We woke up half an hour before sunrise, did a «cat wash» – you wipe your face with a wet cloth – had breakfast and watched the sun turn the peaks of the surrounding hills red. What a morning! The coffee awakened our spirits and an Ovaltine strengthened me for the upcoming trip.

The first ten kilometers we drove through the dry river bed of the Mudorib, which is flanked on both sides by rock walls. We were amazed at how many bushes and trees grow here. We were even more astonished when we saw the neck of a giraffe behind a tree top! A quarter of an hour later we came across a second one who was studying us attentively.

A short time later we turned east into the Hoanib Valley – a wide and currently dry river bed in which there are mighty trees. The driftwood piles up over a meter high on the trunks! (Woe to him to be surprised by a tidal wave here!) We met the next giraffe; then another. Again, and again, we came across fresh elephant dung. An hour later – we drove through a small track in the bank bushes – we came across those who caused the dung! We met a group of desert elephants!

PS. Elephants are not to be trifled with if they feel harassed. We turned around and circled the elephant family in a respectful arc …