A curious little pup - Frederica tells us all about her days in Etosha while on a Namibia and Botswana Southern Circle [NBa21].

I have just returned from a Southern circle tour. For 21 days we traveled 5593km with our group starting from Livingstone, through the beautiful landscapes of Namibia, finishing in the magnificent Botswana.One if the many highlights of this tour is spending three amazing nights in Etosha National park the "Great white place of dry water" a 22,000 sq km park that has so much to offer for those who can see beauty in such a harsh environment.

On our first morning game drive we decided to make our way up to Halali Camp so that we could cover a good area of the park. During our first drive of the day we managed to spot one black rhino, many species of antelopes, zebras, giraffes, warthogs, two prides of lions and many bird species. It was a successful morning and everyone was so pleased with all the sightings we got.

Once we arrived at Halali we made a lekker lunch and had some time off by the waterhole of the camp and by the pool. After relaxing for an hour it was time to get back on the road and see what Etosha had yet to offer us for our afternoon game drive. So from Halali we went back to Anderson Gate by taking a different route. We drove next to the Etosha Pan hoping to see other species along our way.

After driving for a couple of minutes we came across a clan of hyenas sleeping next to the road. There were three adults with one pup. We stopped the truck just a few meters from the clan, and the adults didn't even bother to open their eyes to see what had just stopped next to them except for their little pup. This fluffy pup opened its eyes and decided to check out this big red truck. So it stood up and started walking towards us.

This pup was so curious that it managed to get only 2meters away from the truck. And then it just stood there for a few minutes, just staring at this huge red "thing". It would look back from time to time to see if the adults were aware of  the situation, but those adults hyenas were so deep in their sleep that probably didn't realize that  their pup had left the clan. 

Later on the pup decided to join the adults and lay down next to one of them.

It was a fantastic sighting! Never before have I had a hyena pup coming this close to our truck. Pups are normally very shy when they come across a vehicle, but this pup was a special one. And the fact that the adults were so relaxed and didn't react at all made the sighting a little bit funny.