[Namibia] Chapter VII: Which once more demonstrates the usefulness of water as an aid to eyesight

Etosha National Park is, at this time of year, rather hot and very dry (don't be confused by the blue on the map --- it's not water). And therefore the only creatures foolish enough to travel a fair distance away from a waterhole are humans, especially those humans unlucky enough to have had their car's air conditioning break on the morning

of their first day in Etosha and unable to fix it until having left the park four days later.

All other creatures have enough sense in their pates to congregate around one of the three dozen waterholes in the park and suffer the humans gawking at them through binoculars and telescopic camera lenses.

Yet not all waterholes were made equal --- some are hosts to grand assemblies of hundreds of mammals and birds milling restlessly about, some cater to only a few individuals of a more solitary nature, and some are literally as interesting as watching water dry.

Outside the waterholes and their vicinities, with the exception of the ubiquitous springboks, zebras and giraffes, and ashamedly discounting small birds and insects, animal sightings were uncommon, far between, and often far in the distance.

But at the end of the day, it was all about viewing splendid animals in their natural habitat, and in that respect Etosha did not disappoint, as attested by the photos below.

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Our sightings by waterhole for 27/8 (11 am to 4 pm):
- Pan: none
- Nebrowni: legions of springboks and zebras; many oryxes; some ostriches; one elephant
- Kapupuhedi: one ostrich
- Ondongab: none
- Homob: some springboks and zebras; several wildebeests; four giraffes; rumours of lions
- Sueda: none
- Charitsaub: none
- Salvadora: one curiouser bird
- Rietfontein: one rhinoceros; one elephant; lots of birds
- Halali: two turtles
- Halali (night): two rhinos; six hyenas; one small canid; some bats; plenty of fireflies

Our sightings by waterhole for 28/8 (7 am to 4 pm):
- Halali (sunrise): none
- Rietfontein: a pride of eight mostly sleeping lions; a herd of zebras as far away from the lions as possible; lots of birds
- Ondongab: none
- Kapupuhedi; a pair of ostriches with a dozen chicks
- Nebrowni: similar to the day before, minus one elephant, but plus four lionesses on the prowl, four wildebeests, and a dozen giraffes
- Okaukuejo: a large flock of migratory birds; a couple of ground squirrels; springboks, zebras, oryxes, and for the first time, kudus
- Gemsbokvlakte: one wet elephant; springboks, zebras; a surprisingly small number of oryxes (the eponymous gemsbok)
- Olifantsbad: true to its name, twenty elephants bathing, under the watchful eyes of a large company of guineafowls
- Aus: Two ostriches and a few zebras
- Rietfontein: springboks, zebras, kudus; lots of birds
- Halali (night): the same small canid as the yesternight; a mouse (luckily no elephant was nearby)

Our sightings by waterhole for 29/8 (9 am to 5 pm):
- Helio: none
- Noniams: reported as none by others
- Goas: a multitude of zebras, kudus and impalas; a brood of ducks
- Springbokfontein: a pack of resting wildebeests, and, by now almost expectedly, not too many springboks
- Batia: none, except four far away elephant
- Okerfontein: three elephants
- Kalkheuwel: giraffes, zebras, kudus and impalas
- Namutoni: One duck, perhaps
- Chudob: fourteen giraffes, nine giraffe reflections, and two warthogs (at last)
- On the way back to camp: a flat tire (our own), and possibly one too fast male steenbok

Our sightings by waterhole for 30/8 (9 am to 3 pm):
- On the way from camp: a twenty-strong herd of blesboks
- Nuamses: one female steenbok and several white-collared crow-like birds
- Springbokfontein: four elephants; wildebeest; no springboks
- Ngobib: zebras and impalas
- Koinachas: springboks; zebras; two elephants; three ostriches
- Twee Palms: two palms, four springboks, one wildebeest, one elephant, one bee, and zero dolphins
- Aroe: none, but a red-bellied bird
- Klein Okevi: two oryxes; a gaggle of guineafowls close to the water
- Groot Okevi: none
- Koinachas: one large-billed bird
- Chudob: one giraffe; five small white egret-like birds; another guineafowl gaggle

Our sightings by waterhole for 31/8 (7 am to 10 am):
- Chudob: two cheetahs, which we followed for two hours with our car and our binoculars
- Koinachas: one wildebeest and three impalas, drinking
- Klein Namutoni: tens of impalas

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Accommodations:
- Halali Camp (3 nights; a nice campsite)
- Namutoni Camp (1 night; an ok campsite)

Photo captions: (a-d) mix and match; (e-l) cheetahs; (m-r) elephants; (s-v) kudus; (w-z) giraffes; (aa-dd) ostriches; (ee-hh) zebras; (ii-ll) lions; (mm-rr) springboks; (ss-vv) impalas; (ww-xx) blesboks; (yy-aaa) wildebeests; (bbb-ddd) oryxes; (eee-fff) rhinos; (ggg-hhh) warthogs; (iii-jjj) hyenas; (kkk-lll) steenboks; (mmm-nnn) squirrels; (ooo-vvv) birds; (www-xxx) the vast, arid, untravelled pan; (yyy) a lone tree; (zzz) a huge anthill