So here is our 13-seater aircraft ready to board for the 2 hr 12 min flight to Makuti Airstrip on the eastern edge of the Etosha National Park. Our pilot Andreas is loading our baggage with Jonathan the Photo Manager on-board who was escorting the group. He has made a brilliant video of the entire 3 days which I hope I will be able to show some of you upon return – that’s if you have not had enough of wildlife encounters by the time I have finished this series of postings!
The Namib Desert extends 1,200 miles along the Atlantic coast from the Curoca River in SW Angola through Namibia to the its border with South Africa and the area stretching north from Walvis Bay to the border with Angola is known as the Skeleton Coast.
We flew at 12,500 ft to avoid the heavy thermals that build up during the day and for the most part enjoyed a very pleasant and smooth flight out across the desert in a north easterly direction, the ground below us gradually changing from desert to scrub and then to ranching country before the vast Etosha Salt Pan came into view over which we flew for some half-an-hour before landing at the Makuti Airstrip. The straight roads and dried up river beds – it is early in the rainy season but not enough has fallen as yet to make these rivers run again – curling their way south wet towards the Atlantic Ocean like huge scars across the landscape.
It was off the plane and into the 4 x 4 safari vehicles for the 20 km drive to our Fort Bush Lodge – an old German Fort. Within minutes we had seen zebra, impale and springbok but emerging onto the hotel verandah was to take my breath away! You have had a sneak preview of course but you will have to wait for that picture since I want to get these postings off this afternoon whilst the Wi-Fi is less busy and tomorrow I’m in Durban and off on the last game drive of this cruise so another interregnum I’m afraid.
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