We are on our way again and headed to the famed Etosha. Etosha means “the great white place” - and you can see why. Everything is covered in a fine layer of white dust. Even the animals. The zebras are more like albino zebras. The trees look like they’re covered in snow - except for one thing. It’s over 40c! It doesn't take long before we see what this vast open white barren landscape offers. Huge herds of animals clustered around the meager water supplies or huddled under the pitiful shade offered by the tiny trees. We pull up at a dam and hundreds or springbok, zebra, giraffe and wildebeest are standing languidly around the pan. Impressive. We never see such vast numbers of animals in South Africa. Within an hour our list includes springbok, zebra, giraffe, wildebeest, oryx (aka pie bucks), jackal…and then…lion! They are right on the side of the road and we pull up next to them. They fix us with their beady golden eyes and I recall the recent incident where lions ate a tourist. There's a thrill being just a meter away from this amazing animal. We snap millions of photos as we soak in the sight. A little later we come upon Etosha - literally. A herd of elephant who are white with the dust of Etosha. Spectacular. The sightings are amazing but we must get to our campsite. So we head towards Halali campsite. Here's hoping for green grass and shady trees. “Eish!” we exclaim as we arrive. White dust swirls in the wind while the oppressive heat strangles everything in a constricting tourniquet. We look at this and wonder how we will put up our tents in this harsh environment. Should we wait till its cooler? Finally we decide to bite the bullet…or dust, and just do it. We crack open a beer and within 45 mins we have setup camp and are headed to the pool. As the sun sets we head to a waterhole at the campsite. It's like a movie theater. Loads of quiet people are seated staring out at the waterhole. We find a secluded rock and are soon sipping wine and watching God's imax as the fiery African sun sinks in red and orange splendor into the dusty horizon. The small waterhole turns gold as birds twitter excitedly welcoming the cool. It's like the end of a battle. A battle between light and dark - heat and cold. The earth relaxes. It breathes a sigh of relief as the sounds of the evening fills the air like a celebration of the end of this war. Tranquility. Peace. Bliss. Our first night in Etosha was great and we awake feeling refreshed. The night chilled considerably ensuring that we had a great sleep. While the nights are cool the day quickly warms and we decide to go and check out the pan attached to our campsite. We are treated to black faced Impala, that only occur in this area. After soaking up the sights and ambiance of the waterhole we head out on a game drive in search of game. Alas it's not as successful as our experience yesterday. We bounce along the corrugated roads for about two hours but don't see much. “I think we should head back,” someone wise suggests and we all agree. We are hungry and the animals are on vacation. Back at the camp we satiate our never ending thirst and hunger pangs and leap repeatedly into the pool to cool down. It's a great way to spend an afternoon. Laptop + pool = Productive Work. The only issue is the internet here is like sucking triple thick milkshake though a hollowed out piece of dental floss…Painfully slow. We return to the waterhole at the campsite. This evening we are treated to a rare sighting - three black rhino. I haven't seen black rhino in ages and it's a treat to watch them, of course made even better with a crispy white wine.A cloak of clouds is spread over the sky which is acting like a duvet cover for the land and not allowing the heat to escape. “Hey look at that rhino,” I whisper in a muted voice to the kids, “is that something coming out its butt? Is it having a baby?” We all look carefully trying to see as the orange light of the spotlight casts an eerie, dusty color on everything. The one rhino does seem to be separate from the other two and acting strange but it's hard to see for sure. So we decide to wait…and wait…and wait. Eventually the rhino moves off into the bush and although we can hear it we can't see it. Wait…wait…silence. The only sound is the occasional crashing of rhinos moving in the darkness. A small rabbit tentatively drinks water from the hole. A black backed jackal scurries past. A female kudu, obviously startled by something bounds into the light only to go bouncing off again into the darkness. Wait…silence. Stars. That's great, at least the duvet cover has lifted. 11pm. Wait. Silence. Eventually at 11:30pm we call it quits. Was that a baby rhino? Did she have it? Maybe we will find out tomorrow? Africa's story is always being written. For now we will sleep and await her next chapter tomorrow. As the camp stirs in preparation for the day the sounds easily penetrate our tent rousing us from our night's sleep. “Let's go to the waterhole,” Nicky suggests. So we get dressed - which here in the wild is simple - switch pajamas for shorts worn yesterday, shirt is already on, and you're done. However there is no sign of the rhino. We're expecting great things today after the nearly-maybe rhino birth. Yesterday Nicky was gifted by the blue bird of happiness. Joshie had pointed out the blue birds all around us - starlings - and a few minutes later one deposited it's load on Nicky, shaking it's butt to make sure everything was out. With this direct gift from the blue bird of happiness surely some great thing must be coming, and we are in for a treat we will soon find out. We head out and are soon questioning the wisdom of our decision. The roads are trying on vehicle and driver as we bounce over ruts and corrugations. The sky takes on its dark hue as the rising heat mingles with the white dust.Etosha is all about the massive 120km pan that for most of the year is dry. We've skirted the pan but we are now on a road that takes us out into the pan. The road ends and we get out of the car. White. Endless white stretches out merging in a blurry line with the white-dark sky. It's eerie, amazing, stark, endless. If you walked out there you would soon be lost in a void of featureless white. Chatting to a ranger we find out that a baby rhino was spotted.Could that be the end of our story? The heat drives us back into the car and we decide to head back via one last waterhole. As we come upon the waterhole we are treated to an amazing sight, or as Nicky says, “This was the one thing I really wanted to see in Etosha.” It's two elephant bathing in the pan. We sit watching them wallow in the cooling water at stages almost completely submerged before they reappear again. These huge beasts know a good thing when they find it - and now that we've had Nicky's bluebird it's time for us to take the hint from them and retreat to the cool of our waterhole - the swimming pool at the campsite. As the sun begins to set we head to our spot - the waterhole. A fiery ball muted by earth's dusty mantle. The water turns to polished gold. A lone rhino. She rubs her leathery hide on a worn log. From white to black She emerges from the golden liquid. Zebra approach. Cautious. A snort. A heavy foot falls. Dust rises in warning. They drink. Silence. Suddenly galloping hooves. Dust. A lone rhino. Doves flutter in unison with their mirrored twin. Silence. The earth waits. Her breathe held. He emerges alone. Seemingly birthed by the violet darkness. A deep rumble of excitement. He races towards the water’s silent offer. His mother following rumbles her displeasure. More arrive. Large. Small. The glass is shattered by dipping trunks. Thirst is satiated. Africa's dusty mantle washed off once more. As silent, as swift, they are gone. A lone rhino. Finally even color departs. A silent vigil. The earth sighs. Alone. Rhino.
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