Away we go . . On Air NAMIBIA . . heading first to the Capital, Windhoek . . .
NAMIBIA gained Independence from . . . South Africa in . . . 1990
Our taxi driver into town says . .
"Eventhough that event happened . . 25 years ago . .
our country is still . . very 'dependent' . . on South Africa . . for almost everything
. . Including sending Tourists here . .
Otherwise, people who come are Germans . .
since they colonized our land many years ago."
Two - thirds of the people live in the FAR NORTH
. . Most of the remainder live in Windhoek . .
Although . . Swakopmund . . ( on the coast ) . . is growing
➤ ( The CHINESE are 'M i n i n g' there . . a political "payoff" Contract Award
. . for supporting the current Party in control of NAMIBIA !!
. . . JOBS lost . . UN - available to Namibians !)
( & Swakopmund has therefore been subtracted from our itinerary, unfortunately )
About 90% of the population is Lutheran.
English is the country's "primary" language.
Our 5 Day trip with . . Wild Dog Safaris
. . is arranged by STA Travel in Cape Town . . including
. . 3 days - 2 nites in the north . . ( seeing Animals ) . . and
. . 3 days - 2 nites ( in the southern Dunes )
plus nites . . 1 and 4 and 7 . . in Windhoek
Okay . . Let's go Camping !!
( . . You're not a 'camper' ? . . Neither are we ! . . Nonetheless, here we go . . )
Verifying the details with Wild Dog office staff . . before the Safari begins . .
( NAMIBIA will grow in population . . by at least ONE . . soon ! )
TUHAFENI on the left . . ( think 'TWO - a - PENNY' )
is Driver and Guide . . for both . . North . . and . . South . . portions . .
He's perfectly suited for the task: Friendly . Prompt . Knowledgable . Patient
. always Good - Natured . Helpful . full of Practical Advice.
He is Married . . has a Son in private school 2nd grade
( demoted when his parents took him out of government school grade 4 ).
Younger daughter . . grade 1 . . started directly into private school.
ERASTUS is our amiable Cook and Assistant
All - around 'set up . . and . . take down' . . everything related to . . eating and sleeping.
Erastus is not married . . has a 4 year old daughter.
We all enjoy the chatter and chuckles these two share . . ( in the front cab ) . . miles on end.
ETOSHA National Park
. . ( "Great White Place of Dry Water" ) . . almost 9,000 square miles !
( One of two ) Tent Set - Ups ( in the North )
Mostly Females on this portion of the Safari
. . ( One side of our truck is all about . . 'Overnite Sleeping Equipment') . .
Then we head out for a game drive close to Sunset before returning to Supper and the Sack
Erastus stays at camp . . Always has dinner ready and waiting when we return.
This Meal includes . . Corn on the Cob
We think WE have a lot of 'TERMITES' in Arizona (super tiny) !
These high mounds are visible all along the road headed north.
The Height is a Clue . . to how long . . Namibia has gone without
enough rain . . to flatten . . the stack
Dozens of these critters ( large and small ) . . show up after sunset . .
near camp Toilets . . so the lingering question is . .
"How many of these will we step on during our middle - of - the - nite hike
to the restroom ?" and . .
"Do Millipedes like to . . crawl into 😱 . . Tents ? . . and . . Sleeping Bags ?"
Unlike our normal routine . .
we are Up and Ready for the day . . before Sunrise
Animals are active early . .
so we Safari first . . and return to camp later for Breakfast
These Bird "HOTELS" intrigue us . . .
Up to 500 + SPARROW work to build
these giant twiggy masterpieces . . .
becoming so heavy the branches have to be supported from the ground.
They are protecting their eggs from 'Snakes' . . .
who will climb up the tree . . over the nest
. . . but in trying to reach the Openings on the 'Bottom' . . .
will lose their balance and fall to the ground !
Never underestimate the . . 'bird brain' !
Zooming in . . . 'underneath' . . . we find these Condo 'Couples' . . .
This Side of our truck relates to Meal Preparation and Clean - Up
Jewish mom Jean ( far left ) from St. Louis, Missouri . . is here to help
mid - year college Frosh daughter Hannah ( far right ) get registered
. . not as an exchange student . . but as a regular student in Namibia's University
program . . . for Scientific Studies relating to Zoological Animals . .
( one of the darling topics of this immediate time in education )
. . 3 years here . . plus 1 year in Cape Town ( to bolster the viability of her studies )
. . will hopefully ensure 'transferability' of credits for a U.S. degree
Unfortunately . . this is the only CHEETAH we see . . . a young dead one.
Many many "HAREMS" of . . ZEBRA . .
Lots of SPRINGBOK . . and later another similar type called . . STEENBOK
Believe it not . . many LION . . And many young ones . . still without 'manes'
Several herds of . . WILDEBEEST . .
(also called GNUS)
So many . . GIRAFFE . . we actually say . . . "Okay, let's move on !"
The Younger the Giraffe the Lighter the color. We see also some dark 'granddaddy's'
Two white RHINO ( wide mouth ) . . at the very end of one day
. . And then 2 more . . . the first thing the next morning . .
This Etosha "SALT PAN" . .
is the 'largest' on the African Continent
. . . formed 100 million years ago ! ( . . When has Climate NOT Changed ?! . . )
It covers 25% of Etosha National Park . . Is Visible From . . Space
And provided the . . Backdrop for the Film: . . "2001 A Space Odyssey"
( 2011 was the last time this Pan had . . enough water to resemble a Lake )
Millions of colorful FLAMINGOS . . enjoy Namibia's SALT PAN
in Etosha Nat'l Park . . as their vast ' breeding ' ground
Rains . . at this time of the year ( Summer - South of the Equator )
. . mean animals are not dependent on 'waterholes' . . . So activity there is not reliable.
We find no Elephant . . and no Buffalo and . . no Leopard (1 dead one).
They can find 'drink' in other less visible places.
We see many BIRD species . . some with long beards . . and more
Warthog . . . Impala . . . Mongoose . . . Hyena . . . Hartebeest . . . Eland . . . Vulture . . . Eagle . . .
Secretary bird . . . Hawk . . . Jackal . . . Dik-Dik . . . Squirrel . . .
Rosie in blue . . back seat . . from Sydney ( & Melbourne ), Australia
. . is doing a couple months of grad work in Cape Town . . Business Admin - Management.
2 girls in the center rows have spent close to 3 years as volunteers in environmental habitat
Sanne . . on the right . . says "I'm a Swedish girl . . with a Norwegian name."
She's not particularly anxious to be going home in a few days.
Nisha . . left side . . is from Queens, Australia . . and IS looking forward to
seeing her family saying . . "It's been a long time !"
Mission accomplished . . We return to Windhoek for one nite . . before the early a.m. pickup
. . to head South . . into the Dunes. Sleep well . . There's more camping ahead.
. . Temps have been nice . . day and night. Afternoons are 'extra warm' !
On this NORTHern Safari . . we have been CLOSER to the Equator
. . with afternoon or evening 'downpours'.
( We eventually discover the SPOTS on our camera lens . . noticeable in pics )
Rusty and Wrinkles wonder if you're coming South with us . . Ever tried Sand Hiking ? . .
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Very adventuresome. How were the tents? The Rino looks very serious. I would not want to mess with that one.
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