All tagged Namibia
“I've been a "citizen scientist" for the Community Collective Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) for about four years now, with about 900 reports sent in from every time of year and sort of weather. I cannot say enough about how good it feels to help collect relevant climate data. Just before the summer solstice recently, CoCoRaHS, a volunteer organization, celebrated its 25th anniversary. My, how time flies.”
“In the early 1900s, the railroad leading to the coastal settlement of Luderitz in German South West Africa… was perpetually assaulted by the sands of the Namib Desert. Workers constantly had to shovel sand drifts off the rails. In April, 1908, a Black railroad worker named Zacharias Lewala found a perfectly clear stone… It was the first of the diamonds which would within four short years become millions of carats of harvested there annually.”
“I have never regarded myself as a “birder” – not in the sense of someone who spends hours, binoculars in hand, gazing high into the trees to discern avian activity… And yet: I do love birds. What I love is the way they are so gloriously free and unfettered. I never tire of their restless activity as they fly, swoop, and soar nearby.”
“At the end of the road westward out of Sesreim is a stunning and magnificent experience in the area called Sossusvlei... It’s a chance to witness the grandeur of the world’s oldest desert, the Namib, and its dunes, which are among the largest in the world. The sand is red due to abundant levels of iron oxide, and is reportedly five million years old.”
“I arrived in Namibia after dark on a July mid-winter evening. On the flight north from Johannesburg, I sat by the window and had a preview of the light shows I would see in the coming month… The horizon was a straight line dividing earth from the celestial ethers. I could not look away.”
“After a few days in Windhoek… my friend and guide, Ian Brown and I set off again. The first stop: Etosha National Park. Established in 1907, it is Namibia’s second-largest wildlife park. All the super-cool African wild animals are there. I asked if we might see a honey badger, as I’d dearly love that, but sadly, it was not to be.”
“It was a nice mid-winter day in July when my friend Steeve and I set out from Namibia’s capital city of Windhoek with our exceptional guide, Ian Brown. This meant the temperatures were nicely tolerable, instead of the extreme swelter of summer. The week ahead would take us around the southern half of the driest sub-Saharan country in Africa, where most areas get less than 2" of rain per year.”
“It has been a year of unleashed wanderlust, after the restraints of the Covid era. I thank my good fortune plus the ability to spend my time as I see fit (even though I am not retired!) plus that all-important ingredient: gumption. These are what enable my adventures out into the world.”
