Interacting with the locals: Spitzkoppe, Etosha National Park, and the San Bushman Tribe

Cape Cross

After leaving the bright lights and big city of Swakopmund, we took a brief stop along the coast to the place where the first European sailors landed in Namibia, Cape Cross, which was now home to a large seal colony. Rose warned us that we would probably only want to stay in the area for a few minutes because the seals were really smelly.  I had visited seals before in San Francisco and did not remember them smelling particularly bad, so I wondered how “really smelly” would rate. The closer you got to the shore, the more you started to breathe in a very strong and unpleasant odor.  Rose was right - the seal colony stunk and coupled with my hangover, it wasn’t the most pleasant experience. There were hundreds of seals sunning themselves on rocks and a few seal pups were relatively close to the viewing walkway that had been set up for visitors. I retreated back to our truck after about 15 minutes and was thankful that the stop was a quick one!

Spitzkoppe

The next stop on our tour was at Spitzkoppe, which is known as the “Matterhorn of Africa.” The large granite formations rise up over the desert in dramatic fashion. We were staying in a campsite located in the park and made our camp at the base of these massive boulders. A local guide came to take us on a short hike of the surrounding area and to show us some ancient rock paintings that tribespeople had created between 26-27,000 years ago. The paintings were used as a form of communication by the different tribal groups in the area. The paintings showed which animals could be found in the area and the direction that the paintings faced indicated which direction the group would migrate.  After the hike, we went back to the front gate to visit the two pet meerkats who lived at the campground. They were so cute! We all took turns holding the meerkats and taking pictures of them. I think the meerkats were the definite highlight of Spitzkoppe!

Etosha National Park

After 10 days of relatively little wildlife viewing, we had two full days set aside to explore Etosha National Park, home to elephants, rhinos, lions, leopards, giraffes, and other animals. It doesn’t matter how many game drives I have been on in the past, I still really love seeing all of the different African wildlife in their natural habitat. My favorites are giraffes, zebras, elephants and of course any of the big cats. On our first game drive, the highlight was seeing a huge pride of lions take over a local watering hole. It started out with just one male and one female and then grew to two more male lions, two lionesses and four young cubs. We spent at least 40 minutes just watching the lions interact with each other (and subsequently scare off all of the other animals). It was a great first day. The campsite where we stayed had a large water hole where animals would congregate once the sun went down.  Giraffes, rhinos, and elephants all paid a visit that night.

The next morning, we went out for another drive and spotted a leopard in a tree. When our guide Rose became excited, I knew that we had come across something special. The last time she had seen a leopard in Etosha was over three years ago and she told us that we were really lucky to have seen one. The first time we saw the leopard it was scared and only stayed in the tree for a few moments. We followed it with the truck and tracked which direction it was going. When we circled back about an hour later, the leopard had found a new tree far enough away that we could take photos of it without it feeling threatened. I have never seen a leopard in real life and it was great to finally see one in the wild.

The afternoon game drive brought elephants, giraffes, and zebras. We also saw a pride of lions devouring a kill. Many people wanted to see a kill in action (not me) so I was glad that we saw the end result versus a live action viewing. It was pretty gruesome at times however one zebra fed about 18 lions for two days. There wasn’t much left for the jackals who were waiting in the wings, but it was interesting to see how all of the animals worked together to make the most of a food source. The circle of life in action.

When we got back to the campsite, a few of the girls went for a drink in the “bush bar.” The sun was down and the headlamps were out and we kept attracting massive numbers of little beetles that were all over the campsite. We had to drink in the dark in order to avoid being swarmed. The toilet blocks went from nice and clean to bug haven due to the lights. They covered the floor, the toilet, and the showers. Going to the bathroom became an obstacle course in avoiding beetles. It was disgusting! Everyone was thrilled to pack up camp and leave Etosha that day.

San Bushmen Tribe

We spent two nights at “Roy’s Bush Camp” just outside Grootfontein so that we could pay a visit to the San Bushmen living museum.  The San Bushmen were the original inhabitants of southern Africa and their language is made up of different clicking sounds. It is really interesting to hear, and the sounds are so hard to make! The “living museum” essentially shows visitors how the San Bushmen lived in the old ways. This was truly one of the most authentic cultural experiences I have ever had.  The men and women only wear small leather pieces to cover themselves and they show you how they hunt, make rope, and use the natural environment for all of their needs. You are guided by young locals who have studied English and a tribal hunter takes you on a bush walk to show you the plants used for medicine, which ones are best to poison an arrow, and how they trap birds using the fruit of one tree and a piece of rope. The hunter could have been an actor – even though he couldn’t directly speak to us, he used body language to get his point across before the guide had a chance to translate. It was really interesting! Several people ended up buying crafts from them to support the village. I bought a really pretty necklace that I will probably use as a decoration.

We are heading for Botswana and the Okavango Delta over the next few days. I only have WiFi about once or twice per week so the blog posts will be sporadic over my time in Africa. I really appreciate all of the kind notes that people have been sending me and especially those who are still following my blog from time to time. I’m glad that I have a chance to share the experience with my friends and family back home. Once again, thank you for reading!