Border Crossing and Customs in Namibia, Africa to Botswana, Africa

We entered into Botswana full steam ahead!

Cooking Wild Game Recipes with Martha (Part II)

Ben was getting hungry for lunch and I knew the only thing that would satisfy was a Namibian version of the famous Stray Dog!  Starting with Kudu sausage (a wild game antelope with big spiral horns..about 700 lb animal!) I added my standard onions, garlic and roasted red bell peppers and piled it high on a toasted bun.  A drizzle of olive oil and some nice basil chips set off the plate!

Keep reading to see the photos and other Tambuti creations!

(more…)

A Natural Marksman… sort of!

Uncle Larry took me out to the shooting range at Tambuti to give me my first ever shooting lessons.  It started with loading the gun, the scope, gun/shooting safety, etc. What can you expect from a kid from the burbs!

Here is a little snap shot of my first experience shooting a gun-

How’s that for a first shot!

(more…)

Travel Information and Things to do in Etosha National Park.

Etosha is the largest national park in Namibia and covers over 22,000 square kilometers.  Filled with vast herds of Elephant, Oryx, Kudu, Zebra, Dik-Dik and just about every other type of antelope, Etosha is a veritable “buffet” of prey for Lion, Leopard, Cheetah, Hyena and the caravan loads of camera-snapping touristas.

We entered the park at Fort Namuntoni, an old white-washed German colonial outpost that is now used as a visitor’s center, restaurant and gift shop.  “Uncle” Larry, my host at Tambuti, tells me that in 1904 a group of seven musicians went into a corner room at the fort to practice and drank themselves into a deep sleep.  Upon awaking they realized that the fort had been evacuated and they had been left behind with 3,000 screaming Herrero warriors outside the gates.  Talk about a hangover!  They somehow managed to hold the fort and prevented an African Alamo.

(more…)

Exploring Tambuti Wilderness

Our first day at the ranch started with a drive back to town to do some blog posting and pick up a list of supplies for the ranch.  Normally this would all be sorted out before guests arrived but as I’m traveling with the owner’s nephew we are more active participants in a working African game ranch than mere tourists.

Our errand running turned out  longer than expected because Ben left the lights on “The Flying Toaster”. Needless to say we had to push it down a the street to the only gas station. We grabbed our camera gear and headed out for a game drive.  It’s a sad commentary on the state of manliness in America that neither of us could remember how to “pop the clutch” and start it without electricity.

Willibatt, the driver, took us on a 3 hour tour of a quarter section of the ranch.  Even without going to waterholes we saw hundreds of animals of every shape and size of antelope ranging from the small, curious Damara Dik-Dik – the world’s smallest antelope and the size of a Jack Russell terrier to the massive Eland – the world’s largest antelope and the size of a cow!

As the sun set over Tambuti and the moon rose I felt an overwhelming sense of peace and of place.  I was finally in real Africa!

(more…)

« Previous Entries