The Draw of Etosha National Park, Namibia

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Cheetah and two little cubs

Looking at our time-frame we decided against going further north to the beautiful Kunene river area that borders Angola, and headed south-east back to Etosha National Park. We couldn't resists the draw of Etosha which has been our favourite park to date. It has an  abundance and variety of wildlife. As we visit different National Parks in Africa, we have to bear in mind that the animals in reality are no longer 'wild'. They live in vast (and sometimes not so vast) areas that have boundaries to protect them from humans and human development on what was originally their wilderness habitat.

Dust storm on the pan

Etosha failed to disappoint and within the first 2km a cheetah mum and two cubs were relaxing under a tree about 100m from the road! It blew our minds! The cubs made it even more special, Cheetah are an endangered species as they are considered a pest to farmers who are permitted to kill them on their land in Southern Africa. Awful! So seeing babies filled us hope. Mum decided it was time to go for a stroll and the two cubs were running and trying to keep up with her. It was so breathtaking to watch it's hard to describe.

From basically dawn to dusk we drove across the park and were rewarded with the now usual game at the waterholes, including another highlight - lion. Cool. Just as if our day hadn't been rewarding enough, to top it off, we saw a lonesome cheetah (yes another!!) sitting upright in the shade of a tree at the edge of Etosha's huge salt pan. We felt very humbled as it was just us and the cheetah. A day full of treasured moments.  *Mush

A lone cheetah under a tree