My project at the Etosha Ecological Institute (EEI) has ended two weeks ago. Not in the way I expected it, but this does not matter now. With the project being terminated, I had to rethink the plan for the coming weeks until my visa expires at the end of December. Going home or taking the great opportunity to stay and travel in Namibia for the remaining time?
I must confess that “going back” really came into my mind. I am not homesick, not at all. But of course, I miss family, friends, and neighbours. I have not seen them for months, not in real life, and I especially find it hard to miss parts of their lives. Two friends got babies, my dad got sick, a colleague died … happenings that seem to be so far away, as if they do not belong to my life. “Going back” would mean that these happenings would become reality. A reality that I am not sure I want to go back to. “Going back” would mean to leave this country without even getting to know it properly. I am not ready yet. This year is hopefully not only an exceptional once-in-a-lifetime experience but become a life-changing journey and I am pretty scared that I will fall back into my normal life once I am back in Germany. So “going back” was not an option but instead I made plans to explore the country further! With this in mind, I left Okaukuejo, my “home base” for the last months. I left Okaukuejo, but I was not ready to leave the park. There were (and still are) corners I have not seen, waterholes I have not visited, and roads I have not driven, and I now had enough time to exactly do that.
Okaukuejo to Olifantsrus
The drive to Olifantsrus was long, hot, and tiring but never boring 🙂
When I finally arrived, I met an “old friend”: a couple of weeks ago, we had treated an elephant bull here. He was reported limping and after some investigation we found out that his foot sole had a big hole in it. Not like a blister that had opened, but a massive hole! Axel had darted and treated this old man and I hoped that he was doing better, but he still walked awfully slow, resting his leg after every step and it seemed to be still painful on the hot soil. Poor thing, I really hope he is getting better soon!
Olifantsrus is the newest camp in the park and I pretty much like the small camp that offers a beautiful pavilion with 360° view. Not so much do I like its history: The name translates to “elephants rest” and comes from decades ago where sadly large numbers of elephants had been culled here some years ago. Culling is and has been done to control the elephant population. It does not mean shooting the one or other elephant, it mainly erases whole families! A terrible practise but in “managed” (aka fenced) areas an often-practised tool.
The night was chilly and windy, a nice difference to the unbearable heat of the last weeks. Unexpectedly, the shop did not sell any drinking water, which was a bit unfortunate, and as my supplies were limited, I decided to shorten my stay here and will go straight to Namutoni.
Good night,
Sininho
Sininho´s World 
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