Etosha - or the Birthday Shock

The day begins with a nice breakfast at the Toshari Lodge. Frank is celebrating his birthday today. After that, we say goodbye to Juliet, who has declared Christoph to be her Romeo ;-).

Entering the Etosha National Park in our pick-up. Today, we are searching for adventure and wild animals. After driving a few kilometers on dusty and bumpy roads, we spot our first zebras and giraffes. Around noon, we stop on a wide road behind a tourist bus filled with German tourists. However, from our perspective, there were no exciting animals to be seen. We wanted to pass the bus when, for some inexplicable reason, it suddenly reversed and crashed into us on the side. There was a loud bang and a significant shock... and a somewhat confused bus driver claiming, 'I didn’t see you!' Great, what a wonderful birthday gift. Fortunately, it was just a metal damage and a slightly damaged tire, which didn’t hinder us from continuing our journey. The fright still lingered in our bones, not to mention the knowledge that we would likely face a minor tire repair (but where?) and paperwork.

Nevertheless, we continued our search and drove about 50 km further towards Halali, where we enjoyed wonderful encounters with elephants, giraffes, zebras, springboks, and antelopes.

Upon arriving in Halali, we exchanged details with the bus driver (Comment: You shouldn't drive so closely; what an idiot :-(). Thank goodness there was a small gas station with a workshop at the station that could repair our tire. When we asked for an invoice for the rental car, we were met with wide eyes... 'Invoice book is closed'... which means the price is negotiable and we could pay without a receipt. When we inquired further about the costs, we got the counter question: What do you want to pay? We settled on 300 N$ (about 15 euros). That lifted our spirits a little. Still, we had to inform the rental company, exchange information via WhatsApp, and deliver a police report within 48 hours... just where and how in the middle of the wilderness. Well, a solution will follow... after a snack and ice cream, we continued on the safari. We were rewarded with wonderful encounters with elephants, giraffes (especially those drinking, which are Christoph's favorites), and other wild animals. Unfortunately, we haven't seen lions yet.

After a truly exhausting roughly 200 km, during which we were thoroughly shaken up, we arrived dusty and tired after some searching at the Onguma Forest Camp. A beautiful lodge with very friendly people and a dinner in a wonderful atmosphere compensated us for the exciting day, and the birthday found a delightful conclusion.