After 2 nights at Etosha Safari Lodge we were heading across the park to the far gate and Mokuti Lodge, which is Wilfred’s favourite lodge. We struggled to imagine how it could be nicer than Etosha. 

We called in to each of the waterholes on the way just to see what we could see. Soon after starting out Wilfred heard about a sighting of a cheetah with 3 cubs. We took off to the spot described. Everyone in Namibia speaks English and Africaans and most of the black Namibians speak their native bushmen language. It’s a really interesting blend of normal alphabet sounds and clicks which are hard to make (for us) but sound great. He tried to teach us a place name, which I kind of got the hang of but which remained a mystery for Mike. 

We raced to where about 10 vehicles were parked. “They were just there about 100m in” said one guide from a huge open truck. We looked. We cruised up and down. We looked. “They will want to cross the road to find shade in the taller bush” said Wilfred. We looked. One by one everyone else left. Still we looked. Then along came a self drive family and Wilfred told him what we were looking for. They drove along slowly also and then suddenly out of nowhere appeared this cheetah followed by three cubs. Wilfred told the family to stop so that the cheetahs could cross, which they did, the mother stopping in the middle to look each  way, and we all watched alone on the road. Wilfred videoed them on his cellphone. It was great. I was really glad for the family as it must be hard to see cool stuff without having the guides tell you where to go. 

After that we headed off just checking out waterholes. Nothing spectacular but heaps of antelopes and birds.

Etosha means ‘great white area’ which is the huge white clay pan in the middle. Wilfred says it’s what the world will look like after a nuclear war and we agree.

He’s clearly worried about the effect Trump will have on the world but said the Nigerian president recently joked that Trump proves the American people are human. They can make stupid mistakes like the rest of the world. 

We saw a further 2 black rhinos in the bushes but not nearly as clearly. As you get closer to the other gate you also see heaps of giraffes. It was like giraffe city. 

We got to Mokuti Lodge just before 5pm and boy were we sorry not to have more time there. The place is beautiful with swimming pools and tame antelopes and lovely rooms with functional hair dryers. They also have gourmet food, which we didn’t need but thoroughly enjoyed.