Namibia

I spent last week on an amazing 4 day safari in the Namib Desert. Our first day we drove from Windhoek (the capital of Namibia) out to Sessriem, and hiked up Elum's Dune to watch the sunset. Then it was up at 4:30 the next morning to drive into Sossusvlei where we hiked up another gigantic dune at sunrise. The scenery, was absolutely breathtaking: huge sand dunes, giant mudflats, and no roads or buildings in sight.  We also saw a surprising amount of wildlife, considering it was the desert. We spotted springbok, oryx, jackal, and ostrich.

After spending another night near Sossusvlei, we drove out to Swakopmund. The scenery in Swakopmund was equally impressive with giant dunes running right up to the ocean. A few of us went quad biking through the dunes in the evening. It was a great way to see the dunes and a lot easier than walking. It also marked the second time in Africa that I followed Branjolina's footsteps. Apparently they went quad biking a couple years ago with their kids.

The next morning I decided it would be fun to jump out of a fully functional plane at 10,000ft, so three of us went tandem skydiving. The 30 second free fall was definitely one of the most exhilarating things I've ever done. I was a little nervous on the way up, but the actual jumping out of the plane happened so fast there was no time to get scared. After skydiving we drove back to Windhoek, and I got a bus the next night to Cape Town. It was a 20 hour ride, but luckily it wasn't a real "African" bus. It's actually nicer than any bus I've been on in the States.

Right now I'm at an internet cafe in Cape Town. This morning I went with a couple of girls to see a huge colony of seals on Duiker island, and I think now I'm gonna head off to climb Table Mountain. I love Cape Town so far, and I have a feeling I'll stay longer here than I planned on, but don't worry, I'll still come home in less than 2 weeks!