November 5, 2021

The best guides in Africa are holding down the fort on a game reserve in Namibia

Join Isaiah Kapona's 20-year journey at Ongava Lodge, illuminating the artistry of guiding in Namibia. Delve into the skills that transcend roles, from doctor to entertainer. Discover the unquenchable thirst for knowledge and adaptation that craft unforgettable encounters in the wild.
March 4, 2022

FOUR RIVERS – Go slow and experience the depth, wealth and wonder of the northeast

Rièth van Schalkwyk followed the whim of a family member to break the tradition of Christmas at the seaside, packed the camper for two weeks of slow travel and camped on the banks of the Kavango, Zambezi, Chobe and Kwando to discover the magic of looking closer and staying longer.
June 1, 2022

CHEETAH CONSERVATION

When American scientist Dr Laurie Marker launched the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) in 1990, she had no idea where this new adventure would take her. A zoologist from California, she learned about threats to a declining wild population while conducting in situ research in Africa in the late 1970s and through the 1980s. Dr Marker routinely travelled to Namibia and other cheetah-range countries from her positions with Wildlife Safari and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Zoo to study the habits of the world’s fastest feline. But it’s what she learned about human behaviour that shocked her. Habitat loss, loss of prey, and conflict with livestock and game farmers put cheetahs on the fast track to extinction. Livestock and game farmers were shooting, trapping and removing hundreds of cheetahs each year – more because of perceived threats than actual predation. She realised if no one would soon intervene, the cheetah might be lost forever.
June 1, 2022

Birding in Lüderitz

I wonder if any of those pioneers in the early 1900s ever saw Barlow’s Lark (Calendulauda barlowi) at Pomona, or the Dune Lark (C. erythrochlamys) in the dunes near Lüderitz? Looking at the barren ‘killing fields’ those diamond hunters left behind as memories for later generations, I doubt it very much. I suppose the diamond’s blinding effect on your eyes has the same effect on your mind. In the end, it’s the larks that are still around, and not those diamond hunters.
June 29, 2022

Unlocking TSAU //KHAEB

What enticed men to leave their homes in Europe for a far-off German colony on the African Continent to dig through burning gravel under the relentless sun of the Namib Desert for a gemstone made of carbon arranged in a crystal structure? Many romantic stories are told citing various reasons, but in actual fact these men were motivated by one thing alone – greed.