White rhinos, Otjiwa, Namibia

After a cold night, we were up before dawn to join a rhino tracking safari. We set off in a vehicle with a driver and a guide. First stop was a watering hole where we saw a spectacular sunrise whilst our guide looked for rhino tracks. He quickly found some and then we drove in the vehicle, working in blocks, looking for tracks crossing the path. Eventually, we started walking, tracking two rhinos but it was over an hour before we came across them and there were five in total. It was an exhilarating experience to be so close to them and on foot. They stayed around for about 15 mins then disappeared into the grass/bush again. It was then a long walk back to the vehicle whilst listening to the guide give us information about the rhinos. He wasn’t allowed to tell us how many rhinos are in this conservation area as poachers are still active here. We also saw Springbok, ostriches, one giraffe, other antelopes and many different species of birds.

We folded up the tents on the roof and set off to the Cheetah Conservation Fund where we had a tour and got very close to some cheetahs in captivity. These cheetahs cannot be returned to the wild but the organisation does work to return others and has huge areas of land for this. It was very interesting to hear about the work they are doing, especially about Turkish sheep dogs. They are breeding these dogs and selling them to farmers very cheaply to protect their livestock. They are also educating the farmers about cheetahs in the area. Cheetahs get blamed for attacking livestock when often it isn’t always them so whenever there is a kill someone from organisation analyses the remains to identity who killed it.

We drove north again to our next campsite. Needless to say, I took a LOT of photos today but it was fabulous.