Dining al fresco has never been so beautiful!
Up at 5:30 AM for 6 AM departure to our outdoor restaurant 5 minutes away - for the stunning sunrise over the mountain while we enjoy a gourmet breakfast with eggs (done individually for each person the way he/she prefers) and bacon cooked in frying pans over the fire; choices of cereal, porridge, fruit, bread and jams. Phenomenal landscape 360 degrees as far as the eye can see - stunning!
The chef's work is admired by Abner.
Our wonderful view to welcome the morning.
Abner - guide, musician, photographer and chef. Fantastic young man!
Eggs don't get any fresher than this!
Fantastic way to start the morning!
When we return to our camp, we settle our extra charges, pack up our belongings and get ready to move on to our last stop of this wonderful journey - Etosha National Park - Namibia's premier game reserve - a 70,000 acre private reserve with relatively few visitors.
Etosha National Park ("great white place of dry water") in a nutshell...
- established in 1907 while Namibia was still a German colony world's largest game park for 60 years
- acreage decreased 75% in 1967
- still roughly the same size as Switzerland
- 3rd largest animal sanctuary in the world
We take 2 short flights with Wilderness Air to our last camp, Andersons Camp, with its own private reserve of 70,000 acres - Ongava (rhino) Game Reserve - just outside the Etosha National Park border. Without even leaving our dining area, we spotted amazing animals at our nearby water hole - mom, dad and little hartebeest (which I had never seen before); a majestic giraffe; and lots of springboks.
Hartebeest family shots.
Springbok.
The Hide was an elaborate underground tunnel to view the animals at ground level
when they visited the waterhole. It was so comfy with its padded benches, tea, coffee and hot chocolate. Spectators were protected by barred windows.
Sally and I went to check it out and were so close to the waterhole
that we could smell the dung right outside the windows!
Soon we left for our first sundowner game drive - spotting water bucks (with the Target logo on their butts); blue-tinged wildebeests; hordes of springboks and guinea hens; a jackal; a humongous black rhino; 3 playful lion cubs. A gorgeous sunset provided the perfect ending to a simply wonderful day (and we still hadn't even visited the National Park yet)!
Water bucks.
Wildebeest.
Springbok.
Guinea hens.
The elusive jackal.
Black rhino.
Lion cubs.
Mom.
Black rhino.
Another stunning sunset.
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