I Think This Cheetah's Name is Etosha
Etosha Is Sleepy. It was 7:00 In The Morning After All...
This Is Ralph The Cheetah. Ralph Is Mean To Another Cheetah So They Had To Move The Other Guy
This Cheetah Is Timbu. Ralph Always Beats Him Up, So Timbu Now Has His Own Pen. You Can See The Battle Scars.
Sun's Out...Guns Out. I've been taking way too many selfies on this trip.
This Is My Hotel. The chalets are built into the rocks. They look like smurf houses to me.
Sunset In The Fish River Canyon, Namibia
Sunset
Sunset
Another Selfie...Enjoying the sunset
Today was a busy day! I started the day at the Bagatelle Kalahari Game Ranch this morning. I went on a morning cheetah drive there! I met the guide at 7:00 and we went to the cheetah pen. I guess I was naive in thinking that we would go out in the wild and find us some cheetahs. That is not the case. They have 3 male cheetahs at this place. They were given to them by an African rescue organization. These cheetahs were all abandoned at birth. So, they wouldn't have survived if left in the wild. The organization gives them to Game Ranches so they can take care of them. There were 2 cheetahs in one pen. One was Ralph and the other Etosha. They got along. Ralph hated the other cheetah Timbu. So, they had to build a special pen for Timbu so Ralph wouldn't kill him. They both are covered in battle scars. These cheetahs are treated very well. They get fed at 10:00 and 6:00. They would never be able to hunt on their own as their mother is the one that teaches those skills and they were abandoned. They have a huge, native, area to run and are fed twice a day. They seem pretty happy. I think they like to have their photo taken too.
After the cheetah experience, I had some breakfast and packed up my ride and hit the road. I had a 6 hour drive today to the Fish River Canyon in Namibia. It was pretty smooth sailing. Once off the main B4 road, it was all gravel and sand for about 75km. I was looking at my map and reading my directions for the tour operator and it said I would be there in approx. 37km. I kept driving because I didn't see the turn off. I almost turned around at one point but realized the road I was on would hook up with the main B4 road again eventually. Finally I found the turn off and made it to my hotel. The Canon Lodge. It is a pretty cool place. All the rooms are individual chalets. They are built into the rocks of the canyon. I think they look like smurf houses. Except maybe smurf houses were mushrooms. These are not mushrooms. But I will call them smurf houses anyway. It is so remote, so I was amazed that they had wi-fi (not good at all though) and a sweet ass pool! So, I unpacked my ride and made my way to the pool. It overlooked the canyon and I swam and had a beer and hung out for a while.
Later in the evening I went on a small hike to the top of a "mountain" near the hotel. It had a great view for the sunset. I was the only one up there. It was pretty cool. I sat there until the sun went down and just reflected on the day and how lucky I am to be where I am right now. It's truly a trip of a lifetime, and I am so happy I made this decision to come here and do a road trip by myself through the desert. It's awakening. Well, so far I'm happy, fingers crossed that all keeps on going as planned.
Tomorrow I am still in the canyon. I will go on a hike tomorrow. It is going to be super hot. I bet it was 95 today, and tomorrow it will be the same. I will bring water. And maybe some snacks. It will be guided so I bet the guide has the water and snacks. Probably.
So, until tomorrow, thanks again for reading!! This has been a great adventure so far!