Friday 23 July 2010

Driving in Namibia

Travelling through Namibia is comparatively easy, there's little traffic and the roads are generally in good condition.  They grade them A, B & C much like other countries around the world with A being black top and B and C being gravel.  Driving is on the left hand side of the road (the side God intended!)

Even the C grade roads are generally in good condition, regularly graded and well sign posted.  Last time we were there we took the "scenic" route between Swakopmund and Windhoek, basically because we missed a turn off, it was well signposted, we just weren't looking as our concentration was on Biltong, dried meat with spices.  Every time we go to South Africa or Namibia, one of the first things that we buy is a big bag of biltong and wurst (sausage).

Anyway, back to the trip to Swakopmund.  Missing the turn wasn't the worst thing we could have done because we travelled through some stunning, and very dry, country where the farms such as they were  they must struggle making a living.  Australia is the Sunburnt Country, Namibia must be the Parched Country.  Beautiful but dry!

Here's a beautiful Oryx that we spotted on the C28 when we were driving to Swakop, he was grazing peacefully on the side of the road when a pain in the arse pair of tourists (us) came passed and spooked it.  It took off and pelted along the side of the road easily outpacing the car that we were in, not that we wanted to chase it, we'd already spoiled it's day enough. It just goes to show that you don't have to go to the hot spots of Etosha to see wildlife in the wild.

I said dry earlier, didn't I?  This is the pub at Walvis Bay mid morning when the mist has rolled in from the South Atlantic Ocean.  makes the place pretty dim and dank for a wee while until the sun burns it off.  We met a guy who used to be in the South African Army, stationed in Walvis Bay and they used to get paid a "rust allowance"  Why was the South African Army in Namibia?? Although Namibia gained independence from South Africa in 1990, it was not until 1994 that Walvis Bay was handed over to the Namibian Government.

I don't know if it's come across to my devoted readers but Mrs Dadfap and I are pretty keen on Namibia.  It's a fantastic country, plenty of scenery and people who know how to enjoy themselves.  Really looking forward to our upcoming trip!

We'll post to the Blog when we get the chance while we are there, so don't miss out and click the RSS subscribe button to keep up with all the latest fun and adventures.

Cheers

DADFAP

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Wednesday 21 July 2010

THE PELICANS OF WALVIS BAY

A few years ago when we were living in Saudi Arabia, I saw a programme about these two “mad as hatters” guys from Botswana. They were Mad Mike & Mark, one was a stills photographer and the other a video camera man, they had such passion for what they did and looked like they were having such fun that it was infectious, I used to be on the look out for what ever programmes came on featuring these two, what can only be described as, nutters.

They looked like they were willing to damn near anything to get the shot they were after and pushed things a little further into the unknown than would generally be considered healthy. Then as you start to watch them, although enthusiastic and apparently suicidal, it dawns on you that they have studied enough of animal behaviour to really understand how far they can push the animals and their luck.

These two guys were what prompted our first visit to Namibia, thanks guys ……………. we’re headed off on our third trip to Namibia!

There has been plenty written about Namibia. From it’s colonial history, to the period of administration by South Africa and then the post apartheid era, it remains one of the least known of the “tourist destination” countries in Southern Africa.

What strikes you first about Namibia is the contrast in the people to those you meet in South Africa. Namibia, or South West Africa as it was formerly known, was administered by South Africa for many years and felt the restrictive and oppressive influences of Apartheid.

When you meet the people in the airport, in Windhoek and then in other centres, you come away with the feeling that they have consigned any post-apartheid hangovers to the past and are working hard to develop a modern nation, remembering but not dwelling on the injustices of the past.

Anyway, getting back to my two favourite nutters. Part of their programme was shot in Walvis Bay where they took one of the daily boat trips to view the attractions in and around the bay. The highlight of this episode for me was the pelicans, the most photogenic of birds, who appear on cue (trained without doubt by tourists like ourselves) when the bucket of fish is produced.

They come in individually and in small squadrons, all posing beautifully for the camera.







One was close enough to me that the tip feathers brushed the peak of my cap as I was photographing it flying past me.









Others just come alongside checking you out, making sure that they pose beautifully for the shot.








Most of them know exactly why they are there. It works for them and the photographer!








And most of them are damn good catches too!









The pelicans were what we went to Walvis Bay for and we came away with some great shots and a belly full of Walvis Bay oysters. Did I forget to mention that you stop for a while for drinks and oysters? Remiss of me, especially as they oysters were freshly shucked that morning and were absolutely fantastic!

Not far north of Walvis is the coastal holiday centre of Swakopmund. Swakop retains a very Germanic feel, as does much of Namibia, and is the place where all of the tourists head. Despite that, it retains a small town feel, much like the rest of the country, even the capital Windhoek.



When we were there in 2007, a trawler had managed to break free from it’s moorings, drift along the coast and run aground a few kilometers south of Swakopmund.







When we returned in 2007, the swells from the Southern Atlantic Ocean had almost completely obliterated it.

So, shortly we are off again on another Namibia adventure, travelling through the centre and northern parts of the country. One day we will head south to Luderitz and Orange River, there is just so much to see it is difficult to decide where to go!


Late afternoon in the Namib.


Cheers

DADFAP

Friday 9 July 2010

We're off on safari again

We're off again!!!!

We're off again, another trip to our favourite destination in Africa ............... Namibia.  For 14 days we're going to be wandering around the northern half of the country with some time in the world renowned Etosha National Park for some more photography.

This is the middle of winter (the dry season) so we're going at the best time of year for game viewing.  All of our other trips have been in the summer (wet season ........... in Namibia? yes they do have one, albeit pretty short) for our trips to Namibia and South Africa when the bush is at it's thickest.  We have had pretty good luck in the past with game viewing even then so with some luck, we'll have plenty of pictures to put on our website and the blog pages.

Don't forget to check the website out every now and then.  In the last few days I've added a map of Namibia with pictures from our Flickr account (http://www.flickr.com/photos/24284119@N00/) so check that out too.

One of my upcoming projects for the website and blog is a series of photos of the pelicans at Walvis Bay, they were featured on a show that we saw many years ago when we were living in Saudi Arabia.  The show was on National Geographic by a couple of guys called Mad Mike and Mark, see their shows via the following link, these guys are absolute nutters!!!  http://www.marktennant.com/madmikeandmark.aspx.  These were the guys who first interested us in Namibia, what grabbed our attention was the pelicans they photographed in Walvis Bay, so we went to Namibia, spent 2 weeks there and included the photography opportunity in Walvis.

Now, if only I could get a full time gig like that!!!!!

Cheers

DADFAP