A very special Nomad, Faye.

Working for Nomad Adventure Tours you get to meet a lot of interesting people, they come from different countries, cultures and backgrounds but every now and then someone who stands out from the crowd comes along.

Faye Anderson has travelled with us many, many times and with her 10th tour coming up we wanted to share some of her stories and photos taken over the years. Faye holds a very special place in the hearts of all the Nomad employees especially her biggest fans, Siama and Shadwell.

Here’s to many more years of touring and sharing in the Nomad experience with you, Faye.

Read Faye’s amazing story of the swimming lions of Etosha, below…

 

Etosha Water Hole —- the only place to be

Our day started off full of hope that we would see lots of animals. We had just entered Etosha National Park for our morning game drive and the first animal we spot is a Cheetah next to the water. Everyone was very happy as they are not easy to sight, and when this one decided it wanted to head our way and walk directly beside the truck our excitement was pretty hard to contain. If we did not see another animal I would still be happy.

Our next animal sighting some 40 minutes later, was the most memorable part of this trip. As we pulled up at the water hole another truck was already there watching a few lions lying under the shade of a tree in the distance. They waited some 6 to 7 minutes and drove off as it looked like nothing was going to move them from their shady spot. (If only they knew) After some time a female lion walked down to the waters edge for a drink. I was happy just seeing it move. Then one by one they started appearing from under the trees and from over the hill and all heading to the water, in all there were 13 lions including 3 cubs. As one can imagine the only sound was from 18 cameras all clicking at a furious rate, mine included. The Zebra’s, Oryx and the Springbok were trying to pass between the Lions and the water hole so that made for interesting viewing. When one of the male lions decided to take a swim we knew we were witnessing something unique. Then a 2nd and 3rd lion ventured in the water, we knew this was a very special moment. Again this created a frenzy from our cameras to capture that special moment. We spent the next 1 ½ hrs content to just sit and watch.

As we drive to the next water hole we saw 7 different animals all claiming a small area from which to get a drink.  With a Rhino in the water near our camp the excitement still continued.
Later on our evening drive a lion was seen stalking a Springbok with no success and we watched six Jackals surround a Springbok in another water hole, and although it did get away, the excitement of a possible kill was all we needed to end an incredible day in Etosha Park. Sunset on the way back to camp was an added bonus.

I would like to thank our Driver/Guide Shardy and Saima for making sure we always left camp on time to get the most out of these game drives.

Timing can be hit or miss but this day was a hit, perfect, thank you.

Faye Anderson