Road Trip to Etosha, Namibia

After sleeping well at a great backpacker, we got up early and headed off for another day. Today was the day I was most excited about for our African roadtrip. Our destination was Etosha National Park in Namibia which boasts a ton of wildlife aka animals. I had been crying at the thought of seeing baby elephants months prior to this trip so I was ready to actually see them.

No surprise, but we had a bit of a drive. Once we drove out of the coastal oasis of Swakopmund, it was back to empty barren desert with the glorious petrified dunes.

Though it is not recommended to get out of your car too often in Namibia because of the wild animals, we did anyway. At each roadside stop, there is a sign that says, “Get out of car at your own risk. Dangerous animals near.” But this giant termite mound was too enticing and I needed to get a picture by it to show it’s size. For reference, I am 5’5″.

Large termite mound on the way to Etosha National Park

I mostly blacked out from excitement this day of driving because I knew what was waiting for me; a real life Lion King. Maxwell drove WELL over the speed limit to get me there as soon as possible.

My heart skipped a beat when I read this sign below. *Beware of dangerous animals* Music to my ears 🙂

Etosha is a massive park. To give reference to its enormity, it is almost as many square miles as New Jersey. That being said, we had a lot of driving to do to get to our campsite (Halali) within the park. The space is like the rest of Namibia in that it is giant and open, but the concentration of animals is higher there.

Etosha Landscape

^ Maxwell’s favorite picture ever taken ^

The massive landscape

Look how tiny the Thorn Acacia tree looks!

Love love love

One big motivation to moving back to South Africa is the peace that you see here on Maxwell. His soul thrives in nature and Southern Africa is completely wild. Maxwell did a lot of self growth in his time here in 2013 and I am wholeheartedly excited for the growth that we will do together the next few years.

We started to see animals immediately upon entering the park. Here are a few!

Warthogs in Etosha National Park, Namibia

Family of giraffes in Etosha National Park, Namibia

Giraffe crossing

As I am sure you can imagine, when this many giraffes crossed the road, I panicked. Though Maxwell had been to Etosha before, this was a completely new experiences for two reasons. One, he was with me and seeing the magic that nature created through my eyes. Two, he came in April and this was in December so the seasons were opposite. He would end up seeing a whole new set of animals.

Springbok in Etosha National Park, Namibia

Wildebeest in Etosha National Park, Namibia

Roadrunner in Etosha National Park, Namibia

Halali campsite in Etosha National Park, Namibia

We reached our campsite at a decent hour so we set up camp. By this time, Maxwell was “figuring out dinner” which meant I set up the tent alone. This actually meant he was photographing and filming me doing it rather than preparing for a meal.

Setting up the tent in Etosha National Park, Namibia

Campsite fun in Etosha National Park, Namibia

We were excited about this campsite because we had planned to be in Etosha National Park for two nights rather than the first three nights of the trip being in different locations.

Maxwell had discussed a beautiful (man-made) watering hole at this campsite that allows you to watch animals both in the day and night. We decided to watch the sunset over it and hope for some animals.

Sunset over the watering hold

Enjoying the sunset

On the way back to our site, in the dark, we stumbled upon this little bug.

A small bug 🙂

Dinner was put on the camp fire and it was shower time. Thanks for the candid photos Maxwell 🙂

Staying clean even on the roadtrip

Our view of the African sunset while cooking dinner. These baked potatoes took 4 hours to cook, but with scenery and company like this- time does not matter <3

Sunset while cooking dinner

Since we had no driving to do tomorrow and were staying in Etosha National Park- that meant the next day was filled with more animals. I could barely sleep I was so excited.

-Leeann

Our road trip from Swakopmund, Namibia to Etosha National Park