Game parking...

-->

06/05/10
.

Driving through our first game park where we have been based for at the last 2 nights. We have been staying at a campsite 18 km in and have done morning and afternoon drives from there. Now driving through the park to a different campsite 75km further in. We seem to have left all the animals behind. No more herds of springbok or zebra.

When we first entered the park gates, within minutes we had seen zebra, wildebeest, warthogs, springbok and oryx. This all supported my idea that once in the park we’d have hoards of animals wandering around us and obligingly posing for shots that’d instantly male me look like a pro wildlife photographer. Everyone’s seen the pictures of cheetahs climbing onto the bonnets of cars, and elephants walking right up to vehicles. Entering the park through the big gates and fence actually felt disappointingly like we were entering nothing more than a big zoo. I had had it in my head that being in a game park would give me a chance to see the Africa of old, that which is undamaged and unchanged by peoples poaching and encroaching habitation, but the fences took an element of wildness away.

On the first game drive it quickly became apparent that Etosha is no zoo, and there would be no animals posing patiently by the side of the truck. Etosha is about 200 km wide. Seeing animals is a lot more hit and miss than I thought. Apart from zebra, which appear to be everywhere, you have to search hard for animals, and you also have to be lucky. On the first day everything seemed to be on the horizon, or at least a lot further than my eyes are able for. Also a lot further than our 250mm zoom lens was able to capture. Definitely no wildlife photographer of the year award for me. Thankfully the posh campsite we were staying in had its own waterhole. You got to kick back and relax with a bottle of wine while watching bull elephants, zebra, giraffes, jackals and even 6 black rhinos. We slept in the tents with the territorial calls of lions about 100m away. Going to the toilet in the middle of the night was a test of character.

The second day’s drive was far more successful, with us catching more things closer to the road. We even got to watch a lioness stalk and chase a herd of zebra. The height of our truck gives us a great advantage over other cars and game trucks. We can see further and spot things easier amongst the long grass. It does however rattle, bang and hiss with open roof hatches and hydraulics as we go over rough roads. It kind of puts an end to any sneaking up on animals.

Being on a game drive is surprisingly tiring. Sitting trying to be patient and squinting into the sun for hours, trying to see stuff that’s got the distinct advantage of years of evolutionary practice to perfect the art of camouflage, can be tense and give you a headache. Watching a zebra herd pick its way round the bush where the lion was hiding, they could all smell was wrong, they just couldn’t see why. A 2 month old foal stopped just feet away from where the lioness was. We were all desperate to see action, but really didn’t want to see the baby get it. A wildebeest fine, a cute baby zebra no. The lioness watched the herd from her hiding place for about 30 minutes before giving chase. She missed, but then walked right by us so we could get the pics we’d been waiting for.

Our body clocks have changed. Breakfast at 6 am many days, in bed before 9. We are in teams to do duties, rotating between cooking, washing up, cleaning the bus and a rest day. We are now getting to know the group well enough to begin to feel frustrated with those who regularly don’t pull their weight. One lady in our team watched us wash up the other day while she took photos of flowers. Her only acknowledgement to this fact was to say “oh, are we washing up?” and she went back to her flowers. This is the same woman who wandered around a 500 metre area of bush the other day taking pics, lost her phone and then expected everyone to help her find it. It was found and she got back on the bus without a thank you. Very gracious indeed.

On the way to Etosha we stayed overnight at a cheetah farm. This is a big conservation area where they rescue and breed cheetahs. They have three ‘tame’ cheetahs that live in their garden and play with them and their dogs. They also have around thirty more wild cheetahs in the larger conservation area. Tourists get to walk around with and stroke the tame ones, then take a ride in the back of a pickup truck through the conservation area and watch the wild ones being fed. They have to feed them once a day as it’s impossible to introduce and control any prey that is introduced to the area. Cheetahs hunt both for food and for fun, so they would kill everything within weeks. Seeing the 'wild' ones is completly different from seeing the tame one. Thier eyes look like those of a different animal.

Stroking a cheetah is like stroking a sports motorbike. They are highly strung, built for speed, and vibrate with a loud bass like purr. They were tame but we were warned that one gets stroppy when it’s had enough petting, and another was young so it was likely to take a fancy to things and chew them. It set to work on Mark’s boots at one point. Seeing cheetahs in this setting is slightly false, but like the tigers in Chiang Mai, it’s an interaction and viewing opportunity that you’ll get no other way.

One observation made so far of the animals we’ve seen, is that zebras and giraffes behave just like the characters in Madagascar. Zebras all seem to mirror not just in looks but in behavior and expression. Giraffes are completely ungainly and terrified of their own shadow. It took 3 of them over 3 hours to pluck up the courage to make their way down to the camp waterhole yesterday.