If You Want to Go Fast, Go Alone. If You Want to Go Far, Go Together (African Proverb)

Once again we enjoyed Stellenbosch, following our first visit 12 years ago. We stayed in a lovely cottage next to the owner's house, and found new things to see this time. Only 2 wineries were on our schedule this time (Kanonkop and Waterford) with a lovely wine and chocolate pairing at the latter. Saving the wine tastings for the end of the day, we spent most of our time visiting the garden farm playground at Babylonstoren (fresh vegetables and fruit, artisan shops, lunch outdoors) and the other day in Stellenbosch, including the Rupert Art Museum (contemporary African art). We also found time to visit a Strawberry Farm.

We then retreated to Cape Town to return our rental car and meet our G Adventures group for the start of a multi-country, 18 day tour. Interestingly, our group of 13 consisted of 10 females and only 3 males.....and 9 of the 13 were Canadians! Shadwell, from Zimbabwe, was our guide and Elwin, from South Africa, was our bus driver and assistant guide. It was a 25 seat bus, so almost everyone had a different window seat every day (2 seats on each side of the aisle). Our first stopover was in Lambert's Bay, on the west coast, where we had a tasting of Western Cape wines (Stellenbosch wines still preferred), followed by dinner. Along the way we made a stop at Bird Island (concrete walkway), where we were greeted by many thousands of gannets, who were there to breed when the seals weren't hunting them down.

The next day, after a long drive, we crossed the border into Namibia, a new country for us. Namibia covers 825 square kilometers with a population of 2,500,000 so is very sparsely populated. We settled into the Norotshama River Resort where we ate and slept beside the wide river. Once in Namibia, the real action began. Our first stop was at Fish River Canyon, the second largest canyon in the world at 127 KM's (after the Grand Canyon). We only had time for a 2 km walk along the ridge, so I didn't get the chance to hike down the second place finisher. We then moved on to Keetmanschoop, our home for the night, to escape the 38C heat. At 5 pm, when it had cooled down a little, we drove over to the Quiver Tree Forest (peculiar looking tree that can survive in desert-like conditions). The second stop was at the Giant's Playground (large, black dolerite boulders stacked up) but I don't believe they were as impressive as the boulders near Prescott, Arizona. The next day we made the 500 km drive (lots of gravel roads) to Sesriem, right outside the Namib Desert entry point, where we settled in for 2 nights. The Namib Desert near Sossusvlei is basically a reddish-brown sand sea and super-arid, receiving less than 100 mm per year, and that is where we spent our time the following day. With an early 6 am start, our tour group's first stop was Dune 45, 170 metres high. Most of us only walked about half way up as it was hard work in the soft sand. Then we moved on to Sossusvlei where Big Daddy (325 metres) stood. We walked one km across the Deadvlei white clay soil (hard base) to get closer to the massive dune but we only hiked a fraction of the way up with the temperature rising and on it's way to 38C. A quick visit to the Sesriem slot Canyon followed but our walk at the bottom was limited by some small ponds blocking the way. We then returned to the campground for a leisurely afternoon around the pool.

Our next destination was Swakopmund on the west coast, where we currently are. We have now escaped the dry desert area, and heat (high 30s), where we remarkably spotted quite a bit of wildlife including wild ostriches, oryx, guinea fowl, springbok, mountain zebra, and even a jackal. These animals all survive in the desert on little to no water (getting moisture from the limited plants) and even on the rare occurrences of a flash flood, will not drink fearing their bodies will become accustomed to an increase in water intake. The Tropic of Capricorn line was on our route so we stopped for pictures. We passed by Walvis Bay, a former whaling village, which was the last area turned over to the Namibian gov't by South Africa because they wanted to hold on to it's deep water harbour for cargo boat traffic. However, Nelson Mandela petitioned the S.A. gov't to give Namibia back what was theirs and in 1994 it was rightfully returned. We wandered about the town on a 'relax' day where the tour group could do whatever pleased them. With a German influence, there many old colonial homes, a promenade and an informative museum.

Tomorrow we head NE to Etosha NP where another safari awaits us.

One of the many gannets at Bird Island in Lambert's Bay (NW South Africa).

Tens of thousands of gannets gather each year for breeding season. Last year the count was over 45,000. It was hard to determine who was with who but apparently the birds are able to figure it out.

The Fish River Canyon, where at this time of year, the riverbeds are mostly dried up. They get somewhat replenished every year during the rainy season but that part of the year usually delivers less than 100 mm of rain. Catfish survive through the dry season by burying themselves in the mud.

These are Quiver trees. They grow very slowly in the desert like climate, with a lack of regular moisture. The tree on the left is approximately 450 years old, while the one on the right, around 50. The bushman used to peel the bark on the younger trees to make quivers for their arrows, which how the name came about.

 Large bird's nests created by weavers. We observed the small birds flying in and out of their nests.

Dune 45 at 170 metres in height, our first attempt of the day climbing a large dune in the soft sand.

To get close to the Big Daddy dune (325 metres high), we had to cross the hard white clay surface of Deadvlei. The dead and blackened trees from the scorching heat were victims but made for an interesting contrast along with the reddish-brown dunes.

While on our way to Walvis Bay on the west coast of Namibia we came across an area that was once under the sea but had been moved upwards millions of years ago by shifting plates. The landscape was comprised of thin layers of hardened seafloor sediment.

One of the many old colonial homes in Swakopmund. The town's museum did a good job of describing their past, along with the realistic models of the wildlife within Namibia.

"We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us"

Following delayed flights, and a missed flight for some, our family and partners have finally reunited in Johannesburg, South Africa. It was well worth the elongated travel time to be all together again. We spent 4 nights in a beautiful suburban home. Day trips included a full day guided tour of Soweto (townships, including a home visit with a local and Mandela House) and another day trip visit to the Cradle of Humankind (museum and cave network where human remains were found, dating back to almost 3 million years). Interspersed between the two, we had a relaxing day together at the house, playing games and enjoying each other's company.

 With our bodies readjusted to our new time zone, we flew to Hazyview, a small town outside the gate to Kruger NP. That was the beginning of a 5 day private tour of the wildlife-filled National Park. Our group of 7 experienced a sunset safari and three 5 am sunrise safaris that lasted until the late afternoons on 2 of the days. Our excellent Kurt Safari guide, Sammy, was a treat to be with and he had no trouble finding the Big 5 for us (Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Rhino and Cape Buffalo) and we saw them all multiple times. Zebra, giraffe, impala, warthog, hyena and more, were common sightings every day. We were even fortunate to come across a large pack (22) of wild dogs which are difficult to find. We spent another day driving along the scenic Panorama Route, with stops at God's Window (views), Lisbon Falls, Blyde River Canyon and Burke's Potholes (water formed basins). All were impressive but it was just a sideshow to the amazing wildlife encounters that we experienced within Kruger NP. A highlight was an early morning discovery of a pride of lions (7) resting on the road, creating a traffic blockade. It was our second visit to the park and it never gets tired because we discover new memories. This time, being a late December visit, we saw many more newborn babies. 

Our group then flew to Cape Town at the southern end of the country for our final stop together. We rented another beautiful suburban home for a week, this time with a pool in the backyard, as we attempted to calm down the pace a little. Day trips with our van rental included visits to the V & A waterfront, Robben Island (Nelson Mandela's prison time), Table Mountain (the young ones hiked up like we did last time), and a drive down to the Cape of Good Hope. The Cape trip included a stop at Boulder Beach (Simon's Town) to walk along the boardwalk to where the African penguins are active in a protected area. That encounter was popular enough to earn a return visit. We were back home each day in good time and everyone took their turn being master chef for dinner, so we ate well. 

Sadly, the time has come for us to part ways again, with the younger ones returning home to restart their work commitments. Being able to spend both Christmas and New Year's together was special and we all have more wonderful memories to add to our cache. Once we saw them off we moved on to the nearby wine region town of Stellenbosch to spend a couple of days before venturing off to a new African country.

The Apartheid Museum in Soweto, Johannesburg. Both entrances are available to everyone today but each displayed the discrepancies between skin colour, with stairs on the right and a ramp on the left. While progress has been made (slowly), it was still sad to see the condition of the township residences that a local walked us through.

Our group, minus our Swiss photographer, ready to enter the Sterkfontein Caves at the Cradle of Humankind. We didn't find any new ancient remains but we did discover some very narrow and shallow passageways, so the hard hats came in handy.

An African termite nest. Our first night safari guide took the second picture, looking down inside the nest.

On our first sunrise safari we came across the wildlife in harmony, a scene that was repeated frequently with all kinds of species, providing the lions were not close at hand.

The Bourke's Luck Potholes, where mother nature had created some remarkable scenes. The Panorama Route drive, between Kruger NP and Joburg, was worth a repeat performance from our 2013 trip.

On another sunrise safari we encountered a pride of lions blocking the roadway. Once we all had some good pictures our guide turned the jeep around to take another road through the national park.

The lion detour led us to a sighting of this rhino, feeding on the grasses.

Later, that same day, we observed a leopard stalking his prey. We waited 5 minutes for some action but only saw the continued stare. Later, on the radio, our guide heard that same leopard had captured a baby impala.

On our final safari day we came across some guinea fowls close to the dirt roadway. There were numerous colourful bird species within the park.

A warthog family, grazing. Warthogs are members of Africa's "Ugly Five", along with the hyena, wildebeest, vulture and marabou stork, all of which we were blessed (?) to observe.

On our drive down to the Cape of Good of Good Hope, during our Cape Town stay, we came back to the parking lot to find a baboon sitting on top of a nearby car. Did he do it for the view?

On our drive back from the Cape we stopped at Boulder Beach in Simon's Town, were there was a protected area for the resident African penguins. I took this picture from the boardwalk, avoiding a long line-up to get a much closer view. Others in our party waited for a quieter time to get up close and even came back early the next day for a second viewing. We got spoiled in Antarctica where the penguins sometimes walked between your legs while you were trying to take their picture.