V levjem krdelu – Etosha nacionalni park, Namibija

Bil je naš prvi dan v nacionalnem parku Etosha. Vozili smo se po prašnih makadamskih poteh, levo, desno, pa spet nazaj in iskali živali na spisku naših želja – tudi leve. Etosha je ogromna, ogromno je tudi živali. A za konkretna srečanja z živalmi moraš imeti tudi in predvsem veliko sreče – sploh če potuješ tik po koncu deževne dobe, ko je vode povsod preveč in živali niso skoncentrirane okoli vodnih kotanj. Ura je bila tam okrog poldneva in počasi smo se lačni vračali proti kampu. Avta nismo srečali že več kot uro in le nekaj kilometrov pred kampom smo zagledali nove turiste – avto, notri pa dva turista, ki sta mahala kot zmešana. Najprej pomislim, da iščeta pomoč. Ko pa se ustavimo, nam razložita, da leži krdelo levov le nekaj metrov od ceste, tik ob edinem drevesu, v grmičkih visokih ne več kot pol metra. Špica. Pohodim gas. Vidimo edino drevo, ki se mu hitro približujemo. Gledamo levo, desno, a levov nikjer. Vozimo nekaj 100 metrov naprej, spet nazaj – levov nikjer. In ko že skoraj razočarani odpeljemo v smeri kampa, se izza majhnih grmičkov najprej dvigne samec, potem pa še vse njegove dame z mladiči. Noro, kako se lahko tako velika žival skrije za tako majhno grmovje. Celotno dogajanje opazujemo še cel popoldan in občutek imamo, kot da gledamo serijo iz “Animal planeta”. Neverjetni občutki. In nauk tega doživetja – od takrat naprej majhni grmički niso več fajn za divji WC. 🙂

It was our first day in the Etosha National Park. We were driving on dusty gravel roads, turning left, right, and back and looking for animals on our wish list – also for lions. Etosha is huge, and there are so many animals.But for good animal encounters you have to be lucky – especially if you travel after the rainy season, when there is water everywhere and animals are not concentrated around water holes.The time was already around noon and we were slowly returning to our campsite. We didn’t see any cars for more than an hour and only a few kilometers from the camp, we saw new tourists – waving like crazy towards us. At first I thought, that they are seeking for help. But when we stopped, they explained, that just couple of hundred meters away, lions are relaxing in the bush. Right next to the road, near the only tree in that area. Great. We drove fast toward the tree, but when we looked left and right, nothing there. We drove 100 meters forward and then back – lions nowhere. And when we almost left the area, the male lion stood up from the small bush and after that his ladies with cubs made the same thing. We were amazed how can such a large animal hide behind such a small bush. We were watching the whole scene till late afternoon and it was like we were watching a series of “Animal Planet”. Just incredible. We also got a lesson from this encounter – from then on the small bushes are no longer a good spot for wild toilets.:)