Epupa Falls

The Epupa Falls are created by the Kunene River on the border of Angola and Namibia, in the Kaokoland area of the Kunene Region.

The name "Epupa" is a Herero word for "foam", in reference to the foam created by the falling water.

Despite being difficult to reach (a 4X4 vehicle is needed to reach them from Opuwo), the falls are a major visitor attraction in Namibia, because of the largely unspoiled environment, with fig trees, baobabs, makalani palms and colored rock walls framing the falls.

The Epupa Constituency is named for the falls.


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Cape Cross Seal Reserve

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Cape Cross Seal Reserve is situated 150 kilometres north of Swakopmund on the west coast of Namibia.

The reserve is the home of one of the largest colonies of Cape Fur Seals in the world.

The seals are clubbed to death every year from 1 July to 30 November.

The beach opens 2 hours later (at 10 o'clock instead 8 o'clock) to allow for the seal corpses to be taken away and the blood to be hidden or cleaned so that tourists don't see the carnage.


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Despite repeated attempts by animal rights activists to have the "culling" stopped, the government of Namibia refuses to end the practice, claiming that it supports up to 150 clubbers.

In 2011 South African activists launched a campaign to boycott Namibian products, having run out of other options to try to end the slaughter.


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Kaokoveld

The Kaokoveld is one of the areas in Namibia which is still largely wild and untouched.

The region lies on the northwestern part of Namibia and up to the Kunene River which form a natural border between Angola and Namibia.

The Kaokoveld is rough but stunningly beautiful. The area is covered with Mopani trees, rugged plains and colorful scenes that constantly change.

Into this wonderland, the Himba nomadic tribe still roams freely; a traditional, pastoral people, relying upon herds of drought-resistant cattle for their livelihood.

Their villages are situated by springs that gush out from dry riverbeds.




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Cheethas !!!

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The Cheetah is the fastest of all mammals.
Giving chase it can attain speeds of between 95 and 112 kilometers an hour for distances of up to about 300 metres !

A machine-like blur at speed, this gangly yet graceful creature is a lesson in streamlining with small head, deep chest and long legs.
A long heavy tail serves as a balancing aid used to great advantage during the chase.




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Unlike the other big cats, the cheetah hunts mostly during the day and in open spaces, where it is able to make full use of its athletic prowess to catch small antelope, hares, warthogs and ground birds.
It seldom scavenges as it prefers fresh meat.

Cheetah are sometimes confused with leopard because of the spots which characterize both animals. Arrangement of the spot is more random in cheetahs and their heads are smaller.




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Distinctive black lines run down the cheek bones from the eyes, and the cubs have a characterist tuft of hair from the nape to the rump.
This tuft of hair is even more pronounced on the young. Up to the age of about three months, cubs have a mantle of smoky grey hair concealing the spots that will appear later.
This serves as a camouflage device which offers some protection to the customary litters of two or three cubs, which are vulnerable to predation.




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Windhoek, Equitrails Namibia

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Only 15 km from Windhoek, Elisenheim Guest Farm is tucked in the beatiful rolling hills of the Eros Mountains.

This is a new company whose instructors have over ten years of horse riding experience throughout Africa.


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This is a great opportunity to get out into nature for a relaxing sundowner, champagne breakfast, picnic or even an overnight ride.


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If you are only looking to kill an hour, they can accomodate nearly any request.
There is no minimum per group but there is a maximum of six people per group.
If you need a lift back to the city, be sure to mention this and they will accomodate you.

For more informations, please visit: www.equitrails.org


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Hippo !!!

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Hippopotamus in Greek means "River Horse".

It is the largest of freshwater mammals.

Susceptible to heat and sunburn, it will spend long lazy day submerged in water, with only eyes, ears and nostrils peeking out.

At night the Hippo will leave the water to forage on land.

They have a weight of up to 3,000 kg. and a lifespan of about 40 years.

A single young is born underwater, after a gestation period of 8 months.



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The Gravel Plains & the Moon Landscape

One of the largest gypsum surfaces in the world, spreading nearly 10,000 sq. km from the sand sea north to the Swakop River.
It is believed the gravel plains' history begins in the sea.
This theory states the Benguela's pantry of plankton is costantly recycling, dying, and drifting to the bottom of the seabed, where the decomposing material releases hydrogen sulphide into the atmosphere.



In the atmosphere it combines with the oxygen to produce a diluted sulphuric acid.
Fog from the coast then transfers this to the alkaline calcrete of the gravel plains.
The exchange of molecules, as an acid and alkaline mix, creates the gypsum that makes the gravel plains so unique.



Over some 80 million years of weathering and erosion, slicing the gypsum surface into a series of inhospitable canyons, resembling the surface of the moon.

The Moon Landscape
When viewing this Moon Landscape, remind yourself that in early history, the earth's surface was at least a kilometer above where you are standing.
Together water, wind, temperature, chemical, and biological erosion took sediment out to sea.

Crocodiles !!

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Ferocious hunters, Crocodiles can live up to 100 years.

They are opportunistic predators, and will attack even very large animals and humans that may venture too close to their river or water-pan homes.

Capable of attaining six metres, they possess a long tail which is effectively used to propel them rapidly from water .... onto their unsuspecting prey.

Mamili National Park

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Mamili National Park is Namibia's version of the Okavango Delta in Botswana, a paradisiacal area of waterly channels, beautiful wetlands and reed islands.

This Park can rightly claim to be the jewel of the Caprivi Region.
For this Mamili perhaps stands alone when compared to all other Protected Areas in the country.
It not only forms the largest wetland area with conservation status in Namibia .... it is wild, it is untrammelled, and nature is at its scintillating best !!  .....  but moreover it can be inundated with extreme water levels.

Mamili National Park is located on the Nkasa and Lupala islands on the Kwando and Linyanti rivers in south-western corner of East Caprivi.

During the dry season the islands can be reached by road, but after rains the area becomes flooded, cutting them off from the mainland.

Vegetation is dominated by species associated with floodplains and termitaria. Floodplains provide ideal protection for swamp and floodplainmammals such as buffalo, wild dog, red lechwe, sitatunga ......

It is habitat to elephant, lion, crocodile and hippo.

Mamili National Park is also known for its birds population.

But it is difficult to reach this remote and beautiful place ...... only visitors with 4x4 can use the roads.

Accomodation is limited to undeveloped wilderness campsites.

The Namib Desert

The Namib Desert is often referred to as the world's oldest desert and has been in existence for some 43 million years, remaining unchanged in its present form for the last 2 million years. 

It is an immense expanse of relentlessly moving gravel plains and dunes of all shapes and sizes that stretch along the entire coastline.

The most widespread and dominant type of desert sand dune are linear dunes, with crescent shaped dunes common along the coast and clusters of star dunes, such as the towering horseshoe of dunes at Sossusvlei.

It comes as no surprise therefore to discover that the entire western section of Namibia is comprised of the Namib, which spreads beyond the borders of Namibia and flows into southern Angola and the northern Cape Province of South Africa. 

Quiver Tree Forest

The Quiver Tree Forest (Kokerboom Woud in Afrikaans) is a forest well -known as a tourist attraction of Southern Namibia.

It is located about 14 kilometers north of Keetmanshoop, on the road to Koes, in the Gariganus Farm.

It comprises about 250 specimens of Aloe dichotoma, a species of aloe locally known as "quiver tree" because bushmen use its branches to make quivers.

The forest is spontaneous; the highest quiver tree are 2 - 3 centuries old.

The forest was declared a National Monument of Namibia on June 1, 1995.








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In the surroundings of the forest there is another site of geological interest, the Giant's Playground, a vast pile of large dolerite rocks.


                                                                                     
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Elephants !!

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Congregated at the waterhole, playfully splashing and spouting plumes of water over their wrinkly hides to cool their bodies, or whilst flapping their ears like huge fans as they amble along browsing for food, the majestic African Elephant may seem to have not an enemy in the world.



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All males have tusks, as do most females.
Even at birth, calves have a tiny pair of "milk tusks". At about a year, these are replaced with a permanent pair which continue to grow throughout the animal's life.
Large elephants can attain a mass of about five tons with tusks up three metres in lenght.
They consume huge amounts of food in the form of grass and leaves - often selected from the tops of trees - and depending on availability can digest up to 200 kilograms in a day.
The elephant lacks sweat glands and if it were not for its large ears which constitute about 20 percent of its body surface area it would not be able to cope with the intense heat of the African sun.
The ears are richly supplied with blood vessels and are the ideal avenue for heat loss.
Flapping the ears dissipates body heat, as well as producing a cooling breeze over the skin.
This gentle flapping action has the effect of cooling five to twelve litres of blood flowing through the ears every minute.

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Other methods of keeping cool include spraying the body with water and drinking approximately 150 litres a day, climatic conditions permitting.
In the dry season, elephants may have to travel up to 80 kilometres a day in search of water, which is sucked into the trunk, and then squirted into the mouth.

Highly destructive in their feeding habits, elephant bulls will push down whole trees to reach a few leaves, and will strip the bark from certain species, particularly acacias, sometimes damaging them beyond regeneration.

Male elephants occasionally indulge in serious fighting over a female. Living in a matriarchal society, the females and their young associate in closely-knit groups, combining with other family groups to form the breeding herd.



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A single calf may be born at any time of the year following a 22 month period of gestation and its lifespan will average about 60 years.

These extremely intelligent animals are endowed with a conscious sense of family unit.
The mother, especially, will show great affection for her young, and when danger is imminent  the calf will be hidden under her belly.

Elephants have only man as their enemy, since even the lion will only attack a small calf if it has strayed too far from the herd.



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Wild Horses

The wild horses of the Namib Desert are steeped in mystery as to how they came to roam the hostile desert plains.
One theory states that they are the descendants of South African Army and German Schutztruppe horses left behind during the First World War, others believe that they stem from the horse stud kept at Duwisib Castle owned by Baron Hans-Heinrich von Wolf.
After his death, the horses were abandoned to their fate in the harsh desert.
The third theory offer a wild explanation; a ship thought to carry Thorougbreds ran aground off the Atlantic coastline.
The ones that survived the treacherous swim through the frigid waters could have survived by reaching the Garub Pan, located 20 kilometers west of Aus.

Whatever their story may be, the wild horses have established themselves and claimed a rightful place in the Namib Naukluft Park.

Surviving extreme weather and sparse grazing, the horses have adapted admirably to their environment. 

A permanent watering trough was erected for the horses at Garub in order to ease their survival during extreme periods of drought.


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Leopards !!

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The Leopard is essentially a shy animal and a sighting can be considered a rare privilege.

The spots, for which he is known, are set in symmetrical rows and combine in rosette-like clusters to form a dappled camouflage.

Food of choice is small buck and baboon but unfortunately, as its natural territory diminishes it has often been forced to poach domestic stock which has resulted in retribution by man.



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Lions !!

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Lion, "The King of the Beasts"...... !

His eminence instills fear, awe and respect in both man and beast.
On the prowl The King is in full command and the atmosphere becomes charged with tension as all lessor creatures take on the heightened awareness of danger and the need for self preservation.

Such is the strenght and power of this animal, the largest of all African cats, that even the mighty elephant needs to be on guard.

Large male lions can stand 1,25 meters at the shoulders and have a mass of almost 250 kilograms. This weight is used to great effect when hunting to drag prey to the ground.

His fearsome appearance is enhanced by his large mane which can be almost black, especially   in those found in the north -western region of Southern Africa.

The male lions main function is to protect the pride and to fend off predators such as the opportunistic hyena.

The lioness has the greater responsability for hunting and food requirement  - even though the hunt is usually a cleverly orchestrated team effort by all members of the pride.

The agile adult females will spread out to enable them to attack from different directions.
They will simultaneously charge at the opportune moment and select one unfortunate animal  to relentlessy bear down on until it is brought to ground.



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The larger males will be quick to feed on a successful "kill" and often thoroughly gorge themselves before allowing lionesses and cubs to partake in the feast.

In the meantime it is likely that other predators such as hyena and jackal will have started to gather nearby, not to mention vultures and other birds of prey also quick to fulfil the role Nature gave them in the food chain.

For the smaller members of the lion pride the ravenous hyena can be a serious problem, and though gorging on the carcass the adult male lions will always keep a wary eye on these unwelcome mealtime guests.

It is the size of the lion group, which can number up to about thirty members, that determines how often a "kill" will be necessary.

Lions will usually hunt in the night, cool of early morning, or late in the afternoon as they are loath to exert themselves in the midday heat.



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Okonjima, home of AfriCat

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Founded in 1991, it was not until 1993 that AfriCat was officially registered as a non-profit organization.


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Over the years the foundation has grown from a simple animal welfare organization into a working welfare, education and research center.


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They are dedicated to preserving the conservation of large carnivores in Namibia and currently protect nearly 100 cheetahs and leopards.


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AfriCat is located 48 km south of Otjiwarongo on the farm of Okonjima, just off the B1.


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www.okonjima.com

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Save the Rhino Trust

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In the remote north western corner of Namibia, the black rhino population is the only one in the world to have survived on communal land with no formal conservation status.


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It is the largest free-range population in existence today.
In the 1980s the numbers were falling drastically as a result of hunting and poaching of the animals, and the black rhino population fell to near extint levels.


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This brought the attention of a few select scientists who founded the Save The Rhino Trust in 1982.

In the beginning, the trust employed former poachers, utilizing their extensive knowledge of the animal to begin the conservation movement.


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Over the years the trust's aim to stop the extermination of black rhinos has gained support by local Chiefs headman and the farming communities.

With the support from the government and help from international partners, the trust has found success in monitoring the rhino, simultaneously bringing benefits to the community through conservation and tourism.


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Since its founding, the black rhino population in these northwestern concession areas has tripled.


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