Waterburg Plateau National Park

Namibia's Waterburg Plateau National Park is a 50km long and 16km plateau. There's only one way onto the plateau since the sheer 200m sandstone cliffs act as a natural fence. Throw a bunch of animals on the plateau, and you've got a prime breeding ground for some of Africa's endangered large animals. Leopards and cheetahs are the only predators here.

Namibian wildlife viewing is different in that it's really hot and it's really dry and there's only a few sources of drinkable water. So the theory is: grab a lawn chair and a beer, then head down to the ol' watering hole where the animals are just chillin' out. Watch them drinking together, socialize together, and eating each other. But the theory only applies for ten months of the year; in the wet season (includes January), Namibian wildlife viewing is still optimized around water holes but the animals are dispersed. So, I didn't expect to see too much.

It took five hours to drive onto the plateau, visit two watering holes, and return to the camp. The thick forest vegetation reduced your line of sight to only a couple meters. Despite this we saw some cool stuff, kicked back with some orange Fanta, and had a great time - a handful of DLTs, a giraffe, and a water buffalo. Not really worth the cash. Once again, the campsite hosted a more intimate animal experience than the game drive - beautifully colourful starlings, a pack of twenty-odd mongoose, and a colour-shifting chameleon.

Dinner time! And Raphael - culinary master - has big plans. Penne alfredo in a three cheese cream sauce, sautéed onions and peppers, authentic German sausage and some kind of kraut I had never heard of which goes well with the sausage. Dreams clashed with reality when we realized we had only one pot - it made for bright purple semi-homogeneous slop which was absolutely delicious!! Too bad it doesn't photograph as well as it tasted.