Clicking on any of the photos below will take you to a larger
version of the photo.
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This big fella (maybe lady?) was strolling along a path headed right
for the road we were on. Since we were charged by an elephant on our
last visit to Etosha National Park, Kevin was not too thrilled by how
close I parked. But I figured he/she was headed somewhere, and wasn't
too interested in us. It is quite amazing to see these and many other
animals just wandering around. It's almost as if we live in Africa!
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Giraffes are one of our favorites to watch. Not only do they have a
long way to bend to get a drink, but sometimes they get playful around
the waterhole as they did this day. It's always fun to watch them run.
We sat at this waterhole for about 30 minutes. Many other animals --
several types of antelope, zebra, wart hogs, and some very large
buzzards -- came to visit. The buzzards appeared to be huge as they flew
in a circle before landing.
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This was our second trip to Etosha. We went for Linda's birthday. The entrance
to this park is only 90km (55 miles) from our house, although this
waterhole is about 60km into the park. The last time we were at this
hole, there weren't any animals. But today there were more than 40
elephants hanging around. We had plenty of entertainment while we ate a
picnic lunch.
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| Kevin really wanted to see a rhino. Between our first visit in June 2001
and this visit we had seen just about everything except leopard, lion
and rhino. We were stopping at a few waterholes as we were making our
way to the park exit. As we came near this hole, Kevin yelled "A
rhino!" I responded as a true dad, "Yeah, right." But as you can see,
he was right. It took this rhino quite some time to get the courage to
get his drink, so we were able to spend several minutes watching. An
amazing animal! |
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If you know Linda and I well, you know we like lighthouses.
God has even provided a lighthouse for us here in Namibia. The coastal
town of Swakopmund is one of four coastal towns. Walvis Bay is a port
town about 30km south of Swakopmund; that's where our container landed.
About 50km north is Henties Bay, a much smaller vacation town, and way
to the south is Luderitz, which we haven't been to. While you can see
the swimming beach, you don't see many swimmers because the ocean is
very cold along Namibia's coast. It is a place we can get away to and
it has more shops than our town, but it's about a 5 hour drive one-way.
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| This is the back side of Dune 7. It is located just outside of Walvis
Bay and said to be the world's largest dune. The Namib Desert comprises
most of Namibia's coast line. Unlike Oregon, you don't get tree-lined
hills and cliffs to the water as you drive along the coast but rather
huge dunes of sand. We have only seen a little of this desert so we
really don't know that much about it yet. Just about everyone in
Namibia heads to the coast in December. Maybe sand is a good substitute
for snow! The real reason is that school is out, the weather is very
hot inland (Summer you know), and most businesses close for extended periods in December. |
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On top of old Dune 7. Since we visited in the afternoon, we had to put
up with the wind. Also, the sand is dry in the afternoon so climbing it
is like climbing in snow - three steps up, two back. The sand comes
blowing down on you off of the top--now we know what true grit is! Once
on top you can spread your arms and almost feel as if you are flying!
That's Kevin closest to the camera, and Linda on the distant peak. You know she had
to go all the way to the top!
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