A NIGHT SPENT UNDER THE STARS AND A BALLOON RIDE
A NIGHT SPENT UNDER THE STARS AND A BALLOON RIDE
Last night, I decided to take advantage of our roof-top bed and slept outside under the Milky Way. I was very cozy under the duvet and grateful for the hot water bottle provided. Unfortunately, in order to see the stars, I needed my glasses on. And, I was tired and wanted to sleep so wanted to take them off. They are my only pair and I will need them for everything yet to come. I slept until 3 am when my water bottle had cooled and a wind had sprung up so I adjourned to the room to finish my sleep. I should mention that the star viewing is spectacular here as there is no light pollution and the dry air means that the skies are clear. Stars seem much closer to earth - you feel you can almost reach out and touch them. We saw all four stars of the Southern Cross clearly.
We were awakened at 5:45 so we could be ready to leave for our balloon ride at 6:40. When we got to the launching site we were assigned to one of three balloons and watched as they were blown up. There were sixteen people per balloon. I must say that getting in was a struggle. We thought that Glen would be coming with us but instead he was assigned the role of Follower. It's too bad as it would have been his first flight. Both he and Norma were neophytes whereas I, with my vast experience of having been on one flight previously, was not!
It was a perfect morning for ballooning. We climbed high to enjoy the fabulous scenery and then low, in order to see the fairy circles and depressions where animals enjoy their dust baths and, of course, animals. Our pilot, Tracy, had forty years of experience and a dry sense of humour which I really enjoyed. She was the only pilot who managed to hit her mark, landing us softly on the back of the balloon vehicle!
Glen met up with us for our champagne outdoor breakfast where we received the requisite certificate for our bravery. We were driven back to camp and soon were off again on a short drive before lunch. We didn't see much but I spotted what I thought was a raptor flying - it turned out to be a Lappet-faced Vulture, another new bird for our lists.
We lunched and I worked on the blog until it was time to leave again for our afternoon drive to Sesriem Canyon. Ulricht and Glen were worried about our hike down and into the canyon. However, once again, we surprised them by handling the trek with ease. Glen says he is very impressed with our level of fitness for our ages. Thank you, Jonathan.
The canyon was well worth the visit - spectacular canyon walls filled with caves. I took a lot of pictures. We hit it at exactly the right time, we were, for a time, the only ones in the canyon. Ulricht said most times it is so crowded, you walk shoulder to shoulder. On our return, there were two large groups just heading into it. I should mention that on the way to the canyon, we stopped briefly at the spot where we saw the Dune Lark since Norma wasn't with us when we saw it. I told her not to be too disappointed if she didn't see it as they were notoriously hard to find. But . . .lo and behold, there it was is exactly the same place! It even sang for us.
On the way to a Sundowner location, we saw 5 more Ruppell's Korhaan, two at one location and a pair with a chick at another. Norma had the afternoon off and still saw everything we saw. It's not fair.
We enjoyed drinks and snacks until the sun went down - it had turned very cold and windy so didn't spend long before heading back to the camp where we were greeted with warm towels and whiskey sours.
We did our lists, enjoyed dinner, and headed back to our rooms to sleep. Norma was going to sleep outside last night but it was very cold and windy so she grabbed the pillows and the hot water bottle and came to bed inside.
Last night, I decided to take advantage of our roof-top bed and slept outside under the Milky Way. I was very cozy under the duvet and grateful for the hot water bottle provided. Unfortunately, in order to see the stars, I needed my glasses on. And, I was tired and wanted to sleep so wanted to take them off. They are my only pair and I will need them for everything yet to come. I slept until 3 am when my water bottle had cooled and a wind had sprung up so I adjourned to the room to finish my sleep. I should mention that the star viewing is spectacular here as there is no light pollution and the dry air means that the skies are clear. Stars seem much closer to earth - you feel you can almost reach out and touch them. We saw all four stars of the Southern Cross clearly.
We were awakened at 5:45 so we could be ready to leave for our balloon ride at 6:40. When we got to the launching site we were assigned to one of three balloons and watched as they were blown up. There were sixteen people per balloon. I must say that getting in was a struggle. We thought that Glen would be coming with us but instead he was assigned the role of Follower. It's too bad as it would have been his first flight. Both he and Norma were neophytes whereas I, with my vast experience of having been on one flight previously, was not!
It was a perfect morning for ballooning. We climbed high to enjoy the fabulous scenery and then low, in order to see the fairy circles and depressions where animals enjoy their dust baths and, of course, animals. Our pilot, Tracy, had forty years of experience and a dry sense of humour which I really enjoyed. She was the only pilot who managed to hit her mark, landing us softly on the back of the balloon vehicle!
Glen met up with us for our champagne outdoor breakfast where we received the requisite certificate for our bravery. We were driven back to camp and soon were off again on a short drive before lunch. We didn't see much but I spotted what I thought was a raptor flying - it turned out to be a Lappet-faced Vulture, another new bird for our lists.
We lunched and I worked on the blog until it was time to leave again for our afternoon drive to Sesriem Canyon. Ulricht and Glen were worried about our hike down and into the canyon. However, once again, we surprised them by handling the trek with ease. Glen says he is very impressed with our level of fitness for our ages. Thank you, Jonathan.
The canyon was well worth the visit - spectacular canyon walls filled with caves. I took a lot of pictures. We hit it at exactly the right time, we were, for a time, the only ones in the canyon. Ulricht said most times it is so crowded, you walk shoulder to shoulder. On our return, there were two large groups just heading into it. I should mention that on the way to the canyon, we stopped briefly at the spot where we saw the Dune Lark since Norma wasn't with us when we saw it. I told her not to be too disappointed if she didn't see it as they were notoriously hard to find. But . . .lo and behold, there it was is exactly the same place! It even sang for us.
On the way to a Sundowner location, we saw 5 more Ruppell's Korhaan, two at one location and a pair with a chick at another. Norma had the afternoon off and still saw everything we saw. It's not fair.
We enjoyed drinks and snacks until the sun went down - it had turned very cold and windy so didn't spend long before heading back to the camp where we were greeted with warm towels and whiskey sours.
We did our lists, enjoyed dinner, and headed back to our rooms to sleep. Norma was going to sleep outside last night but it was very cold and windy so she grabbed the pillows and the hot water bottle and came to bed inside.
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