Tag: camping

Chris-on-the-Trail

Let’s call it a rebranding of this weblog…

Hello, all – I hope you are well! Thanks for visiting again.

I’ve been delinquent in keeping up this blog during the pandemic, although I was fortunate that the virus didn’t keep me from visiting Namibia a few times – it is always nice to see my friends and former colleagues there in my second home. Throughout the period, I’ve mostly kept busy with some local volunteer activities (elections, census, food bank, and mentoring several foreign small businesses through MicroMentor) as well as enjoying some self-improvement (online courses, lectures, webinars, and gardening).

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Zambezi, Chobe and Victoria Falls

Following the Game Count, I had the chance to hang out on Namibia’s Zambezi River and to visit Botswana’s supreme Chobe National Park – home to the largest collection of elephants anywhere in the world.  I also got to Victoria Falls, on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, one of the natural wonders of the world. It was a treat to meet other Africans and to see a bit of our neighboring countries! I hope you enjoy the images! Continue reading “Zambezi, Chobe and Victoria Falls”

Game Count in Zambezi

I recently participated in IRDNC’s wildlife census activity in the Zambezi Region of Namibia, the far northeast corner of the county, at the tip of the extended thin finger of land squeezed between Zambia and Botswana. After a 3-day long road journey from Arandis, hitchhiking about 8 hours a day, the transformation of terrain and population density made evident those words from the national anthem: “contrasting, beautiful Namibia.” Green, Trees and Water – things I don’t often seen in the desert! Continue reading “Game Count in Zambezi”

Backpacking the Naukluft 8-Day Trail

I was treated to a very special visit by my son, Tyler, who spent several weeks in Namibia during March and April. A highlight of his visit was backpacking together along the remote, 125km-long Naukluft 8-Day Trail with 9 other American volunteers (from Peace Corps and World Teach). As always in wide open expanses of land, the photos never do justice, but I hope just the same that you enjoy the photos taken by Tyler, PCV Sheridan and me.

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Off the grid in Namibia’s wild, wild West

Longtime best friend David recently visited Namibia, so we hired a 4×4 with a roof-mounted tent to explore a corner of the country that has attracted me since my arrival: Damaraland and Kaokoland. Lying mostly in Kunene Region, it is considered one of the most remote places on Earth and besides its fascinating scenery, flora and free-ranging wildlife, it is the traditional homeland of the Damara and Himba tribes.

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A project completed (and I have the blisters to prove it!)

When I first visited Goanikontes-Oasis back in October, I started to think about a return trip to that relaxing retreat by hiking from Arandis across the desert and down a number of dry river canyons. While I had painful memories of the reconnaissance mission to remind me of the challenges, it was still a project I looked forward to accomplishing once summer was over and the temperatures were more tolerable.

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365 Days in…

Tomorrow will be the first anniversary of my arrival in Namibia with my fellow PCVs from Group 43. I will mark the occasion by completing the “project” I conceived back in October: to backpack from home over the desert and down the Khan and Swakop River canyons to Goanikontes-Oasis Rest Camp.

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Images of Life in Namibia

This is a long post, but made up only of photos and captions so I hope you find it fun and easy to go through during this busy time of year. You’ll see a bit about the work I’m doing and a lot from life in and around my home and some recent travels.

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Weekend getaway to Goanikontes-Oasis on the Swakop River

This past weekend afforded me another chance to explore my nearby surroundings, this time along the bed of the Swakop River that separates the high desert in the north from the high plains to the south.  I tented at the Goanikontes-Oasis rest camp, explored the river bed and climbed up to the south rim for great views.

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