The south end of the beach at Hua Hin, Thailand.
Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Hua Hin, Thailand.

Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Maldives on March 23rd.

Friday, November 15, 2013

Safari day 4 and evening waterhole excitement!

Another restless night because of wind and rain. But we were still up before 6:00am in the morning. We crawled down from the rooftop tent, and what do we see? Something else crawling!

A giant centipede. Or is it a millipede? Not sure, but it was about 6 inches long and almost as thick as your finger!


Kind of nasty looking, but apparently harmless as one of the other tourists picked one up this morning without an issue. Not me, thanks!

One of our readers asked if the large safari groups in the campground were "annoying". Not really, it's just that we'd prefer to have a little more privacy and when they all start moving in the morning it's not very peaceful considering it's sometimes before 6:00am. We had one instance where a group got up around 5:00am and made so much noise it was like they weren't at all considering that some people (the rest of the camp!) might still be trying to sleep. And then another reader suggested we join the big tour groups in the communal kitchen when it was raining, but in all honesty there wasn't room! Even if we could have stepped inside, there was certainly no room to try and cook.

There are other couples here doing self drives though. Last night there were probably 8 or 10 other tents set up the way ours does. And, some people from South Africa who are towing their own camping trailers. Some of them are pretty interesting and we'll do a blog post about that another day!

We planned only a short drive yesterday morning, and we ended up not seeing very much but then we were only gone a couple of hours. I think we did 57 kms (35 miles). Again, lots of zebras, and this time some interesting birds as well.

Zebra relaxing.

The zebras don't seem to mind the hot sun. The wildebeest and giraffes and even the antelope all try and find shade in the heat of the day, but the zebras just stay in the sun.

A northern black korhaan.

We came back to camp around 10:30am. We watched at the camp waterhole for a while, and then spent a couple of hours in the afternoon just snoozing by the pool to try and catch up on a couple of nights where we didn't sleep the best. There are lots of birds around camp though, so we took a few photos around here.

Okaukuejo Rest Camp. There is a restaurant here, a small store, a campground, and quite a few chalets for rent. The place is pretty busy!

Lots of thirsty animals at the waterhole!

Hmm. The squirrels around here seem slightly more "masculine" than back in Canada.

This is a southern yellow-billed hornbill. Now you know!

Around dusk, we went back to the waterhole and watched the sunset. There weren't too many animals around, but there were a group of giraffes in the distance who eventually made their way to the water's edge. One seemed to hang back a little, almost as if to be the lookout man for the rest of them.

Giraffes by the waterhole.

The giraffes seemed really nervous. And it wasn't long before they left the waterhole and we could see them in the background. Then, we saw why they left the waterhole! 

Four lions came as a group to have a drink....

Here are two of them.

By this time, it was getting too dark to get any more decent photos. The lions only stayed about 15 minutes, and then we left as well.

The rhino often makes an appearance at this waterhole at night, so we're going to head back there tonight and hopefully he'll show up!


25 comments:

  1. That squirrel certainly is "masculine." Love the pictures by the water hole. There is sure a lot of variety.

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  2. I see the squirrels around here "gathering their nuts", but I think they'd all run and hide if they saw that guy! Yikes!

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  3. a bit disconcerting with all the lions around... those tents would seem like candy wrappers to a hungry lion or lioness it would seem...

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  4. The heading photo of the giraffes is wonderful. Any picture worth taking is so much more exciting when there's water for reflection, don't you agree?
    Is there any possibility of NOT camping where all the freshmen campers are located? Or are the camps mapped out by the tour company?

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  5. That is so cool to see al that amazing wildlife, really enjoying your great photos.

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  6. Oh my - what awesome photos - love the giraffe header!

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  7. The photos are all so beautiful. You two could publish a book on your adventures.

    BTW...you can keep the centipede.

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  8. Our favourite waterhole for night viewings, we thought it was like being at the theatre with the animals being the cast awaiting their cue to move forward. Probably a bit late to tell you now but Etosha park know how many overland vehicles are booked onto each campground each night so there are possibilities for avoiding them.

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    1. Steve & Glen: I can't find a contact link on your blog. I would love to hear your advice on Etosha's campgrounds, as we're headed there in Dec/Jan which will be high season. (You can reach me via the contact link on http://goal42.wordpress.com so that I don't have to publish my email here) Thanks!
      Bobbi

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  9. I believe it was a millipede. You can tell the difference by looking at how many legs are on each segment. A centipede has one leg per side per segment and the millipede double that.

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    1. Correct, except that millipedes may even have three or four pairs of legs per segment. Locally they are known as shongololos, from a Zulu word meaning "to roll up", which they do when disturbed.

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  10. Centipede or millipede - either way - ick. I know I've seen lions and zebras and giraffes and other animals in zoos before but your pictures make them seem so much more beautiful. It has to be because they are in their own habitat. Just incredible.

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  11. I think after dark you and your RV should "pull a Tioga George" and sneak out of the internment campground and find yourselves a nice quiet stealth camp next to one of the waterholes :)

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  12. Hmm....not sure I would want to be in a stealth camp with those lions around, but to each their own. I am really enjoying this. On my bucket list, so it is nice to see it done a bit differently than the 10K per person photo safari thing.

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  13. I'm really enjoying tagging along on your trip. I haven't been commenting because I know your internet is limited. Just wanted you to know how I'm here and loving the pictures. The header tonight with the giraffes is awesome. Enjoy your trip of a lifetime!

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  14. I've certainly run into noisy groups in camp. And there's never anyone of authority around to talk to. Thank goodness for afternoon pool rests. You're getting some great sightings. The first image is a Shongololo, and they get bigger. Wonderful shot of the giraffes with reflection.

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  15. What happened to the fridge? Is it working again? Your header photo is amazing!

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  16. Your header picture is just breath taking. How wonderful to see the giraffes and then see them replaced by the lions. Oh my you are seeing so many fabulous things. Sorry for all the tour noise. That really is inconsiderate. Hope your sleep improves.

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  17. Is that where African squirrels keep their nuts....LOL

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  18. Have you seen Meerkats yet? It seems the watering hole is a great place to see wildlife. You are so fortunate to be there. Thanks for sharing your experiences.

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  19. That's one of my favourite Korhaans. 2 sightings noted in my bird book- Botswana and Namibia.

    Sft x

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  20. The more I read and catch up on your travels the more thankful I am that you are sharing this with all of us. What a great adventure.

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