NAMIBIA: FROM ETOSHA NATIONAL PARK'S HALALI LODGE BACK TO THE WINDHOEK AIRPORT

As I mentioned in my last post, after a long day of driving more or less east across the length of Etosha National Park, we finally arrived at Halali Lodge. As at our previous lodge, we had a private cabin that was spacious and nicely appointed.

We even had a little patio in the back:

There was an African grey hornbill strutting around by the check-in area, a welcome committee of one:

NAMIBIA: ETOSHA NATIONAL PARK, DAY 2, OKAUKEUJO CAMP TO HALILI CAMP

After a good night's sleep in our Etosha National Park cabin, we got in a line of cars at the gate that were waiting to leave the lodge area and start driving around the national park. Visitors are not allowed outside the lodge fences at night unless they are in a national park vehicle. Our plan was to leave as early as possible, drive around for an hour or two, and then come back for breakfast and to check out before resuming our safari drive.

The gate opened at 7:15 AM, just in time for us to watch a beautiful African sunrise:

Dawn is a great time to see wildlife. Our first sighting was a pair of greater kestrels:

NAMIBIA: ETOSHA NATIONAL PARK, DAY 1, OKAUKUEJO CAMP

We paid our fee of 80 NAD/person/day (about $5.50 each/day), and drove into the park. Within a minute we found ourselves staring at a HUGE parade of elephants, 30 or more, grazing in the trees alongside the road, even crossing the road in front of us and the other 3-4 vehicles stopped there. It was the closest we had ever been to such a large herd. The herd included several babies--big babies, not newborns.

We were so close that it was difficult to get a photo with more than two or three elephants in it, making it hard to communicate the experience of being surrounded by these massive, ponderous beasts.

The bus in front of us gives perspective on how close we were to the herd:

FLYING TO NAMIBIA AND DRIVING TO ETOSHA NATIONAL PARK

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would travel to Namibia. Of course, there wasn't even a Namibia until 1990. From 1915 to 1990, this area was known as South West Africa and was under South Africa's jurisdiction, and before that it was a German colony.

Today there are about 2.6 million people living in Namibia, giving it the second lowest population density of any sovereign country in the world (behind Mongolia). The GDP/person in Namibia is about 1/5 of what it is in the United States. The key contributor to the economy is the mining industry. Namibia is one of the chief exporters of uranium in the world and is also known for its deposits of gem diamonds. Ecotourism is a growing segment of the economy.

The country's name comes from its largest desert: the Namib Desert. Namib means "vast place." The Namib Desert is about the size of South Carolina, and the country of Namibia is about 1/12 the size of the U.S. or twice the size of California.

The capital and largest city in Namibia, Windhoek (population 325,000), lies pretty close to the Tropic of Capricorn:

We flew from Cape Town to Namibia's largest international airport, the Hosea Kutako Airport, located about 30 miles outside Windhoek:

The geography below us as we approached the airport illustrates the fact that Namibia is the driest country in sub-Saharan Africa. It looked desolate and unoccupied: