It is amazing how old friends and new friends can make a trip much more than I imagined in my office when I booked my flight to Namibia as the rain just poured down for hours. All the marking of maths SATs papers was completely worth it! In fact, this morning we went for coffee at a craft centre and as I ate the carrot cake and cheesecake (shared) I thought of it more as 3 papers rather than N$50.
The road trip to Etosha national park was amazing. Firstly, everything we saw was backdropt by a blue sky and brightly lit by the african sun. Each time we saw any animals I felt very much like I was watching a nature programme on TV. They were strangely unaware of us sitting in our car so closley watching and commenting on their every move. My favourite had to be the giraffes as they struggle to get down to the water at the waterhole by almost doing the splits.
We started the trip in the best way by staying with T's friends at Ongava Lodge meaning my first experience of the African bush was at a full moon watch of the Rhinos on the nature reserve. Stu was so knowledgeable about all the animals and his passion for his work was impressive. Whilst here I realised how close we were to the animals as we fell asleep in our room listening to the very close roaring of lions.