South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia & Zimbabwe
August 23rd – September 12th, 2009
Tour Operator: G Adventures Dunes, Delta & Falls
Transportation: Overland Vehicle, Mokoro, Safari Vehicle, River Boat
Accommodations: Camping
Destinations:
South Africa – Cape Town, Boulders Beach
Namibia – Fish River Canyon, Sossusvlei, Swakopmund, Etosha National Park
Botswana – Okavango Delta, Chobe National Park
Zambia/Zimbabwe – Victoria Falls, Zambezi River
Southern Africa 2009
Boulders Beach - home to African Penguins!
African penguins - also known as jackass penguins due to the braying sound they make
Cape Point in South Africa
Gariep River on the border of South Africa and Namibia
Quiver tree
Fish River Canyon - the second largest canyon in the world
Friends and Fish River Canyon
Namibian sunset
A giant weaverbird nest
Morning hike up a sand dune for sunrise
Sunrise over Sossusvlei
Sand blowing off the dunes in Sossusvlei
Looking out over Sossusvlei
Wedge-snouted Desert Lizard
Leave only footprints!
Dead Vlei
Dead Vlei is so dry that these trees, dead for 900 years, have been preserved.
Dead Vlei
Ostriches
Hungry Pelicans & Gulls pacing our boat out of Swakopmund
Cape Cormorant
Dolphins off Swakopmund
Cape Cross is home to between 50,000 and 100,000 Cape Fur Seals. The smell is incredible.
Jackal in the seal colony...basically the Namibian equivalent of the fox in the henhouse
Next stop was Twyfelfontein - a UNESCO World Heritage site famous for its ancient rock art
Twyfelfontein rock art
This is the former homestead of the family that rediscovered Twyfelfontein's rock art
Sharp-lipped Mabuya
Sunset over Twyfelfontein
Desert Elephant
Desert elephant wandering out of our campground at sunset
Zebras & Springbok welcome us to Etosha National Park
Yellow Mongoose
Springboks in Etosha National Park
A cape fox - even our guides were excited for this find. These nocturnal critters are rarely seen!
Giraffe in monochrome
A line of springboks
Gemsbok at sunset
The campsites in Etosha National Park are all built on waterholes, which are a source of constant drama. Here, some elephants coming in decided they wanted the waterhole just to themselves - and so chased off the herd of zebra who'd just been drinking there.
Giraffes at the waterhole. They were very wary as they came in to drink.
Gemsbok - with a bush!
Martial Eagle with a snack
A male greater kudu - probably my favourite antelope with their spiral horns
Yellow-billed Hornbill
A chaotic waterhole - in this one spot we saw elephants, zebra, springbok, kudu, gemsbok, wildebeest, warthogs...
Lilac-breasted Roller
White rhinos at a watering hole
Banded Mongoose
Kalahari bushmen
Kalahari Bush Squirrel
An elephant browsing along the Okavango Delta
Okavango sunset
Swallow-tailed Bee-eater
Giraffes on parade
Seeing a hippo from a mokoro is a somewhat hair-raising experience.
Sunrise over Okavango Delta
We took a morning hike and got one of my favourite photos of the trip. I love the purple light and the baobab in the background.
A tiny benguella reed frog sitting on the side of our mokoro
Poling along the Okavango Delta
Vervet monkey
A female Greater Kudu
Big smile on this one.
Sunset over the Chobe River
A kudu eyes us as we go by
A lion cub gnawing on a stick
Victoria Falls, also known as Mosi-oa-Tunya - "the river that thunders".
Victoria Falls again - this time from Zimbabwe.
Mosi-oa-Tunya in all her glory