Namibia

Here are some initial highlights:

• Flamingos in the ocean. The slurping sound of them filtering the water through their nose/mouth was fascinating.
• Ostrichs on a crest that ran away
• Squirrel – thought it was a mongoose
• Ibex
• Gobabeb Research Station
• Tropic of Capricorn
• Ending at a lovely ranch house that served creamed spinach that I liked. The night sky was intense.

As we left the ranch house in the morning, antelope bounded across the road. On our road travel to Deadvlei, we saw

• Warthog staring at us
• Wildebeest
• Sand blowing across the road in a beautiful ballet
• Jackal
• So many weaver bird nests

Anticipation was building as we approached Deadvlei since this was my emotional destination, the place I wanted to see the most. I’d seen these 1000 year old trees on our TV screen saver for years and have been curious and intrigued by them. I was not disappointed by the alien landscape.

It was a long drive to our next accommodation. We stopped at a Wimpy burger and it was very strange: xmas music playing, chicken mayo & chips was being advertised, and there was seizure-inducing flashing lights in the bathroom foyer. The food was inedible. We got to our accommodation after 9pm and were chastised for driving at night by the proprietors.

The next morning we happened upon a rode-side “cafe” that advertised having the best strudel so we had to check it out. Turns out, it was not false advertising. We met a french/Italian couple and Doug, an American retired climbing guide who was bicycling through Africa. We bought him a cup of coffee. Fish canyon is the second biggest tourist attraction in Namibia and although it’s similar to the Grand Canyon, it wasn’t as colorful, big, or interesting. We met up with Doug again for lunch at a roadhouse where we bought him a beer. We drove into Sough Africa.