Namibia 2025

May 8, 2025

Cheetah Conservation Fund Research and Education Centre

During the drive back to Windhoek we stopped at the Cheetah Conservation Fund. They have made a home for a number of Cheetah who can not live in the wild. A couple of the cheetah had been pets, one of them for six years. If cheetah cubs are abandoned before they are six months of age, they will not learn to hunt so cannot be released into the wild. If the cubs are found after they are six months of age, they have learned how to hunt. These cheetah can be released back into the wild.

The centre also has an education program where they work with farmers and help to teach the farmers how to identify which animal is killing their goats or sheet. In conduction with this program, the CCF breeds large dogs that are raised with goats and sheep. The dogs will instinctually protect the goats are sheep from predators.

Like any animal that is fed, the cheetah can tell when the food truck is coming.

When the food truck enters into the compound it drives to one end then turns and drives to the other end getting the cheetah to chase them giving the cheetahs some exercise. Both of the cheetahs in this compound are old and run at about half the speed of cheetah in the wild.

Waiting for the food to be thrown.

She got her peace and ran to a spot under the tree where she normally eats.

The tawny eagle hangs around the cheetahs and helps to clean the bones when the cheetah are done eating.

The tawny eagle in flight.

One of the breeding dogs for the dog program. She must have had a rough night because she didn't even wake up to say hi.

May 7, 2025

Etosha National Park

Once again we were up in the dark. The object is to get to the park near sunrise so we can catch the animals that are more active in the early morning.

Etosha National Park in Namibia is a wildlife reserve like Kruger National Park and Karongwe Private Game Reserve in South Africa. The parks in South Africa was predominantly scrub trees with some grasslands. Estosha has a lot more flat grassland. This means two things, you can see the wildlife when it is further away and you can see large herds of the different grazing animals. We saw a lot of different animals and birds today resulting in over a thousand photos. Somehow I narrowed it down to 25.

The Kori Bustard is the largest flying bird native to Africa.

Northern Black Korhaan was usually heard before it was seen. It is a member of the Bustard family.

Greater Kestrel is one of the largest kestrels.

Crowned Lapwing.

Cape ground squirrels are found in most of the drier parts of southern Africa from South Africa through Botswana and into Namibia.

Female black faced Impala and the

the male black faced impala are larger than standard Impala and are only found in Namibia.

Sandgrouse are ground dwelling birds restricted to treeless open country such as savannahs.

We saw several black rhinoceros in the park today. The first one was running really fast after it's baby. We watch this rhino for awhile and he finally came really close to us then crossed the road in front of us.

Goshawk. There are several types of goshawks and I think this one is the dark chanting goshawk.

We saw a number of monitor lizard in the park. This was the biggest.

The oryx or gemsbok is endemic to the dry and barren regions of Botswana and Namibia.

This cheetah had just taken down a springbok. He need to rest up for a few minutes before he finished dragging it under the tree so he could have dinner.

All rested and working and dragging his kill back to the shade under the tree,.

We were sitting by the water hole during our lunch break and watch a dazzle of zebra stop by for stop by for a drink of water.

Again, we saw a fair number of wildebeest in the park. A lot of times they were hanging out with zebras and springbok.

There were a lot of white-backed vulture hanging around near a lion kill. Ed caught this one soaring through the air.

The great spotted cuckoo inhabit dry, open savannah woodlands in Acacia thickets with grassland.

We saw several ostriches roaming through the park.

Several giraffe were hanging around this taller trees. In another park of the park, the trees only came up the the giraffes shoulders. This meant lower their neck till it was about parallel to the ground so they could eat.

The roads were fun at times.

There was a large herd of springbok that were spread across two fields and a road. Just downwind of the springbok were two lions. The lions were far away, hunkering down in the grass. Occasionally, they would stand so we could see a bit of there heads and ears. We kept waiting for the springbok to get closer but one of the springboks must have noticed the lions and sounded a retreat.

The marabou stork is a large wading bird in the stork family. It breeds in both wet and arid habitats.

The birds are silhouetted but I like the action. They are sitting on a social weaver nest. I believe these are martial eagles.

May 6, 2025

Drive to Etosha National Park

For once we were not up before the sun ... breakfast at 7:00 am and on the bus by 8:00 am. This scenery was different as we headed west then north.

I really liked the roof on this building at one of the rest stops.

The drive took us through a few towns

and past some grazing land.

The lodge we are staying at is a few kilometers from one of the entrances into Etosha National Park and has some wildlife of their own.

Some adult Guinea Fowl with their young decided to stroll across the road.

A herd of kudo were hanging out just past the lodge's parking lot. We figured out why the kudo were hanging around when some people came out carrying a large pail of kitchen scraps and threw the scraps on the ground.

We and I decided to go for a short walk and found two zebra eating off the side of the road. I like the symmetry of the two zebra.

The zebra had been chowing down near the cabins our group were staying in. As the sun was setting, I guess the zebra decided to head to their night time spot.

The beginning of sunset.

May 5, 2025

Free Day in Swakopmund

Today is a free day to do whatever we would like. Ed and I planned on doing some sea kayaking with seals. Unfortunately, life had other plans for us. My cold has morphed into a secondary lung infection (at least that's what one of our fellow travellers (she was a nurse) thought) and Ed's cough has gotten much better. We decided to take it easy and take some meds. This afternoon we left the room for some fresh air and a walk.

Swakopmund is a cute beach city.

Flowers line a walkway along the waterfront.

May 4, 2025

Swakopmund

This morning we went on a tour of the sand dunes at Namibnauklaft Park Sandwich Harbour.

Our group was travelling is 3 4x4 Toyotas. We stopped in Walvis Bay to partly deflate the tires to get better floating and traction in sand. While we were we spotted some flamingos. I'm not sure what made they take off but they were beautiful to watch in flight.

This jackal was walking down the beach in the fog. Our guide figured this jackal lost his tail in a fight.

Cape fur seal.

In Walvis Bay there is a huge factory that extracts salt out of the ocean. Evaporation ponds are used as the first step to extract the salt.

One of the piles of salt.

Heading out onto the sand.

For a short time we drove along the ocean.

At the top of one of the dunes, we were able to walk around. Then we enjoyed some sparkling wine and very good snacks.

Looking out over Sandwich Harbour.

This section of sand looked red. It is actually a lot of "tiny stones" of various colours.

This afternoon, we went on a tour of Mondesa Township which is right beside Swakopmund. Mondesa Township's population is mostly people from northern Namibia and many of them work in the local mines. We stopped at a market stall and learned about the vegetables and other things that were for sale.

Next stop was a home where we met a woman from the Herero tribe. She gave us a lot of information about her tribe and described the costume. Cattle are very important to the Herero tribe, thus the horn like hat. Wendy and Linda modelled some of the clothes.

A portion of Mondesa Township had lovely concrete homes and stores. These properties can be purchased or rented. You can live free in the section of the township shown in the above photo. Some of the people who live here can afford to rent or buy a home but choose to stay. There are many businesses and stores in this area. They have electricity but no plumbing.

We stopped at a bar to enjoy a beverage and a dance.

It was remarkable neat and tidy. We didn't see a lot of litter but we did see a lot of happy kids.

We had dinner at a restaurant in the section of the township where property is owned. We were treated to traditional food included some kind of fried caterpillar (or some other bug). Neither Ed nor I tasted them but some people at the table did. A group of very talented a cappella singers entertained us.

May 3, 2025

Drive to Swakopmund

Up early, on the bus and on the road. Yes, it is a recurring theme.

We saw another sunrise, some spring bok, oryn and these giraffe. They were close enough to get a good photo.

We stopped at a place for a piece of the best apple pie in Namibia. It was really good apple pie. The stop was interesting ---- it was like a small village. There was a gas station, a bakery, a cafe, a lodge, a church, and a small variety store that also sold crafts.

Did I mention the old automobiles?

Cacti too!

In the middle of no where (that's most of Namibia) we stop at a private reserve for a Living Desert Walk. To start with it wasn't a walk, but a ride in the back of a truck. The seat were hard and slippery so you had to hang on as the truck went up, down and around the dunes. The guide was a "bushman" from the north so he talked with a lot of clicks and snapping of fingers. He was very knowledgeable and interesting to listen to.

The crickets are everywhere.

The property is fenced in such a way that the wild animals can get under, over or in a few cases through the fence. We were lucky to see this large heard of Oryx, the national animal of Namibia.

At one point we stopped to enjoy this beautiful view and to learn more about living in this harsh environment.

Those dots in the middle of the photo is part of the heard running through the valley below us.

This is probably a falcon flying over us.

On our drive through the reserve we crossed paths with the Oryx several times. Once when they literally crossed in front of the truck.

Quiver trees, a species of succulent plant native to Namibia. It is considered the national tree of Namibia. In Afrikaans, they are known as Kokerboom.

The Tropic of Capricorn is the circle of latitude that contains the subsolar point at the December solstice. It is thus the southermost latitude where the Sun and be seen directly. (thanks Wikipedia).

After we arrived in Swakopmund, Ed and I went for a walk and saw a number of domestic Guinea fowl.

May 2, 2025

Sesriem

Today is a busy day, seeing different the sites in this dessert area. That means lots of photos today. Once again, we were up early and on the bus. The bus exited the resort property and immediately got in line for entry to the National Park.

We were early enough to watch the sunrise. The Sossusvlei Dunes were in magic light when we stopped to have a look. We also saw Oryz and Springbok as we drove through the park. The dunes are numbered by their distance from the front gate of the park and people are only allowed to climb a few of them.

Dune 45 is one of the dunes that can be climbed. There is a ridge, then a flat section, followed by another ridge and finally the top. It was extremely windy today. Ed and I made it to the bottom of the 2nd ridge. Between the steepness of the ridge and the fact that we both have bad colds we decided it wasn't worth pushing ourselves as we still have a lot of trip to go and turned around and walked back down. Everyone who knows me, knows I really wanted to go to the top.

Just a bit of wind.

Three people from our group decided to go for the top --- they are the first group from the left. Karen needed a list rest.

A better view of the ridge and the top.

At the bottom once again.

Another area in the park is called Deadvlei. Some 900 years ago the climate dried up and the dunes cut Deadvlei off from the river. It became too dry in Deadvlei for the trees to even decompose. They simply scorched black in the sun, monuments to their own destruction. The trees, now over a 1000 years old, form a barren forest.

The wind was blowing a bit creating mini dust storms. It gave it an eerie feeling. I think it's a crab crawling out of the ground, Ed sees a giant spider.

Walking back to the parking area.

Sesriem canyon is in another section of the park. It's not a big canyon but it is still interesting. We couldn't walk to far into the canyon as there is still some water from the rain last month.

The canyon from the top.

Before dinner we drove out for a Sunset Sundowner and Nature Drive. Almost every tree seems to have a social weaver nest in it. Some are abandoned but many are active.

An armored bush cricket shot.

Good beverages and snacks.

May 1, 2025

Drive to Sesriem

Sesriem is the gateway to the jaw-dropping Namib-Naukluft National Park. This park is the home of the red-hued desertscapes.

Something is very unique about Namibia this year ----- it's green!!! About a month ago, it rained and it rained. I found mention on google of Windhoek receiving 203mm more than the average rain fall for March. Our guide mentioned flooding in the desert and roads being washed out. The green is starting to fade to golden now and surface water has all but disappeared but there is lots of vegetation where there is normally sand.

An interesting church in the middle of no-where.

A pile of rocks in basically flat landscape. We've seen this in several US National Parks.

This is Arthur, our guide, and a armoured cricket. These crickets only come out after a rain. This year there is an abundance of crickets as there was an abundance of rain.

There were crickets everywhere.

Pretty much all of Namibia is in the middle of the desert and the majority of the roads are dirt --- some rougher than others. So, somewhere on a dirt road on the way to Sesrim is Conny's Coffees. It's a nice break on a long drive.

Conny get's coffee beans from all over Africa and roasts them in their solar roaster. The coffees are described as you would a wine. For example, the coffee has a hint of caramel. Ed of course tried the coffee with the boldest flavour and said he like it.

There are hills

and plains

The lodge we are staying at is outside of Sesriem, right beside the National Park.

At the private game reserve we stayed in permanent tent sites, but for some reason this place seems even more unique. Maybe it was the mini red sand dune outside our front door.

There is a tower you can climb that gives you a great view of the area.

On the drive we past a number of these large nests. The one beside the lodge was even larger. Sociable Weavers live in groups of 25 to 100 birds. Every day the birds continue to build the nest. When the nest become too large and too heavy it can break the branch it is built on. If this happens, the birds just start building a new nest, maybe in the same tree.

Sociable Weaver

Sunset

April 30, 2025

Namibia, here we come!

Another early morning, followed by a drive to the airport. We are flying from Johannesburg South, Africa to Winhoek, Namibia. It's only a 2 hour flight but waiting in line to buy a visa made the process a lot longer. Namibia started requiring visas from a number of countries, including Canada, on April 1, 2025 so the process is still new and not running smoothly.