Our New Back Yard

 Namibia

 

Erongo Region

Our new back yard

So, we're finally getting around to writing the blog that we promised. We've been in Namibia for almost a month already, so we won't try to summarize all that has happened since we arrived. Instead, here are a few highlights.

 

 

First, on the way here, Noah made his flight to Johannesburg with only 16 minutes to spare, nearly giving Anna a heart attack. Otherwise, things went smoothly. We were excited to see Laura and Christine waiting for us at the Walvis Bay airport. Spent the first day and a half kicking around Walvis Bay and Swakopmund before making the hour and a half drive to Gobabeb.

Our first week was spent getting oriented to the desert and the station. A steady flow of meetings and presentations was interrupted by several excursions to the dunes. The senior staff took us on a camping trip to Tsondab Vlei, and later to Khommabes, an interesting geomorphological and archaeological site.

Tsondab Vlei

Oryx (aka Gemsbok) on the way to Tsondab Vlei

Anna and Christine ponder Khommabes

The next two weeks were busy with handover: the process by which Christine and Laura attempted to convey to us a year's worth of knowledge and experience. It went as well as could be expected. Many thanks to Laura and Christine for their patience!! Sadly, they departed on Sunday, leaving us to figure the rest out for ourselves. We'll let you know how that goes.

Laura, Christine, Noah, and Anna atop the Gobabeb spaceship (aka, the water tower)

For now, we're adjusting well to life here at Gobabeb. Everything about this place is extreme in some way: the landscape is almost otherworldly, we receive on average 28mm of rain per year, and the sand surface can reach 70°C during the day. But the people here are wonderful, and we've made many good friends already. We'll do our best to keep you updated as life in the desert progresses.

The sun sets behind screens used to collect fog water

Sandboarding is fun! Provided you keep your mouth closed and avoid dune grass...

Driving on the dunes is fun too! But sometimes one gets stuck...