Category Archives: Namibia

Deadvlei

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The day that we hiked up the Big Daddy dune and down through Deadvlei still remains among my favorite days from our holiday to southern Africa. Deadvlei is a natural clay pan that sits at the bottom of some very tall dunes. Because it’s in the middle of a few hundred mile wide and long desert, there is literally no humidity at all. At one point, there was enough water to grow trees, but the trees that you can see in the have actually been petrified for some 900 years. As noted in previous posts, we hiked up the dune, which took about 2 hours, then we walked straight down the sand into Deadvlei, which only took about 10 minutes. It was 10 AM by the time we got down the dune, so it was already getting pretty warm on the ground. We walked through for about an hour, and went back to our camp for a late, second breakfast and a nap. Highly recommended.

Sony A7R II | FE 70-200mm F4 | 90mm | f/4.0 | 1/2000 | ISO100

Cheetah at the water hole

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Our last stop in Namibia was at a large cat reserve called Okonjima.  This reserve was originally a cattle farm. However, it was transformed into a large cat reserve in the 1970s.  Most of the cheetah at the reserve have radio collars. We tracked two of them in the bush. There, we found them laying about.  We got out of our truck. We snapped a few photos. Then they got up and walked right in between our party. They literally split the group in two.  They could not be bothered at all that we were there.  Our guides asked if we wanted to track these guys on foot. They promised the cheetahs don’t like humans for food. We accepted the offer and tracked them.  We walked about 2 kms. Then they settled at a watering hole. We got a series of great shots.  I was a little disconcerted when they walked back to within about 6-7 feet of me, looking around and sniffing.  It was slightly terrifying. I could see the news reports: “American tourist eaten by cheetah in Namibia.” However, true to form, they didn’t seem all too interested in me at all.  This is one of the best photos of that little walk.

Sony A7R II | Sony FE 70-200 f/4.0 | 200mm | f/4.0 | 1/2000th | ISO 250