But it was already getting hot.
We read later in the day that the temperature got up to 37.8 C (100 F)! Yes, it's dry here so you're not sweating buckets. But it's hot, nonetheless and you really need to stay in the shade.
And there is shade in Sesriem Canyon! The walls of the canyon are so deep that you can find shade even in the heat of the midday sun!
At the start of the canyon.
Sesriem Canyon is approximately 3 kms (1.8 miles) long. We didn't do the whole thing because...it was getting too hot, and the end section is wider so it's hard to get out of the sun.
Kevin, trying to get a better look through the hole.
Ruth, walking through Sesriem Canyon.
Some parts of the canyon are wider at the bottom than at the top. This is what makes it easy to find shade at these sections.
Ruth, crawling through some of the huge boulders that have fallen down.
Kevin, doing some exploring!
We did about 1 km (.62 miles) through the wider part of the canyon, but it was too hot. Sure was a beautiful blue sky though!
We were back at our campsite by 10:30am or so. It's too hot to do any more walking, but we have a huge shade tree at our campsite so we just sit in the shade for a couple of hours and watch the wildlife in and around our site. It really is entertaining. Who needs television when you're in Namibia?!
Ostriches enjoying some shade near our campsite.
Soon, an oryx came by and wanted some shade too. The ostriches were not happy, but they are no match for the oryx's sharp horns, so they moved on!
Not sure of this ones name. Anyone?
This four-striped grass mouse lives in our tree with two others. It was funny watching them play in the branches. Tough to get a picture of...they are too fast!
This fellow lives with his wife in the big tree in the campsite next too us.
Here is the missus!
We have seen more owls since coming to Namibia than we have seen our whole lives. They are such interesting birds. These two didn't mind us standing at the bottom of the tree looking up at them, but they sure did keep their eyes on us.
In the afternoon, we sat in the huge restaurant tent to get out of the elements. Besides the heat, there was a lot of wind and the sand was blowing around quite a bit. It was still hot in the restaurant tent, but with beer prices of only N$12 ($1.30) a bottle in the bar, it was a little easier to keep cool!
Things cool off quickly as soon as the sun sets, and the winds die off around the same time. It's comfortable to sit out by our tent watching the stars.
I love the canyon photos. Looks like hard work in the heat. Now you understand why I wanted to escape the heat in the Central Valley of CA (over 105 degrees too many days in Summer).
ReplyDeleteI'm interested .... do Mr. and Mrs. Owl have babies? Do you notice the babies or parents 'calling' to one another? When I visited the Birds of Prey Sanctuary in Idaho, the owl they have raised from an egg, though over a year old, constantly made this 'calling' noise. His handler explained that the baby owls leave the next at a relatively young age; they 'call' to their parents their location and the parents continue to feed them for many months, maybe even a year after hatching. Just wondered if you're hearing that.
It wasn't too hot as long as we stayed in the taller and narrower part to the canyon and really that was the most interesting part anyway.
DeleteNot sure if they had any babies. We did hear them "whooing" in the evening but during the day they were quiet and stayed put on their roosts in the tree.
canyon is beautiful. well learned something new again today. did not know there were ostriches in Africa
ReplyDeleteSo glad to have been able to teach you something new. In actual fact ostriches native to Africa.
DeleteYour bird is called a Mountain Chat. Interesting looking! Those temps are hot, dry or not!
ReplyDeleteToo hot there and too cold here in Texas.
ReplyDeleteThe weather sounds like Arizona gets real cool once the sunsets.
Great photos and keep cool there.
Just keep a close watch on your Tilley hats, I'm sure those ostriches were eyeballing them... ;c)
ReplyDeleteSeems like you need to get out even earlier to beat the heat. Wonder what it will be like in March. Love that slot canyon. And your neighbors. Could that be a Raven?
ReplyDeleteA trip of a lifetime and I'll probably say that a few more times while you're in Africa. Did you ever think you would be there?
ReplyDeleteI love those owls. Yes, the sun is kinda hot when it's directly overhead---something few of us mid-latitude types ever experience.
ReplyDeleteThe Owls are cool! Do you think you could send some of your heat to the US of A? So happy you are having a great time! Thanks for your photos.
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