ELEPHANTS!!!
Trip Start
Jul 29, 2009
1
12
24
Trip End
Aug 17, 2009
Damaraland, Kunene, Namibia
Friday, August 7, 2009
After a delicious breakfast, we said goodbye to our Etendaka friends and drove to our next home - Doro! Nawas. The "!" denotes a click in the local Damara language.
Another spectacular hotel:
*In each villa, the beds are on wheels so you can roll your king-size bed out side and sleep under the stars. (Yes, we did it!)
* small swimming pool
* total unobstructed views forever
* the main building/villas were architecturally stunning and unique
* another special dinner with a birthday dance and celebration.
After lunch we were off to the dry Aba Huab Riverbed in search of the elusive desert-adapted elephant . . .well, we found them, or should I say, they found us:
Day 7 (07th August 2009) Damaraland
After a leisurely breakfast (and if you wish another morning walk) you are transferred to Palmwag, where you board your private safari vehicle and head for the Doro !Nawas Camp, arriving there in time for lunch. The afternoon is spent exploring the dry riverbeds in search of the elusive desert-adapted elephants...a truly magnificent animal. Namibia is one of two countries in the world were you still find desert elephants; the other being Mali (there is no guarantee that we find these elusive giants). You return to the camp after sunset and enjoy
a great dinner and night under the stars (if you wish to sleep on your terrace with your bed on wheels).
Desert Elephant: In habitants with sufficient vegetation and water an adult elephant consumes as much as 300 kg of roughage and 230 litres of water every day of its life. Consider what a herd of them would eat and drink in a week or a month or a year. African elephant in a desert? Well, yes. Not only elephant, but other large mammals as well, like black rhinoceros and giraffe. Their ranges extend into the northern Namib from river catchments in the Kaokoveld. Apart from the Kunene River, seven river courses northwards from the Ugab provide them with possible routes across the desert, right to the Skeleton coast. The biggest are the Hoarusib, the Hoanib, the Huab and the Ugab. Desert- adapted elephant in the Kaokoland and the Namib walk further for water and fodder then any other elephant in Africa. The distances between waterholes and feeding grounds are as great as 68 km. The typical home range of a family herd is larger then 2 000km or eight times as big as ranges in central Africa where rainfall is much higher. They walk and feed at night and rest during the day. To meet their nutritional and bulk requirements they browse on no fewer than 74 of the 103 plant species that grow in their range. Not a separate species or even a subspecies, they are an ecotype unique to Namibia in Africa south of the equator, behaviourally adapted to hyperarid conditions. Their range extends deep into the northern Namib, along and between ephemeral rivers, from catchments in the western Kaokoveld. Elephant in Mali on the southwestern fringe of the Sahara Desert are the only others known to survive in similar conditions.
Overnight:
Doro! Nawas: Doro !Nawas lies on a small hill overlooking ancient plains, with unspoiled panoramic views of a diverse and dramatic landscape. Natural walled units have a unique design and décor that complement the surrounding scenery, with attention to comfort and luxury in the semi- arid desert conditions. All units have a private bedroom leading out onto a veranda, and en-suite facilities with both indoor and outdoor showers, basins and flush toilet.
The main area has indoor and outdoor dining areas, a pool area, bar and leads to a small art gallery.
Where I stayed
Doro !Nawas Camp
