Thursday, March 12, 2009

Namibia Recap

Best natural feature (non-living): The red dunes of Sossusvlei.

Best natural feature (probably living): Fairy circles. These are circles, several meters across, in which nothing grows; their perimeters, however, are well-vegetated. There's apparently some debate about their origin; we think the underground fungus story makes the most sense.

Best bird: It's hard to beat the Lilac-Breasted Roller or European Bee-Eater for sheer beauty. But we will still go with the Goliath Heron, the world's largest heron, which is a much rarer find.

Best antelope: Hard to beat the cute little Dik-Dik, the world's smallest antelope, which apparently mate for life. But Greater Kudu are pretty stunning.

Most impressive mammal: Seeing a Giraffe step out of the bushes in front of you is quite a sight. They are really, really big.

Biggest surprise: How little exercise you get on safari. You aren't allowed to walk in Big 5 country, so much of the day is spent in sitting in 4x4's driving through the park. You see a lot, but you aren't getting much exercise.

Best Namibian phrase: n/a. We didn't learn any fun phrases on this leg of the journey. We did notice, however, that the proper morning greeting is to ask how you slept.

Best traveling companions: David, Diane, Carolyn and Chuck, Sinclair, Sue, June, Betty.

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