this reserve but are ready in case.

Black-backed Jackal	Hartebeest
Hartebeests	Euphorbia cactus
Movie: White Rhinos (Keep the image small and you may want to mute the sound)	White Rhinos
White Rhinos	Looking for poachers
The water hole at our lodge provided all kinds of activity. Today there were three male elephants that tore down two trees, sucked up water to make mud, and then spread it all over themselves, and then took a dust bath.  Two warthogs were the only animals that came to drink while the elephants were nearby. Kudu, zebras, and springbok waited a 100-yards off for their turn.
Birds at the camp waterhole	Kudu checking things out
Warthog	Warthog
Birds and Impalas	Impalas
Something startled the group
Oryx	Oryx
Impalas and Guinea Fowl	Springbok, Impalas, and Warthogs
Elephants - no one else is allowed!	Mud bath
Mud bath
Dust bath
Movie: Elephants throwing mud (Keep the image small and you may want to mute the sound)	Movie: Elephants throwing dust (Keep the image small and you may want to mute the sound)
Another tree about to be destroyed	Another tree about to be destroyed
Our afternoon game drive started out slowly.  We had a lesson on rocks - limestone and dolomite here. After a long drive through brush we finally joined two other jeeps watching 10 or 11 lions.  They were lying down and must have recently made and ate a kill because their only activity was to pee and poop!	Lions
Lions	Kudu
Giraffe bones	Giraffe skin
Final Sunset

       Back at the lodge we had our Farewell dinner.  The climax of the evening was the appearance of a rare black rhino at the water hole!  It was too dark for photos but we could see him because of the full moon.  The black rhino completed our list of African animal sightings.

Tues., 9/5/2017 – The Start of the Long Trip Home
       We got up at 6 AM and showered in our tent bucket at 58°!  We had time for breakfast and repacking and time to relax before heading to the airstrip at 9:15.  We flew from Etosha to Windhoek (1:30), then to Johannesburg (2 hours), then to Munich (11 hours), and finally to Denver (10 more hours).  Having crossed 7 or 8 time zones it felt like it took us 2 days to get home.  We got back to Estes Park at 6 PM on Wed. 
       Both trips were wonderful.  We went to see animals and saw more than we could have expected.  Two things stand out:  many different species have worked out how to live together in certain places so we often saw different animals share water holes or grassland and there is a concerted effort to save and protect these wild animals as well as the unique culture of the people who have learned to live in these varied environments.