Wall of Peace

In the coastal town of Swakopmund, Namibia there is an eclectic wall of pease surrounding the youth hostal.






There are about 100 different panels with themes of peace, freedom, and love.

Namibian Dreams

Namibian Dreams

If my mother could see me now.
The only Africa she new was missionaries.
The weekly Sunday morning, Sunday evening
Plea for coins.
Coins I could have used for movies.
But they were forbidden.
This Namibian Africa is
Quiet music
Vast still views
Little white and brown dogs
Jackels in the evening
Upside down milky road.

If my mother could see me now
She would know a different Africa
Not the place to be rescued,
The place to be lived
Absorbed through the skin,
The feet.
It holds me with its rose glowing arms.
The sun now is not harsh as I was told
But it is filtered with shadows climbing
Up the tables, mesas rojas
The beetle that walks with its head down
and its rear in the air to catch the morning dew.

If my mother could see me now
She would learn why we are different
and it would be okay.
There would be no right and worng
No blasck and white
There would just be.
When the questions come
They are easily answered.
There are no wrong answers,
Only answers.
Answers both original and mundane
The stuff of what I am.

Walvis Bay and Swakopmund, Namibia

Walvis Bay is the major port town in the middle of the long stretch of Namibia from South Africa to Angola. The first Europeans here were the Portugese in the mid 1400's. Long before them it was the land of the Topnaar people. The British colonized the Walvis Bay and the Germans colonized the Swakopmund further north primarily for a military presence. Walvia Bay is the major port and was part of South Africa until, I think 2004?, when it was given to Namibia. The name Swakopmund comes from the Topnaar word for diarrhea, because of all the debris washed down the Swako River to the sandy beach resembles the spew of a lose bowel.


There are an extraordiany number of marine and shore birds along this bay.





Greater Flamingoes





Pied Avocets





Caspian and Fairy Terns, Black-headed Gulls, Common Greenshanks, Black-bellied Plovers, Bar-tailed Godwit, a Curlew Sandpiper, and Ruddy Turnstones.

The Crew

The journey I am on from Cape Town to Nairobi, if you didn't know, is put together by the Canadian Company, Gap Adventures. Gap has a unique niche in this touring market that includes low cost camping trips such as this one. We have three South African guides along for most of the 40 days. Jeanene is training to become a leader in her own right. She is a bit shy here trying to run past the camera. She will be leaving us at Livingston, Zambia. Several of the travelers are only going that far as well.





Jan, our driver extraodinaire, is here bare foot demonstrating the length of a Black Mamba we found along side the road. Hopefully, it really is dead, but you never know with these guys. We saw two 6 foot long live Yellow Cobras along this same route. One was on the road beside the bus trying to climb onto the axle, and the other was going through a very large Social Weavers' nest hunting for eggs and chicks.




And this is our ever working, always taking care of every passing need, Maretha. Maretha spends 300 days a year on the road camping with groups like ours all over Eastern and Southern Africa. Here Maretha is holding the cameras everyone has loaded her with for a photo op at the Tropic of Capricorn.




Finally, this is part of the crazy goup hanging out at the Tropic along side the "Truck" as it is fondly know.

Go Away Bird

While camping on the banks of the Orange River I glanced towards the morning sun and a mournful sound, "G'way, G'way". Here perched above me was a Go Away Bird.



He was facing the morning sun as I was. He made me think about my
beginning thoughts of going away to Africa. That stirring deep within to visit the source. This place is so vast and desolate when traveling through the interior and coast of Namibia, and then
a delightful sight as this Oryx will appear along side the road.




When the Oryx gallops full out with its beautiful black tail streaming, it resembles a elegant stallion.

The Namibia No One Knew

All reports and sights from Namibia have been of a bare dry places, a moon scape. My Namibia has an impossible green glow.





The rivers and water holes are brimming over. The grass is green and high. The wildflowers are spectacular.









The power lines and fences are filled with Falcons, Kestrels, Hawks, the fields are full of Crowned Plovers, Weavers, and Secretary Birds. Can I ever again believe my friends who told me of endless miles of dust and sand, of parched thoughts and waterless dreams.





Even the thorn bushes are in full bloom!

Naimbia

It was a long but pleasant day from Cape Town to the Namibian border crossing. Fortunately our campground on the south side of the Orange River was flooded from recent rains so we crossed over to the Namibian side to Felix Unite campground which is delightful.
We had a huge dinner at the bar-restuarant. Set up our tents in the quiet above the Orange River. I get my own tent for the trip which is very cool. Here is the scene that greeted me in the morning of the second day.




Eight of us then went back to South Africa and paddled canoes for 12k back to camp on the Namibian side of the river. Along the cliffs we were surprised by a gorgeous African Fish Eagle, several African Darters, and lots of Pied Kingfishers. The African Fish Eagle looks very much like the American Bald Eagle and is about the same size.
At 12:30 we packed up camp and moved on to the Fish Canyon.





On the way I stopped at this quiver tree surrounded by a highly toxic Rhino plant that has been the cause of several deaths recently including a whole rugby tean that used it for fire wood on a camping trip. The Rhinos and the Oryxes can eat the Rhino bush. The quiver tree gets its name from the San People or Bushmen that use the hollowed out branches for arrows.

The river was surpringly full at the bottom of the canyon. All the hills had a green sheen from all the recent rain. While hiking the cliffs I found this beautiful beetle sucking the milky sap from this small bush.



After I set up my tent for the night I looked above and found a Masked Weaver bird enticing females to his suite of 7 nests. In the morning guess what my tent looked like.