March 9th-13th, Namibia

Monday March 9th: Etosha
Spent the day game driving around the Etosha National Park and had some early success spotting to young male lions stalking some gazelle. Unfortunately (not from the gazelle’s point of view) these two weren’t particularly gifted hunters which became all too apparent when some springbok actually crept up behind them (within about 15m) and were able to tip-toe away undetected. The afternoon drive highlight was driving through the thousands of springbok and zebra that were scattered across the plains.
Tuesday March 10th: Etosha to Cheetah Park
Woke up to find that the jackals had stolen my thongs from outside my tent, obviously they weren’t tasty enough as I found them in the bush not far away. Another long day driving was rewarded with a trip to a Cheetah Park in the afternoon where we got to play with some tame cheetahs (still had their teeth and claws) and got to feed some not so tame cheetahs. Much to our surprise this last task was not undertaken from behind a steel fence but from the back of the ute as 8 cheetahs circled 6 of us, growling and fighting each other for first go at the chunks of donkey we had in a bin. Definitely a few interesting moments : 0
Wednesday March 11th: Cheetah Park to Swakopmund
Another long day driving (although we’re pretty lucky as the truck we’re on can take 34 passengers and there are only 5 of us ...plenty of room to stretch out) which is capped off by a swim in the Atlantic Ocean and Oryx steak for dinner. Speaking of food, if you want to come to Africa to lose weight definitely don’t do an overland trip. We eat really well all the time and everything (including the beer) is very cheap.
Thursday March 12th: Swakopmund
Take a snowboard and massive sand dunes, take out the chairlifts and attach helmets..... you’ve got Sand-boarding and Sand-tobogganing. The pictures tell the full story but needless to say the rest of the day was spent removing sand from places it’s never been before. More Oryx steak for dinner, it tastes so good.
Friday March 13th: Swakopmund
Just hanging out in Swakopmund, a very tidy sea-side resort town. It’s out of season at the moment so things are pretty quiet so we drove 40 minutes up the skeleton coast to see a recent shipwreck. The beaches are long and sandy where the desert comes right up to the water and whilst the surf has been small since we’ve been here it got the feeling of ruggedness and isolation.