Getting you close to wildlife
In a lifetime of travel I’ve been lucky enough to enjoy all sorts of adventures.
Favourite moments include parading in the Rio Mardi Gras, seeing the Northern Lights in Iceland, snorkelling in the Maldives and tracking brown bears in Romania.
And now, thanks to a visit to Safarihoek Lodge in Namibia, I can add another thing to my list of all-time favourite travel experiences.
Located near Etosha National Park, the lodge, if I’m being honest, was probably the least exciting of all the places we stayed in Namibia. It was perfectly pleasant and comfortable, and there were great views from the main lodge, swimming pool and all of the rooms, but it just wasn’t in quite the same league as the other places we called home during three incredible weeks in Namibia.
But it was the lodge’s photography hide that took things to the next level and provided one of the most memorable moments of the entire trip.
Located right next to a large waterhole, the hide lets you see – and of course photograph – wildlife visitors up-close. Like, super-close.
Game viewing in this part of Namibia is apparently consistently good, and we’d been advised that sightings of elephant, giraffe, zebra, oryx, wildebeest, springbok and eland, among others, were all possible.
We were not disappointed. I’d never been in a hide before, and had a few – thankfully wrong – ideas about what to expect. I genuinely thought a hide was a tiny little space, with enough room for maybe two or three people and their cameras.
Certainly nothing civilised like a bathroom or anything. I imagined it to be hot, muddy and somehow slimy; a place where you bunkered down and waited – possibly for hours – for a wildlife sighting. Too many David Attenborough documentaries, methinks.
Driving there in a 4×4, I realised that Safarihoek Lodge’s hide was going to put the hide of my imagination to shame. For starters, there were six of us in the vehicle, and we were on our way to a sit-down lunch… in the actual hide.
Instead of the muddy hobbit hole I’d expected, I entered a vast, airy, split-level hide. On the top floor, the viewing area was open to the elements on three sides, to ensure prime viewing opportunities. A thatched roof soared high above; beneath, a dining table was covered in white linen and set for six, while another table was laden with bottles of wine and endless silver dishes containing our delicious lunch.
We sat along one side of the dining table, Last Supper-style, looking out to the large waterhole. A dozen impala, a handful of zebra and even a few oryx came to drink from the hole while we ate, but they were just the overture. The main act had yet to arrive.
The Safarihoek staff packed up and drove back to the Lodge, taking some of our fellow guests with them and promising to come back later to collect us. All of a sudden everything was quiet in the hide and there were literally just three of us left.
An elephant trotted in from stage left, quickly followed by another. And then another. Pretty soon there was a line of more than 30 elephants making their way to the watering hole; huge, lumbering bull elephants, beautiful mama elephants, adolescents and tiny babies.
They were intent on two things: having a jolly good drink, and having a jolly good time. We watched, in raptures, as they siphoned water up their trunks to drink (and drink, and drink), or to spray over their bodies. Some drank from the edge of the waterhole, ankle-deep in the water, while others waded in and fully committed to getting seriously wet – and scratching themselves on a twisted tree trunk that rose from a tiny island in the middle of the waterhole.
The noise was incredible, and for a good half an hour or so all we could hear was the sound of splashes (the elephants) and sighs (us, in amazed delight).
But there was still one little fella who – like every child at a swimming pool – just wasn’t ready to get out of the water. And so began the most joyous playtime I’ve ever witnessed. He revelled in his solo swim session, throwing himself down dramatically and repeatedly, rolling, twisting, spraying, and just generally having the best time ever. It was hilarious, delightful and unforgettable.
The design of the hide makes for the most brilliant viewing, wherever you happen to be. Some of the action takes place on the far bank of the waterhole, while some happens RIGHT in front of you. The hide wraps around on the left-hand side, from where the views are particularly amazing, especially if you watch from the ground floor, where you’re so close you could literally reach out and touch the magnificent elephants.
For photographers the hide is obviously paradise. But even if you don’t want to take a single photo, the opportunity to get this close to Namibia’s giants is a don’t-miss experience.
The visit to the hide at Safarihoek Lodge is something I’ll never forget. Especially as I’ve got my amazing photos to remind me.
If you want to start planning a safari, work with the team at Encompass Africa and don’t forget to ask for a photographic hide experience like this one! Just fill in the form below, click enquire and the team will be in touch with you to get started. It’s that easy.
Safe safari travels!
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