19/21 March: We went further south to see the "Waterberg Plateau" and met other volunteers. The weather stayed fine for us most of the time and so were able to make two ascents to "Mountain View" (see photo) and make a little detour to see one of the many small canyons. This is a different aspect to the Namibian landscape that we haven't seen before with the colours of the sandstone and the lush green that has come with the heavy rains this year. The woods below the rim of the plateau were dense in places with lots of flowers, butterflies and birds. We saw "Rock Dassie" several times on the "Mountain view route ".On the plateau there are rhinos, leopards and antelope but that will have to wait for another visit if we have time left.

18 & 19 March: Visited the San living village called Grashoek(GPS:19.24574S;19.23945E)) about 90 km east of Roy's camp. We saw the crafts made in the village, saw some traditional games and in the evening the Natural Healer chanted with a group around the fire. We camped under some Maketti trees in the village and had a great evening under the clear sky. In the
morning we went for a walk in the bush and found some tubers nearby (see photo). Henry, our San guide, together with the Healer were able tell us lots about the flora and its uses in healing and general living of his people. We went a short distance through the bush but almost every shrub or tree had a story to tell. We reached a Manketti tree with water between the branches and they showed us how they use their long straws to drink the water. The Manketti trees also provide nuts for eating and they showed us how they cracked the shell. At the moment the nuts are green, about the size of a golf ball. Also near our camp were "Berry Bushes" with green berries that did not taste of much but we were assurred that when they are ripe in the winter and turn brown, they are also sweet. Only the young children were eating the unripe fruit! I hink we saw the same bushes near the "White Lady" paintings in the Brandburg mountains and saw the baboons collecting them.

San people finding a tuber 

Now in Namibia with VSO in Rundu in the Kavango region. We've been here since September 2004 and will leave at the end of August 2006. We both work in Education, Helen as a Special Needs Advisor and me as Maths and Physical Science Advisor based in Rundu, the capital town of the Kavango Region.
Whilst here we have travelled in the Namibia, Botswana and Zambia and have been enjoying lots of camping and BQs. In the north of Namibia, there are lots of good lodges and nature reserves that are within a relatively short distance. So we have seen lots of wildlife including birds, different antelope, and elephants. As the Kavango river is on our doorstep in Rundu, we have also explored the area and seen crocodiles and hippos. The hippos are usually easily seen further along to the east but there are crocodiles everywhere.
There are also several good walks between the lodges, although not marked as such (perhaps this is a "Kavango Way" for the future!)