Beasties

One of the things - one of the many things - that made the recent Namibia trip so amazing was the tremendous variety of beasties that I saw. What made it even more extraordinary is that I had not scheduled a safari. Rather, I just saw so many animals simply driving around, both with the guide and also when I rented the truck and drove to the coast. I missed an amazing video opportunity when our guide was barreling down a gravel road and came across a couple dozen zebras racing along. We pulled aside them and they just kept galloping. I thought I was videotaping them, but in the end I wasn't - the magnificence of the moment overwhelmed my technical skills. I saw several baboons, but was never close enough to snap a picture. On the way to and from Swakopmund I should have pulled over and grabbed a picture of the ten foot high termite mounds. OK, next time.

One of the zebras taking a break from their hard-earned gallop.

A mommy and baby oryx.

Maybe my most amazing animal moment was driving along and then suddenly realizing that an ostrich was racing the car.

This was some sort of crow, who my guide identified as a stinker.

It's amazing to see a giraffe just ambling about.

I saw a ton of weaver bird nests, and I think this was the biggest one.