We left our hotel in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, crossed the land border into Zambia, bound for Harry Mwanga Nkumbula International Airport, in Livingstone. I am writing this quick blog post while waiting for our connection in Johannesburg, South Africa. In a few hours, we will board a flight bound for the US, arriving first in …
Author: Carolyn Swed
Arriving in the Okavango Delta
We met the guides who were to take us into the Okavango Delta, Matsaudi and Shaku in Maun, Botswana. There, pared down our gear to one backpack apiece, our group of 17 Nomads transferred from Stevie to two open air 4x4 Toyota Land Cruiser safari vehicles. We drove for five hours through the woodland savanna, …
Himba Herero villages
The road to Brandberg National Heritage Site contains several Himba and Herero villages. Although we had seen bare-chested Himba women in town at the craft market in Swakopmund, seeing them in these conditions was different. Each roadside village consisted of a variable number (I didn’t count, but between 6-10) of huts arranged in a circle, …
Brandberg Mountain
We left Swakopmund bound for Etosha National Park, by way of Brandberg Mountain. “Brandberg” means burning mountain, a reference to the appearance of the black rocks early in the morning at sunrise, when appear to be on fire. Brandberg National Historic Site Our group met up with our guide, Justus, who led us on the …
Sossus-on-Foot Desert Tour
The morning after our game drive, we were treated to a late departure from Hammerstein Lodge, somewhat compensating for our early-start, long day, the day before. We passed through the town of Solitaire, enjoying some of its legendary Apple pie, before arriving at Boesman’s Camp for our final day in the Namibian desert. It was …
Sunset with White Rhinos
After our day-long tour of Sossusvlei Dunes, we got back to Hammerstein Lodge just in time to head out on a game drive into adjacent, privately-owned game reserves. A subset of our group of Nomads, 13 in total, loaded up into an open-air, 4x4 overland vehicle driven by Erasmus, our guide. A second similar, but …
Sunrise at the Dunes
From our accommodations at Hammerstein Lodge we awoke at 4:15am, for a 5am departure. After dressing and packing for the day, JD and I walked out of our room into the still-dark morning to see Aquarius and Saturn in the western sky, Orion towards the north, and Jupiter in the east. Mosquito netting over our …
Becoming Nomads
Ross, Jane, JD and I met our group’s primary guide, Goodness, in the lobby of the Double Tree Hilton in Cape Town’s Upper Eastside. She verified our passports and e-visa applications for our upcoming crossing into Namibia, and answered our many questions. I loved her kind, assertive enthusiasm immediately. Goodness instructed our group of 20 …
African Anniversary
Twelve years ago today, JD and I married on the shore of Lake Tahoe, on the California-Nevada border. Our friend Steve Luckesen served as our best man; my sister Patricia as the matron of honor, and JD’s daughters Anika and Kara as bridesmaids. Our friend Steve Holder officiated. All of these people have, on that …
We Are All One
First, an important update: we were reunited with our bags…. https://videopress.com/v/IcYci8vb?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true And so, we headed off on safari Saturday morning! Even though Africa wasn’t on our short list, when the opportunity to visit presented itself, it seemed right to us both. JD and I had tried to get to Tanzania for an International World Ranger …
If You’re Lucky Enough: Carolyn and JD’s blog 