Searching for the Leopard - Etosha National Park Namibia. African Adventure
How's it going Steemers??
I would like to continue my African Adventure with you.
So the next morning after our amazing night adventure. We got up super early to go out on our game drive in the 4x4's.
It was a brisk morning as we started out driving through the park. The hyenas were still out from the night before, here's some running around.
A quick stop at a water hole to see if there was any thirsty animals about.
This kudu perished next to the lake
We were in search of the leopard as that will be the last one to tick off the big 5 list. We came across this tree.
It had a springbok in it from an early morning leopard kill.
The jackles and hyenas were all hanging around like a bad smell, for any scraps from the kill. But the leopard was no were to be seen.
We waited for a while to see if the leopard would show up, but no luck. The leopard was probably watching us from a distance, so we kept our morning adventure going.
About a 10 Min drive along the road we see the king of Africa just relaxing under a tree.
He got up and walked closer to our car and laid down, under another tree.
It is so amazing to see these beasts in the wild and so close and personal.
We pass a lake that was full of flamingos. It was an amazing sight to see all the flamingos searching for food.
Not far up the road some giraffes were grazing on some trees.
It was breath taking how much wildlife is out here.
Wilder beast with its babies.
We continue our drive through the Etosha National Park. We head from the east to the west side where we will be staying the night.
Etosha has a huge salt pan that is 4731 square km and it can be seen from space.
Along the way we spot a pair of lioness chilling in the grass.
They are such beautiful creatures.
Alot of ostrich were out and about near the salt pan.
We even spotted an oryx chilling by himself. The oryx is one of my new found favourite African animals, they are like part cow, part horse, part goat and their colour scheme is on point!!
Some Red Hartebeest were getting around as well.
Driving down the road one of the guys spotted a dead zebra on the side of the road and a shadow on the other side of the road, so we slammed on the brakes and did a u-turn to check it out. As we approached the dead zebra, we noticed that there was a lioness under the tree on the other side of the road.
She was covered in blood and panting like crazy. We must have just missed the kill...
Looking at the zebra it looked like it was pregnant so the lioness got the two for one combo. It was the middle of the day and there was no other lions around, so this lady must have saw the opportunity and just took it.
As we sat there she decided that she had better protect her kill, as this large object was now in her view and blocking out the kill that she just worked so hard for. She got up and crossed the road to keep an eye on it and on us.
Now as I was saying all the animals see the car as one big object... unless.... you put any part of your body out of the vehicle. Only then can they adjust and see individuals inside the car. So as we were watching her with her kill, one of the girls leant out of the car to get a better photo, we were right behind the zebra and she could spot her straight away. The lioness started hissing at us and got down into a pounce position. Holy shit that was scary. The driver kicked it into reverse and we got the hell out of there. Wow.. that definitely got the heart started!
Next stop was a camp ground with a huge pool. Which was the best sounding idea as it was so damn hot! We had a lunch break and met up with the rest of our group, so we could exchange stories of our morning safari over a couple of beers.
After a refreshing swim we were back on the safari in search of the leopard...
We came across three lioness chilling together under the only tree on the plains for miles.
There is not much shade out here at all. As we were admiring these beasts, three Zebra came walking up on the other side of the road.
Luckily the zebra were down wind from the lions and the zebra picked up the scent of the lions straight away. The zebra at the front warned the others not to keep walking by making a loud sound that sort of sounds like it is clearing its throat.
The lioness looked up at them but they must have thought it was too hot and not worth the effort right now.
So these zebras lived to see another day.
We had a quick stop for a toilet break in an area that was kind of safe to exit the vehicle.
Then made our way to the camp site for the night. Every tree we passed out here always had some wildlife under it as there was not many trees out here.
As we came closer to the camp site we had to pass another zebra crossing.
We set up our tent
Then had some beers by the pool. What a great day out in Etosha National Park there was so much wildlife on this safari. Even though we didn't get to see the elusive leopard, it was still a day I will never forget.
We cooked some food and watched the sunset as we had a laugh sharing stories with our group.
Another great day of our African Adventure in the books.. What an adventure!!
Once again thanks for stopping by and stay tuned for more African Adventure blogs coming soon.
In the mean time check out my other posts from this adventure 😊
Etosha National Park - Night Drive -
https://steemit.com/travel/@vcclothing/etosha-national-park-namibia-night-drive-african-adventure-h9iwty9j
A day with the Ghanzi Bushmen in Botswana -
https://steemit.com/travel/@vcclothing/a-day-with-the-ghanzi-bushmen-in-botswana-african-adventure-wds2bspt
Okavango Delta Botswana light plane flight -
https://steemit.com/travel/@vcclothing/okavango-delta-botswana-light-plain-flight-african-adventure-cjyxjkzw
Okavango Delta Botswana -
https://steemit.com/travel/@vcclothing/okavango-delta-botswana-african-adventure
Chobe River Cruise -
https://steemit.com/travel/@vcclothing/chobe-river-cruise-botswana-african-adventure
Chobe National Park -
https://steemit.com/travel/@vcclothing/nye-in-chobe-national-park-botswana-african-adventure
Victoria Falls -
https://steemit.com/travel/@vcclothing/victoria-falls-zimbabwe-african-adventure
Cape Town - https://steemit.com/travel/@vcclothing/cape-town-south-africa
Singapore - https://steemit.com/travel/@vcclothing/gardens-by-the-bay-on-christmas-day-singapore
Thanks for stopping by happy travels!
Peace
G
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Thank you for sharing your Africa adventures. I was in Namibia and Botswana in 2015 and will go again in september this year for 6 weeks.. We hired a fourwheeldrive with rooftoptent. I nearly can't wait after reading your stories.
Ahh you are going to have the best time!! I am looking to go back to Africa and check out East Coast at the end of the year for my holidays. Thanks for stopping by and happy travels👍😊🍺
Kenia is also very nice but don't know if it is safe. Tanzania is great as well.
Yes,happy travels mate, Australia is still my favorite country. Enjoy life.
Yes I am looking forward to Tanzania!! Kenya does look like it's a bit unstable atm but you only live once hey. 😊
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What a pity you didn't see the leopard...but you were so lucky with all the other animals. The hissing of the lioness would have freaked me out. What an adventure!
I will have to go back for the Leopard 😊 it was amazing to see so many animals!! The lioness moment sure was full on. Thanks for stopping by 👍
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