Experiences of a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer in Namibia (2016-19) and further adventures…
As I enter my final month of Peace Corps service in Namibia, I was delighted to come across these wonderful aerial photographs by Leah Kennedy showing the abstract but very real beauty of this country. (Photo Credit: Leah Kennedy. All rights reserved).
I hope you enjoy it too!
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”
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”
One unanticipated advantage of living in a thinly-populated country is that all the people who are here seem to know each other – I have met untold numbers of people I wouldn’t think possible to meet in the US. For example, in a recent post about Namibia’s novel approach to wildlife conservation, I brought attention to pioneer Garth Owen-Smith. Well, let me tell you another Namibian small world story…
The Atlantic recently published this photo gallery of the Namibian coast.
I’m going to miss it so much when I have to leave soon…
NPR just reported this sad news about elephant poaching in Botswana. I just returned from a week participating in a game count in Namibia, just over the river border from where this tragedy occurred. I will post more about my experience shortly, but want to share this information while it’s fresh.
I am excited to soon participate in a game count sponsored by IRDNC (Integrated Rural Development and Nature Conservation) in the Zambezi Region of Northeast Namibia. We’ll be conducting an annual wildlife census in the bush and it will give me a chance to see another part of this beautiful country. The links below describe important aspects of Namibia’s leading role in wildlife conservation, including one of its heroes, IRDNC co-founder Garth Owen-Smith. Continue reading “Namibia’s wildlife conservation”
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.
Tomorrow will mark the second anniversary of my arrival to Arandis. In many ways, it feels like it was just yesterday.
At the same time, I feel like I’ve been here forever…
My love made it to southern Africa over the holiday break in December, when I was able to show her why I love it here in Namibia. We started with a few days in South Africa, then flew to Namibia where we saw many of the iconic cultural and natural aspects that one should see on a first visit: wild animals (large and small), the dunes and the sea.
I hope you enjoy some of the photos we collectively took.
