Left at 5.30am to go back to the Quiver Tree forest to retrieve cameras - and also shoot the milky way from the opposite direction. Quite excited to see what I've got - sort of like baking a cake for the first time and waiting to see how it turns out.
Unfortunately somewhere on the farm someone was making loud metallic bangs at 4.30am - so that was that, no more sleep. At least that meant I had time to do some yoga stretches (the body is struggling a bit) and have a cup of tea before leaving!
We have phone apps to track where we walk so we can retrace our steps in the pitch dark… but even with that assistance it was a bit of a mission in a valley full of giant rocks and low hillocks.  There is iron in the rocks which makes the compasses go a bit haywire. We finally found the cameras  again, shot the pre dawn and then rushed back to shoot the cheetah feeding again.
So now having seen the results, I made a mistake and shot the first image too early so the overall result is too light.  I'll have another go at it this afternoon/evening.
Off to Luderitz on the coast tomorrow, & will be shooting at Kolmanskop. You  are probably familiar with the images of the old mining town being slowly engulfed by sand.
PS. tried Oryx again and it was really good this time. It can be a very tough meat.

We are staying at a farm out side Keetmanshoop which has 4 rescued cheetahs that we photographed being fed this morning… anywhere from  2 to 10 feet away.  Their enclosure is 40 hectares - so that's pretty good for a captive animal. The farmers in Namibia frequently shoot cheetah because the cats will hunt goats & sheep. The two larger cats are not tame, they tolerate people to get food & while not 100% wild, are most definitely not tame. The 2 young cubs of 13 months old are in a separate enclosure by the farmhouse. These cubs are completely tame (for the family anyway), when the farmer got them they were so tiny he had to rear them off a collie dog. So they accept the dogs here (all 13 of them) as family. The dogs all come and get cuddles from the guests - they seem to make a bee line for me a lot of the time, so I'm getting lots of doggie love.
This afternoon/evening it was Quiver trees again but in a different location & this time we shot sunset and then tried star trails. We have left our cameras set up to take a 4 minute photo with 1 second intervals until the battery runs out. This Quiver tree forest is on private property so the gear should be quite safe.
I won't bore you with all the technicalities, suffice to say it's very fiddly when you are trying to shoot the sunset and then quickly set up for trails.  The hardest part is finding a good composition.  The picture has to stand alone without the star trails; they should compliment the picture, not be the picture.

A very long boring 7 hour drive to Keetmanshoop, which is a dry, dusty little town in the middle of a big dry, dusty plain.  The wind is hot and dry & you can just about feel the moisture being sucked out of you… there is nothing left to sweat with.  I'm constantly drinking water and constantly thirsty.  To give you some idea, I have 2 different types of dry cells in my camera pack to absorb moisture - I have never seen them so dry & they've just been shut up in the bag. It has not rained here for 2 years.
In the late afternoon we went out to a place with rocks & Quiver trees & had some fun playing with star landscapes until 7.45pm.  Absolutely knackered it was a very long day.  I was so tired that I put sunscreen on my toothbrush instead of toothpaste. Fortunately I realised before I put it in my mouth.

Today was a sort of rest day / sort of do chores day in preparation for heading south long before sparrow fart tomorrow.
Internet ability will be patchy or non existent for the next week or so. I will do my best but it is likely to be some days until I can post. 
Travel broadens the mind so they say. It also brings you into close contact with the best and worst of human nature. We are frequently reminded of the need to be vigilant and stay safe.  Most locals feel bad about the increase in tourist crime, is reputedly perpetrated by South Africans coming into Namibia, and will go out of their way to help you.  It is often humbling the extent that people go to to provide assistance.
On a lighter note; a funny story from today. We went into a electronics store to purchase another portable storage drive. After looking about I decided to try the shop next door and we walked out a different door; one with those tall skinny security alarm stands... which duly went mental when I walked through. The security guard rushed over grabbed my handbag, rummaged through it, gave it back & motioned  me through the stands. The alarms went off again.  So she emptied my bag checked everything thoroughly and we had another go. Nope I set off the alarms again. So this time she took my bag & walked through with it herself... no problem. Got me to walk through without the bag… no problem. Gave me back my bag and I walked through - and promptly set the alarms off yet again.  I felt like I was in the twilight zone.
We will be at Keetmanshoop for the next 3 days/nights shooting Quiver trees and cheetah.

We seriously thought about a game drive this morning but you know what... I cannot imagine anything topping yesterday so we agreed to leave it with the wonderful experiences we've had. So this morning we are relaxing before driving back. It's 10am and supposed to be 28 degrees (I reckon its more like 32) and there are people sunbathing... yes seriously, they are frying like eggs! In the sun your skin feels like its blistering after 1 minute.
There is a complimentary foot massage in the price, I blissed out yesterday and will indulge in another shortly. 
Long boring 6 hour drive drive back to Windhoek, there were possibly only 5 bends in the road!
Saw a few warthogs by the side of the road, ya gotta love them. They are so ugly they are cute.
Sorry nothing else to report about today. Just need to warn you we leave Windhoek for the south on Sunday and are likely to experience patchy internet again. I will do my best.
ps. Debra the water bottle has been brilliant - thank you again.

Every day here we have been so lucky to see the big game… and each day been better than the one before. Early on William hit on a great idea; when on game drives one of us drives with his/her cameras on the passenger seat & the other is in the back with their camera gear. That allows us both to move from side to side depending on where the action is. Often animals will cross from one side of the car to the other.
Back on day one I said I'd let you know whether the long plane trip was worth it… hell yes.
Today we hit the mother lode!
We were at the south gate before it opened and shortly afterwards we saw a group of cars watching what looked like a brown log. It  turned out to be a bunch of lions lying about. They were too far away to photograph decently and not moving, so we moved on.
I took a side road, just because it was different than the roads we'd been on so far and a couple of minutes later came across a parked up truck. I eased quietly alongside. OMG there were 2 lions on the road. I could not believe our luck - it totally made my day.
After that we were headed back to the Namutoni gate 140+ km away.  For the rest of the journey there were only the usual animals; zebra, springbok, oryx etc although I did spot a hyena. 
Oh… and when we stopped for a loo break, a driver (professional) of a game drive vehicle said did you see the elephant?  I thought he was having us on but sure enough there was. We didn't bother taking any photos though coz he was camouflaged by trees.
Chatting away as the kilometres rolled past, as you do, no sooner than I said hey we've not seen any giraffe today than 15 min later we saw a large group. We realised they were trying to cross the road and were most likely headed for a small water hole that we knew of.  So we passed the rest of the parked up traffic and turned off to the little waterhole. We arrived to find we were the only car there, so I was able to park side on & in prime position when the giraffes arrived.  We were happily snapping away when I saw a cloud of dust … OMG OMG look look look 2 elephants were running, well a lumbering sprint, for the waterhole.  And suddenly a whole herd was coming in behind them… and they kept on coming.  We couldn't believe our eyes. They chased the giraffes off. I mean… they actively went around the water hole and menaced the giraffes away from the water.
It was unbelievable, they were pushing and shoving each other to get to the water. There were juveniles and babies, squealing and grunting at each other.  We didn't stop shooting to count numbers but it would have to have been over 40. One large female approached the car stopping just 5 metres away. I was really starting to panic thinking how I was going to get us out of there. But she wasn’t aggressive, just wanted to get between us and her herd. She began showering herself with dust so we sat quietly and just kept shooting and it was all ok.  I guess you have to be either an animal person or a photog to understand the emotion of the moment - these are wild animals & so close they could have killed us.  
Afterwards I was drenched in sweat, exhilarated and utterly exhausted.  
Today's gift... a moment I will never ever forget. 

I apologise for the lack of posts. All the accommodations we have experienced around Etosha have had patchy internet capability. While it's advertised as a service you can never seem to access it.
I should probably explain the set up at Etosha. The park itself is huge, thousands of kilometres and within it there are secure accommodation compounds/camps. Secure from the animals that is. The National Park gates close between sunset & sunrise (generally 6pm-6am) & so do the gates of the camps.
So yesterday was a complete disaster; we got lost and ended up at the opposite end of Etosha over 100 kilometres from where we should be.  Our accommodation is 10 min outside the south gate and at 5.30pm we were at Namutoni Camp at the north east gate. There was no way we could travel through the park (the direct route is approx 140km of gravel road with max speed limit 60kph) in time to reach the south gate and be out by the time it closed at 6pm. The only other option was to travel via the highway outside the park but we would not reach our accommodation until approx 10pm.  Driving at night here is dangerous & the staff at Namutoni told us in no uncertain terms that the losing the cost of 1 nights accommodation was not worth putting our lives at risk. So that settled the issue for us and fortunately the staff were able to find us a room  at Namutoni Camp so we stayed within the park.
This morning we began travelling back through the park to Okaukuejo Camp & the south gate.
As bad as our day was yesterday, today was the complete opposite. We saw Kudu within 5 minutes of leaving the camp gate and it just got better as the day went on: Springbok (we actually saw them springing), Zebra, Giraffe, Hartbeest, Wildebeest and within 10 min of Okaukuejo Camp we came across 3 Elephants at the edge of a water hole.
We were parked only 20 metres away - it absolutely made our day.
Tried Springbok & Oryx at dinner; the Springbok was light and quite like beef but I didn’t like the Oryx and wasn't brave enough to try the Eland stew!

Travel - the gift that keep on giving - and todays gift is jet lag !
Another 3am start coz my body decided that was the time to wake. After arriving in Johannesburg last night we were back at the airport this morning for a flight to Windhoek.
Unfortunately I ended up having to pay $42 in excess baggage weight. Bit of a shame really as I could have split my luggage into 2 pieces and not paid anything. Flying Qantas I had 30kg for checked luggage but it could only be one piece; with Air Namibia I was allowed 2 pieces of checked luggage each weighing no more than 23kg.  So I might have to do some creative bag management on the way back.
We also had a scary moment getting stuck in an elevator at the airport.  Damn thing wouldn’t go up, down or open the doors. We pushed every button we could see, several times, including the alarm bell. After a short time envisaging missed flights & a lack of oxygen, someone came to investigate. And wouldn't you know it just as they turned up the doors decided to open.
It's been 8 years almost to the day since I was last here & I had forgotten how cheap Namibia is compared to NZ. Some rough examples: A small tin of Pringles 49c; 500ml bottle of water 50c; taxis, $7 for a 10-15 minute trip; a one course dinner with double nip vodka & tonic $18 all up.
The concept of looking after tourists is also notable, we don’t pick up our 4x4 until tomorrow but the rental company picked us up from the airport, delivered us to the hotel and will come back and get us tomorrow to collect the car.  I can't see that level of service happening in NZ.
Had dinner at a really quirky restaurant called Joe's Beerhouse - totally mad with toilet seats everywhere instead of bar stools and the place was decorated with empty Jägermeister bottles.  There is a serious appetite for Jägermeister here.  Tough drinking crowd!

I so love the initial setting out on a trip.
The excitement ...of airports ...of travelling ...of going somewhere new.
That is, until the plane doors shut and then the reality sets in. 
You have just been locked into a flying tin can for a long long time.
The seats are uncomfortable and it’s a bit of a lottery who you get for neighbours. 
And let's not even mention the germs, flu or otherwise. Don't read those scary articles on the cleanliness of planes or you'll never fly again. 
If you have to subject yourself to all that, then the destination had better be worth it.
The plan is 3 weeks in Namibia & then 2 in South Africa exploring Mpumalanga, formerly  the Eastern Transvaal.
So... I'll let you know!