The privilege of being on foot

Normally my days consist of getting up at sunrise to sit in a car, then sitting in the office throughout the middle of the day followed by sitting in the car until sunset, then for a change of scenery I sit at the dinner table shortly before going to bed. Needless to say it is a lot of sitting and not a lot of exercising which is the opposite of my previous field work where I’ve spent the day walking around my study site to find kangaroos. I might be pretty inactive but the animals are infinitely more awesome- I guess it’s a good trade. Fortunately one of the good things about having a plant element in my PhD is that to get any good data on vegetation you need to get out of the car and take samples. For me this means two days a month out of the car. This is to many tourist’s annoyance when they realise I am not out of my car because I have seen a lion and no, they cannot get out of their car just because I am out of mine. It amazes me how many passers-by seem to think I have seen a lion and decided to get out of the car for a better look, when in fact common sense and one’s determination to live (not to mention UQ’s risk assessment) tell me to get in the car if a lion appears. For those wondering what on earth I do when I see a lion and I am 200m from my car, the situation is that I hold my breath and hope the armed guard accompanying me knows what she’s doing!  Fortunately the one group of lions in my study patch were visible before we got out of the car and all we have encountered has been an elephant. By the way, having a big bull elephant, who happens to be in musth, walk toward you can only do one thing- speed up your sampling!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Night-time excursions

I have also been fortunate enough to head out into the park at night. Etosha is predominantly closed at night, except for one or two safari vehicles that the resort sends out for a couple of hours. My last venture into the night was an amazing experience, and one that I was only able to enjoy because a fellow researcher works on lions and hyenas, so not a lot would get done if she didn’t get permission to work at night. Not only did we go to areas that I have never been and that tourists can never go, but I saw my first through 500th springhare (I didn’t keep count but that’s a legitimate estimate), we watched approximately 15 rhino socialising at a waterhole and were able to see lions much more active than they ever are during the day. Despite coming back at 2am, after what amounted to a 20-hr day in the car, with frozen extremities and a very sore spotlight wielding arm, it was a wonderful night. I definitely have my hand up to volunteer on more night time work, and am particularly looking forward to volunteering when the lion and hyena collaring takes place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The perfect sundowner spot

I am living hundreds of kilometres from the ocean for the first time in my life, so I often find myself thinking about going to the beach. Of course, it seems that I think about the ocean more now than I ever did while I lived on the coast- I guess it has something to do with the grass always being greener on the other side! But happily I have recently discovered a wonderful place to see the sunset over the Etosha Pan. The view, as surprising as it may seem, is particularly reminiscent of a sunset over the ocean! It is the perfect place to take any visitors to the park as it is always void of tourists, and a great place for a sundowner beer or two.