One of the very highlights of our three-week journey through Namibia came at the very end, with the visit to Etosha National Park. Doing Safari in the African bush is always an exhilarating experience, seeing the wildlife up close and in their natural habitat. We’ve travelled to many national parks in Southern Africa over the years, and they all have their own beauty. What makes Etosha special is the abundance of elephants, appearing in big groups, which we never saw before. For some elephant impressions continue after the jump….
Sitting in our car at the Oliphantsfontein waterhole we could observe a group of about 80 elephants, some directly at the water, some distributed in smaller groups in the bush around. It was really a majestic sight, as they took turns drinking, babies playing between the legs of their big mothers, juveniles locking their trunks and trying to find out who is the bravest or strongest.
Etosha elephants are little attractive to ivory poachers, as due to the lack of calcium in their nutrition in this very dry area around the Etosha salt pan their tusks don’t grow to a very large size as with their peers in other parks in South Africa or Kenya.
Being close to Elephants is no problem, as long as you stay in your car. And as long as the car is not in the way of the grey giants. But you need to be watchful, if they approach you flapping their ears and trumpeting, you better quickly get out of their way.
All photos were taken with my Olympus PEN-F with the mZuiko 12-40mm F/2.8 Pro Zoom and the Olympus OM-D E-M1 with the mZuiko 40-150mm F/2.8 Pro Zoom.
Stay tuned for a bit more of Etosha wildlife!
Have a great weekend!
Marcus
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Hi, I have read some of your blog posts and I absolutely love them. You’re so lucky to have been to Etosha, I can’t wait to get there myself. I am currently a safari guide in South Africa and am trying to share my experiences with everyone. It would be greatly appreciated if you have a look at my blog samhankss.wordpress.com and let me know what you think. Many thanks in advance.
Hi Sam, thank you so much for your visit and your kind words, this is so much appreciated! How lucky are you to be a Safari Guide in South Africa? My wife and I lived in Johannesburg in the nineties and absolutely loved it, it started our passion to frequently visit Africa. Sure I will head over for your blog and follow! Marcus
Reblogged this on huggers.ca and commented:
Wonderful photography in this article!
Thanks so much for your kind words and the reblog, highly appreciated! Marcus
Some incredible photos of the enchanting animals. South African safari is such an experience, I long to go back for sights like these!
Thank you for your kind words, I hope you can soon return to the magic of Southern Africa! Marcus
Now that’s photography right there.
Thanks, that’s a nice comment ;-)! Enjoy your weekend! Marcus
Splendid photos, your work is aspiring, Hats off sir. – Abrar Ahmed
Thanks so much for this very kind feedback, this is really appreciated! Marcus
Amazing photos Marcus!! I’m sure that was a sight to behold!. I hope that you have a relaxing weekend back home! 🙂 -Amy
Thank you so much Amy 🙂 ! The weekend so far has been fabulous, family and some shooting plus sunshine. Life is good! Marcus
Thanks for the warning! I would interpret the flapping ears as waving and the trumpeting as let’s be friends (triple heart emojis) hahaha!
This really made me lough out loud, Kristin, thank so much. I hope you have a great weekend! Marcus
Hahaha yay! Hope you had a good weekend as well!
Sure did 🙂
Splendid photos, the elephants look amazing. Have a great weekend Marcus,
Thanks, Marion, much appreciated! Enjoy a splendid weekend yourself! Marcus
Amazing photos. I wish I could have witnessed such scenes.
Wowwww I am so jealous! This is one of my dreams, what an experience that must have been. Such fab photos too!
Thanks, Chloe 🙂 ! You know, dreams are there for chasing and catching them 😉
Great photos!
Thank you very much, Anju! Marcus
I loved the second picture of elephant with Zebra.
Thanks, Arv! So much appreciated!
👍😃