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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