Animal viewing in Namibia is much different than Kenya. Namibia is very dry so animals congregate around the watering holes. Etosha National Park has built a number of manmade watering holes throughout the park.
During the day you see many zebras, giraffe's, ostrich and ungulates.
The numbers can range from a handful to hundreds of animals.
The shiest and most interesting the animals to watch are the giraffes. They approach very slowly and cautiously, then still wait at the edge of the water before committing themselves to drinking. With their long necks they need to stretch their legs out to the side or bend at the knees to reach the water. It is fascinating to watch them get in and out of the drinking position.
One of the driving rules in Etosha is that you cannot drive before sunrise or after sunset. By staying at a Camp in the Park you have walking access to lit water holes for viewing any time of day. The most interesting time is after sunset as that is when the larger animals come to the water hole. Movement in the distance forms shapes that became discernible only as they near the edge of the lit watering hole.
The most spectacular sight was seeing the elephants on the second night. The matriarch came first followed by 7 others. A minute later 14 more arrived We watched the group of 22 elephants drink and shower themselves for a long period of time.
Eventually the matriarch started to walk away and the others followed just as they had arrived, in single file. AMAZING!
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