Nights at the Waterhole

On the last few days of our trip we stayed at a third camp overlooking the Okaukuejo waterhole. At night the waterhole was floodlit and I was able to watch the wildlife action after dark. This herd of elephants were breeding and the large bull in the middle appeared to be the most popular with the ladies. I watched as he went round and greeted each cow elephant in turn. On this night the elephant kept scenting the evening air. There were lions roaring in the background and the next day we saw why: just outside camp were more than 20 jackals on an elephant carcass.

A herd of zebra arrived to drink at about 10pm. They looked stunning against the dark night.

This black rhino decided to go for a dip and spent nearly an hour wallowing in the pool. A black rhino in the black night. The waterhole was fed from a bore hole and in this picture the rhino is standing over the outflow, where the freshest drinking water was. This elephant knew where the spot was too and easily won out in the standoff that followed.