Walking in a winter wonderland

its freezing cold with bright blue sky but its not snow. We're in white sands national park.

sand boarding

Jake - dude

opening pressies

Christmas morning at jim and jeanne's

jake cranking up a 5.10

Climbing on mt lemmon at 4,500 ft on boxing day

chicachu national park

Amazing rock hoodoos

happy christmas

Here we are in tucson arizona. We're enjoying fantastic hospitality with jim and jean - amazing weather and great climbing (mt lemmon in the background).

kaiser chiefs

In concert at sheffield. Ruby ruby ruby!

The 'real' Africa - North of the 'red line'

The north of Namibia is given over to communal land, where subsistance farmers live in small villages of thatched roundel houses.

Hippo rock art

... On the 'female hill' on the Tsodilo Hills, in northern Botswana.

Home!

Well, we finally made it home!

Since the last update, we've had a week in the South of Namibia, visiting Fish River Canyon (variously described as the second biggest canyon in the world, or at least in Africa) and the Namib desert dunes - these are the biggest in the world, towering a thousand feet above the surrounding desert.

Both provided some staggering scenary, good walking, and gob-smacking photos (more to follow), and would all have been quite relaxing but for a fast-evaporating fan belt and 1000km of driving on dirt roads with no mobile signal!

Anyway, now back home for some r & r!

Update from the Kalahari

It's been a packed week since the phone went on the blink.

 

First stop was Botswana's "Mountain of the Gods" - Tsodilo Hills, where there is evidence of human habitation going back 100,000 yeras, and thousands of amazing rock art paintings.

 

Next up a drive through Muramba national park, for Hippo & Elephant spotting.

 

Then on to Livingston in Zambia for a couple of days admiring Victoria Falls (after the nightmare Kazangula river border crossing!)

 

Then to CHobe national park in Botswana for loads more game and our first close-up encounter with a couple of lions.

 

We are just now leaving Maun, at the heart of the Okavango Delta, where the worlds largest inland river system disappears into the sands.

 

Next stop back in Namibia....

Sorry for the interuption to blogging service

Hello

 

I am afraid we've had a blog-phone failure, so can't make mobile blog posts!  We'll be limited to internet cafe's from now on (infrequent!) so don't worry if you don't hear from us:-)

 

Just leaving Victoria Falls - ace...

Sunset over Popa Falls

Rundu beach

Looking out over the Kavango river into Angola. We're staying safely on this side, and heading East towards Victoria Falls along the Caprivi Strip.

Okaukuejo campsite Etosha

must be in Torquay?

Herds of wilderbeast galloping across the plain...

Okakajo waterhole

Elephant, rhino & giraff (honest!!) under floodlights.

Etosha

Zebra

Elephants taking an evening's dip

...at the campsite waterhole

Safari drive

Buffalo and a hartabeast taking an evening drink at a waterhole. The zoom on the phone camera can't do justice, so you'll have to wait for close ups when we get home.

The highlight of the drive was seeing a cheetah chasing an oryx - amazing!

Waterberg Plateau National Park

Lounging around the campsite pool - not bad for £7 a night, and a welcome bit of luxury after the somewhat more basic facilities at Spitzkope

Tashie on 'Winds of Despair'

Nearing the top of pitch 2, on this grade 17 (about VS) on the 'sugarloaf'.

No hint of despair when you are climbing like a rock goddess!

Natural rock bridge

A great view of the Pontoks (and Oughtons) through this natural rock arch.

spitzkope

Now that's what I call an outside convenience. Perusing the guidebook beneath the southwest face of the Spitzkope

Spitzkope and the Pontoks

Driving towatds the Spitzkope - the 'Mattahorn of Africa', with the 5 pinnacles of the Pontoks on the right.

Jake climbing a grade 17

...on elephant rock (but not the same one as yesterday!) at Spitzkope.

Elephant head rock

After 30km of gravel and sand tracks we arrive at elephant's head rock. Great scrambly walk over the top.

Giraff

These lanky buggers are really well camoflaged!

Rock arch

Tash & Jake balance on a natural rock arch on top of the elephant's head

Rock art elephant

In phillip's cave, Ameib Ranch

Erongo hills

Gazells in front of the erongo hills

Dan Viollen national park

Chilling by the pool - landed safely, got the van, must be time for a plunge then a pint!

But not before a spot of wildlife viewing. Our first evening's ticks included:
- giraff
- babboon
- zebra
- warthog
- wilderbeast

...and almost getting the van stuck!

Over Etosha

30 minutes to landing, just entered Namibian air space over Etosha national park (back here in a week or so).

Itinerary

We're off to Namibia, Botswana and Zambia, arriving and leaving from Windhoek, and heading clockwise past:

- Spitzkope

- Skeleton coast

- Etosha

- Okavanga delta

- Victoria falls

- Chobe

- Fish river canyon

- Sossusveli

We're off to africa for the summer. If you want to see why, just look at the current view out of the window!