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Etosha:  "Place of Dry Water"

Etosha National Park, one of the most important wildlife sanctuaries in Africa, is an amalgam of colors and sounds.  Etosha means "place of dry water", and the Etosha Pan, a seasonal lake that when dry resembles a carpet of blues and greens and ecrus painted by the times of the day, extends throughout 5,000 sq. km. of images that challenge the imagination.

Camps are quite comfortable, but to me, the best part of these camps is their proximity to waterholes where animals can be observed, day or night, behind the safety of a fence. You can see the water hole at Okaukuejo, my favorite camp in Etosha, if you go to the live cam at  www.africam.com 

There is something eerie and awesome about watching animals surge from complete darkness and into the amber light that floods these waterholes at night.  My eyes eagerly searched in the darkness and saw nothing.  Suddenly, like ghosts�  black rhinos materialized out of that curtain of darkness.  

By looking at this endangered species, I was experiencing something that many might never get to enjoy unless we protect them.   

All those animals, all those beautiful and strong animals� are so very fragile when faced with man�s ambition.  Whenever I wonder why anyone would want to kill any of these amazing creatures for aphrodisiacs or ornaments, only one answer comes to my mind:  "Because there are people who buy them."            

Our day game drives were no less magical: A giraffe preparing herself for the difficult task of drinking water --a process that lasted about 30 minutes until she felt safe enough to spread her legs open so that her long neck could reach the water, a process that makes her vulnerable to predators.  

We saw a leopard furtively hiding in tall grass and still looking magnificent even though only its silhouette was visible to us.  

We saw zebras lolling on a golden blanket of grass that seemed to cover the entire earth.  Mating lions, playing elephants, majestic birds, and sunrises and sunsets that painted the sky with purple and orange and turquoise and red.

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  crocsetal

Created in  December, 1999, and updated in May, 2001