Zambia

Check our the BIG CATs in the following movie:


South Luangwa Park: Chimilandu Camp
South Luangwa Park: Kuyenda Camp


Victoria Falls: Livingstone, Zambia
Watch Ryan Jump the Falls:

Himba Village and Skeleton Coast

The Himba tribe is one of the oldest in Namibia. The women paint their bodies and hair with fresh butterfat everyday, which gives their skin a lovely red tint. They are great craftswomen, as they hand-make all their jewelry and clothing (usually with their babies on their laps) They were also very welcoming and warm.

Himba children playing at dusk, wearing the beads their aunts and mothers make.

Some of the oldest bushman engravings are still clear on the side of this sandstone rock. Bushmen were nomads and traveled all over the country from desert to sea.

Famous "desert elephants," pictured below, are rare in Namibia. They are slightly leaner than elephants you find in the parks and are built to last longer without water.

On the Skeleton Coast (i.e. named after bones from beached whales) you are likely not to see another vehicle for hours. It is not a good place to run out of gas or get a flat tire. This photo was taken just before our right back tire went flat. Luckily, there were two vehicles on the road at that time!
View of the Atlantic Ocean from our porch at Cape Cross Lodge.

The larges fur seal colony in the world, pictured below, lies near Cape Cross, Namibia. Noisy little guys.

Safari in Etosha National Park, Northern Namibia

Neither of us knew that Namibia had a game park as beautiful and full of life as Etosha. Our sleeping hut was situated at the base of a popular watering hole, which was abundant with all kinds of visitors. Only a short stone wall stood between us and the animals. At night, the watering hole was softly lit up for great viewing... with a bottle of wine, of course.

Elephant and zebra taking a drink at sunset at the waterhole directly outside our sleeping hut.

This young black rhino came every night to the waterhole to nibble on the grass only about 20 feet from the stone wall that separated us from him. It was clear another animal attempted to attack him, which was evident from the scratches on his body. This could have been the same rhino that tried to attack our vehicle in the parking lot, as speculated in the video below.

Wild Cat Sanctuary

Leopard at Dusternbrook Guest Farm near Windhoek, Namibia. The guest farm is also a game reserve and sanctuary for leopard and cheetah.

Cheetah family at Dusternbrook.

Namib Desert

High dune in the Namib Desert. The landscapes of this beautiful and arid country are grounded in some of the oldest exposed land on Earth.

Surrounded by red sand dunes in the Namib Desert lies Dead Vlei, which consists of flat, cracked earth with only a few dead trees.

Swakopmund Namibia

No description of our time in Namibia would be complete without mentioning the importance of Jorg and Ulla in this amazing African experience. Working with their friend FranzPeter they put together a complete five-star itinerary at a back-packer's price-point. As you will see in the posting below and those that will follow in the next couple of days, we had an exciting and authentic experience of this wonderful country.

On our first full day in Swakopmund, they had set up a boat trip that took us through the diverse ecosystem of Walvis Bay (Whale Bay).



On the last day of our trip, Ulla joined us on an interesting and creative desert safari.

Denise's Massage Work at OA

Denise providing massage to special needs children in the infirmary at Orphan Aid Africa. The lucky recipient is Courage. During her stay, Denise provided massage for children with HIV and Cerebral Palsy, a new and rewarding experience for her.