March 10, 2021

Are Namibian Fairy Circles Euphorbia Tombstones?

Fairy circles in the Namib Desert have fascinated people for centuries – from Himba traditions to more recent scientific theories, we have formed numerous different explanations for how these enigmatic circles of sand came into being. Several recent theories revolve around competition among plants or termites, or both. A scientific study this year went back to one of the original theories for fairy circle formation, and found some compelling evidence to support it.
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March 10, 2021

In the land of Sand and Freedom

Back in June 2014 we got a call from a colleague asking whether the owner of our then workplace and home would be interested in purchasing three giraffes that were living on NamibRand, in an area that wasn’t the best place for them to be. The best solution at the time was to relocate them. A deal was done and the move needed to be planned. We spoke with experts and game capture vets. We researched best practices for building a boma and, as we did and do with most things, unleashed our enthusiasm onto the project.
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March 10, 2021

The life of birds in trees

It might sound like a bit of a cliché to mention the importance of trees for birds and vice versa, although there are unfortunately people who still cannot see that importance, and probably not the importance of trees for humans either – so how in hell would they ever see the importance of trees at all.
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March 10, 2021

An elusive creature: the pangolin

Pangolin species around the world are under severe threat due to the demand for their scales and meat, mainly by consumers in China and Vietnam. In Namibia, the Temminck’s ground pangolin occurs across much of the country (excluding the extremely arid west and south) and is increasingly targeted by poachers, yet its status and ecological requirements are poorly understood.
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March 26, 2021

The Conscious List

We’ve had a thorough and conscious look at Namibia’s most responsible lodges and compiled a list of those who meet more than just the standard expectations. These establishments not only conform to the norms and tick the boxes of being eco-friendly, but have also gone beyond. They have taken responsibility with relish.
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November 1, 2021

Living in the land of sand and freedom: Driving on empty

One of our favourite activities every year is the annual vulture tagging. We have been participating since 2016, at which point one child was two and the other five. The first time we joined this outing we hadn’t yet met everyone involved, but had made telephonic arrangements to meet the team at Sesriem.
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November 1, 2021

Tolis Fragoudis: Conscious about how we treat this world

Tolis Fragoudis is a Greek-Swiss photographer, filmmaker and keynote speaker based in Zurich, Switzerland. He runs his own production company, TolisArt, working as a creative director for international companies, sports events, tourism and corporate clients. His biggest passion is storytelling, and he travels the world to explore the beauty of culture, nature and humans.
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December 1, 2021

Conservation is a family business

Namibia’s conservation landscape has Annette, the Rhino Whisperer – firmly on the map. Always by Jan’s side, she was his wing(wo)man, in more ways than one. Looking into the life and work of this fascinating matriarch, Annette is rigorous when it comes to her calling to conserve endangered species and has led many projects, even relocating elephants to Central Africa.
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December 1, 2021

The RMB Ride for Rhinos 2021

The arrival of riders for the 2021 RMB Ride for Rhinos coincided with World Rhino Day on Wednesday 22 September. While the theme for this year’s World Rhino Day is Five Rhino Species Forever, the yearly RMB Ride for Rhinos is an event that is intended to create awareness for the plight of one rhino species in particular – the black rhino.
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December 1, 2021

The quintessential Namibian Safari at Ongava

From the back of a game viewer driving through Ongava Game Reserve, it is hard to imagine what the area must have looked like 30 years ago when it was still a cluster of unproductive cattle farms. Today it is a protected piece of land where antelope are plentiful and lion, rhino and elephant freely go about their business, all part of and contributing to a healthy, thriving biome.
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March 4, 2022

Wildlife selfies – A conservation crisis

Imagine travelling the lengths of this planet, enduring long layovers, leg cramps and perhaps a chair-kicking child – all worth it for that highly anticipated moment when the wheels of a steel bird touch the tarmac and you are on African soil. A sigh of relief. Your holiday has just begun and you are undoubtedly off to the far corners of Namibia in search of rugged landscapes, natural wonders and untamed wildlife.
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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.
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March 9, 2022

Emboldened conservation beyond boundaries: The Namib Tsaris Nature Reserve

The area bordering the Namib-Naukluft National Park in Namibia’s south, which may seem like a wasteland to some, has become synonymous with conservation. Unsuccessful commercial small livestock farms having given way to large tracts of fencless land allowing for the unhindered movement of desert adapted wildlife.
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March 10, 2022

When conservation becomes a way of life

All of us had to adjust while the pandemic filtered into our day- to-day life, making major lifestyle changes as we went along. For nearly two years of having to find new creative ideas and hoping for the travel industry to recover, conservation continued… education continued… and so did the passion for sustainable tourism. You see, while the world seemingly came to a standstill, nature forced us to keep going. Conservation had to continue. Supporting communities had to continue. Therefore, tourism had to continue. Because conservancies and communities still rely on tourism.
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March 10, 2022

Namibia’s Wettest Wonderland

Cradled by the Kwando and Linyanti rivers at the Zambezi Region’s southernmost point, lies Namibia’s largest conserved wetland area, the 28,500-ha-large Nkasa Rupara National Park. Complex tectonic, climatic and hydrological events have shaped and reshaped the wetlands over countless aeons. The most dramatic change took place millions of years ago when uplift along the Linyanti Fault diverted the Kwando River into a northeasterly direction.
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March 20, 2022

On the Frontlines of PANGOLIN PRESERVATION

Across the vast landscapes of central, northern and northeastern Namibia, the plight of the pangolin, an inconspicuous creature, continues. This small mammal plays a major role in the bushland ecosystems of sub-saharan Africa and, as the most trafficked mammal in the world, lives under an ever-present dark cloud of threat. Enter Namibia’s newest concerted effort trained directly at the preservation of this important species - the Namibian Pangolin Working Group.
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March 20, 2022

Of teeth and claws: Taking stock of carnivore research in the Greater Etosha Landscape

Etosha National Park has a long history of research with a dedicated research centre, the Etosha Ecological Institute (EEI), located at Okaukuejo since 1967. In partnership with the EEI, the Ongava Research Centre conducted a literature review and search for any form of output from research conducted on carnivores within a buffer of 50 km of Etosha. This included scanning online databases, but also spending several days in dusty archive rooms at the EEI.
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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.
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