These cheetah images were created at the Harnas Wildlife Foundation in Namibia. Harnas is involved in the rescue, rehabilitation, and reintroduction of African wildlife. They do amazing work and I recommend you visit their website, www.harnas.org to learn about their important work and how you can help.
Shortly after our visit Harnas lost Goeters their 24 year old cheetah, an amazing animal that served as a good will ambassador for the entire animal kingdom. Read more here:
http://2011.harnas.info/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/The-Passing-of-a-Legend-Goeters.pdf

These wild dog images were created at the Harnas Wildlife Foundation in Namibia. Harnas is involved in the rescue, rehabilitation, and reintroduction of African wildlife. They do amazing work and I recommend you visit their website, www.harnas.org to learn about their important work and how you can help.

EXCITING NEWS - The long awaited release of a pack of wild dogs has just (Aug. 8, 2011) happened, check out the Harnas website for more information.

These lion images were created at the Harnas Wildlife Foundation in Namibia.

These caracal images were created at Harnas Wildlife Foundation.

These images were created at the Harnas Wildlife Foundation.

These leopard images were created at Harnas Wildlife Foundation.

These bat eared fox images were made at the Harnas Wildlife Foundation.

Located in the Namib-Naukluft Park, in the heart of the Namib desert, the dunes of Sossusvlei, Deadvlei, and other vleis in the area are one of Namibia’s most spectacular sights. These vleis are depressions that may fill with water in exceptional years but are typically clay pans surrounded by the spectacular red dunes. Throughout the day the light casts wonderful light and shadows on the dunes. The almost constant wind shapes the dune edges into wonderful, almost sensual curves. These images were made at various times of day from both the ground and the air.

The now famous ghost town of Kolmanskop was once a vibrant diamond mining town. It is located in southern Namibia and has been reclaimed by the desert sand.

We took a day to venture into Sperrgebiet, the diamond restricted area. We needed special passes to venture into this area and needed a special guide, so our guide and friend Tas was able to relax and accompany us as just another tourist. We made numerous stops but our primary destinations were the ghost towns of Pomona and Bogenfels and the rock arch, Bogenfels Arch on the ocean.

The Himba are a nomadic pastoral tribe. I visited two villages near Opuwo in northern Namibia. They initially belonged to the Herero, but in contrast have retained much of their traditional lifestyle and dress. They are known for their physical beauty with the women rubbing a mixture of ochre and fat on their bodies. The hairstyles of the Himba indicate gender and stage of life as does some of their jewelry and clothing. They are a very warm and inviting people proud of their traditional lifestyle. I was impressed by the relative lack of western influence in the two villages I visited.

Etosha National Park created in 1907, is one of Southern Africa's finest and most important Game Reserves. Etosha, meaning "Great White Place", is dominated by a massive mineral pan. The pan is part of the Kalahari Basin, the floor of which was formed around 1000 million years ago. The Etosha Pan covers around 25% of the National Park. The pan was originally a lake fed by the Kunene River. However the course of the river changed thousands of years ago and the lake dried up. The pan now is a large dusty depression of salt and dusty clay which fills only if the rains are heavy and even then only holds water for a short time. This temporary water in the Etosha Pan attracts thousands of wading birds including impressive flocks of flamingos. The perennial springs along the edges of the Etosha Pan forming water holes draw large concentrations of wildlife and birds.

The 450 000-hectare Palmwag Conservancy supports the largest free-roaming population of desert-adapted black rhino in Africa as well as a healthy number of desert-adapted elephants. The concession's freshwater springs support healthy populations of other arid-adapted wildlife including good numbers of Hartman's mountain zebra, southern giraffe, gemsbok (oryx), springbok, greater kudu, dwarf antelope such as steenbok and klipspringer, scrub hare, comical meerkats (suricates), inquisitive ground squirrels, black-backed jackal and small spotted genet. Palmwag holds the core of the rarely seen desert-adapted lion population of north-west Namibia. Cheetah and leopard also sometimes seen in this area.

These animals have adapted their lifestyles to survive the harshness of the sun-blistered, almost waterless desert spaces. Elephants move through euphorbia bush country, and can travel up to 70km in a day in search of food and water and unusually, do not destroy trees in their quest for food. These individuals were photographed near Twyfelfontein Lodge.

Near Aus, 120 kilometers east of Lüderitz on the National Road B4, is the Garub waterhole. This waterhole attracts the horses and indigenous game. There are currently about 150 horses in a 350 square kilometer area. Conservationists built a roofed observation stand in sight of the waterhole so visitors can observe the animals. In the bleak desert landscape the horses find this structure excellent for scratching and chewing.

For a long time nobody could tell where the wild horses originated from. Only some years ago research has revealed that these horses' forebears were part of the South African cavalry which had set up camp in the Namib. Their horses fled into the desert panicked by shots fired from a low flying German aircraft at the beginning of World War I.

Twyfelfontein is a rocky site situated in the Kunene Region of north western Namibia. At some time during 1946 a farmer settled on the land, he named it Twyfelfontein (meaning doubtful fountain in Afrikaans). It is thought he chose this name as he was unsure whether the spring on the farm would provide enough water to support his family and livestock.The site contains around 2,000 rock carvings and in 2007, UNESCO approved it as a World Heritage Site. The site is one of the largest and most important concentrations of rock art in Africa.

The Bushman community of //Nhoq’ma near Tsumkwe, Namibia. The Ju/'hoansi Bushman, although having contact with the outside world as evidence by their clothing, still practice many of their traditional ways. We accompanied them while hunting/gathering and visited the village to observe their ways of work and play.

The Bushman community of //Nhoq’ma near Tsumkwe, Namibia. The Ju/'hoansi Bushman, although having contact with the outside world as evidence by their clothing, still practice many of their traditional ways. We accompanied them while hunting/gathering and visited the village to observe their ways of work and play.

Just outside of Windhoek we stopped to visit on the end of a wonderful Namibian adventure in Sept. 2010.