After our exciting rhino tracking day, we met Charles for a sundowner drive. We stopped at a beautiful rocky outcropping and got out to admire the layers of colorful stone. We drove to a scenic sandy expanse but it was too windy to stop for drinks. A lone ostrich was braving the sandstorm. Then we drove up a ridge where Charles set up a table and chairs on the side of the truck and we enjoyed wine, gin & tonics and snacks as well as good conversation. We returned to the lodge for our last dinner. The women had eggplant and the men had sirloin steak which was breaded. It was quite cold when we went to bed. They had again put hot water bottles under the covers. It was 50 degrees when we woke and the shower was not too hot. My last breakfast at Damara lodge was a cheese and mushroom omelette. We said goodbye to the friendly Donovan and the rest of the staff.
We headed out onto a very bumpy road at 8 am. By 8:19, my exercise ring was closed. It did not bode well. Near the road we saw 4 giraffes standing still. Charles told us giraffes standing still is a tower of giraffes, and a group of giraffes moving is called a journey of giraffes.
We stopped at the Petrified Forest. A young woman gave us a 20-minute tour. She stopped and showed us the Velvechia plant (that Charles calls a tree). It has 2 long leaves that get shredded by the wind. The center has a little stalk and seeds. It is not medicinal. It gets very old. There’s one in Swakopmund that is 1,500 years old. It is Namibia’s national plant or tree depending upon who you ask. The petrified forest is all laying down. There are some long trunk pieces and lots of other chunks. Iron sylica and manganese create different colors, and you can still see the tree rings. The trees were 300 years old when they died, and were crushed by ice and mud. We held a piece; it was very heavy. There were a group of women in colorful dresses dancing and singing as we left the site. Charles said their flat head scarf is specific to his people.
We reached Khorixas via a paved road. It was very busy. There were several gas stations and Charles pulled up at one. A young woman pumped the gas. We calculated it cost $4.06 per gallon of diesel. We passed a lemon grove and saw signs for the City of Outjo, but did not stop. We entered the park at 1:09 pm. Charles took a few minutes filling out paperwork. The roads in the park were gravelly and bumpy. The officials won’t fix them because they say the rains will just mess them up again. I asked if corruption is involved and Charles said yes. He also said people will come to Etosha whether the roads are smooth or not.
In the first few minutes we saw some springbok and giraffes. Everything was dry and brittle. There were big expanses of white sand dotted with small scrub. We stopped at a lodge called Okakuejo for lunch. There was a pool there that looked very refreshing. We had chicken wings and Esther had a salad. We were back on the bumpy road before 3. We had to cross the park before it closed at 6:40. We saw the white sandy Etosha pan which is 70 miles long and 8 miles wide. When it rains it fills with water. It is dry now but there is a mirage effect that looks like water. The name Etosha fittingly means big white place.
We drove a long while over the bumps and didn’t see anything. At one point Charles remarked that the animals were sleeping. But just as I was getting discouraged and sick and tired of the road conditions, the show started. We saw numerous elephants including what Charles called white elephants as they had taken a bath in the white mud. We saw countless springbok and impala and tons of plains zebra and wildebeest. And giraffes. We saw more giraffes than I’ve seen in my whole life. We figured more than 200 in all sizes and colorations. Charles said the darkest ones are the older ones. We also saw the Corey Bustard, the world’s heaviest flying bird and the similar looking Secretary bird. It was simply amazing. We were running out of time so Charles started racing for the gate. Teeth jarring. Almost in sight of the gate and with 10 minutes to spare, we saw a cute little giraffe looking at us from the roadside. It was a fitting ending to what we called the giraffe convention.
We drove a short distance to our lodge for the next two nights, the Fort. It has a Moroccan theme. A young woman poured warm water over our hands and banged a gong to greet us. Then she explained our registration, including that we had to pay for our lunch and drinks. I was tired but not too tired to object to this obvious error. It was straightened out by dinner time. Esther and I had cauliflower steak and Nick and Charles had pork, with a delicious baked Brie appetizer and chocolate cake and homemade ice cream for dessert. We were driven to our spacious air-conditioned rooms in a golf cart and arranged to meet for breakfast and a game drive at 6 am. I had some weird dreams due to the malaria medication but other than that a comfortable night. Looking forward to wearing shorts in the morning.
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