Day 11: Babar, the Elephant King

We got a pretty early start the next day to continue our search for the elusive feline species.  We spent a few hours driving around without spotting any cats, but still seeing species we had seen the day before like giraffe, zebra, oryx, hornbills, and red hartebeests.  We saw SO many elephants!!  Bunches were spotted while we were just driving, some we saw in watering holes, but we also get caught in the middle of a large herd.  Elephants of all sizes were crossing the road in front of us and behind us and the bull stared us down for a while before deciding that we weren't worth charging and crossed several yards in front of our car that he could have easily stepped on.  It was exciting, but also a little nerve-racking.  Neil was ready to make a run for it, but we convinced him to stay put and maintain our ground.

After our last (fruitless) attempts to see a lion, we threw in the towel and headed back towards Windhoek, where we had to drop Thomas off in a few days.  On our way South, we tried to find some interesting looking lakes Lake Otjikoto and Lake Guinas.  They looked like large sinkholes that had been filled in, but we got lost and never found them.  We drove for a while along a dirt road, with an amazing view of the stars, but it was a little scary to be unsure of whereWe couldn't find our way out of the town of Otavi for a while, but eventually, we made it to Tsumeb and found a resort-type place where we could pitch our tents.

This was how close we were.

Wildebeests.

Jackel

My comrades and some of the terrain we were on.  Part of the park is a salt pan, and I believe that this was on the way to the salt pan.

Ever wonder how giraffes drank?  Now you know!!

Dik Dik.  The cutest deer ever!  You could pick this little guy up and carry him with you.  We thought about it for a second, but we figured that we wouldn't be able to get him across the border.