Namibia definitely has the most variation in terms of scenery out of the countries we’ve been through and some of the drive days are going to very long, particularly down the Skeleton Coast. We had a short stop in Outjo town before heading to Cheetah Park where we were staying for the night. Outjo reminded me a bit of some of the smaller NZ towns – minimal traffic, wide roads and not many people around! Those folk we did see were an eclectic mix. We passed a very elegantly dressed Herrero couple - she was wearing the standard Herrero dress and hat, he was done up in a hat and suit. The clothes might have been a bit shabby but you didn’t really notice as they both walked so upright, heads up and shoulders back, looking straight ahead – their stature was what caught the eye.
Along the side of the road were Himba women selling handicrafts and then just down the road was a fantastic German bakery.
The camping ground was part of a private farm which was out in the whop whops but with running water and showers (yay!). The place was owned by white Namibians and was primarily a cattle farm but also provided sanctuary for 15 wild cheetah in 250ha that had been specially fenced off. Namibia is home to the largest number of free ranging cheetah, about 20% of the worlds population apparently and they cause a real problem on the farms. Farmers shoot them, despite them being protected and, as the cheetah are on private property, there is no way the authorities can control whats happening. Somewhat stupidly, the authorities make it difficult to obtain permits to keep wild cheetah so while some farmers are happy to put aside land for the animals, they’re made to jump through all sorts of hoops to get permits. The same goes for leopard as well. A totally crazy situation. Anyhow, these guys had 7,000ha of land and had permits for 21 cheetah, 19 of which are wild.
The coolest thing was that these guys had two pet cheetah that shared the house and garden with another cat and three dogs and a baby giraffe that had been orphaned and adopted. This was one of the young chaps who’d grown up with the two cheetah
The cheetah were just like large domestic cats and, in a similar way to domestic cats, they allowed themselves to be petted but only on their terms
They purred just like house cats and liked being scratched around the head but once they’d had enough, they swung round to bat with their paws (claws out) or turned their heads to bite and we had to leave them alone for a bit. They really were just like house cats but the obvious difference was that they could do real damage (although I’ll never forget reading about a French model who was attacked by her cat and required 64 stitches in her face).
I have to be honest though, while the cheetah were pretty cool, the animal that got our attention was possibly the largest dog I’ve ever seen. He was some sort of mastiff and only young but his hips were already giving him trouble. After taking a photo of his paw and my hand (which isn't that small), I completely forgot to take a photo of the dog that the paw belonged to! What a dipstick.
The wild cheetah are fed each day but apparently warthog and guinea fowl get through/under the fence and get nailed by the cheetahs. The guys said that some days they’re just not interested in the donkey meat and they know they’ve caught something themselves. The feeding was a bit staged (throwing chunks of donkey meat off the back of a trailer) but gave us a great chance to see the cheetah up close.
They were surprisingly slight and some very scarred but seeing them scrap over the meat, I’m not surprised!
This campsite was our last before 2-3 days of bush camping so most of us made the most of the facilities there, including the primitive but very cool bar...
Along the side of the road were Himba women selling handicrafts and then just down the road was a fantastic German bakery.
The camping ground was part of a private farm which was out in the whop whops but with running water and showers (yay!). The place was owned by white Namibians and was primarily a cattle farm but also provided sanctuary for 15 wild cheetah in 250ha that had been specially fenced off. Namibia is home to the largest number of free ranging cheetah, about 20% of the worlds population apparently and they cause a real problem on the farms. Farmers shoot them, despite them being protected and, as the cheetah are on private property, there is no way the authorities can control whats happening. Somewhat stupidly, the authorities make it difficult to obtain permits to keep wild cheetah so while some farmers are happy to put aside land for the animals, they’re made to jump through all sorts of hoops to get permits. The same goes for leopard as well. A totally crazy situation. Anyhow, these guys had 7,000ha of land and had permits for 21 cheetah, 19 of which are wild.
The coolest thing was that these guys had two pet cheetah that shared the house and garden with another cat and three dogs and a baby giraffe that had been orphaned and adopted. This was one of the young chaps who’d grown up with the two cheetah
The cheetah were just like large domestic cats and, in a similar way to domestic cats, they allowed themselves to be petted but only on their terms
They purred just like house cats and liked being scratched around the head but once they’d had enough, they swung round to bat with their paws (claws out) or turned their heads to bite and we had to leave them alone for a bit. They really were just like house cats but the obvious difference was that they could do real damage (although I’ll never forget reading about a French model who was attacked by her cat and required 64 stitches in her face).
I have to be honest though, while the cheetah were pretty cool, the animal that got our attention was possibly the largest dog I’ve ever seen. He was some sort of mastiff and only young but his hips were already giving him trouble. After taking a photo of his paw and my hand (which isn't that small), I completely forgot to take a photo of the dog that the paw belonged to! What a dipstick.
The wild cheetah are fed each day but apparently warthog and guinea fowl get through/under the fence and get nailed by the cheetahs. The guys said that some days they’re just not interested in the donkey meat and they know they’ve caught something themselves. The feeding was a bit staged (throwing chunks of donkey meat off the back of a trailer) but gave us a great chance to see the cheetah up close.
They were surprisingly slight and some very scarred but seeing them scrap over the meat, I’m not surprised!
This campsite was our last before 2-3 days of bush camping so most of us made the most of the facilities there, including the primitive but very cool bar...
1 comment:
Mmmmm well..... what can I say.... !!!! I WANT TO SEE THAT DOG
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