Day 15: Spitzkoppe to Dinosaur Tracks

After breakfast and shower we left Spitzkoppe towards mount Etjo lodge; atleast that was our plan, to camp at Mount Etjo lodge which is a private farm with their own collection of game in the farm. The driving was easy as most of the time we were driving in tarred roads. We drove through Usakos, Karibib, Omaruru and then Kalkfeld where we took a diversion towards Mount Etjo. We reached the lodge gate and then proceeded towards the campsite which is about 15 kms away. At the lodge entrance we ringed the bell and waited for around 20 mins. But no one came, may be because it is Christmas day and they are not open. Disappointed, we went back to the road and drove to the next campsite that we saw in the map, which is about 10 km away. In the travel guide it is also shown as the site of the Dinosaur tracks which was imprinted on the rocks about 150-200 million years ago. The small camp and lodge run by a german couple who immigrated to Namibia about 16 years before, was totally empty, except us.

After parking the car, we straight away visited the dinosaur prints nearby. There were 2 tracks, from a three toed, two-legged dinosaur, one from a bigger species and the other from a smaller species, both carnivorous. I wonder how they found/identified the prints in the first place and that too in a vast country like Nambia. Moreover, the prints looked more like the other holes in the rocks in first look. But on closer look the tracks from the 2 legs were visible.

The owner came for a chat afterwards. He said the bigger foot prints belonged to the ones which are about 3-4 m high when standing on both feet’s. But most of the time they walk crouched with 2 feet’s and 2 forelegs like a bear. Then they should be around 1.5-2 m high. It was also nice to chat in german with him after a long time. The night was uneventful. Dinner, wine, music and no night photography as the sky were cloudy