Starting from Okaukuejo we enter the wild section of Etosha. While the road between Okaukuejo and Namutoni is travelled regularly the road to Dolomite is restricted after about 60km to people who have a reservation, which we do. We notice immediately the drop off in cars and the animals seem also a bit more shy. There are also more trees which allows us to see our first huge weaverbird nest.
In this section we also see the first Pale Chanting-Goshawk, sitting majestically on a tree. We also see a giraffe even though it assumes it is hidden, not the smartest animals really :).
And then we get to the restricted area and for the next 120 km we meet only 1 car. The road also deteriorates in places being quite corrugated while still remaining good on average. Some waterholes are out of action however those that are working have the usual array of animals with more ostriches than we have seen previously and other interesting birds.
There are burned areas, likely controlled, and some fields with tens of termite mounds straight out of the movies.
While most animals are skittish they are not that scared either so we see a few unusual birds and even a hartebeest, who is careful but not running away at least.
The elephants are also larger in this area seemingly. We are careful around them as they supposedly are not so used to cars but they ignore us studiously luckily.
It is quite something to go through secluded reserve seeing animals left and right, quite a different experience than a zoo and really special.
Even though we had over 2 1/2h when we started on the restricted road due to stops and the condition of the road the going is slow and we start to get worried on whether we will be able to make it to the camp before sunset. Zebras sleeping on the street and springbok single filing along the road do not help as well as a huge monitor lizard leisurely passing in front of our car makes us keep our eyes open and the speed down.
In the end we arrive at the camp right as the sun disappears below the horizon – we made it in time and we are quite happy about it even though we are not sure what would have happened if we would have arrived a bit later.
Next question for us is how to get to the camp. The parking is at the base of a hill while the camp is on top. The answer is appearing almost immediately, a golf cart that we fill with our belongings and takes us to the reception while the cart winds further up the path towards the cabins. Dolomite Camp is a state owned accomodation like Waterberg however the quality is quite different. One reason is that it was built only last year to compete against luxury lodges and you can see it when compared to Waterberg. After signing in we go back to the cart which takes us to our cabin. There is quite some walk to it from the cart so this time the baggage handler really deserved the tip.
The cabin is beautiful with great views of the savannah outside. We are really tired and still full so we do not eat dinner at the restaurant today even though it is relatively cheap but we eat outside on our veranda from our provisions while enjoying the view and the appearing stars. After that we plan for the next day and try to identify the southern stars and constellations using our mobile planetarium. Finally we get spooked by some sounds and the mosquitoes and go inside to rest.
