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Waterberg Plateau Park was the group's last stop on the Namibia itinerary before returning to Windhoek. Waterberg is a sandstone mountain that rises over 600 feet from the surrounding plains and is Namibia's only mountain game park. The area is under the protection of nature conservancy and there are many endangered species like the Black and White Rhino, Sable Antelope and Blue Wildebeest, all introduced here. (Saw none of these.)
The Plateau is also arid on top but there is a lot of surface water and permanent springs at the foot of the mountain. Waterberg Plateau is around 35 miles long and glowed a brilliant red late in the day. The Herero people originally settled in this area and during 1904, 40,000 Herero men, women and children were surrounded by German colonial soldiers and almost annihilated. Only a few Herero escaped through the Kalahari desert to Botswana.
Waterberg Plateau
Continue reading "Waterberg Plateau Park and Namibia Thoughts" »
Etosha National Park covers over 12,500 square miles and is an immense, saline desert. Some describe it as the best game reserve on the African continent and is a definite highlight of any trip to Namibia. The terrain ranges from dense bush to large open plains. In the center is a vast saltpan, Etosha Pan, formed some 12 million years ago from an island lake. It is now a dried-up depression in the ground surrounded by grass and thorn savannah.
Almost every animal is represented in this huge nature reserve. Lions, rhinos, giraffes, zebras, wildebeest and springbok (the most numerous species in Etosha - at least 20,000). There are three restcamps, Okaukaejo, Halali and Namutoni. The group would spend one night at Okaukuejo, near the main entrance (Andersson Gate) to the park before heading to Namutoni for two nights.
welcome to Etosha National Park
Continue reading "Okaukuejo and Namutoni in Etosha National Park, Namibia" »
Leaving the adorable but stinky seals behind, the truck headed inland passing Brandberg Mountain, at 2,573m/8,441' the highest point in Namibia, and entered the southern part of Damaraland. The name "Brandberg" is Afrikaans and German for Fire Mountain, which comes from its glowing color sometimes seen in the setting sun.
To the San (Bushmen) tribes, Brandberg is regarded as a spiritual site. The main tourist attraction here is The White Lady rock painting. To reach The White Lady , it was necessary to hike for about 40 minutes over rough terrain carefully watching your step. The ravine also contained more than 45,000 rock paintings and 1,000 rock shelters. The Bushmen are the oldest ethnic group in Namibia and were forced by the South African "homeland" policy to settle in a desert-like area between Kaudom Park and Omaheke. An interesting Bushmen fact: They coat the tips of their arrows with a highly toxic poison obtained from the larvae of a beetle. This poison is fatal to humans (even tiny amounts) and the recipe to make it is known only to the Bushmen. Unfortunately, this area was not on our itinerary. Perhaps, next time.
Bushmen painting
Continue reading "Brandberg Mountain and Twyfelfontein, Namibia" »
There was a possibility of an optional early morning balloon ride over the Namibian desert but we didn't take advantage of it. Instead, the group headed out across the desert towards Swakopmund. Past the dune fields, into mountains, across the desolate gravel plains before reaching more coastal sand dunes at Walvis Bay. Walvis Bay is a large spit that forms a natural deep-sea harbor. This harbor attracted the first navigators in the late 1400's. Many flamingos and pelicans. Walvis Bay also considers itself "Namibia's Adventure City" with sandboarding on nearby dunes, skydiving, quad bike tours and scenic air excursions. The area also had a seal and dolphin boat cruise done with ski boats in the protected lagoon area. An unusual excursion.
We stopped for a picnic lunch on the beach. The group had this routine down pat...unload the camp chairs, set them up, prepare lunch, collapse the camp chairs, restow in the vehicle, and we were done. After lunch, an easy walk to see the flamingos and other bird life in the Walvis Bay lagoon before continuing on into Swakopmund. Another trick learned early in the trip was how to get in and out of our Safari truck, quite high off the ground, without mutilating and bruising your legs. You had to climb up and down...carefully...watching that knees didn't bash into the metal.
camp chairs on the beach
Continue reading "Swakopmund and Cape Cross Seal Colony, Namibia" »
The very congenial group was off in our large but comfortable safari truck into the Namib Desert on small desert roads that connect all of rural Namibia. Windhoek is in a mountain valley and we had to climb out over the Eros Mountains and then the Khomas Hochland Range. The oldest desert on earth, the Namib stretches along the entire coastline for hundreds of miles and consists of gravel plains and sand dunes. It also has some of the strangest flora and fauna on the African continent. For example, the rare brown hyena and one of a kind, Welwitschia plant that can live to be 400-1,000 years old!
Part of the Namib also includes the Northern Skeleton Coast. The "Skeleton Coast" was named for the many shipwrecks along this section of the Atlantic coast. If any sailor was lucky enough to survive the shipwreck, they would then die in the Namib Desert. Ship pieces still litter the sands but we weren't going to visit this far north. (The Skeleton Coast is usually included in a fly-in itinerary because of the distances.)
Wild Dog's comfortable safari truck
Continue reading "Thre Three "S's" - Solitaire, Sesriem Canyon and Sossusvlei, Namibia" »
Whenever I tell anyone we're flying to Asia or Africa, the first comment is always..."How can you stand flying so far? I would never do it."... It is a very long and brutal trip but I've developed "travel amnesia" over the years. Everyone sits crammed into those small seats hour-after-hour, completely miserable, but once I've actually arrived, fallen into bed and awakened the next morning in a new exotic locale, all the misery is forgotten. It took over eight air hours just from Chicago to Frankfurt, and then more than 10 additional air hours to Johannesburg. Splurged and took a dayroom at the Novotel Frankfurt Airport to collapse into a prone position until the very late evening flight to Johannesburg. In Johannesburg, a fast transfer over to South African Airways, finally arriving in Windhoek around 1:00 pm (who knows how many actual hours later)....missing....ex-Marine's suitcase! Mine finally materialized on the baggage carousel but not his. At least we had another full day before the tour started. Filled out "missing baggage" papers and was assured it would be here in a day or so. Thanks, SAA.
An inexpensive taxi to the Safari Court Hotel, a short distance from Eros Airport. The Safari Court Hotel runs free bus transportation to and from Windhoek several times a day and that's where we were headed after a fast unpack to sort out this mess with SAA. We always try to arrive a day early just in case something goes wrong with the flights. I'd hate to miss part of a tour because of weather-related or mechanical delays/cancellations. The group tour leader from Wild Dog Safaris wouldn't be in the lobby until tomorrow night for the initial briefing.
old Windhoek map
Continue reading "Windhoek, Namibia's Capital" »
Air? We flew United, Chicago to Frankurt, and then turned in United Airlines miles to get free Lufthansa Business Class tickets from Frankfurt-Johannesburg-Capetown, South Africa. The flight from Capetown-Windhoek, Namibia was also included on South African Airways but we would have to buy a one-way ticket from Windhoek-Capetown for the return. For some ridiculous reason, this segment wasn't applicable. Go figure.... TIP: Try to use miles accumulated on airlines - especially if you can wangle First or Business Class (the only way we can afford to fly in those sections)....
Visas? No visa required for U.S. or U.K. citizens.
Travel Insurance? Some don't buy travel insurance, we always do...just in case. These trips are too expensive to risk losing everything if any problems arise. Contact Travel Guard for insurance needs.
Namibia map
Continue reading "Planning Our Namib Lodge Safari Over The Christmas Holidays" »
Namibia wasn't exactly up there on the general public's travel radar before Angelina Jolie decided this country was the perfect place to give birth and those cute little Meerkats appeared on television but it was on mine. I had noticed the many Namibia trips offered by Explore U.K., through Adventure Center (one of my favorite lower-priced tour operators), and the unusual itinerary interested me. Seal Colonies, the world's high sand dunes, and Etosha National Park (the third largest in Africa) for game viewing, plus there was no camping. All accommodation would be in well-appointed lodges, hotels and rest-camp bungalows. That always makes ex-Marine (husband, Steve) very happy.
Other tour operators who also run trips to Namibia are: Mountain Travel Sobek; Wilderness Travel; Geographic Expeditions; and Exodus.
Namibia's location in Africa
Continue reading "Visiting Namibia Before Angelina Jolie and Meerkat Manor" »
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