Bushman Land
On the morning of our first day we got to go on a hunt with the Bushmen. They drive to where they want to hunt and then they start walking. First I found a chameleon, and picked it up. Our guide thought it was great, and he didn’t tell me that when you pick up a chameleon it usually bites you, until after I had picked it up. But I didn’t get bitten. When we stopped for a rest, they set up a bird snare. It looked like this:
The Bushmen showed us how to find and use a root that will give you water. After that they found a honey tree. In Namibia there are three types of bees, burrowing, non-stinging and regular honey bees. These were the non-stinging type. They chopped down the tree and started eating the honey. It was very runny and it dripped. In the afternoon we went to the village to watch them making arrows. They put enough poison on the arrows to kill a half ton antelope.

Etosha

4/10/09
Today was our first day in Etosha. In our first hour we had seen a lion. The campgrounds in Etosha are in a fence, and each one has a water hole directly outside the fence that is lit up all night. That evening we saw a mother and baby black rhino, and 2 lions. Black rhino are extremely aggressive. If a herd of elephants are drinking at a water hole, and a black rhino comes, they will all leave even though some of the are twice its size.
5/10/09
Today we got up early and went to a water hole. There weren’t any animals there, so we went back to the water hole at the camp ground. Later on in the day, some elephants came, and then more, and more and more. In the end there were 53 elephants at the water hole. Everything is wary of black rhino. If a lion is at the same water hole as a black rhino, it will not turn its back on it.
6/10/09
Today, on our way to the next campground there were 3 very big lions by the side of the road. A little later on, we turned off to go to a water hole. On the way there were 5 more lions near the road.
7/10/09
Today we drove to where the lions were the day before. There were 4 more lions there. We were sitting at a water hole when a lioness came and lay down behind some reeds. About 15 minutes later, some springbok, zebra and wildebeest came to drink. They were upwind of her. About 10 minutes later she shot out of the bushes and jumped on a wildebeest. She was so powerful that she didn’t need to kill it straight away. She just held it on the ground for about 15 seconds before she bit its neck and killed it.

30/9/09

Today we got up at 5:30am.We got to Sossuvlei at 7:00am.The colors on the sand dunes were amazing. Sossuvlei has the tallest sand dunes in the world. We had been driving for about 2 hours when the Land Rover slipped on a deep patch of gravel, skidded back and forth a couple of times, and rolled.

The car 5 minutes later

The car being towed away

The fridge was squashed,but when the car was upside down, it was still running

Eggs that fell out of the fridge


The car after it had been towed back

None of us were hurt badly. We all got sore necks and small cuts. About 5 minutes after we rolled a man who lives around Solitaire came by. He took us to Solitaire. The town consists of a petrol station, lodge, bakery and cafe. They said because of the bad roads, in the high season 2-3 people crash a day. If you crash, they will give you a free night's stay. A month ago, a person in a Toyota Hilux crashed in exactly the same place as us. There was still glass there from the last crash. Our GPS flew out the window, and 3 meters along the road. It had a big crack on the screen, but it still worked. A man at the lodge said that we were lucky that we had a roof rack because usually when a Land Rover rolls the roof caves in because it is made of aluminum.

The cuts in my pants are from battery acid. The car battery is under the passenger seat,so it leaked into the car.

29/9/09

Today I got to climb one of the world's highest sand dunes. It was exciting,but not very fun because the wind was extremely strong,and it was side on. Your feet sank in quite a lot and the sand dune was steep.

Some of the other animals at Na/an Ku Se.

Animal tracks I have seen:

Tenebrionid Beetle
African Wild Cat
Steenbok

Animals I have been bitten by:

Meerkat
Baboon
Spider
Pig

Namibian flag

Me riding the pig

26/9/09
Animals I have seen:
weaver bird

goat

four striped grass mouse

goose

guinea fowl

rabbits

peacocks

flycatcher

caracal

lion

wart hog

Etosha ground agama(lizard)

leopard tortise

meerkat

moth

sheep

pig

chicken

turkey

baboon

termites

ducks

cheetah

duiker

leopard

hyena

ant

african wild dog

24/9/09
Today I got to play baseball with the village children. It is quite chaotic because most of them don't speak english. Today the Samoan rugby team were at N/a'an ku se looking at the animals. The lady who runs the place, her husband used to play for the Springboks, so alot of rugby teams come to N/a'an ku se.

22/9/09
Today, when I went to feed the meerkats, I lay down on the ground to take a picture of one, and another one hopped on my back. Pretty soon all three were on my back. When I went on the baby baboon walk, Lala sat on my shoulder most of the way there and back. I got bitten by Troy twice again. Tonight Troy was sleeping in the room next door. He managed to spill laundry powder all over everything. We also met a lady who runs a meerkat sancuary in Palm Springs and is asociated with Meerkat Manor.

21/9/09
Today I got to go on a walk with a tame cheetah called Samira, and pet her. I also got bitten by Troy(baboon) twice.

19/9/09
Tonight, all of the new people had to cook dinner and pretend it was a tv show.

18/9/09
Today my group was doing food prep. That means from 8-10:30 we chop up food and feed the baby baboons, big baboons, rabbits, birds and Sylvia. Sylvia is a tame Duiker (type of antelope). She ended up here because the local bushman were hand raising her for meat, but someone at N/a'an ku Se got them to trade for a goat. Buckies(baby baboon) peed on my foot today.

14/9/09
I found out that the age limit is supposed to be 18,but they let me in even though I am only 11.

13/9/09
It is very interesting here, today I got up, had breakfast and chased a pig out of the school! At Na/an Ku Se, you get to do alot of different things, like sleeping with baby baboons, spending time with the tame cheetah and going on baby baboon walks.

12/9/09
Today we go to N/a'an Ku Se. N/a'an ku se is a wildlife orphanage and farm.
They have:

Rabbits

leopard tortises

goats

baby and adult baboons

chickens

geese

ducks

guinea fowl

turkeys

sheep

pigs

meerkats

lions

cheetah

cows

horses

12\9\09

Today we fly to Windhoek.In Windhoek we are volunteering at an animal orphanage for 2 weeks before we get a car and start driving around.

Yesterday,on the flight from Sydney to Johannesburg,the captain came and said hello to me because it was my birthday. Because of the time change,my birthday lasted for 34 hours.Since my birthday lasted so long,I had about 5 meals.