On our way to the Okerfontein water hole we saw more zebras and lots of springbok and wildebeest. Also saw some very colorful birds (I think we decided they were Carmen Bee Eaters). The Okerfontein water hole was a bit of a disappointment, only secretary birds - hard to believe the huge ungainly things can fly.

Next was the major score of the day - Elephants! Just before Batia we spotted a couple elephants. We stopped the car to watch and they continued towards us. Eventually a group of about twelve animals crossed less than 25 yards in front of us! It was incredible. The group included two babies and four or five huge animals with the others in between.

We were heading to Halali to try and talk our way into the camp there since our reservation had been changed to Namutoni. On our way we stopped at the Etosha Pan Lookout. The Etosha Pan is a huge occasional (very rarely) lake. The Lookout is a road that drives four or five kilometers out into it. It's incredible, absolutely flat, dry despite last nights rain, featureless, and it goes for as far as the eye can see in three directions. Needless to say no animal out there.

The people at Halali were a lot more helpful (and friendly) than those at Namutoni so we ended up with a campsite with no fuss (or even paperwork!) We were planing on heading out to see a couple more water holes but we found out that the best place to watch the sunset was right there at the camp so we didn't have enough time to make it through those holes and still be back in time - plus the pool and a cold beer sounded very inviting.

Went down to the Helio water hole, adjacent to our campsite for sunset. Another major score, as we walked up there was a White Rhino walking away from the hole. We had the viewing area pretty much to ourselves and were ecstatic to have gotten to see a rhino. The sunset was beautiful, and as the sky was burning with incredible reds... the rhino returned. Spent about an hour watching the rhino as the sky faded to black. A rhino in it's natural setting was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen - I literally had goosebumps watching.

Since we had to get up before sunrise to look for more animals, and wanted to go back to the Helio hole later we decided to splurge for the buffet dinner at the camp restaurant instead of dealing with the shopping / cooking / cleaning ourselves. Surprisingly the diner was great and I ate way to much. After diner, and preparing some beverages to take with us, we walked back down to the Helio waterhole. This time around it was an entirely different story - maybe three dozen people waiting for something to happen - and worse - no animals, except for the insect attracted by the flood lights. We spent well over an hour before giving up and the only thing we saw was a pair of Bat Eared Foxes.