Blog
There are some parts of Africa that remove you so completely from reality that you start to wonder whether all that stuff that fills your life with worries in the 'outside' world really matters much. Serra Cafema Camp, in the Marienfluss Conservancy, is such a place, where traditional Himba people still live a life that is much like what it was several hundred years ago, where a river teeming with crocodiles slices through gothic mountains surrounded by sand dunes, where you can really find yourself by losing yourself in landscapes so primitive you can't help but feel humbled. There's no phone range or wifi up here so you can leave all that behind. And you know what - you probably won't miss it one bit. It's all about disconnecting to reconnect, as Wilderness Safaris puts it. This is the ultimate escape and a huge adventure.
- Comment Thread:
- Comments: joan saunders | Oh Tammie, such wonderful photos and I know completely encapsulates your love of Namibia. Wish I was a few years younger! Good luck, Joan
- Comments: Tammie | Joan trust me age is no impediment!
How does one summarise a week in Namibia's rugged Kunene region, one of the wildest parts of Africa? It was just one wow moment after another! There was the cheetah mother with two cubs who killed a springbok male in the dry Hoanib River bed, the chameleon laying eggs at the Skeleton Coast, the drive through the dunes to the violent Atlantic Ocean where hundreds of seals frolicked in the crashing waves, meeting the traditional Himbas in Marienfluss Conservancy and of course, the desert lions (with cubs!) and desert-dwelling elephants.... And then there is those epic landscapes, so huge and awe-inspiring that you feel so small and incredibly humbled by it all.
- Comment Thread:
- Comments: Robert Livingstone-Ward | Love a chameleon! And we didn't get to see the desert lions last year, so well done! Great photos thanks Tam. Looking forward to the next batch of photos.
- Comments: Tammie | Thanks Robert! Yes the north west is a trip on its own I reckon, quite different to what we did last year. If you loved Desert Rhino Camp you'll love the north west. See you in Brisie soon!
It's been a while coming, but much goes on behind the scenes when it comes to developing awareness programs for species like elephants and rhinos in Asia. Those of you who know me personally know that the awareness raising never stops when it comes to elephants and the ivory trade. Last week, my conservation safari group of Singaporeans, British and Aussies talked at length about conservation and what still needs to be done while deep in the desert dunes of the Skeleton Coast, inspired by the arid-adapted wildlife of Namibia and those magnificent desert-dwelling elephants. Next week I'll be in Brisbane talking to about 200 Queensland business women at the Australian Women in Leadership symposium about what we can learn from elephants about leadership (and of course, how we can help the elephants too). Even though we've made good headway lately, we can't afford to lose momentum and we need you to keep spreading the word too.
My 2016 and 2017 safaris are filling up fast! But it's not too late to grab a last minute place if you get in quick.
ZIMBABWE 2016 - ONLY ONE ROOM LEFT!
- Comment Thread:
- Comments: Imelda McDonald | Tammie I wanted to join on your tour next year 2017 definitely I'm going.
My last post about the state of African elephant poaching discussed the latest CITES report showing that less elephants are now being poached now than during the poaching peak in 2007, but also highlighted the fact that while some countries are doing better in terms of poaching (e.g. Kenya), others are still in big trouble and it's no time to be complacent. Overall, there are still more elephants being poached than there are being born. Tanzania's elephant population has taken a big hit and remains under serious threat for the ivory trade.