Having lived in Oman, Qatar and the UAE in the Middle East, we can attest that Omanis are the friendliest people of all the Gulf nations.  We have been told Namibians have the reputation of being the friendliest people in Africa. Besides the Captonians, of course.  Turns out the Namibians are the Omanis of Africa!

The turn off to Erindi Private Game Reserve is 50kms north of a town called Okahandja.  The gravel road to Erindi’s Main Gate is 40kms.  After that, we could take the shortcut to our self-contained chalet right next to the floodlit waterhole where a myriad of game frequent day and night.

We got to the Erindi turn off to be met with soft, red dirt sitting on top of serious corrugations.  We stopped someone coming the other way and they confirmed the road was pretty much the same all the way to the Main Gate.  There would be patches of white, hard gravel, then some parts were even softer, but for the whole the road was what we could see at the start.

I couldn’t help myself, I just wept! 

When we phoned Camp Elephant reception, Charlien answered.  In a measured and very musical Africaans voice, Charlien said “…so will you be coming to Camp Elephant or not?”.  It took a second round of explanation before Charlien said “please let me call you back”.  And call back she did explaining that her parents were soon to drive from Okahandja to pick her up.  If we rode back to Okahandja, her father would meet us at the fuel station, lead us to their home and store our Guzzi in the shed.  They would then drive us to Camp Elephant and our self-contained chalet by the floodlit waterhole.  She further explained that they would be coming out again on Wednesday morning, exactly the day we were booked to leave, to bring her back to work! 

Charlien’s dad took us on the long scenic route into Camp Elephant, not the shorter route we were suggested to take, and we saw our first wild Zebra’s in the setting sun!  Charlien greeted us with a huge Namibian hug and later that evening we saw wild Oryx visit the floodlit waterhole directly in front of our chalet.  We just couldn’t believe how our day had panned out and how lucky we had been!

Erindi Private Game Reserve covers an area of some 71,000 ha and is home to over 20,000 animals including the rare and endangered.  The waterhole, not even 100 metres from our chalet, is a hive of activity and we have been mesmerised at any given part of the day watching springbok, kudu, impala, oryx, wildebeest, warthog, zebra, giraffe, crocodile, hippo, elephant, and so many different birds, all co-existing in respectful, wild harmony.  The electric security fencing separating 15 self-contained chalets and these wild creatures is innovative.  Instead of looking through a tall game fence, there is a low-level sloping series of electric wires spanning some four metres horizontally, allowing uninterrupted viewing of the waterhole, its activity and the open plains in the distance. 

African animals are one of the things we came here to see!  We have big and dangerous creatures in OZ, but we don’t have zebra (my new favourite animal), giraffe, lions, leopard, cheetah, wildebeest, elephant…  Early morning, we could see three hippo snouts jutting above the water.  By noon, they were out of the waterhole in their full blown glory, munching on the grass and collecting as many rays of sunshine as their bodies could absorb. Wildebeest, warthog, springbok, impala and a million birds would then feed and drink together, before zebras and giraffe came along to join the party. An elephant chose to visit one evening.  It was hard to believe they were less than 100m from our chalet, and almost within touching distance when we were at the waterhole fence.  We didn’t think it could get any better!

We went on two game drives.  One organised by Camp Elephant, the other was with a Capetonian couple who were doing a self-drive with a map provided by Erindi.  Both were fabulous and highly recommended. 

Knowing we were in San Bushman country, when in Windhoek we watched the movie “The Gods Must Be Crazy II” with our Airbnb host.  It really is so very innocent and funny, and their language with all that clicking, is intriguing.  At Erindi, we were able to meet a group of the Bushman tribe.  Erindi supports the tribe by passing on 100% of the money we tourists pay to visit their camp.  Plus Erindi provides them food and housing materials.  I was captivated by their language and they didn’t mind anyone taking plenty of photos.

Charlien’s dad drove us back to collect the Guzzi.  We then travelled that same 50km stretch of tar for a fifth time! before continuing to Etosha Safari Camp, just outside the Anderson Gate of the Etosha National Park.  It is very true about Nambians being so friendly and helpful.

From our accommodation which was 9kms outside of the Park, we arranged a full day game drive.  Rodney our guide, collected us at 7am.  We had chosen the budget game drive where 24 wide eyed tourists would sit in a huge truck, but as luck had it, there ended up only 8 of us in a very comfortable, open air Toyota (take note, Landy fanboys), complete with fluffy blankets for the icy early morning and evening winds.

We started the drive with Rodney exclaiming he had a surprise for us and that he needed to put foot to the metal to get us to a particular spot.  Near the edge of the road were two adult lion brothers.  The males are lazy.  These fellows were hungry, but couldn’t get their bodies off the ground as they roared for the females to return and feed them!  A passing driver informed Rodney that we had a flat tyre.  Rodney remained calm, gave us plenty of time to watch the brothers, and then drove on the rim for some 250m along the road to change the tyre.  Two other drivers stopped to help.  They angled their vehicles so that humans were out of view of the lions.  Both Rodney and a fairly swift arriving park ranger, advised all of us to not to poke heads or any body parts to the outside of the vehicles in case the lions saw small edible things separate to the big vehicles.  The fellows worked quickly to change the tyre, but all the while, both lions were creeping closer to what they thought could be their next meal – us!  While we (the tourists) had our eyes on the two brothers, the guides also had their eyes on the opposite side watching for the hunting females.  This was just the beginning of our day…

We found the brothers’ pride not too far away and sat and watched some cubs play and tease the adults.  They were under a tree, so we couldn’t make out what comprised the group, until a jackal, unaware of the lions under the tree, wandered close.  So close, that the carnivores suddenly sprang to action, chanced after it, and at that point we could see the pride was made up of two young males, two females and the three oh so very cute cubs.

As we were promised, zebra were everywhere!  They really are beautiful and I couldn’t stop clicking away with the camera.  It is breeding season and many females had fat bellies full of little zebra almost ready to enter the world.  The rainy period has passed and waterholes are beginning to dry.  They are magnets for animals and Rodney gave us more than adequate time just to sit and observe.  Whilst watching a herd of elephants, we were privy to seeing one young male making a bit of a nuisance of himself.  Rodney explained, he was now old enough to leave the herd, find another herd and a mate.  He was in luck, as after the first herd had had their fill from the waterhole, there was a change of shift and another herd arrived.  We watched the young male try and ingratiate himself, behave and beg to join the second herd.  The female leader looked him over, then we saw him trailing the group as they all left.  I guess if he continues as he started, they’ll let him join the mob and find himself a bride.  

Rodney had been working at the Park for over 10 years and was a wealth of knowledge.  I can’t remember how many different types of animals we saw.  I’ll let our pictures tell a thousand words…

We had heard of this place on the Kavango River at the start of the Caprivi Strip (now known as the Zambezi Region) that was within budget, had tented chalets right on the river, and crocodiles float by as you braai your dinner.  It sounded like our kinda place…