First Day of Safari - Etosha National Park, Namibia
From South Africa we went on to Namibia for another 11 days of Africa. We landed in Windhoek, Namibia's capital, at 8 o'clock in the morning. Etosha was another 700km from here. We organized the trip all ourselves and rented a 4x4 Toyota Hilux to get us around. 700km drive on our first day in Namibia sounded like a struggle to me, especially since it meant driving on dirt and gravel roads for most of the time. But Bastian loves the adventure and was totally enjoying the idea of driving 4x4 through no-man's land for the next few days...

On the way to Etosha, I received a text message from my mom which made us laugh. Its hard to translate this in English... well, its actually hard understanding what she means in German sometimes! But she was saying something like, stay away from wild animals, take pictures of the local people and most importantly buy me those grey pillows and towels with animal motifs. Oh, and the weather in Germany is terrible.

After a long drive we finally arrived at our lodge and I was ready for a good night sleep. The lodge was called the Onguma Tree Top Lodge and it was located in a private reserve. It consisted of 4 tents on stilts. Yes, tents and we were basically in the middle of the reserve with lots of dangerous animals and a waterhole just in front of us. Great circumstances for a first night in Namibia's wilderness. The waterhole meant lots of animals. We spotted zebras, oryx, warthogs, springboks, a hyaena and many more right in front of us... 

The sun went down, and it was quickly getting dark. It was a bit creepy when we were told that we are the only guests during our two nights stay here. We were getting ready for bed and suddenly we could hear thousands of noises around our open tent. I was scared and remembered my moms words to stay away from wild animals... Bastian assured me that we are fine and nothing is going to happen over night.

He was right and I had a fantastic sleep. Bastian, however, looked very tired... Apparently, he was so scared that he could only sleep for 2 hours :-p  He was happy when the night was finally over. At breakfast, we were told that a few hyaenas were camping in front of our tent... Their bone chilling laughs must have kept Bastian awake. 

It was about 6:30am when we left the camp to enter Etosha National Park. On the way to the gate, we were passing by giraffes, springboks and oryx. For the next few days we would have a new routine: get up at 5:30am, have a short breakfast and explore Etosha National Park when the sun starts to rise. Game viewing is best done in the cool of the early morning or late afternoon and we did not want to waste any time.

After paying the entrance commission, we were greeted by giraffes, springboks, oryx and wildebeests. There are 114 species of mammal in Etosha. Within 15 minutes in the park, we had already seen over 30 of them. It was really amazing.

Etosha birdlife is absolutely wonderful as well with every kind of feathered friend. European rollers, secretary birds, helmeted guineafowls and many many more.

We continued driving through the park as we were 'hunting' for lions and some of the other predators. Suddenly, Bastian hit the breaks hard and brought the car to a full stop. I was shouting at him, but he was only pointing to the right side where a huge elephant was popping out of the bush - just in front of us.

After several more giraffes and springboks, we came to a very rare sight. LIONS... on the attack! It was a group of 10 lions... It was fascinating and we were so excited. 

After hunting and killing their prey, the feast was about to start. And the best part was, they were having dinner directly at the roadside and Bastian was parking the car just in front of them. All 10 lions were coming in... We felt so happy!

We must have been very lucky as in the rain season, we were told that we would not see any of the predators. Second day, we did it again. This time, while Bastian was driving, I spotted something in the high grass of the Etosha Pan. Another group of lions with a majestic male looking threatening at Evelyn when she was taking her photos.   

In the midday sun, we drove to the waterholes in the area. We were already so addicted to finding animals and often skipped lunch just to be able to see more of this wonderful wildlife. When we stopped the car at the waterhole an elephant was enjoying a bath... 

So far we had seen a lot of animals, but we were missing some of the most difficult to find ones: Cheetah and the elusive Leopard! Bastian was so determined and was driving with 50 km/h eyes off the road with his head hanging wide out of the window to observe the area for those rare animals. It was madness...

But he was successful... On our third day in Etosha, we saw a mother Cheetah with her two cubs sitting in the grass. Cheetahs are so elegant and graceful and we hoped to see more of them.  

Of the big cats, the leopard was still missing. We were already driving for the whole day and I was ready to take a rest when the sun started to go down. Bastian was restless and decided to walk to the nearby waterhole as he was expecting animals to come in for water during dawn. When he came back, he woke me up proudly pointing at the camera. I couldn't believe it, he really saw it: the elusive leopard! 

The next morning, we were leaving to the Dolomite Camp, our final stop before leaving Etosha. Despite the fact, that we had seen so many animals, we woke up early. Bastian made sure that we were the first one to leave the camp at 5:45am. What we then saw was another highlight of the trip. I pointed to what I thought was a lion or cheetah in the distance. Bastian reversed the car and took one of the side roads to get closer to it. It was a spotted hyaena with kill (spotted hyenas kill their own prey more often than they scavenge).

There are so many more stories to tell from this wonderful national park. I posted a few more pictures including a jackal family that was playing in the grass. Many animals have their young during the rainy season...

On the way to Dolomite, I must have forgotten Ma's words to stay away from the wild animals. We saw some elephants in the distance and I stepped out of the car into the grass to be able to take a better shot. If stepping out of the car among the most dangerous predators is not enough, I was walking barefooted which is nearly suicide. The snakes in Etosha are extremely poisonous, especially the black mambas and puffadders. 

Last stop in Etosha: The Dolomite Camp and what is the first thing we see. A puffadder on the road. It is responsible for causing the most fatalities in Africa and even the staff in the camp was very scared of them. During a strike, the force of the impact is so strong, and the long fangs penetrate so deeply, that prey items are often killed by the physical trauma alone.

At Dolomite Camp, we had two great nights. Our car - once new and perfectly polished - was covered by mud and was covered with marks and dents. Bastian was ready for a car wash...  

It was a sad feeling when we were leaving Etosha National Park to Damaraland. On the way, we still saw plenty of wildlife, but it wasn't the same. I took a photo of this elephant crossing sign which was my favorite road sign in Namibia...

Amazing Honeymoon in Africa

The new year started with a new adventure... It was our honeymoon and our plan was to go to Africa with a first stop in Cape Town to get acclimatized, before heading to the wilderness of Namibia. As this was our first trip to the continent we didn't really know what to expect. We heard the scariest stories about crimes, scams, health issues and so on and we were definitely more excited than on any of our other travels. Actually, this trip was my idea and Bastian was not so sure at all as he felt we should continue to explore Asia before doing something else.

Well, I am glad that I managed to convince him! Cape Town is beautiful and we had a wonderful time. We were on a tight schedule, barely two days to explore the city is really not enough so we were rushing from one attraction to the other. First stop was Bloubergstrand where we snapped our first picture of Table Mountain. We then headed  to V&A Waterfront, Cape Town's popular working harbour.

We checked into a nice boutique hotel called Derwent House. It is located at the base of Table Mountain. The hotel is nicely decorated and was really comfortable. The owners Carol and Jo were wonderful and were a great help with our planning... 

After checking in, we strolled around the center of the city. At Green Market Square, the vibrant flea market, we bought a few souvenirs.

Cape Town is also known for its good food and we had a seafood lunch at Bizerca Bistro. Bastian loves Oysters and wasn't disappointed... Yamie ;-)

In the afternoon, we went up Lion's Head, a small mountain in the middle of Cape Town. Its a 1-hour hike, quite steep at times, but well worth it as it gives a 360 degree view from the top. 

In the morning of day two we went to Bo-Kaap, formerly known as the Malay Quarter. It is basically a township, situated on the slopes of Signal Hill above the city centre. The area is known for its romantic cobble stoned streets and colorful houses.

We drove down south along the coast for about one hour towards the Cape of Good Hope. Its a spectacular drive with the most amazing scenery that you can think off. If you dream of driving on California's Hwy 1, go here... Its breathtaking!!!

Off to the Cape of Good Hope, a huge Natural Reserve where we could have spent at least a full day. It was so relaxing hiking and exploring it. Its often falsely described as the southern tip of the African continent where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet. In fact, the southernmost point is Cape Agulhas about 90 miles east from here.

There was a sign right up on the top of the lighthouse and we were reminded how far away from home we were... but honestly, we did not think of going back just yet!

We couldn't get enough of Cape Town. Next on the menu: Penguins on the rock! Near Simonstown is Boulders Beach, a beautiful white beach with turquoise waters which is home to a colony of African penguins. 

 These animals are so cute and we had so much fun just watching them sunbathing at the beach. Apparently, this species of penguin is the only one that can be found on the African continent.

We were already running late in our schedule and Bastian said that we could not leave without having been to the top of Table Mountain. We had to compromise our dinner plans   and canceled our booking. Well, we canceled lunch already due to our time constraints and I wasn't very happy about his determination... Bastian convinced me by saying that there is a nice restaurant at the peak!

The cable car to the top of Table Mountain is an experience on its own. Very steep with stunning views of Cape Town and Lion's Head. We were just on time for sunset, but I had only one thought: Food!

The restaurant wasn't exactly what I expected and Bastian bought a few nuts, potato chips and a coke. My face expression tells it all ;-)

But the views were amazing... and yes, it was really worth it! We enjoyed the views and took many many pictures. We could not believe that we were leaving this wonderful city the next morning already...

When we were back down at the Cable Car Station, my appetite kicked in again and I was desperate for some real food. We decided to go to a Steak House. The restaurant had lots of variety of meat: Springbok, Ostrich,  Gemsbok, Kudu... wait a second... that's only game meat on the menu! Bastian tried all of it and said it was not too bad! My french fries were fine too ;-)

Back at the hotel, we counted what was left from our South African Rands and noticed the animals on the backside. Next morning we would wake up at 4am to catch a flight to Namibia. We were hoping to see lots of elephants or maybe a lion...