Desert Rhino Camp—Day Two
Every morning starts early with a wakeup call at 5:30 am. It didn’t sound like anyone in camp slept at all. The winds came up during the night. It was so noisy I was impressed that the camp was still there when we came out of our cabins. In this area the wind can blow like that for days. We all laughed when Chris joked that the “winds could drive grown men mad,” but after a few hours we all were feeling a little worn down by the constant blowing and dust flying.
Today our goal was to track the black rhino and see if we could get close to one. Normally the camp has a radio system so that the trackers can run out ahead of us and call when they see something. The radios were down so we had some prearranged meeting places to check in with each other. We saw a lot of wildlife, but most of it was not near the road. The animals here are less used to the trucks and people than other camps we have visited, and they move away from us as we approach.
There were some lion tracks in camp from the night before.We were hoping to see some lions, since they were in the area. The guides took us past a couple local watering holes, since it seemed like the best chance to get a glimpse of them before we started to track the rhino. No luck on the lions, but we did keep seeing their tracks along the road, so we knew that they were in the area.
We saw springbok, oryx, giraffe, plover, but no black rhino. We stopped and looked over the valley from a plateau. Just as we were giving up on this area, Dave spotted a rhino! It took him a while to convince everyone that it was really there. We drove down to an area that was downwind from the rhino. Then we quietly hiked up to a ridge just above where the rhino was feeding (as quietly as 20 people walking uphill over round loose boulders can be). Black rhino are very skittish and will turn and run if you startle them. We didn’t put this to the test, but we heard that they will run for about an hour before they feel it is safe enough to slow down (that is if they don’t charge you first – we didn’t test that out either).
The guides and trackers keep a log of every rhino and rhino sighting. They identify the different rhino by their profile and the holes and rips on their ears. We sat and watched the rhino for a while. He was browsing and eating various bushes and plants as he walked along. Then it was time for a nap, which isn’t too interesting to watch. So we quietly worked our way back off the ridge so the rhino could enjoy his siesta. We saw some springbok and zebra on our way back to camp.
The winds died down when we got back to camp. After lunch everyone got a couple hours to nap or kick back.Then we gathered for a presentation by Rudy and Dave. They gave us an overview of the work that Save the Rhino Trust and The Nature Conservancy are doing in Africa. There are links on the left of this page where you can get more information on these projects.
Later that afternoon we went for a short hike near camp. This time of year (July is winter in Namibia) the grass is tall, but dry. There are some small flowers on some of the bushes. There was a lot of bird activity and a few giraffe near camp. When we got back to camp things were all set up for a fireside sundowner. It was really nice to sit around the fire and share our thoughts and observations of the day’s adventure.
Teresa’s birthday was today, so there was a nice surprise in store for all of us. The staff got together to dance and sing, and then presented Teresa with an incredible cake. We were not surprised to hear that this group has won national singing competitions. Teresa was also given an ID card for the rhino that we saw that day. I’m sure it is a birthday that she will remember fondly forever.