Juvenile pelican. The bird was used to humans and I could get close to him to take this shot.

The entrance to the harbour.

Portrait of an adult pelican.

Google. That’s the name of this cute baby seal. This is a cape fur seal – see my previous article about them.

I want fish!!! It looks scary, but the seals are really tame and you can caress them and feed them with the fish.

Eddie is feeding the seagulls.

I want fish too!

Fishing industry on the sea. One of these ships was Russian, the other Chinese.

The seals were chasing us and i couldn’t believe my eyes how fast and skilled swimmers are they!

Finnaly we spoted the dolphins. Elegant creatures.

The light house at the end of the Walvis bay.

Siesta time.

Delicacy. The fresh oysters with lemon juice and Tabasco – just great!

Mola Mola safari was a great experience and I recommend it to everyone. If you venture to Swakopmund it is worth to do a detour to Walvis bay to do a trip. Here is the link of the Mola Mola company. I was really satisfied with their service and Eddie was a great guy, he made this trip an unforgettable experience.

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• On the Safari in East Africa – part I? (7)
• Cape Cross seal colony (5)
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• On the Safari in East Africa – part II (11)

Namib desert is probably number one attraction in Namibia. The red dunes are the subject on every tourist brochure photos and a visit is in every itinerary of Namibia that travel agencies offer. And I do not wonder why. I was admiring the photos myself and I hardly waited to get there. The Namib is the second largest desert in Africa and it is the part of Namib – Naukluft national park. Most popular place to visit in the park is Sesriem, which is a starting point to the Sossusvlei and Deadvlei areas.

The visit to the dunes usually takes one night in the park or at some of the lodges just outside of it. If you can afford the lodges inside the park I would strongly recommend you to do that. The park gates open at sunrise, but if you stay inside the park you can get to the dunes even earlier. This way you can avoid the crowds and enjoy the tranquillity and vastness of the dunes.

We arrived to Namib desert lodge in the afternoon after a long drive from Damaraland. The sun was already low and I went to the red cliffs to make some landscape shots. I was outside and I was alone. There was a light breeze and the sunlight was pleasantly warm. Unforgettable!

Early in the morning about an hour before the sunrise we departed to the Sesriem. When we entered the park the sun was already up, but there was thick fog. We couldn’t see anything, but fortunately the fog was disappearing and it was creating lovely textures on the dunes.

The famous Dune number 45. This is usually the first stopover for most of the visitors.

Every drop of water counts.

How to climb the dunes? Barefoot!

This little bird was bathing in the sand and cleaning its feathers.

Deadvlei. The most picturesque area of the dunes.

The Namib-Naukluft national park with its red dunes is a wonderful place that will stay in your heart for ever. I promise. It is worth the effort of getting there, waking up in the middle of the night and the costs. But do not forget about basics. This is a desert and this is Africa. Do not forget the sunscreen, plenty of water and a hat. in the morning it might be cold as well, so take something light to wear. Handle your camera with care, because those nasty little sands will get everywhere – even to the places you do not imagine:).

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• Stripes in Etosha (6)
• Walvis bay – Mola Mola safari (4)
• On the Safari in East Africa – part II (11)
• On the Safari in East Africa – part I? (7)
• Himba – the beautiful people. (43)

It was first discovered by an explorer and botanist Friedrich Welwitsch from Austrian empire. It is named after him although he wanted to give this plant different name – like the local people were naming it. But it was such amazing discovery that scientists named it after him. Actually Welwitsch was from Slovenian origin, his Slovenian name was Friderik Velbic and since there was no independent Slovenia at that times he was an Austrian citizen. Not a lot of people know that Welwitchia has also a Slovenian name – Velbicevka or Velbicica.

This photo was taken at Welwitchia plains, just half an hour drive out of Swakopmund. Trully amazing area! The Welwitchia on the photo is a female – almost forgot to mention:)

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A polite question and she agreed. She looked at me gracefully when I took this photo. A small doll on my desktop still reminds me of beautiful lady Africa.

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Etosha is one of the most interesting national parks I have visited so far. The name itself means “The great white pan” after huge mineral pan that dominates the park. Etosha NP is huge – it is even bigger than my home country Slovenia.  For a visit of the park I would recommend you t least three nights in the park to cover the most interesting areas. Even if you do self driving it is not difficult to navigate and spot animals. The best scenario would be driving from one waterhole to another and then another… Waterholes usually attract a lot of wildlife and even if at the moment you get there there is no animals it is worth to stop. If you stop the car engine and just enjoy the quietness and wait for a while, animals will come.

There are not many lodges inside the park, but most of them have a camping site as well. Good idea is to stay at the lodge/camp that has a waterhole which is lit at night. It is great thing to take a couple of beers (Tafel Lager is my favourite), sit in a quiet and observe the animals. It is not uncommon to spot elephants, rhinos or even lions soon after the sunset. A true spectacle!

Waterholes are like theatre in nature. We were enjoying the quiet moments with just a few wading birds around this waterhole. Then the warthog came to get some refreshment. Then the impalas. Soon after them an elegant giraffe payed a visit. A group of zebras was following. And for a grand finale, a magnificent Kudu bull!

Zebras in a morning light.

Most of the zebras had muddy legs. It looks like they were wading across the white pan, that was still not completely dry since the last rains.

I just like the haircut of the zebras!

Funny but unlike the zebras I’ve seen in East Africa these in Etosha were not completely white.

We have encountered a big number of different animals in Etosha. but the most memorable for me were zebras. Funny, zebras are one of the most common animals in the park, they are everywhere. Most of the people are thrilled when they see them for a first time, but later on the enthusiasm fades away.  But for me it was really a great experience when we were watching them graze in a beautiful morning light. There were hundreds of them passing by our car and nobody spoke.

This little fellow was one of the last zebras we’ve seen before we left the park. I will come back to this beautiful place for sure! Someday.

If you liked this post, please read the others from Namibia as well!

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Cape fur seals (Arctocephalus pusillus) are actualy not real seals. They are species of sea lions. In Slovenian we call them sea bears (morski medvedi) – what a confusion – lions, bears, seals maybe?!? The fact that the Cape cross is their breeding area makes it even more interesting. There is a lot of puppies like the one on the photo below.

The visit to the colony was lovely experience. I enjoyed every minute of it although the smell is repulsive. But after a while I forgot about it and just enjoyed the company of these lovely animals. Recommended!

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Their village is situated in the pleasant surroundings of grassland and Mopane trees. It is ideal for their cattle as they have plenty of food and a shadow in hot summer days.

Young Himba women are stunningly beautiful. This girl looked at me with some kind of curiosity and pride at the same time.

Adolescent girl. She does not use the ochre colour yet but she already started to cultivate her hair.

This is how Himba women grind the red sandstone to produce ochre colour. They mix the red dust with butter and then rub it in the skin two times daily.

Small girl. She is even younger than the previous one. You can tell that because she has only one braid. The patches of red colour are from her mother.

The chief of the Himba village. He had six wives, only four are still alive. He is obviously exhausted from tough life, but still he is firmly leading his family. This chair is his throne I would say.

A profile of Himba woman. The leather decoration on her head means she is married. She is not young anymore but still elegantly “dressed”.

Cooking maize porridge. This is the main food for Himbas, they eat meat rarely and there is no vegetables and fruit in their diet. This young lady is going to school. Girls that go to school do not dress traditionally any more. She even speaks some basic English, so I talked to her for a while.

Himba mother and a child. Breastfeeding.

Is she in love?

Himba girls dancing. They performed a dance for us but they continued with vigorous dancing long after we left. They had a great fun and it was a delight to watch them whirling around with their braids flying.

Visiting Himba people is unforgettable experience and next time I go to Namibia I will definitely visit them again. And spend some more time with them.

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