Okuhepa Is Thank You: Himba Village

The Himba are a semi-nomadic people who lived mostly in northern Namibia’s Kaokoland.  They herd cattle and goats, moving from place to place with the seasons.  The houses they build are left behind when they move, and sometimes reused when they return (if there is anything left of them).  The Himba have fairly successfully resisted […]

Outjo and Onward

We stocked up on provisions at Outjo(settled in 1880).  There was a yummy German bakery there, and lunch was sausage rolls and meat pies. Mmmm.  By late afternoon we reached the Cheetah Park.  This conservation project is run by a farming family.  The boys of the family grew up there, and have taken over most […]

Lion by the Pool

Our morning game drive highlight was a close encounter with a lion.  We had seen a few from a distance, including a male clearly annoyed his female companion had strayed so far.  Around the corner, the same male crossed the road just in front of and then just in back of the truck.  We got […]

Halali

Our next camp was Halali, set in an area of dolomite outcrops and with it’s own floodlit waterhole.  It was dustier and more spread out than Namutoni, and our site made for some rather large lumps under the tent.  Etosha’s wildlife was again truly remarkable.  The park is much smaller than it was originally, but Lonley […]

Etosha National Park

Even before we entered Etosha National Park, there were giraffe standing by the side of the road.  We entered through the eastern gate and had a game drive on the way to camp at Namutoni.  We were delighted to see more giraffe, elephants, countless hoofed creatures (springbok, oryx, kudu, impala) and zebra.  The camp area […]

Omukwa Baobab

Continuing on our overland trip through Zambia, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, we were able to stock up on food and supplies in Rundu for the next few days camping.  The power was on and off in town, and Donny and Rowan were on an unsuccessful hunt for a better tool to flap the morning […]

Flying Low

We had a VERY early morning to make up for the flights we missed the previous afternoon.  Sunrise, however, was gorgeous.  Seeing the delta from this new perspective helped everythingfall into place.  We were in a tiny four-seater (including the pilot and me in the co-pilot’s chair). Everything about the flight was spectacular.  Journeys of […]

Leaving the Delta

More hippos overnight, and another sunrise walk.  We didn’t spot many animals this morning, but there were a few hippos heading back to the water after grazing on grasses on land overnight.  We loaded the mokoros with all our things, being careful to make sure EVERYTHING we had taken in to the delta was also […]

Okavango Delta Bush Camp

During the night we were awakened by a hippo grunting and munching very close to our tent.  It definitely discouraged getting up to go to the toilet-hole dug out behind the campsite.  Our very-early-morning game walk demonstrated that even though we had been challenged in spotting animals on our previous walk, there were many, many nearby.  The quantity […]

Mokoro

Mokoro

The delta trip began with an hour-or-so-long jeep ride to the delta.  There was a bit of confusion and waiting around as other groups were returning to shore and polers (those local men and women with excellent balance who pushed the mokoros along with poles deep into the delta) were shuffling people and belongings.  Our […]