The long grass danced in the breeze and coloured the roadside in gold and copper, accentuated in the late afternoon light as I reached my warm-hearted home, the delightful Etosha Safari Camp, ten kilometres south of the park.

This relaxed camp has such a lot of heart, colour and soul, it always lifts the spirit, and tells me in its special Safari Camp way to not to take life so darn seriously and to lighten up and enjoy the incredible journey of life.

I wandered through the restaurant which is painted in bright shades and decorated with fun bric-a-brac, following the theme of a pre-independence cuca shop or shebeen, where people gathered to talk, eat and dance. The supper buffet feast was being laid out, the band members from ‘The Etosha Boys’ were strumming their guitars in the courtyard getting ready for a night of music and guests were sitting in the chairs upcycled from old tyres, one family even sitting in an old bathtub. It made me laugh and appreciate the good humour imbued in this camp.

A quick drive to unpack in my sweet free-standing chalet in the mopane trees (with a fun elephant mosaic in the shower) and I was back to sample the delicious fare and listen to the lively music. This is definitely the way to travel, I decided – with a happy heart! The band played some local tunes, working themselves up to old favourites like ‘The lion sleeps tonight’ and ’Country road take me home’; the guests sat at the surrounding tables enjoying their meals, pausing to applaud and some getting up to dance when the tempo picked up and the meal was done. The drumbeat followed me up the well-lit path to my chalet on the perfect night where I closed my eyes to Scorpio in the sky and listened to a lion roaring in the distance, oblivious of the band’s sleepy suggestion.

Etosha National Park has its own character, with its waterholes dotted throughout the park like beads in an African queen’s necklace, and the way to explore it is to visit each of them to glimpse our four-legged family in all their finery. So, after a day of relaxing at the camp, I made my way through Andersson gate to explore en route to Gondwana’s Etosha King Nehale Lodge, just outside the northern border of the park.

First stop was Okaukuejo’s waterhole, one of the best and frequented by an array of wildlife. This time an elephant bull came to drink, circling the waterhole, unconcerned by all the appreciative onlookers. I carried on excited for the opportunity to be in this wildlife haven. Travelling through Etosha is always a surprise and each visit is different. On some journeys I have come across lion after lion, on others leopard. This time it was zebra, giraffe and elephant. I made a quick turn off the road at the Rietfontein waterhole when I saw a massive bull making his way to the water to slake his tremendous thirst. 

Half way across the park, the Halali waterhole had me spellbound for an hour or two, watching a kudu family, black-faced impala and herds of zebra come and go (living up to their collective noun ‘A dazzle of zebra’), until I had to force myself to leave. Etosha King Nehale was beckoning. But so were the waterholes and their visitors and I was pressed at Chudop whether to watch three elephant bulls, giants of the animal world, or two giraffes practising their neck-fighting skills. 

And as I started to race the setting sun, I was drawn to Tsumoor where a large and boisterous elephant family with lots of little uns were drinking, splashing and playing. Eventually, when they walked off, with the young males flapping their ears at us, I could finally carry on to King Nehale gate and the lodge, set on the wide Andoni Plains. I arrived just in time to toast life with a glass of sparkling champagne as the ruby sun slipped gracefully into the horizon, colouring the sky as it took its last bow.

I had one day to rest up and visit the hide reserved for the lodge’s guests. A tower of a giraffe and a few elephant bulls greeted us on the way, and then we spent a peaceful part of the afternoon at the hide. It was a fitting end to a short but sweet Etosha sojourn.

The Kavango is calling. Hakusembe River Lodge, one of my favourites, on the banks of the Okavango River, and then it’s further east, to the Zambezi.

Watch this spot next week to continue the journey with me into Namibia’s wild and watery north-eastern corner.