Day at Waterberg

We were up early, around six or six-thirty, with breakfast at seven and a call to be at reception by eight for a Rhino Tracking excursion — a guided walk to see rhinos up close, available through the Waterberg Plateau Lodge. Our guide led us to the rangers responsible for monitoring the rhinos’ movements, part of a broader effort to protect them from poachers. Their horns fetch extraordinary prices on the black market, which tragically led to one rhino being killed here in the past. Since 2022, the park has kept the animals under 24-hour surveillance to prevent further losses and let them live undisturbed.

The length of the walk always depends on where the rhinos happen to be that day; ours came to nine kilometres. Along the way we saw giraffes at close range and various antelope, including impalas and elands. When we finally reached the rhinos, they turned out to be remarkably habituated to people — though the guides kept us at a careful distance. We found a family of four: a father, a mother, and two calves. The younger one was visibly curious, edging closest to us and seemingly keen to investigate, while the older calf, around two and a half, held back. Two to three metres was as near as we were allowed to get; any closer risks provoking the mother, who is understandably protective of her young. It was an incredible experience, and a genuinely rare one.

On the way back we were picked up by a truck, spotting kudus along the route, and returned to the lodge for lunch at the picnic tables with our own food. The afternoon was free to rest after the walk, though the lodge also offered the Anderson Trail — a short, easy walk accessible to anyone, with squirrels and rock dassies a common sight. The dassies are particularly abundant here, appearing in the trees, around the pool, and anywhere else they take a liking to. Dinner was at seven, followed by a board game before bed.