Travelogue

“Nature cure” in Nambia Gautam Vohra recounts his delight at the happy co-existence of different species here The South African tour ended all too quickly. Our next stop was Namibia and Etosha National Park. Etosha is over 400 km from Windhoek, the capital of Namibia, which means a good 6 hour drive. The varieties of acacia raced passed us. I had never seen so many anthills, one every fifteen feet, each with a new design, some with keekar trees growing out of them. We spotted the occasional ostrich, black for males, brown for females. Otherwise there was not much game on view even though Abel, our chauffeur-guide, informed us many of the farms were game reserves. All those with high fencing were for keeping the wild animals in; those with lower fencing were for livestock. Abel took us to a large nest on a keekar tree spanning several branches. Only the acacia is strong enough to support such a big ‘house’ of the Sociable Beavers. It has 500 birds; each beaver has a room of its own. To protect their young from snakes living on trees, the Sociable Beaver builds the entrance to the home at the bottom of the nest. We could see several of them flitting in and out. At the watering hole there were no animals. Abel explained that it had rained this year – more than it had for the last five years – so several new patches of water had emerged. The animals went to the new watering holes that were scattered across the park. Suddenly a herd of Springbok was upon us. Elegant and spritely, the young moved nervously around their parents. Then there was the impala, the darker brown colouring was followed by a lighter brown one with a white layer on the stomach. Later, at another gathering of impalas Abel drew attention to the dark (black) marks on their faces, forehead and nose that gave them their distinctive appearance. The dark marks differentiate these impalas from others. There are only 3,000 of them in northern Namibia and Southern Angola, Abel said. It was the day of antelopes. For after the Springbok we came across the Oryx with tapering long horns, the most elegant of the antelopes, the Wildebeest (the largest of the antelopes known as Blue Wildebeest, looks like a buffalo from a distance). The Springbok is the national animal of South Africa and the Oryx is the national animal of Namibia. The next on the list was the giraffe. These lanky guys were nibbling at the flora under their nose. Unlike Kenya which has tall trees so they had to stretch their necks to get at the tender leaves on the higher branches, here they had to stoop; for this park is not rich in vegetation; it so happens that the recent rains – after five years of drought – have turned it green. After the giraffes, came the zebras. In the dozen. They were everywhere we looked. And for dinner at our forest lodge – Teleni Etosha Village – I had a zebra steak. As well as the meat of another antelope, the Red Hartebeest (last night I had feasted on two other antelopes, the Oryx and the Kudu, including pork, the Warthog). But I found the zebra a tough customer. I chewed and chewed. Perhaps the cook did not apply the right type of tenderizer; may be takes longer on the grill. Whatever! Abel drove around the roads in the Park searching for animals, especially the big Three of Etosha: the lion, the elephant, and the rhinoceros. The cheetah is also part of the major animals but it is not found in Etosha. As we weaved in and out of the park, at one place there were a group of cars parked, so we knew a major animal had been spotted. Abel stopped and we saw the King. The queen was lying by his side. He was flirting. Very casual he was at it too. He continued to gaze in the distance, and every now and then dip his face into hers. She too lay beside him, somewhat indifferent to his ministrations. Then suddenly he got up. With a deliberate push turned her over and mounted her, made a number of thrusts at her back. Got bored, dismounted and sat down on his paws, his huge mane crowning his head. She did not seem to mind. After a while she became playful. Rolled on her back and hit his face with her paws. He took the gentle blows and began to nuzzle her. Made another effort to mount her, gave it a few feeble efforts…. The game continued and we moved on. Abel said that the lion is a very lazy animal, spends most of the day lying down—active essentially in the night. At Etosha he has a field day. For the entire antelope family is at his disposal: kudu, wildebeest, springbok, hartebeest, impala, Oryx. His roar can be heard up to 10 km. That is also his way of marking his territory. If he is strong, a pride will gather around him, over which he will rule for about seven years. Lions live to the age of 18. Cubs are born after a gestation of three months. Off we went in search of the elephants. We never did come across them. But even more to my delight, Abel spotted a honey badger. Ever since the book by Wilbur Smith of that title – all of Wilbur’s novels are set in Africa – I had been keen to view this unusual specimen, tough and independent; small as he is, even the lion dare not mess with him. We did see another of the big three – the rhinoceros. He stood mainly in one spot, his two horns dipping into the earth every now and then. The one-horned rhino, I had first seen way back, while on elephant back, in Kaziranga. They were being hunted and poached upon and their numbers were dwindling. Here too Abel said the rhinoceros was an endangered species. The black could weigh between 1500 to 2000 kg. When aroused the rhino was the most dangerous animal, warned Abel. I was not about to test out that proposition. In fact, the visitors to the park are not allowed to get out of the vehicle. A visiting Afrikaner (Dutch) got out taking a better shot at a fast disappearing Warthog and he got a yelling from Abel. He and his wife were most apologetic for having violated the park rules. We went to the Pan from which the Etosha National Park derives its name: Etosha means white from the salt in the Pan which is spread of 23% of the Park. It is fed by the Kuenene River from Angola, whose flow has now been reduced and much of the Pan is dry, a source of salt. A brown jackal with a furry tail, looking woefully emaciated, emerged from a bush to look at us. I wanted to give him part of my chicken sandwich. But then that would have violated the park rules. We almost over-ran a leopard tortoise and its baby crossing our path. Slowly, very slowly they crossed over, easy prey for all, for they cannot move. But of course they have major defensive armour. In danger, they withdraw within their hard shell that no teeth can penetrate. To another animal the tortoise appears like another stone. One of the things that delighted the visitor was the happy co-existence of different species. One would find wildebeest side by side with zebras and even giraffes, although giraffes were often on their own. When we came across another large lot of zebras, about 50 of them give or take a couple; we were informed that a careful watch would reveal that the pattern on one was different to that on another. Each zebra was unique; they lived in groups and the stallion had a harem of which he was totally possessive. The females gave birth after 12 months. A minute after the baby is born he is made to walk within a protective circle of zebras around the baby so other animals cannot attack. Within a day he can get around on his own. We may not have seen the elephant, but as Abel reminded us, we had been very lucky for it is not easy to see the lion, the rhino, the bustard (“the largest bird in Africa that can fly” according to Abel), the honey badger, the warthog and all the more common wildlife to be found in Nambia. Photos by Priya Sen