When traveling, people are often curious about the nature of your visit. Are you here on holiday? Business? Visiting family or friends? Hunting? Don’t worry — I did a double take when asked the last one, too. Hunting? Do I look like someone who just flew halfway around the world to kill a rhino? Guess again.
This wasn’t the first time I’ve been pegged as someone who might want to kill our furry friends. On my first trip to Cambodia, at the ripe age of twenty-one, I was approached by a man and asked if I wanted to fire a rocket-launcher at a cow. No joke. It’s a sick and twisted world we live in.
I have never intentionally killed an animal myself, and the only way I would is out of necessity. I’m sad to say that I’ve run over one squirrel, hit one bird (technically, the bird hit me), squished one kitten, and possibly one bunny. All were tear-inducing and rather traumatic for me. I know this may come as a shock to some, but I’m rather sensitive… sometimes.
So, naturally, you can imagine the look on our faces when the owner of our tented camp inquired about our nationality and immediately assumed we were there to hunt. Apparently a fair amount of American’s come to kill the wildlife, instead of admire it. What a surprise.
We arrived at Etosha National Park at sunset, just after the gate had closed. Due to the late hour and lack of places to camp, we stayed at a cozy tented “safari” camp — the kind you see in travel magazines. We got some shut-eye, enjoyed a nice breakfast, and made our way inside the park as soon as it opened
Much of our first day was spent roaming around, scouring the pans and plains for game. The rainy season keeps tourists at bay, but unfortunately it has the same affect on wildlife. With plenty of water available, congregating at watering holes is no longer essential. The landscape is also green and lush, making it easy to hide. Something could be crouching just a few feet away, yet you’d never know it.
That was our experience while sitting at the watering-hole next to our camp, late that night. We finished dinner, grabbed a bottle of wine, and sat on a bench near the floodlight. We waited patiently for something… anything, to appear. From time to time, we thought we heard breathing coming from a dark corner, next to the safety barrier below. Eventually curiosity got the best of us and we decided to check it out. Balancing on some nearby rocks, with the help of Rich’s flash, we spotted a sleeping rhinoceros. The sound we thought to be breathing was actually coming from his other end – ick!
