Africa

Trawal to Cape Town

The scenery was beautiful as we came out of the mountains.  Rolling green hills, pastures and fields seemed to go on forever.  There were yellow wildflowers, grazing sheep and cows,…

Highlander’s Birdfield Wine

More crazy weather at Highlander’s Camp.  The rain is coming down in buckets, and the wind is howling.  We stay inside all day reading and playing games: table tennis, Scrabble,…

Cederberg

We spent two nights in the Cederberg Mountain area at Highlanders Camp.  On the drive there we stopped in the town of Springbok.  The town was bustling on a Saturday…

Orange River

We crossed the border back into South Africa at Vioolsdrift.  Our camp is near the border, and you can pretty much swim the Orange River between Namibia and South Africa…

Fish River Canyon

Fish River Canyon is the destination of a long drive day (640km).  The canyon is the 2nd largest in the world (the Grand Canyon is first).  It measures 160 km…

Dune 45

Sossusvlei: A Walk in Namibia with a Japanese Guide

We drove through Namib Naukluft Park on the way to our desert walk from Sesriem (gateway to Sossusvlei).This southern region of Namibia is dry, nestled between two deserts: the Kalahari…

Sandboard Namibia

Clearly Swakopmund is a tourist town. Hotel managers, activities instructors and shop-keepers all wait for the next crop of tourists to roll in be it on overland trucks or in…

Swakkie Parasail

Swakopmund is truly an adrenaline capital, and our trip optional activities included sand boarding, quad biking, fishing, sky-diving, sea kayak, etc.  We chose para-sailing for our first activity.  It was…

Cape Cross Seals and on to Swapokmund

The Cape Cross Seal Colony is a breeding reserve for the Cape fur seals who lay and play along the shore.  Seals are truly smelly, but it was fun to…

Spitzkoppe Bushman Paradise

We spent the night bush camping near Spitzkoppe, a huge collection of boulders and rock formed by the collpse of a huge volcano and subsequent erosion.  Spitzkoppe is now called the Matterhorn of…