The Water Monitor
Last week I wrote about the Rock Monitor and today I will chat about the Water monitor (Varanus niloticus) that is found in southern Africa. They’re apparently called monitors because they are good at...
Category: Nature
The Rock Monitor
2012 – The ‘year of the dragon’ according to Chinese astrology. The closest thing that southern Africa has to the dragon is the Rock monitor – a distant relative of the ferocious-looking Komodo Dragon...
The Turtles and the Teal
I was walking slowly along the edge of the large dam at Namibgrens, trying to get close enough to take a photograph of a pair of Dusky sunbirds that were feeding nearby, when a...
The Devil’s Darning Needle
What on earth inspired the title of today’s blog you may wonder. As always our research has lead us to some interesting information and in case you haven’t already guessed from the photo below,...
The mongoose project
We had to stay in Windhoek over Christmas and New Year, which, to nomads like ourselves who enjoy being outdoors in nature, is tantamount to hell! However, a chance sighting of a Yellow mongoose...
The Caracal – one of the cool cats of Africa
One of the fun things about living in Namibia is that most lodges or rehabilitation centres have interesting animals, either that frequent the places for food or are being homed until they can be...
A Southern Vine Snake Drops In
There are a number of tented lodges in Namibia that give guests the experience of camping, but on a more luxurious scale, with proper beds and usually a nice bathroom attached to the tented...
Go ape about Chacma baboons
It’s sad when humans encroach on the habitat of wild animals and it’s not often that they can live side by side without conflict. Here, on the outskirts of Windhoek, we live beneath a...
Camel Thorn Trees – Stalwarts of the Desert
I have to confess that I am known to hug beautiful trees. Not wanting to appear loopy, I usually first have a good look around to make sure that no-one is watching me! Namibia,...
Snakes alive – a Horned Adder!
Being avid hikers and birders, Rob and I spend many hours walking outdoors and a snake that we have come across a number of times in Namibia is the Horned Adder (species – Bitis...
It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s SUPERDONK!!
You must have heard of the musical based on the comic book character Superman, with the words – “It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s Superman!” Well, here in Africa we have a new...
The Rock Hyrax – denizen of the mountains
We’re planning a trip to the Erongo Mountains next week (one of our favourite spots in Namibia) and because of the rocky nature of the environment, we know we will come across the dassie,...
Total Lunar Eclipse – 15 June 2011
During the early evening of 15 June 2011, Namibian time, the respective orbits of the sun, moon and earth carried them into an alignment, with the earth sandwiched between its closest celestial neighbours, such...
A cure for sea fever (take a Mola Mola marine cruise)
I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky, And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by, And the wheel’s kick...
Waterbuck – A shaggy buck story
Visit any of the game reserves in southern Africa and you are sure to see loads of buck of every description, especially impala and springbok. Whilst it’s great to see the common buck, it’s...
Recent Comments