Today as part of our journey to our campsite we did a game drive in the truck through Etosha National Park. Soon after arriving in the park we saw some Lions resting in the shade and then a White Rhino grazing on the grass literally next to the road. We also a number of Impala and other antelope like animals. As the day got hotter (ie, 11am) the game seemed to vanish and sit under trees. Not being allowed to drive off the roads and being in the truck which is not the quietest vehicle we all got out our books and fans as the thermostat rose to near unbearable temperatures. We headed for our campsite and a well deserved swim in the pool.

At 5pm we piled back into the truck and headed out again for a evening game drive. We were rewarded with seeing our first giraffes drinking at a waterhole. God really did not do any models of these poor creatures as drinking just looked plain uncomfortable as they spread their front legs as wide as possible to stretch their necks down to the water.

We also got to see a black Rhino grazing right beside the road. This was a rare treat as these creatures are known to hide in the grass and hunch down as they munch. This one was so bold that it even decided that we were a bit close and would charge at the truck. Lucky Nick was on the case and a quick rev of the engine put him off, but to not further anger him we decided to move on soon after that as I am sure it would be his horn which would come off worse for wear after hitting our very sturdy truck. Rather exciting to watch, but also hard to photograph as even though you know you are at least 3m above him in the truck my natural reaction was to jump and so photos were of the sky and not him. Need to get nerves of steel!

Great excitement before dinner tonight as a Honey Badger entered our campsite. Why you wonder the excitement? Well all we have heard from Zac in the past 13 weeks is information about the Honey Badger and what a bad ass animal it is. It was hilarious to watch him literally wet himself with excitement at the Honey Badger coming into camp. Not even the fact that this one was clearly a little lazy and not that bad as it was going from bin to bin scavenging for food. A group of about 6 of us ended up following it around the campsite with 2 of those having come from the showers in just their towels to ensure that they did not miss what we thought may be our only sighting of this nocturnal and to now illusive creature. At one point when it turned and hissed we all ran and screamed like girls - in hindsight, running for an animal that is known to prey on other animals was probably not the wisest, but I at least also climbed the stairs of the truck so did feel a little safer.

The other bonus of this campsite was a flood lit watering hole. We headed down, about a 5 minute walk, at about 10pm and waited to see what was going to happen. Why is that when you need to be still and quiet you suddenly get rather itchy skin and need to cough much more than normal. 15 minutes in, I was bored. I decided 5 more minutes and I am out - what animals are really going to come and drink with people watching and a flood light going on and off every 10 minutes but always with a low level of light on the hole. Thank goodness I was not too hasty in my retreat. I saw 3 Lions come for a very long drink, 3 Rhino's, 2 Honey Badgers, a hyena and Jackal. What was most unusual was that an animal arrived every 5 minutes or so after another one left and when more than one came they always came with their other like animals. Funniest was the Jackal as I say he came to drink, but he chose just the same moment as the Lions so he didn't actually drink he just played a game of 'if I don't move, you can't see me' and stood absolutely frozen to the spot when the first Lion appeared. After the additional 2 came he finally decided that it was not worth the risk and made a run for it. To be fair he was pretty scrawny so the Lions didn't even bother looking in his direction from what I could see. The Rhinos were also rather funny in their domination of the watering hole and one in particular was in control of who could drink and when. We were so close we could even hear their horns clashing as domination was established and fought for. In the end the show was so great that I didn't actually leave the watering hole until 12.30am.