Safari Hotel Namibia

... br><br>We did go out one noon time on a bird watching walk, which seemed a little crazy in the full glare of the mid-day sun but it was the best time to spot the Cinderella Waxbill which only lives in a very localized area of the Namibian and Angolan banks of the Kunene river. Fortunately we did get to see the Cinderella Waxbill, so our effort was not in vain. We also got a chance to visit a Himba family which we were in two minds about ...

... due to all the driving we&#8217;ve incurred. But we&#8217;re not done yet. A quick shower and then we hike back down to the campground where our crew is preparing a braai (BBQ) for us tonight consisting of chicken, sausages, boiled potatoes and cabbage, all done over an open fire. The hikes make us very hungry and the food tastes excellent (as it always does when you&#8217;re hungry).<br><br>After dinner, the Irishman Colm (pronounced &#8220;column ...

It's a full day drive to our destination today. The landscape is unbelievably barren and desolate but it still has a stark beauty that grows on you. There are endless flat granite plains glistening with garnets, jagged mountain peaks and sculptured ones, an ever vanishing horizon, all laced with desert adapting plants, many of which are poisonous to humans, animals, and insects. The theatre of this almost surreal landscape is taking place under a typical ...

... So we all know how these crazy ideas turn out; I ran just fine until I got to solid ground and had too much momentum to keep myself upright and fell over (although I still maintain that Dan should have caught me, he was right there!).  Don&#8217;t worry though, I was not seriously hurt (except maybe my pride) and if you want to see the video Chris caught the whole thing on tape!  There is a fee of $5 though (to cover my emotional distress ...

... br>Back on the bus we read some and then played more cards as we drove on and on turning inland. Presently along the side of the "highway" we suddenly noticed a mountain sprouting out of nowhere in the distance and a path leading from it in the distance to a small sun shack along the side of the road. As we approached our truck slowed and we saw locals running towards the shack. They were selling rocks of all kinds set up on small tables ...

... been hiking to try and find branches to create some traction. There is no way the truck can be towed because it was larger than a semi. Our driver and tour leader decided that we would not make it through it either. So we drove back the four hours that we had already driven and took an alternate route. We were worried that we wouldn't make it before sunset but we did. Yay! Spizkoppe is a ...

... laughed at Bennies laugh. It was a magic week and I'm off for our final dinner now. This is the 7 day North tour I did. http://www.wilddog-safaris.com/safari_t ours/northern_adventure/ I'll be in Swakopmund for the weekend, some kayakking and dune surfing aree on the cards and then I'm gonna head South. Hope you're enjoying the snow! xx The bars here are great. It's so bizarre drinking a caipirinha in a bar called Cubana in Namibia. Another surreal moment ...

... all the time - they do it to keep cool and check out their terrain, At sunset, everyone sits on the rocks and they even serve drinks and snacks. There was an Austrian man, Klaus and his wife who were very nice. Klaus is a photographer and he was waiting for the right light to take a photo of a certain tree - he had been waiting five days and sadly it did not happen again last night! But he let me look through his ...

... from the big male tusker - he was in musth and I could see water oozing out below his eyes and on his back legs. Luckily, he was not very aggressive. It was amazing to see so many elephants up close - especially desert elephants. Desert elephants are different from African elephants because they can go without water for much longer, even as long as 4 or 5 days if they have to do it to survive. We stayed a long time before we headed back to the camp. I am glad we came here!

Signed up for ballooning and flight over sand dunes of Sossusvlei. Gave up seat on flight because of confusion over reservations. Wandered around Swakopmund, ate at Lighthouse pub instead. Cards at night, early to bed. I'll write more later about Lowe the balloon pilot, what we saw, our champagne breakfast...