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Etosha again and Ruacana Falls
Last time we were at Namutoni camp in Etosha they were concerned that a lion and lioness were inside the fence. When we returned we heard that they'd found and darted them, along with 3 cubs! The building works we'd also left behind were sadly still there; with perfect timing (Easter week and a full camp) they also emptied the swimming pool and started demolishing it.
Despite the dire state of the camp, Etosha continued to yield a magical wildlife experience and as a finale we were lucky enough to spot a young male leopard just after it had pulled down an impala. Even luckier was that it was in the open in broad daylight. We watched for several hours as the leopard struggled in temperatures reaching 38C to drag the kill some 250 metres to some bushes, where it proceeded to eat as much as it could. Sadly, just as jackals arrived and alerted the rest of the animal world to the location of the kill we had to leave the scene to return to Namutoni camp for the sunset gate curfew.
We were at the same gate at 5.45am the next day, first in the queue and hoping to see what had happened to the kill and the leopard overnight. One kilometre down the road we had to stop as 4 lionesses and 5 cubs were on the road enjoying the morning cool. After 15 minutes of photos we were keen to get on to the leopard location and decided to drive on. Although the lions had moved off the road, 2 lionesses clearly felt we'd stepped over that invisible line between observing and harassing, and charged us!
They say that if a lion charges you when you are out walking it you must face it and not run, as it is invariably a bluff and running would make you look like prey. Sitting in a Landrover Discovery when it happens just makes you realise that standing your ground in the open would be the bravest and possibly last thing you ever did. We flinched and hoped that the front windscreen was lion proof, fortunately they were bluffing. Have a look at the shaky photo I took through the glass; those two lionesses were looking at us, not a vehicle!
As you may have predicted after such excitement, the leopard and it's kill had vanished, there was not a single piece of skin, bone or blood remaining. Our assumption was that the leopard had got the kill up a tree, or the hyaenas had come in the night, chased off the leopard and ate everything (they eat the bones which makes identifying hyaena dung very easy, it is white from the calcium).
From Etosha we headed north and west through the most populated area of Namibia to Ruacana Falls on the Kunene River, the physical border with Angola.
People had apologetically pre-warned us that Ruacana Falls were really cascades and not that spectacular so the sight of a huge set of falls took our breath away; they were awesome and as spectacular as the Victoria Falls. For once we were lucky with our timing, the Angolan authorities had opened the sluices on the dam above the falls, hence the spectacular flow.
At Hippo Pools, a community campsite perfectly situated on the edge of the Kunene River below the falls we exchanged email addresses with Leon, a South African intent on doing a 21 day trip across Angola to the Congo River. We will be intrigued to read how the trip went. Hippo Pools turned out to be somewhat short of hippos, in fact no one there could recall ever seeing one. Crocodiles had been seen however, so we very warily soaked our feet in a vain attempt to cool down as the temperature and humidity level rose during the day.
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