My Namibia Tour

Happy New Year to everyone in the City of Cincinnati! I hope the New Year brings joy, peace and prosperity to you and yours.

Everything in Windhoek comes to a standstill after December 20 as the majority of the city residents leave for vacation. Many go to their homes in different parts of the country to celebrate Christmas with their families and others either travel to Cape Town, South Africa, or go to the beach city of Swakopmund on the west coast to get a break from the summer heat in Windhoek. Unlike in the US, where December is the busiest shopping month of the year, here December is commercially the least active month of the year because the city is empty. The Polytech is also closed for about 10 days, and everyone leaves except the security guards and guests like myself.

When I found that everyone is gone to celebrate Christmas with their family, I packed my bags for a Namibian safari. Although many people who want to do a safari go to South Africa, Namibia offers the same kind of experience but at a much cheaper price. So if you ever want to do a safari, come to Namibia and save some money.

Our safari group had six people, including my wife. We spent the first day of the safari travelling about 200 miles north of Windhoek to cheetah territory. Several hundred square miles of cheetah range is managed by a conservatory who provides a safe haven to cheetah in the wild, and educates farmers how to live with cheetahs without killing them. In the afternoon we went out in a specially modified vehicle and found some cheetah resting under the trees. My camera worked nonstop to capture every move of this magnificent animal until the rain started pouring and we were forced to retreat to our campsite.

The next day, after driving about 4 hours, we arrived to Etosha National Park. This is one of the biggest national parks in the southern African region. It is spread around 14,000 square miles and is home of hundreds of thousands of animals. We spent two unforgettable days in the park. While driving in the park searching for animals we were fortunate to see a lion family relaxing just 100 ft from the road. It was a very exiting experience to see the king of jungle with two queens (lionesses) and two future kings (cubs) just 100 feet away in the wild. The cubs were doing what most kids do - jumping on their dad. The experience was breathtaking.

After travelling another 50 miles or so we hit another jackpot. This time we encountered a large herd of elephants ready to cross the gravel road we were driving on. There must have been 15-20 elephants in that herd from big bulls to mothers with their young babies. The scene was spectacular as the herd crossed the road while we respectfully yielded them the right of the way. Again, we tried to get as many pictures as we could. Mother elephants sheltered their babies from harm while big bulls walked in front of the herd to protect the family members. The elephants ignored us and continued their journey in search of food and water.

We stayed in Etosha National Park for two nights, and saw zebras and antelope grazing everywhere, and giraffes unsuccessfully trying to hide behind tall trees. That night I sat near a waterhole to catch another glimpse of lions and elephants that come out in the darkness for a drink. I waited till 11:30PM and was about to give up when I suddenly spotted some movement in the darkness on other side of the waterhole. To my surprise, it was a big white rhino! My patience was rewarded in a big way. My camera was mounted on a tripod and I didn’t waste a moment to capture him drinking water. That day we spotted lion, elephants and I saw a rhino; I should have bought a lottery ticket on that day.

The following two days we spent visiting a Himba village and travelling through some of the most magnificent landscapes. Himba is a semi-nomadic tribe who lives in the northern Namibian and southern Angola region. Himba women are famous for covering themselves with a mixture of butter fat and ochre, a red rock power which gives their skins a reddish tinge. After the Himba village, we visited the Twyfelfontein valley in northwest Namibia. This valley is known for Stone Age rock engravings made by early humans of local wildlife animals. It is estimated that these red sandstone rocks were engraved 2000 to 5000 years ago. What an amazing gift of art left by early man for us. Because of its archaeological significance, UNESCO has declared this site a World Heritage Site.

From here, we travelled on the last lag of our trip to the southwestern City of Swakopmund. It is a beautiful city with the Atlantic Ocean on one side and golden sand dunes on the other. The impact of German architecture is apparent everywhere. I spent one afternoon riding motorbikes on the dunes and the next day at the beach taking pictures of seals resting on the rocks with their newborn babies. In the afternoon we all headed back to Windhoek with thousands of pictures and countless memories, which I will cherish for the rest of my life.

Below are some pictures from my safari. Please let me know what you think of these pictures and send me your questions and comments.

A mighty bull leading his herd

Zebra herds also have a leader who makes sure that the

herd is safe from an attack. He alerts other zebras of any

danger.

A leopard eating his kill on a tree. 

The magnificent cat- Cheetah

An antelope in a hurry to have a drink before a lion finds him.

Oryx is the national animal of Namibia

A giraffe on the watch.

A herd of springbok.

The king of jungle waiting for his queens to join him.

No traffic, no risk of being run over by a truck even

in the middle of the highway. Namibian highways

have extremely light traffic. We encountered one vehicle

every 20-25 minute travel.

A Himba village.

A young Himba woman.