Okapuka Game Drive on 18.12.2018

Okopuka, I've always wanted to go there. Our first encounter with the "wild animals" took place at Okapuka Ranch, about 35 KM from Windhoek. So we started from our residence Röschlau around 16:00. When we arrived, we were greeted by a great scenery. Wow, this is how I imagine a safari camp. Klaus, the 1st ranger, welcomed us and after a little beer at the bar, we were ready to go. Our tour guide "Fritz" drove us through the savannah in a modified 10-seater Toyota Land Cruiser. Okapuka is a fenced reserve where the animals are partially fed. It didn't take long and the wildlife came rushing at us from all sides, oryx, wildebeests, springboks, and then came Lilli... Fritz approached a group of rhinos, and what a sight they were. Lilli, the rhino lady weighing about 3500 kg, as well as a stately male and three smaller females. Lilli had a horn that I had never seen before, and she didn't make any attempts to move away, on the contrary! Fritz decided to get out of the vehicle and greet and feed Lilli! Honestly, she stopped just about 2 meters in front of our vehicle. I thought Fritz wouldn't stand there for long, but he had the situation under control and obviously knew exactly what he was doing. What an experience, I had never been so close to a rhino before. Beforehand, Fritz told us something about the courtship behavior of rhinos, that only the younger males are allowed to sniff the scent of the females after the oldest one has done so and moved away. It was quite amusing to see the bull taste the urine of the female with delight, as if it were a wine tasting. After that, we had encounters with giraffes and a large herd of wildebeests. The sundowner on a small hill including a water hole and two three-meter crocodiles was also spectacular. It was a fantastic day with dinner afterwards in a great setting.