WPC: Magic Sparks

  This post is part of the Daily Post | Weekly Photo Challenges | Magic

A Desert Garden at Brandberg

The Brandberg in Namibia is one of the most arid environments I have ever been in. All the plants and animals have had to adapt to the lack of water, but contrary to what one expect, there is a lot of life here. There is a more detailed introduction to the area in the post The […]

Solitaire: Apple pie in the desert

Solitaire is a small settlement in the Khomas Region of central Namibia near the Namib-Naukluft National Park. We came upon it while driving from the red dune area of Sossusvlei to Walvis Bay at the coast. The main settlement is very small – it has a petrol station, post office, a bakery and a general […]

On the road to Nowhere

On a deserted road in Namibia, we came across this old rusted vehicle on the side of the road. It was a sight which would be repeated a number of times in our travels there, and got me to wondering how the vehicle got there and why was it left there. Did it break down […]

Weekly Photo Challenge: Local

In a lot of small towns in South Africa, the landscape is dominated by the local church or churches. George is no longer a small town, but this church at the top of the main road, is still a dominant landmark. Even at night.   This post is part of the Daily Post | Weekly Photo Challenges […]

Rosie is a brave bear

For years when people asked me whether Rosie was a good watch dog, I’d say she has excellent hearing and an impressive bark but that she is not a very brave little bear. Often if there was a strange noise at night, she would leap up barking, but then expect one of us to follow her […]

What’s on my iPod?

I have mentioned before that I love listening to podcasts. Way back I wrote about my favourite “Bedtime Stories” (click on link), and although I still do listen to those podcasts, I have added several more to my playlist. You can listen to episodes from the podcast archives on the websites (you can link to […]

World Rhino Day – 22 September 2016

Rhino poaching is one of the things that really upsets me. Well, poaching of any kind, but especially killing an animal for just one body part. Even though there has been raised awareness about the issue, and enormous efforts from various conservation agencies to stop the slaughter of rhinos, the carnage continues. Authorities in South Africa […]

Living with chronic pain and depression

I never imagined that I’d ever write this post. Notes from Africa has always been my “happy place” – somewhere I can create positive energy. But I’ve decided it’s important to share my story. Maybe it will help somebody feel they are not alone. Maybe it will help a family member or friend of somebody […]

Blood moon: Supermoon lunar eclipse 2015

Although we have previously experienced a Supermoon event (see: Under an African Moon), a lunar eclipse of a supermoon is a very rare event. The last one occurred in 1982, and the next one is not due until 2033. This year we would be able to see it in our time zone from Monday 28 […]