Namibia ©
- Kalahari Desert, Sossusvlei, Skeleton Coast, Etosha -

   Our plan was to drive about 4,200 miles from Cape Town, South Africa through Namibia to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe in a Land Rover. We hired a driver/guide (Sean Kiegler, Participation Adventure Tours) who supplied the vehicle, camping gear and food.

   We started our adventure with a few days in Cape Town. We stayed at a great bread and breakfast spot called the Leeuwenvoet Guest House. The rooms were very spacious and spotless. On top of that, they served a fantastic breakfast. Their wonderful hospitality made the us feel quite at home and added to the warmness of our stay in Cape Town.

The Leeuwenvoet Guest House

   Using the Leeuwenvoet as our base, we took a few excursions around Cape Town. The first stop was to see the beautiful Botanical Gardens. Then we went to take in the view from Table Top  Mountain. And, of course, visited the wine tasting countryside.

Winery

View from Table Mountain

View of Cape Town in the distance

Botanical Gardens

Lion

Sandra & Cristina

Meerkats

Some of the sand dunes are over 1000 feet high and have been blow in from the beaches at the ocean.

Very Hot and Dry...

Image taken about midnight while Cristina slept in her sleeping bag

Fur Seals of the Skeleton Coast

Fox 

Angry Sky

   After our visit to Cape Town, we started our drive in the Land Rover north toward Namibia.

   Even though our main objective of the trip was to see Namibia, we decided to spend a few days in the Gemsbok Park of the Kalahari Desert in the north west corner of South Africa.

Gemsbok

Jackal

   We made a special stop here because we wanted to visit our good friend, Sandra. We met her on a previous trip through Botswana and we found her to be a wonderful person and in love with the wildlife.

   (Update: And not only is she making great accomplishments on land, but she just finished crewing on the Cape to Rio sail boat race and came in 1st in their class!)

   Sandra was just finishing up a year of researching the lives of the meerkats of the Kalahari. This was part of the requirements of her university degree in conservation. She gave us an unforgettable up-close and personal experience with her meerkats.

Farewell to Sandra & the Meerkats in the Kalahari

   After our stay in the Kalahari Desert, we crossed the border into Namibia and headed to the Namib Desert and its Naukluft Park, Sesriem and and the sand dunes of Sossusvlei.

We then traveled north up the the Skeleton Coast. This area is know for the skeletons of ships that have wrecked on the treacherous coastline.

   After the Skeleton Coast, we made our way to the Etosha National Park (8,599 sq. miles). We camped at three of the camp sites: Okaukeujo, Halai, and Namutoni.

 Oryx

 Squirrel

 (I will put in some more images as soon as I have some time.....) 

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