mountain

thank you for giving me the pleasure of sharing here, looking at the photos and writing these words is almost as good as being back in namibia... it's 14th may now and we're on our way to damaraland and another camp...

mowani  mountain camp

but first some sights we saw along the way...

 we passed herero villages

and more local traffic

we're going to brandberg mountain in the kunene region of southern damaraland, to see the 'white lady'. painted by bushmen 3000-5000 years ago.

a guide is required to take you. it was a 45 minute hike each way and we had arrived at noon, with temps around 36c, 98 fahrenheit!  zelna, our lovely guide made it easier to bear by pointing out animals, birds, flora and fauna along the way. 

 rockagama

the painting site

bushman rock painting, and the famous white lady of brandberg. fascinating! these are so well preserved, the detail is remarkable. it is truly a privilege to see.


continuing on the dusty dirt road, so grateful for cold drinks and aircon in the truck after the noonday hike! and dear zelna never even perspired. we passed another craft market. mamas and babies and crafts oh my.
i got out and said hello. smiles all around me. do you know how lovely african smiles are?
i told the mamas i had something to give, would that be alright? they nodded yes, and when i went back to the truck to get the pockets and treasures, i saw the children had all been lined up sitting in the sand with their legs outstretched, waiting.

 but they didn't stay in that position long. with eyes wide open,

they began to run to me

 hee hee

after the children had all received a pocket and candy (i had lots of help passing them out) i saw the mamas looking at the pockets. so i hurried back to the truck for more and gave one to each of them too, along with treasures and pens, happy! we took many photos, they pet my hair, and wanted to know about my children, and the usa. i wanted to stay all day asking questions too and learning about these lovely people, but we still had a long way to go.

back in the truck, everyone waving goodbye! goodbye! then one young woman looked closely
at the pocket she was wearing and called 'did you make these?'  'yes! myself and many many friends around the world made them for you!' and then those smiles again. sigh.

finally reaching mowani mountain camp at dusk, where we were greeted with cold wet towels and ice filled drinks

and then kindly hurried through reception and up to the viewing rock, so we wouldn't miss sundowners of this kind...

and this... a stunning view of the setting sun

 our tent

 morning view

 early breakfast view

  pool view

and an outdoor bathroom room with a view!

and because mowani is nestled in boulders and rocks, dassies, or rock hyraxes are everywhere. hee hee, there is always one...

or many, watching you....

we went to twyfelfontein, a world heritage site, to see the rock engravings. our guide was raymond. he is damara and he has five children too, 3 sons and 2 daughters, like me! we talked about the antics of small boys and he asked me questions about the usa while we hiked. how is texas? and what about michael jackson?  i asked him many things too. we both agreed it is the best thing to do when traveling, share and learn from one another.

 here is the famous sabre toothed lion, incredible. and look at that fantastic giraffe!

raymond said chuck was allowed to climb these boulders to get a closer look at the engravings higher up.

at the visitors center we were able to read about the wonders of this area, one of the greatest concentration of african rock art on the continent. and here is where i found the elephant and giraffe, made by local craftspeople.

thank you for letting us visit!

we saw 'organ pipes' next, thought to have been formed 120 million years ago

 and two welwitschia plants, the oldest plant on earth, they can live beyond a thousand years.

 back at camp,

 rockagama are everywhere

we sat at a small watering hole and watched the comings and goings for hours, here is a pair of african red-eyed bulbul having a drink

 two baby rock dassies

red-headed finch

rock or speckled pigeon

ruppell's parrot and african red-eyed bulbul

 and a laughing dove. the temperatures were very high, and the waterhole provided relief to many!

this camp is situated between huge boulders. all the tents are quite isolated. it's a long walk from reception and the dining area to our place, the paths are gravel and lit at night with lanterns. you must watch carefully for snakes, there are many here. in the tent are directions on what to do should you have an unfortunate encounter. we shall make sure that doesn't happen!

mr. and mrs. graham stayed here.   :)

 we opted to go on a game drive to search for the desert adapted elephant

 ruppell's korhaan, or the frogbird (because of the sound it makes)

 hee hee, we see you

 a southern yellowbilled hornbill

 a small village on the way

stewart has found their spoor (tracks) !

look! we saw not only one family, but two! it took over 2 hours of 4x4 driving to get here, but our brilliant guide found the desert adapted elephant.

stewart is telling us how the desert elephant differs from it's cousins. they are smaller, and have larger feet, which makes it easier to walk in the sand, they can go many days without water to drink.

 after i took stewarts photo, he asked for my camera and said i must have a photo with the elephant too   :)

 the baby doesn't know how to use his trunk just yet, so he imitates everything his mother does

 the second family we found, i think there were thirteen members in this one.

 spectacular. what a day.

 driving back feeling so very lucky, and then i saw my first steenbok too! isn't she gorgeous!

 back in time for sundowners

another perfect day in africa

the dining area at mowani

one of the many nighttime visitors here

 it was our last morning and they had a surprise for us, coming to breakfast, we were intercepted by lita, he had a big grin and said 'your breakfast will be elsewhere, please follow me'  :)

 table for two!

the view! oh how we'll miss it. what a fantastic place. after we packed up but before leaving, we took a chance at the water hole again. wishing for photos of a favorite bird. i think my very favorite of all now. the rosy-faced lovebird.

right at ten am, just like we were told they might, the little birds began to show up, first one

 then many. oh JOY!

maybe they were coming to say farewell.  on to northern damaraland and the etendeka plateau. and the himba.