12. March 2021

AN ENCOUNTER WITH «BAMBI»

Dikdik: The smallest antelope in Africa

Mount Etjo is not a mountain with a lot to climb. It lies in a bush savannah lined with trees below a chain of table mountains. Our destination was not the mountain, but the nearby Mount Etjo Safari Lodge. It stands on a 30,000-hectare private game reserve that Jan Oelofse, a Namibian with Scandinavian roots, built up over many years. (He was also the animal trainer in the film «Hatari» starring John Wayne.)

The track on which we were traveling alone led us for a hundred kilometers through a savannah lined with tall grass and acacias. We crossed rivers, where water was recently still running. Two hours later we reached the lodge, which is beautifully situated on a reservoir. We booked a camp for two nights. We have electricity, our own toilet with shower and a beautiful lapa with a fireplace and wood.

PS. On the way to the campsite, three kilometers from the lodge, we met three Dikdiks. The following morning one of them paid us respects. (With a height of 40 cm and a weight of 5 kg, it is the smallest species of antelope in Africa.)

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