The Girl with the Panda Tattoo: Overland Africa: The Wildlife

When thinking of a trip to Africa, most people think of all of the amazing animals you can see that live nowhere else (in the wild). I certainly did, and anytime I talked to someone back home, they wanted to know what animals I'd seen.
Warning: this will be a long one, lots of animal encounters to mention.

The first week of my trip, from Cape Town up to Swakopmund, I saw very few animals. Usually, we would be driving along, I'd been half asleep or deep in conversation or daydreaming, and our tour leader, Patrick, would say to look out the window, zebra or oryx or springbok. All 13 of us would press our faces to the windows on whichever side of the truck the animals were and stare eagerly...and then stare harder, scanning the horizon, trying to find where the animals were. It was usually off in the distance, and their camouflage abilities were impressive.

In Sossusvlei, Namibia, where we hiked up Dune 45 for sunrise and 6 of us hiked Big Daddy dune, we got a little closer to some oryx. They were wandering around by the parking lot, looking for shade. I took a lot of pictures of my first real encounter with an African animal (the squirrels at our camp grounds didn't count).

ETOSHA NATIONAL PARK

Upon entering Etosha Park in our truck with the huge windows on the sides, which we opened all of (these drives were extremely windy), we saw some zebras, close enough to actually identify them. Zebras and springbok, how cool! And then over behind some trees, giraffe! We all took tons of pictures, and then drove on to our camp ground, near a watering hole. Patrick told us about the Big 5, the animals that if you are hunting them, they are more likely to kill you first. Lions, leopards, elephants, rhinos, and buffalo. The first 4 of these can be found at Etosha. But if you are curious about the deadliest creature in Africa, that would be the mosquito.

We had a little time between lunch and our afternoon game drive, so a couple of us went over to the closest watering hole and watched whole dazzles of zebra (actual term) in and around the water. The sound they make is like a car alarm, not at all what you would expect, and made us laugh every time. We'd been told how amazing the watering hole could be after dark, so we were excited to come back that night to watch.

On the afternoon game drive, we saw many more zebras and springbok, a few more giraffe, and then at one of the watering holes, the first of our Big 5, a black rhino. Black rhinos are critically endangered, so seeing one is a rare treat. Naturally, there were also zebras and springboks around that watering hole, but keeping their distance. There's a funny thing that happens, and it doesn't take very long, where you get bored of zebras and springboks (and later on, impala as well). They are all over the game parks in southern Africa, and after a short while, you don't stop the truck anymore to see them, unless there is a large herd of springbok crossing the road and you have to stop (this happened a few times). Once when we stopped for a dazzle of zebras right next to the road, we found some of them were more excited about having an audience than we were of being one.

We drove on, watching as a storm gathered on the horizon, unsure if it would hit us or not. After a little while, someone called out, "elephant!" This was required a little squinting again, but there in the tall grass was a very old, very ashen elephant. Male elephants often live alone, while females and calves travel in herds, so we were pretty sure this was a bull, and the second of our Big 5.

As we headed back toward camp, the wind picking up and the dark clouds approaching, everyone was on lookout duty, calling out if they saw any animals we should stop for. Right near the entrance to the camp grounds, lying a little ways off the road, was a cheetah. She (we think) was leisurely watching some further off springbok, her paws muddy, maybe from a recent trip to a watering hole. She wasn't too bothered by us, actually posed pretty nicely for us. Not one of the Big 5, but an add on in what is sometimes called the Big 7 (along with Wild Dogs, rare now and not often seen).

At camp we all washed up, and made it over to the nearby watering hole to see an incredible sunset.

Back by the truck as we were eating dinner, we kept hearing animal sounds and seeing other people rush by saying there were lions. Everyone tried to eat quickly, wash dishes, and flap them so we could get back over to see what was going on. Despite our rush, it was pretty dark when we returned to the watering hole. This one, for viewing, has a floodlight that stays on at one end all night, and there is a strict rule about being totally quiet, so as not to scare away the animals. You can imagine how well a big group of people does at staying totally quiet. Right when we got there, a group of elephants was in the water, but they didn't stick around for very long.

For a while, I thought we were doing okay, some shuffling around as people switched spots, some whispers, the usual. Despite this, there were no animals to see. Little by little, spectators went off to bed, much of our group included. A few of us remained, and we found better seats to wait it out, with some wine to keep us alert. Somehow, we started to get louder in our conversations (I contend it was because nothing was happening, there was nothing to see). At some point, a park official came to ask us to keep it down or take the party to the bar. We all felt scolded like the teacher caught us goofing off in the back of the class, and became totally silent for about 5 minutes. When still no animals showed up, we gave up and went to our tents. A couple of us got up just before dawn to see if that's when the animals come, but a lone jackal is all we got. Jackals are pretty cute though, I wanted to adopt one and take it home.

We had another game drive around Etosha that day and saw many more zebras, springboks, and giraffes. A little ways past a tower of giraffe (actual term), someone said there was a lion. Lions were number 1 on my list of animals I wanted to see, so I was psyched. But it turned out this was another case of faraway animals that camouflage very well. There were at least 2 lionesses on the prowl around 200 yards away. I wasn't satisfied.

Besides our lions, we saw wildebeest, and we began to learn the differences between the kinds of antelopes in the area. The ubiquitous springbok with their white bellies, impala, kudu with their very impressive curving horns, hartebeest whose horns can look like a heart from a certain angle, and klipspringer the cute mini-deer.

Wildebeest

Springbok

Kudu

Impala

OKAVANGO DELTA

After Etosha, soon we were in the Okavango Delta, where we left our truck behind and were poled in mekoro through rivers out to an island to spend the night. That evening, we climbed back into the mekoro and poled over to the hippo pool. On the way there, I was hoping there would be something to see, worried I would miss them. No need to worry, there were many hippos, a bloat of hippos (actual term). We all pulled up together at what was deemed a safe distance. Then some of the hippos came closer to investigate. They bared their teeth (only used in defense and fighting, not needed for eating grass) and splashed around, showing their dominance. None of us needed convincing; we have seen videos of hippos killing crocodiles, lions, anything that comes at them. Setting up our tents that afternoon with enough space between them in case hippos came walking through at night was frightening enough.

Up close (through my zoom lens), they look pretty funny though, with their whiskers and bug eyes. Sometimes they look more like Muppets than real animals.

No hippos did walk through out camp ground (that I know of), even though the fire was not kept burning all night (the way we'd been told it would be). We got back into the mekoro with all of our stuff and moved on to our next camp ground in the Delta, which was fancy for us, with more permanent tents erected, big enough for cots with sheets and quilts. My tent-mate and I went to bed that night and almost immediately got back up, because we could hear noises outside, rooting around and splashing. We went out and looked down toward the river, trying to make out where the elephants were (we'd been told they were in the area), but only thought we saw a moving shadow between the trees. So we went back to bed in the tent with the screen windows letting in lots of light from the full moon overhead. We woke up to crashing through the trees right by our tent around 2am. We both sat up and looked at each other and looked outside as this huge dark figure came into view right outside our window, legs almost as tall as the tent, tusks, a trunk, all silhouetted by the moonlight. The elephant stopped for a moment, negotiating its way between the tents, and then continued on up the hill, tearing at nearby trees. This was my closest encounter with a large animal on the trip, and it was incredible. (I don't have pictures from that night, but here's another elephant in the trees).

CHOBE NATIONAL PARK

In Botswana, we also drove to Chobe Park, which is on the banks of the Chobe River that divides Botswana and Namibia for part of their border. Driving into the park area, we were immediately greeted by a herd of elephants (actual term 😕). Since we'd only seen isolated elephants up until this point, so many at once was really exciting. They were on both sides of the road, and then crossed the road, elephants everywhere we looked.

The lodge where we set up camp was really swanky (not the part where our tents were pitched, but the main building and spa and pool). We had seen velvet monkeys (aka blue ball monkeys, accurately named), warthogs, and mongeese wandering around the grounds all day, even into the bar, so we knew we were in the midst of the park. We'd also been warned about snakes, to use our headlamps and stomp loudly when walking around at night.
Excited to have free WiFi, many of us spent time in the bar area after dinner on our devices, headlamps handy for the walk back to camp. As I scrolled through Instagram, a huge black thing came crawling up and over my knee. I jumped up, shaking my legs to get it off and shrieking. My friends were alarmed, trying to figure out what was going on, and some of the staff came over to see what the fuss was about. One of them laughed and said it was just a big cricket, and then they all laughed. I did too, but in a shaky way, because while a cricket is harmless, it was the size of my fist (not exaggerating) and scared the hell out of me. I was jumpy the rest of the night, much to the amusement of my friends. (The chameleon below is much cuter).

For our game drive the next day, we left our truck behind and loaded into 2 large jeep-like vehicles with open sides. Our safari guide asked what we were interested in seeing, and I immediately replied, "Lions." We also said leopards, buffalo, more cheetahs, but number 1 was lions. We drove into the park, started to go one way, then something came through on the driver's walkie-talkie, and he turned to go another way. All of a sudden, there was a lioness laying on the side of the road, just relaxing. We pulled up and I was on the right side about 3 yards from her. She was magnificent, her eyes tawny and sharp, her ears alert, listening, and while she seemed relaxed, she could pounce at any moment. I was captivated, taking pictures and watching her. When she made eye contact with me, it was incredibly intimidating, I struck a submissive pose, head bowed, eyes down, darting up to look at her. Someone behind me noticed and laughed.

Our one jeep was the only vehicle there for 5 minutes or so, until word spread and others pulled up. She got uneasy or bored and walked away down the road once more people disturbed her morning.

With our request met so easily, we thought this will be an epic game drive. Actually it just peaked early, and for the rest of the ride we saw a happy meal of impala (not an actual term, but they are known as the McDonalds of the bush -fast food), far away hippos, vultures, a jackal, a whole business of mongeese (actual term) which included tiny babies, and ground hornbills (which sound like they are laying a base track for some club music).

That afternoon/evening, we took a booze cruise down the Chobe River. Between glasses of wine, we saw hippos out of the water, most with little white birds accompanying them. And finally another of our Big 5, a buffalo. There were some lazy looking crocodiles and a breed of waterbuck most recognizable for the white circle on their rear ends (known to us as toilet seat bums). There were also sightings of semi-inebriated and fun loving Intrepid travelers in the wild.

VICTORIA FALLS and CAPE TOWN

On the rest of my trip, I was in cities, with less (but still some) wild animals. The most prevalent were baboons. Anything you may have heard about them is true: they will steal anything they can right off of you, they can be violent, they are not cute and just posing for you. When I passed them walking down the road in Vic Falls, I crossed to the other side (it's like that). In Cape Town, when I went down to the Cape of Good Hope, we were warned on the bus that they will steal your food and you likely would see them attack someone. We were also warned about birds that would take your food, and no one paid much attention. While wandering around there, watching people get close to take pictures, I saw one baboon grab a girl's hair and pull hard.
I got food from the takeaway place beside the restaurant and was eating in the designated "baboon safe" area, but had a bird I can't identify swoop in for part of my sandwich. I was doing a decent job of fending them off, but one distracted me by attacking someone else nearby and another took the opportunity to grab a bite, I felt its claws on my hand.

What I haven't mentioned yet are the Cape Penguins. Down at Boulders Beach, you can see a waddle of penguins (actual term) on the beach, sunning themselves. Having a special affection for penguins, from my many years of service at a certain publishing company, I had to see them, and was not disappointed.

I'm sure there are more animals I saw here and there that I've left off, but this is a pretty good summary. There are just so many more to see, and I'm still not satisfied in my Lion quest, I want big maned male lions, I want cubs. Mufasa Mufasa Mufasa! Plus my Big 5 is still incomplete without a leopard. Africa is a huge and beautiful place, and I can't wait to go back. But for now, thanks for reading!