Bird of the week – Week 29 : Cattle egret
In a world in which the range of so many birds, animals, reptiles and other species is continually shrinking due to the pressure exerted by mankind’s need for more and more land, it is...
Weekend at Erongo Wilderness Lodge
If you’re a regular reader you will know that we are avid campers and have camped all over Namibia. We considered ourselves extremely spoilt therefore when we were given a night at the luxurious...
Bird of the week – Week 27 : Water thick-knee
Previously known as a “dikkop” from the Afrikaans for “thick-head”, I suppose the recent change to “thick-knee” could be seen as a small improvement! Its relatives in some parts of the world, though, are...
Waterberg Revisted
It’s amazing how two weekends spent camping in the same area can be so different. We recently revisited the Waterberg about 280 kms north of Windhoek as we particularly wanted to hike up to...
Bird of the week – Week 28 : African darter
The African darter differs from most other waterbirds in that its feathers do not contain any oil and do not, therefore, repel water. This means that the darter is less buoyant and it is...
Namibia’s Castles of Sand
As regular visitors to the central areas of Namibia, north of Windhoek, we have always been fascinated by the enormous termite mounds that dominate the landscape. We were fortunate enough, on a recent guided...
Bird of the week – Week 26 : White-backed mousebird
The mousebirds are quite appropriately named, as they are distinctly mouse-like as they move about through the branches of the trees that they inhabit, feeding on a variety of fruit, flowers, and leaves. They...
The wild horses of the Namib Desert
Visitors en route to Luderitz mostly have to pass through the plains of the Garub – a vast, barren expanse of land that is part of the Namib desert. In this unlikely territory one...
Bird of the week – Week 25 : Violet-eared waxbill
A grenadier may be an infantryman equipped with grenades, as in the familiar Grenadier Guards in the British Army. Or a grenadier may be a fish with a large head and body and long...
Warthogs – Nature’s Ugliest Piggies
We’ve all heard the expression “he’s so ugly only his mother could love him!” Well, I think the saying originated when man got his first glimpse of a warthog. These denizens of the African...
Bird of the week – Week 24 : Red-billed quelea
We were sitting at Hippo Pools, on the banks of the Kunene River in the late afternoon when we were witness to huge flocks of Red-billed quelea moving overhead to settle for the night...
WORLD CUP SOCCER 2010 – PROUDLY SOUTH AFRICAN
Soccer fever has hit South Africa with a vengeance and any description of the happy spirit prevailing in the country at the moment would be a gross understatement! It is absolutely staggering to see...
Climbing to Konigstein in the Brandberg
At the beginning of May 2010 we took a walk to the highest point in Namibia, the Konigstein in the Brandberg (Fire Mountain), which lies in Damaraland. This is a three day trek that...
Bird of the week – Week 23 : Scarlet-chested sunbird
The male Scarlet-chested sunbird is a magnificent bird. Fairly large for a sunbird, with a length of about 15 cm and a weight of up to 16 g, they are a sooty black overall,...
Shark Island – Namibia’s landmark of shame
We planned to spend Easter weekend at Luderitz, camping on Shark Island. As any traveler knows, it pays to do a little research on an area before visiting it to make the visit more interesting. The...
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