Day 4: 25 June
Namibia – Etosha and Kupferquelle Resort, Tsumeb
It was a slow start for most of the teams. It had clearly been a good party.
Evan spent a little time figuring out how to de-rig my penthouse and then we were on our way. Anderson Gate is only a few kilometres from the campsite and it takes about three hours to Von Lindequest Gate. We’d booked in at Kupferquelle Resort in Tsumeb (that I kept calling ‘cop a feel’ because I couldn’t remember its name) for the night.
I’ve lived in the bush for many years and I can’t think of anything that makes me happier than being surrounded by the African bush and wildlife. Nothing gets me more excited. Nothing makes me more fulfilled. It always feels like I’ve come home – no matter which area I’m in. So although I’d never visited Etosha before, just being back in the bush was enough.
We stopped at Okaukueio which is 17 km inside the park. We paid our entry fees of 75 NAD (Namibian Dollars) a person, munched on delicious beef burgers and visited the waterhole at the campsite. Evan reckons this is the best watering hole in Africa. It pumps. The municipal chalets and campsite are next to it, offering visitors an opportunity to keep an eye on it all day and all night. We were only there briefly – we had giraffe, zebra, wildebeest and springbok coming in for a quick drink.
Just before we left, I looked to my left and recognized a school friend! Fancy bumping into people in the middle of nowhere – it blows my mind how small the world is.
We set off into the park – having all spent a lot of time in the bush our demands weren’t extreme. All I wanted to see was elephants. Hmmm “¦ I got to see my ellie “¦ closer than I’d have liked. A big bull ambled down the road towards us. Stu was driving and trying to film. Evan was in the passenger seat taking photos. I was in the back convinced that we were going to be trampled. I was getting more and more nervous about the bull approaching – who seemed to be getting more and more frustrated that we were in his way. As he came closer I realized he was in musth, a periodic condition in bull elephants making them volatile and aggressive, and to be avoided.
I was shouting at Stu to reverse. Evan was shouting at Stu not to move. Our priorities were different. I wanted to avoid any disastrous event; Evan wanted to get a photo. The bull walked up to our bumper, shook his head and a cloud of dust escaped from his enormous body. Evan got his photo and I breathed a sigh of relief as he disappeared into the bushes.
We couldn’t not do the Rhino Drive as I’m quite fond of the creatures but didn’t up seeing any. We were running out of time- as the gate closed at sunset. We quickly visited the Etosha Lookout – normally a large white saltpan but with the recent rains has filled up considerably. We ate salticrax with cream cheese and tinned muscles as the sun came down over the pan.
We couldn’t resist watching giraffe silhouettes waltz against the backdrop of the orange sky, nor could we resist watching the sunset reflect off the water-filled pan – so we ended up being a little late at the gate. All we got was a “˜You’re late’ from the gate guard and he let us through.
We had just over 74 km to Tsumeb. I knew we were booked in at ‘cop-a-feel’ but I didn’t know where it was or what it’s real name was. I recognized a sign just as we drove into Tsumeb and settled down for the night in our chalets. Hot water, DSTV and a coffee station – it felt like we were cheating! A few of the other teams were there too and we met at the Dros for a bite to eat and a few beers.
Another tough day in Africa. Caprivi tomorrow.
Album of the day: Radiohead’s In Rainbows (CD1)
Enter our Bobs for Good Foundation competition by donating money for shoes that we’re dropping off on the Put Foot Rally and stand the chance of winning a three night stay in Livingstone.
Follow our trip on twitter @Evan_Haussmann @christiefynn @going_homeless @Put_Foot_Rally or search on Twitter for hashtag #putfootrally to see all the tweets from the rally teams.
The Getaway team would like to thank:
4×4 Mega World for their fully kitted out VW Amarok
K-Way – the official gear partner to the Getaway team on the Put Foot challenge
MapStudio for their Southern and East Africa map
