Destination Etosha
It was a long haul in a short time today, as we had to get to our next lodge accommodation at midday for a game drive. Despite leaving early some aspects began to feel like a transition stage of the Dakar. Gates had to be negotiated and closed with a rotating pelaton of riders taking it in turns to do gate duty as we rolled through in packs.
Roads got noticeably narrower today as encroaching vegetation made the edge of the road less obvious. A more significant aspect of this was that it neatly hides domestic animals and wildlife alike.
It was my turn for bit of a close call today. I was faced with an approaching Landrover grill on a sharp bend edged with sharp secondary growth. It was one of those, “˜dry mouth’ episodes.
In missing the Landrover I had to divert towards the thornbush at the roadside, which was full of loose rock piled at the verge, then try to correct to avoid planting myself in a tree. It was touch and go with much snapping of twigs on both rider and steed in near whiteout conditions. Ten minutes further down the road with heartbeat resembling normal I had a bird strike smack in the front of my visor. It felt as if a cricket ball had hit me and it was turning into one of “˜those’mornings. We all made it with time to spare.
Dominated by a massive mineral pan, Etosha or “˜great white place’ covers an area of 22 270 square km. Game viewing here is excellent and it wasn’t long before we were passing small dik dik, kudu, gemsbok and giraffe. Both Charley and Ross were on the same vehicle as me and were just as excited as the rest when we came across rhino and elephant at the same waterhole.
Soft drinks were passed around when another of our group spotted something in the tall yellow grass, a leopard. Our good fortune that we had stopped when we did as spotting these magnificent cats is unusual. We ticked off three of the big five in three hours and as the day faded to black reluctantly made our way back to the lodge.
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