Windhoek, Namibia

We are back in Windhoek, a dusty, unattractive place on our way to Sossuvlei to see the dunes. Good internet here so I'll post a few more pictures.

Marabou Stork Halali, Etosha

Black back Jackal

elepant at night, Halali, Etosha

angry rhino

kudu

warthog, hakuna matata!

liness and cub, Etosha

giraffe

Vic Falls again

secretary bird

lioness

springbok decked out for Christmas

Mr. Lion

Wildebeast and newborn baby. Note umbilical cord still in place

why did the giraffe cross the road?

the view from the Gondwana Etosha Lodge

Zambesi river from Katima Mulilo, Zambia on the other bank

weaver bird's nest

Lightening, Etosha

Traditional Namibian village

Cubango River, Hakusembe Lodge. Angola on the other bank

Water-hole at Namutoni, Etosha

The old German Fort at Namutoni

zebras

A tower of giraffes. I'm told that is the correct collective noun

blue crane

postprandial nap

Kori bustard

springbok

Hippo on the Zambesi

Our new years day hike up to the top of Waterberg Plateau

the Kalahari bush from the Waterberg Plateau

chalet at Waterberg

sunset at Waterberg Plateau

Waterberg Plateau, Namibia--A message from the Admiral

 It's been a while since my last blog entry and another year has passed .I can't 
believe Callisto is 7.5 years old and we have been living on her full time for 
just over 5 years .Some of you may remember we said we would be finished in 5 
years! Right...
My 2014 sailing season was short and ended at the end of April, when we flew to 
Japan for my 60th birthday.  A wonderful country that we will return to sometime 
in the future.
I have also been busy traveling in the USA and England,not like Michael who as 
you will have read in previous blog entries had a lot of sailing miles to cover.
It was wonderful to spend time in California with Julie ,James and Katie and in 
Oregon with Josette.we also had our much needed rest time in Sun Valley.Then 
onto London where I had so much fun babysitting for Sydney ,who will be 3 this 
week! We are waiting to hear the news of the arrival of our second grand 
daughter, due in a week !My mum unfortunately fell and fractured her hip whilst 
I was there,so I delayed my departure from London and arrived in South Africa 
mid -November ,late spring in this hemisphere .The Royal Cape Yacht Club must be 
one of the windiest places on earth ,it sometimes feels like we are sailing at 
anchor,but in fact are tied to the dock!It puts Chicago to shame.The sailors 
here are also very tough and go out in 40 kts +with full foul weather gear for 
fun.
The scenery around Capetown ,the garden route, inner Karoo and the wine lands 
has been spectacular ,I had never realized there were so many vineyards in this 
country ,they must easily outnumber California and France in acreage .Not only 
good wine ,but also excellent food and the the best part of this ideal pairing 
is how affordable it all is.I think  Franschhoek nestled in a spectacular valley 
, has to have the best combination of vineyards ,restaurants with views that I 
have seen thus far on my worldwide tour! 
In early December it was so lovely to have Jen and her friend Ed join us .We 
visited all the main tourist  attractions with them.
These last 10 days we have been driving around Namibia and have had a wonderful 
experience seeing the wildlife up close and personal,as you will have seen from 
the photos.The Etosha National park was amazing!It was wonderful to be able to 
self drive searching for the animals.When we came upon 3 lions just after their 
kill and feasting we were literally 10 feet away from them as I rolled down the 
window and took photos, a real adrenaline rush! I took more than 1500 photos in 
our first week,thank goodness for digital cameras.
Michael has been enjoying all sorts of new meat on our travels .I doubt very 
much I will find this selection on my return home even at Wholefoods....Impala,springbok,ostrich,kudu,guinea 
fowl and oryx so far! Meat seems to be a staple served at every meal in Southern 
Africa ,luckily I am able to find a good selection of vegetables and fruit.We 
made a day trip to Victoria falls which was an awesome sight,and a must to do 
,this was my first helicopter flight,but crossing the borders
Namibia,Botswana,Zimbabwe and back left a bad taste in your mouth,with  the 
enormous amount of paperwork and passport stamping plus  fees .For Zimbabwe a 
British passport holder gets charged the most,we can probably guess why?  $55 US 
per person for a day visit to cross the border(Zambia is supposed to be more) 
Mugabe  is raking it in,but not for the people.......then there are park fees 
etc ,etc and US dollars are the currency of choice.
We have just spent New Years on the Waterberg plateau ,an incredible spot,very 
remote and with beautiful red rocks and spring waters,it reminds me that  a 
good resolution for 2015 would be....
Today, stop often, breathe deeply, relax, allow, accept, and enjoy.
So tomorrow we set off towards the gigantic dunes in the south of Namibia....and 
so we continue,a Happy and healthy New Year to you all.

Waterberg Plateau, Namibia

We are enjoying a pleasant and peaceful New Year at the Waterberg Plateau Lodge. A bit rustic but very nice. We wish all our readers a happy, healthy and successful new year.

 Here are some photos as promised.

The Ozonjutji water hole in the western Etosha. Lots of critters here.

Burchell zebras

ostrich, zebra and a steenbok

sleepy lion

black faced Impala sparring

lion with his prey

lady kudu

the Etosha pan

vultures at Victoria falls Safari Lodge

1500 year old Baobab tree Victoria Falls

younger baobab tree

Dr. Livingstone, I presume

the spectacular Victoria Falls

Some more shots from the Victoria Falls Park. It was very wet from spray and the park had rain forest fauna

giraffe from the helicopter

aerial view of the falls

elephant in Chobe National Park from the helicopter

elephant at Halili, Etosha Park

another helo shot of the Falls

the Falls from the Zambian side

northern black korhaan

Rhino close encounter

Lots of elephant at Halimi, Etosha park

more rhino

Lots more photos to follow!

Katima Mulilo, Namibia

T he Admiral and I are sitting on the deck of the Protea Hotel at Katima Mulilo watching the hippos on the Zambesi River as the sun goes down. We have had a long but exciting day visiting the Victoria Falls. We were told that doing this trip on your own from Namibia is ill-advised. Having done it today, I would agree.
Our day started at 0600H and we were picked at the hotel by our driver and off we went to the Botswana border. This guy knew all the trick of getting to the front of the considerable lines and we drove rapidly through the Chobe National Park in Botswana.
We saw many elephant and giraffe but did not stop until we got to the border with Zimbabwe. There were crowds of people trying to enter. Our guy managed to get us ahead of the line and we had to pay $55 USD each to get a single entry visa to Zim. Had we been on our own they would have tacked on a fee for insurance, road tax and an environmental fee and temporary import duty on the rental vehicle.
After that there was another check point where a police officer attempted to shakedown our guide, who basically laughed at him and just drove on. I'm not sure how I would have handled the situation had I been on my own. We have heard rumors that these police have been known to go so far as to break a tail light and then fine you for having a dangerous vehicle. Only hearsay, however.
Once inside Zimbabwe, it was a short drive to the falls. We went to helicopter facility and took an amazing 25 minute ride over the falls and the Chobe National forest in a Bell jet ranger.
We walked around the falls for about 90 minutes, also a great experience and photos will follow and then a nice lunch at the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge.
By 1500H it was time to reverse the procedure and go back to Katima Mulilo in Namibia.
So this was an incredible experience but I think that a day trip would have been impossible for us to do by ourselves. The guided trip was expensive, as was the helicopter ride but well worth it.
Zimbabwe is an extremely expensive and corrupt place especially around the falls which seems to be a cash cow for them.
Lots of photos in the pipeline.


We left Capetown on December 20 th. and tried out Uber for the first time to take us to the airport early on a Saturday morning. Overall, this was a great experience a despite a surcharge was much cheaper than a regular cab.
The flight to Windhoek was on a turbo prop and a bit bumpy.
Once in Windhoek, we got a Toyota Corolla rental and went north to Outja and stayed the night there a small hotel and left for the Gondwana Etosha Lodge. We spent the afternoon wandering about, had an excellent dinner and booked a Safari drive the following morning.
The Lodge is situated about 10 Km. south of the park and the guide took us for a four hour drive and we got our first glimpse of the local flora and fauna. We saw lions, kudu, springbok, wildebeast, giraffe, zebras, ostrich and other strange birds.
A relaxing afternoon, followed by another massive dinner and we decided that there wasn't much point in the guided drive so we did our own drive the next morning at sun-up.
Internet is very poor so I'll try to continue tomorrow.
The local kids aren't downloading utube videos just at this second so I'll continue.
Our self drive tour was just as successful as the guided one and we went though the Okaukuejo resort and watering hole and went west toward Sonderkop. We saw all the usual zebras and giraffe, springbok etc. and were lucky enough to come across three lions, one male and two females who had just killed a wildebeast and were chowing down on the kill, not 20 feet from the road. The Admiral got some spectacular photos and we drove on to the watering hole at Ozonjutji way in the west. There, we were rewarded by herds of just about every animal coming by to drink. We also saw out first elephant, a huge lone male wandering about in the bush.
It seems unnecessary to go on the guided drives, if you are lucky you can see the same sights from your air conditioned car and you can go where and when you please. The roads are all unpaved but easily drive-able with a 2 wheel drive vehicle and I've heard it said the best 4 wheel drive is a rented 2 wheel drive.
After 3 days at the Gondwana Etosha Lodge we went back into the park and drove east to Halimi on Christmas Eve. On the road we saw our first Rhino just standing in the road! The accommodations were a bit less fancy but quite adequate and they put a huge Barbecue (Braai) that evening. The Halimi watering hole is very accessible to the resort and is lighted and to watch a herd of 20 plus elephants wander down to drink and bathe at night was quite magical. Lots of rhino and birds there too. We have heard that there are often lots of unruly crowds there but that was not our experience. Almost everyone was quiet and respectful.
We continued east to the next village Namutoni, the site of an old German fort. On the way we saw 2 rhino at another watering hole very close to the road and they stayed next to us for about half an hour before wandering off into the bush.
Namutoni is worth a visit but we did not see much wild life at its watering-hole, mostly zebras and springbok.
Next day, we continued east to Rundu to the Gondwana Hakusembe Lodge, situated on the Cubango    river on the border with Angola. We had a very restful night and an excellent dinner before going a further 500Kms. east to Katima Mulilo through the Caprivi region.
We are staying at the Protea hotel which is a bit of a dump but about the best there is in this fairly desperate town. which brings us back to the report at the top.
Today, we are going back to the Hakusembe lodge and then on the the Waterberg Plateau for New Years Eve and then Sossuvlei
Dozens of photos to follow, I promise when the internet improves. May need to wait until we get back to Capetown and there are already 1500 images and videos to sort through.

RCYC, Capetown, SA

It's been a quiet week at the RCYC since we got back from out walkabout with Jennifer. They went off to do the Garden route trip and we had some peace and quiet by ourselves. My new dinghy and Yamaha 2 stroke was delivered this week and I've been busy attaching the brackets for its wheels and making some wooden chocks so that it will sit on the afterdeck and not scratch up the gel coat. I took it for a spin today to break in the motor and it rides much better than the old one. Lots of power with the 15 HP Yamaha and the admiral is pleased because she can easily start it herself.
The Volvo dudes brought back my heat exchanger and the aftercooler and fitted them and replaced the cam belt and the serpentine belt. We are still waiting for some hoses and all will be completed in early January.
We went to the V and  A waterfront yesterday, to wander about and see a movie. We also went over to the marina and we are told that we have a confirmed berth there on January 10.
Jenn and Ed returned last night from their trip and we had a nice dinner at Panama Jack's.
They left this morning for the Maldives where they will meet the big boat.
The  Admiral and I are off to Namibia for our Safari experience tomorrow at the crack of dawn.
We wish all our readers a very happy holiday season and a healthy and prosperous new year.

Christmas came early with my new Gemini 3.1 m. RIB

and 15 hp Yamaha 2 stroke