Etosha safari

Etosha National Park, Namibia

Safari-ing feels a lot like fishing. There are long lulls with a few short bits of action. Casting, reeling, moving spots, waiting, watching. Driving, looking, finding a promising spot, waiting, watching. There’s a lot of time to fill, so we read, listen to podcasts, argue, shush each other, take photos, etc.

It’s miles and miles of driving, hours and hours of waiting. Several dozen water holes are (some man-made, some natural) are scattered about the 8000sq mile park and since it’s so dry, parking and waiting at the water holes is a good way to see animals. Springbok antelope, zebra, and other deer are everywhere, as are ostrich, giraffe, and wildebeest.

Most of our time on safari in Etosha felt like this:

Incredible animal sightings made every hour of driving worth the wait.

Here are 10 video highlights, in order:

1. Lion and lioness

2. Rhinos (the young one ran right out in front of our truck!)

3. Hyena gnawing on a leathered giraffe neck

4. Jackals on the hunt (which we also saw roaming our campground at night)

5. Elephant herds meeting up

6. A family of mongoose

7. Galloping oryx

8. Zebras at the water hole (a group of zebras are called a "dazzle," but Leo called plural zebra "zebrae," which I like equally)

9. Did you know ostriches drink like that? Scooping up water?

10. Or giraffes?? Looks like she's going to fold right up!