Friday 2023/01/06

Palmwag Concession Campsite C6 (Blackridge) – Palmwag Concession Elephant Song

Fog. We really are on Mars.

The night was cold and short. Soon the sun rises. A blessing.

Shortly after we started we see the first giraffes – such graceful animals and so out of time.

Today our way leads us mainly through the Hoanib river bed – driving in the sand. We meet travelers from the opposite direction (Belgians) who report that they have overtaken elephants and shortly thereafter a group of them comes straight towards us – quickly parking the car out of the way. Magical. The animals purposefully pass us at a short distance.

At noon we take a biscuit and coffee break under a shady tree. Driving in the sand requires Wolle's concentration and otherwise there isn't too much to see except of a group of beautiful Oryxes.

The river bed sometimes narrows and then opens up again. The vegetation is changing a bit – but we could use some variety. And we get it.

We pause at a (artificial) water hole and consider about how we want to spend the next few days, when a single elephant appears and shortly afterwards three more. Drink, spray with water, sprinkle with sand – the full program. Great to watch.

We decide to spend the evening at Elephant Song, a small, comparatively expensive campsite (NT$580, but we didn't have to pay for a second night in the concession, seems to be included in the campsite fee), but nicely located and with water and electricity (which proves to be of limited use due to the lack of suitable sockets and the advertised WiFi is also a joke). And: The wind is annoying in the long run. Whether the weather situation has to do with the full moon or with the proximity to the Atlantic? Unfortunately we caught the second puncture and it has to be patched again. Doesn't run perfectly straight, you could say.