Elephants, Giraffe, Zebra, Ostrich, Springbok, Kudu and Rhino Tracks - What more could you ask to see!

Volunteer Project

This morning we encountered Voortrekker and another bull and even a giraffe!

Then we drove North and then west towards Doros Crater.  The landscape is amazing a cross between Monument Valley USA and the Moon!  We had lunch then a siesta in a small canyon which was part of an old tin mine.

Ready for the afternoon jumped in the Olifant but unfortunately we have run out of electricity! Doh! A bit of bush mechanics and swapping of batteries got us on the road again!

The following day we headed towards Hyena Camp, across the moonscape, seeing several zebra and some rhino tracks.  Hyena camp, what is there to say, simply magnificent, truly awesome sunset and sunrise.  A quick wake up from Chris at 0130h had myself and him making night shots of the Milky Way!

Stephen, Australia (6th time volunteering for EHRA)

It surely was a blue Monday, we were packed and ready for patrol then oops we forgot the cups! Not so far from camp going west Levi spots the first elephants. We had lunch under a beautiful big Ana Tree. We saw Bellatrix and Tatiana and I have to admit I fell in love with Tatiana!

We stop at the Brandberg White Lady Lodge, we had a swim, played monopoly and yippee ate an ice cream! We then moved on and collected wood. As a Namibian I always sang our national anthem which talks of, ‘beautiful Namibia’, but I had never seen it growing up in the towns, but going up the Brandberg I could not stop admiring the beautiful Namibia. We set camp and then prepared Thai Curry which was delicious, it’s become my favourite dish!

Fina, Namibia

Well! Let me not start with how it went early in the morning, let me start from the previous night when I woke up in the middle of the night because of a cold breeze hitting my head from the west coast, the moment I snapped open my eyes I could see green and red flashing lights on tripods and realised that Chris and Stephen were up to something, taking photos of the Milky Way!!! I looked up and down, the sky was beautiful, full of stars and the most brightest. I am not sure if they saw the shooting start but yeah my eyes gazed at it as it faded away. The next thing I knew I was gone, sleeping.

Ok now back to what I should be wiring about on the morning of the 7th! It was chilled, the cold breeze still moving in Hyena Camp. Everything started smooth with Stephen and I waking Wilma up because she was on duty together with Kristy. We finished up with breakfast packed up and jumped on Olifant for the adventure. This time around we were heading north of the camp and made a little stop to see something huge – The Petrified Forest. Along the way further north we would see the astonishing landscapes, mountains that appeared in black and red colours and one filled with sand, looked like a dune mountain. Wildlife got more (not that much) first zebra, ostrich, springbok, kudu and some black rhino dung.

Landed in the Huab River and headed east upstream with Chris doing what he does best – tracking elephants. Not that long but a little further from where we entered the river we witnessed the almighty species, the ones that we actually came to see – THE ELEPHANTS! It was a beautiful sight. Even National Geographic would have been jealous of it. A couple of minutes passed by with all the camera snapping and we had to leave the elephants alone to go look for a big shady tree for lunch.

We ate lunch, had a chat and the rest of the group joined forces to play cards while I found myself on Olifant with a black pen and a book – writing a blog. It is truly a blessing. Levi, Namibia.

If you would like to receive any additional information or if you have any questions, please contact Rachel@desertelephant.org