Travels With Maria

Namibia 2022

Safari Vehicles

Game drives in safari parks are a rough affair. Everywhere the bumpy ride is referred to as an "African massage". An ad hoc network of tracks generally consisting of two ruts through the bush, never maintained, made worse by traffic during the rainy season mud, treacherous in sandy soil. The typical safari vehicle starts out as a Toyota Land Cruiser which is a rough, tough pickup truck, rear wheel drive that can convert to 4 wheel drive. On older versions you have to get out of the truck and manually lock the front hubs when you shift to 4wd.  There is an African industry that converts this workhorse into a…
More

Sossusvlei

Sossusvlei is one of Namibia’s must-see spots. Some of the world’s highest sand dunes in the world’s oldest desert provide the spectacular setting for a visit. Deadvlei is a flat pan, about a kilometer across, that used to have water until it was cut off from the river by a sand dune, about 500 years ago. The trunks of trees, dead for 500 years, make for an eerie scene, surrounded by high dunes.

More

Namibian Tribes

While Namibia as a whole is surprisingly modern, there are tribes in the remote northwest of the country that maintain their ancient traditions and way of life. We were fortunate to visit two of these tribes with our guide Abel Man who was able to explain a lot about their lifestyle. We also visited the Damaraland Living Museum, where modern, educated Damara people preserve their tribal culture.

More

Desert Elephants

Up early this morning to chase desert adapted elephants. We teamed up with another vehicle, a German family of four with their guide. Their safari vehicle is open, fresh air and good visibility. Ours is a four door Ford pickup truck with air conditioning. Trailing our little two vehicle caravan was a young hot shot South African who passed us several times, each time raising big clouds of dust. Open vehicle versus A/C. https://youtu.be/1YZ7vYU3XLw?cc_load_policy=1 After about half an hour, we left the road and drove along a riverbed. The ephemeral river is dry most of the year. The elephants hang around near the river as there are places they can…
More

Damaraland

We flew yesterday from Cape Town to Windhoek, capital of Namibia. We have arranged a tour with Lark Journeys, who sent a driver to pick us up from the airport and drive us to the hotel for our first night's stay.  We met Claire from Lark at the hotel where she gave us the detailed run down of our Namibia excursion. She left, and we took a walk in the neighborhood to get a bottle of whisky. The liquor store was right across the street from the Chinese embassy. Windhoek is a very modern city, new buildings, clean, wide, smooth streets. Our hotel looks brand new. It has many buildings…
More

Safari Vehicles

Game drives in safari parks are a rough affair. Everywhere the bumpy ride is referred to as an "African massage". An ad hoc network of tracks generally consisting of two ruts through the bush, never maintained, made worse by traffic during the rainy season mud, treacherous in sandy soil. The typical safari vehicle starts out as a Toyota Land Cruiser which is a rough, tough pickup truck, rear wheel drive that can convert to 4 wheel drive. On older versions you have to get out of the truck and manually lock the front hubs when you shift to 4wd.  There is an African industry that converts this workhorse into a…
More

Sossusvlei

Sossusvlei is one of Namibia’s must-see spots. Some of the world’s highest sand dunes in the world’s oldest desert provide the spectacular setting for a visit. Deadvlei is a flat pan, about a kilometer across, that used to have water until it was cut off from the river by a sand dune, about 500 years ago. The trunks of trees, dead for 500 years, make for an eerie scene, surrounded by high dunes.

More

Namibian Tribes

While Namibia as a whole is surprisingly modern, there are tribes in the remote northwest of the country that maintain their ancient traditions and way of life. We were fortunate to visit two of these tribes with our guide Abel Man who was able to explain a lot about their lifestyle. We also visited the Damaraland Living Museum, where modern, educated Damara people preserve their tribal culture.

More

Desert Elephants

Up early this morning to chase desert adapted elephants. We teamed up with another vehicle, a German family of four with their guide. Their safari vehicle is open, fresh air and good visibility. Ours is a four door Ford pickup truck with air conditioning. Trailing our little two vehicle caravan was a young hot shot South African who passed us several times, each time raising big clouds of dust. Open vehicle versus A/C. https://youtu.be/1YZ7vYU3XLw?cc_load_policy=1 After about half an hour, we left the road and drove along a riverbed. The ephemeral river is dry most of the year. The elephants hang around near the river as there are places they can…
More

Damaraland

We flew yesterday from Cape Town to Windhoek, capital of Namibia. We have arranged a tour with Lark Journeys, who sent a driver to pick us up from the airport and drive us to the hotel for our first night's stay.  We met Claire from Lark at the hotel where she gave us the detailed run down of our Namibia excursion. She left, and we took a walk in the neighborhood to get a bottle of whisky. The liquor store was right across the street from the Chinese embassy. Windhoek is a very modern city, new buildings, clean, wide, smooth streets. Our hotel looks brand new. It has many buildings…
More

Safari Vehicles

Game drives in safari parks are a rough affair. Everywhere the bumpy ride is referred to as an "African massage". An ad hoc network of tracks generally consisting of two ruts through the bush, never maintained, made worse by traffic during the rainy season mud, treacherous in sandy soil. The typical safari vehicle starts out as a Toyota Land Cruiser which is a rough, tough pickup truck, rear wheel drive that can convert to 4 wheel drive. On older versions you have to get out of the truck and manually lock the front hubs when you shift to 4wd.  There is an African industry that converts this workhorse into a…
More

Sossusvlei

Sossusvlei is one of Namibia’s must-see spots. Some of the world’s highest sand dunes in the world’s oldest desert provide the spectacular setting for a visit. Deadvlei is a flat pan, about a kilometer across, that used to have water until it was cut off from the river by a sand dune, about 500 years ago. The trunks of trees, dead for 500 years, make for an eerie scene, surrounded by high dunes.

More

Namibian Tribes

While Namibia as a whole is surprisingly modern, there are tribes in the remote northwest of the country that maintain their ancient traditions and way of life. We were fortunate to visit two of these tribes with our guide Abel Man who was able to explain a lot about their lifestyle. We also visited the Damaraland Living Museum, where modern, educated Damara people preserve their tribal culture.

More

Desert Elephants

Up early this morning to chase desert adapted elephants. We teamed up with another vehicle, a German family of four with their guide. Their safari vehicle is open, fresh air and good visibility. Ours is a four door Ford pickup truck with air conditioning. Trailing our little two vehicle caravan was a young hot shot South African who passed us several times, each time raising big clouds of dust. Open vehicle versus A/C. https://youtu.be/1YZ7vYU3XLw?cc_load_policy=1 After about half an hour, we left the road and drove along a riverbed. The ephemeral river is dry most of the year. The elephants hang around near the river as there are places they can…
More

Damaraland

We flew yesterday from Cape Town to Windhoek, capital of Namibia. We have arranged a tour with Lark Journeys, who sent a driver to pick us up from the airport and drive us to the hotel for our first night's stay.  We met Claire from Lark at the hotel where she gave us the detailed run down of our Namibia excursion. She left, and we took a walk in the neighborhood to get a bottle of whisky. The liquor store was right across the street from the Chinese embassy. Windhoek is a very modern city, new buildings, clean, wide, smooth streets. Our hotel looks brand new. It has many buildings…
More

Safari Vehicles

Game drives in safari parks are a rough affair. Everywhere the bumpy ride is referred to as an "African massage". An ad hoc network of tracks generally consisting of two ruts through the bush, never maintained, made worse by traffic during the rainy season mud, treacherous in sandy soil. The typical safari vehicle starts out as a Toyota Land Cruiser which is a rough, tough pickup truck, rear wheel drive that can convert to 4 wheel drive. On older versions you have to get out of the truck and manually lock the front hubs when you shift to 4wd.  There is an African industry that converts this workhorse into a…
More

Sossusvlei

Sossusvlei is one of Namibia’s must-see spots. Some of the world’s highest sand dunes in the world’s oldest desert provide the spectacular setting for a visit. Deadvlei is a flat pan, about a kilometer across, that used to have water until it was cut off from the river by a sand dune, about 500 years ago. The trunks of trees, dead for 500 years, make for an eerie scene, surrounded by high dunes.

More

Namibian Tribes

While Namibia as a whole is surprisingly modern, there are tribes in the remote northwest of the country that maintain their ancient traditions and way of life. We were fortunate to visit two of these tribes with our guide Abel Man who was able to explain a lot about their lifestyle. We also visited the Damaraland Living Museum, where modern, educated Damara people preserve their tribal culture.

More

Desert Elephants

Up early this morning to chase desert adapted elephants. We teamed up with another vehicle, a German family of four with their guide. Their safari vehicle is open, fresh air and good visibility. Ours is a four door Ford pickup truck with air conditioning. Trailing our little two vehicle caravan was a young hot shot South African who passed us several times, each time raising big clouds of dust. Open vehicle versus A/C. https://youtu.be/1YZ7vYU3XLw?cc_load_policy=1 After about half an hour, we left the road and drove along a riverbed. The ephemeral river is dry most of the year. The elephants hang around near the river as there are places they can…
More

Damaraland

We flew yesterday from Cape Town to Windhoek, capital of Namibia. We have arranged a tour with Lark Journeys, who sent a driver to pick us up from the airport and drive us to the hotel for our first night's stay.  We met Claire from Lark at the hotel where she gave us the detailed run down of our Namibia excursion. She left, and we took a walk in the neighborhood to get a bottle of whisky. The liquor store was right across the street from the Chinese embassy. Windhoek is a very modern city, new buildings, clean, wide, smooth streets. Our hotel looks brand new. It has many buildings…
More

Safari Vehicles

Game drives in safari parks are a rough affair. Everywhere the bumpy ride is referred to as an "African massage". An ad hoc network of tracks generally consisting of two ruts through the bush, never maintained, made worse by traffic during the rainy season mud, treacherous in sandy soil. The typical safari vehicle starts out as a Toyota Land Cruiser which is a rough, tough pickup truck, rear wheel drive that can convert to 4 wheel drive. On older versions you have to get out of the truck and manually lock the front hubs when you shift to 4wd.  There is an African industry that converts this workhorse into a…
More

Sossusvlei

Sossusvlei is one of Namibia’s must-see spots. Some of the world’s highest sand dunes in the world’s oldest desert provide the spectacular setting for a visit. Deadvlei is a flat pan, about a kilometer across, that used to have water until it was cut off from the river by a sand dune, about 500 years ago. The trunks of trees, dead for 500 years, make for an eerie scene, surrounded by high dunes.

More

Namibian Tribes

While Namibia as a whole is surprisingly modern, there are tribes in the remote northwest of the country that maintain their ancient traditions and way of life. We were fortunate to visit two of these tribes with our guide Abel Man who was able to explain a lot about their lifestyle. We also visited the Damaraland Living Museum, where modern, educated Damara people preserve their tribal culture.

More

Desert Elephants

Up early this morning to chase desert adapted elephants. We teamed up with another vehicle, a German family of four with their guide. Their safari vehicle is open, fresh air and good visibility. Ours is a four door Ford pickup truck with air conditioning. Trailing our little two vehicle caravan was a young hot shot South African who passed us several times, each time raising big clouds of dust. Open vehicle versus A/C. https://youtu.be/1YZ7vYU3XLw?cc_load_policy=1 After about half an hour, we left the road and drove along a riverbed. The ephemeral river is dry most of the year. The elephants hang around near the river as there are places they can…
More

Damaraland

We flew yesterday from Cape Town to Windhoek, capital of Namibia. We have arranged a tour with Lark Journeys, who sent a driver to pick us up from the airport and drive us to the hotel for our first night's stay.  We met Claire from Lark at the hotel where she gave us the detailed run down of our Namibia excursion. She left, and we took a walk in the neighborhood to get a bottle of whisky. The liquor store was right across the street from the Chinese embassy. Windhoek is a very modern city, new buildings, clean, wide, smooth streets. Our hotel looks brand new. It has many buildings…
More