Namibia

The first stop was Etocha national park. Etocha is actually the name of the large salt pan that dominates the middle of the park. The park is predominately dessert with sparse tree and yellow fine grass most of the area. The authorities have placed a number of water whole throughout the park. This makes Etocha particular special for safari drives, because the animals accumulate at the variety of water holes, therefore it is easy to spot a variety of animals in close proximity. It is intriguing the watch the hierarchy at the watering holes. During the day we came up to a water whole that was surrounded by hundreds of animals including impalas, kudu, ostriches, wild dogs, zebras, giraffes, wilder beast and others. Initially, we couldn’t figure out why they where not drinking then we noticed a pack of lions lie in the shade. It all made sense. One of the best things I experienced in Etocha was that the camp sights had flood lit waterholes that you could visit in during the night. We sat vigil for hours and saw elephant, giraffe, zebras, wild dogs, spotted hyenas and rhinos come and drink. On the first night a wild elephant came around to the fence side of the waterhole and was literally five meters away as it tore in to the reeds and drank and slashed the water around. Amazing!!!! The following night we actually saw two rhino fight. It was fast, furious and lots of grunting. On our last day in Etocha (and our last safari for the trip) we saw the illusive leopard. It was lying in the crook of a tree at quite a distance but it was definitely a leopard. I saw very happy to seen all of the big five.
We stopped at a cheetah farm where we got to pat tam cheetahs. Also, we saw ‘wild’ cheetahs be fed. They are beautiful animals but they are not as captivating as the lions.
We then went on to the once German settlement of Swakamund. Here I tried a few more adventure sports including sandboarding (which has made me determined to try sandboarding), lie down boarding (where I clocked some of the fastest speeds at 68 and 79 km/hr and coped a mouth full of sand) and quad biking on the dunes (which was my favourite). We also had a great night out where I got plenty of room (ie there was hardly anbody else on it) on the dance floor where I could strut my stuff all night. Obviously, I loved it.
The following day we made our way south to the Naughnaukt National Park (if anybody can help on the spelling please do). One morning we rose in the freezing cold beofre to climb a large dune and watch the sunrise. After more effort than should be legal at that time in the morning we reached the peaak of the dune just before sunrise. The landscape was stunning with the deep rich red of the sand, yellow of the grass, the mauve of the soil and the white clouds rolling into to cover the sunrise. There we are sitting on this freezing cold dune watching any chance of seeing the sunrise disappear. Luckily, there was a hot cup of breakfast waiting for us at the bottom that so we could smell our way back to the truck. :)
We also visited the fish canyon, which I think is second in size to the grand canyon. Again fantastic views and strange varieties of cacti and other flowers.

Now on to South Africa