Anza Borrego

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We were itchin’ for some sun after our more-than-dreary winter this year. But luck wasn’t with us this year. It was sunny in Anza Borrego but it was cold and windy. As expected, the wildflower show was small to non-existent. The fall and winter rains just didn’t materialize in California.

We arrived on-time in Ontario and I started a long string of mishaps by leaving my travel folder and hiking book on the plane. Darn if I didn’t realize it just as I passed out of security. Fortunately, I kept my boarding pass so I was to go back to the gate and they went on board and found it. It was actually quite fast and I got to baggage before our luggage had been unloaded.

We got our car, a mid-sized Dodge Stratus from Thrifty. Again, I left the folder! This was a sign of things to come. It did take us a while to get baggage and our car so we didn’t get on the freeway until almost 10:45 after arriving at 9:40. I was so glad to have the mid-size. I swear everyone seemed to be driving large SUVs. I’ve never seen so many Hummers on the road. Soon we were flying down I-15 at 75-80 mph and still being passed.

We pulled off at Lake Elsinore at 11:30 and lunched at the In and Out Burger. We made it to the trail head at Santa Rosa Plateau by 12:30. We had realized that we were actually a little early for the wildflowers. Everything still looked asleep But we found our quarries – Salvia apiana (white sage) and Salvia mellifera (black sage).

Santa Rosa Vernal Pools

Santa Rosa Vernal Pools

On to the desert after a stop for groceries at Ralph’s in Temecula. We came across patches of snow near Warner Springs. The forecast was for rain but we had hopes that it wouldn’t happen.

We made it to Borrego Springs by 5:00 and checked into our Casita. It was very clean and nicely furnished in a mix of tropical and southwestern decor. It was going to be perfect for the weekend. We relaxed and had a nice dinner of ravioli before heading to bed.

The next day, we made a stop in Borrego Springs to check out what was available in town. Not much. There was a grocery store and a handful of restaurants. We checked out Jilbertos Tacos and made a plan to return for dinner. We went on to the visitor’s center at the State Park to get information on where there might be flowers in bloom. The ranger suggested a short walk up Surprise Canyon just behind the restrooms at the Hellhole Canyon trailhead. We also had plans to visit Culp Valley and the parking lot was on our way up.

We headed up Montezuma’s Grade to Culp Valley. It was cold and very windy. The distant mountains between the desert and the coast were covered with snow. But we found another salvia. We thought it might be Salvia vaseryi since our trail plant guide said it was supposed to be one there but we think it was really just an apiana or a cross between the two. The plant we found had tall seed spikes which are found on apiana instead of the whorled ones found on vaseryi.

The views were stunning but I couldn’t take the wind any longer so we headed back. We found the parking lot this time and went for a short walk up Surprise Canyon. We found several interesting items in bloom, Ocotillo, chuparosa, phacila and best of all several barrel cactus in bloom. But more importantly, we did finally find Salvia vaseryi.

We had a few more hours of daylight so we decided to try to find another location suggested by the ranger, Plum Canyon. By time we got over Yaqui Pass, the weather turned cloudy, cold and windy again. We pulled off the road and checked out some agaves in bloom before heading back. At the top of Yaqui Pass, we decided to take the short xxx loop and watched the shadows lengthen before the sun set.

We headed back to town for dinner at Jarmillos. It was definitely cheap but so-so. I liked my Carne Asada Tacos; nice chuncks of seasoned beef with guacamole on warm soft tortillas. G’s chile rellenos were so-so. They were anaheim chiles with some strange cheese filling and a very thick batter. The sauce wasn’t great either. Oh well maybe we should have went to Pablitos instead?

Back at the casita, G discovered that we had HBO and we caught part of the Sopranos. It was the season opener. Whoa! what a shocker. We made a note to catch the full show the next night.

Our last day dawned sunny but windy again. We headed south towards Mexico after filling up. Filling the half empty tank cost more than it did to fill my little hybrid! The drive took us down over the pass used by the original stagecoach line to Southern California. What an arduous trip that must have been. The passengers often had to get off the coach and walk up the pass. The views were stunning between the desert and the snowy mountains.

Our destination was Mountain palm canyon. Near the campground was a short two mile loop trail took you to several palm oasises where the birds congregated attracted to the water and food. Between the two canyons, the trail climbed up and over a ridge where we found cactus, octillo and other plants in bloom. We watched the clouds cast shadows on the desert and they moved across. I always wonder what the first pioneers thought of the expansiveness of the desert.

Anza Borrego Desert

Anza Borrego Desert

The next morning, we went to the Red Octillo restaurant located in the quanset hut just outside of town. It was excellent! Too bad they don’t do dinner.

Sadly, it was time to drive back. We had one more stop before our flight, Rancho Santa Ana Gardens in Claremont. LA was overcast and drizzly but we had a great tour of the garden. Spring was in full bloom with the blues of the ceanothus and bright orange of Fremontodendron. It was a very relaxing 3 nights in Borrego Springs. It was a very relaxing 3 nights in Borrego Springs and a nice end to the weekend.

In search of the wild salvia

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Salvia – or sage’s botanical name. G has a small home business, Smartyplants, growing salvias to sell in local plant sales. Many of our travels have involved either visiting nurseries to see what salvias they sell or trying to find salvias in the wild. I remember searching out Mara Nursery in New Zealand and spending a lovely afternoon having lunch with the owners.

Salvias grow through out the world. We found several species in the wild on our trip in Africa. They also grow in the US. We came across Salvia funerea totally unexpectedly while hiking in a canyon in Death Valley in 2005.

Here are a few pictures of some salvia we found in the wild in South Africa:

Salvia africana-caerulea

Salvia africana-caerulea

Salvia africana-caerulea

Salvia africana-caerulea

Salvia dentate near Nababeep

Salvia dentate near Nababeep

Salvia africana lutea in the wild outside Darling

Salvia africana lutea in the wild outside Darling

Southern California is another prime region for wild salvias and we hope to find some on our trip this week. Saliva apiana and Saliva mellifera grow in the chaparral of the South Coast. In Anza-Borrego, you can find Salvia vaseyi. I found a great site by Tom Chester which has a lot of details on the plants of Southern California. I really like his plant lists for trails of the area.

We are going to stop at the Santa Rosa plateau on the way from Ontario to Anza-Borrego. Tom has a listing of plants on the Vernal Pools and several salvias are to found. We are planning on stopping since it is on the way and we will have time.

Photos of our trip to Africa

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Five months. It does not feel like five months since we returned from South Africa. It was the most amazing and enjoyable trip.

I finally got around to posting some travel photos. We got our own website and I have finished posting the pictures. You can find them at www.martageorge.com. Working on the website brought back so many good memories of the trip. G did a great job of writing up the comments. He remembered several details that I had started to forget.

So where to next? First off we are heading for a long weekend at Anza Borrego. We rented a casita at Rams Hills in Borrego Springs. We will fly into Ontario and then drive down through Temucula to Anza Borrego. We’ll probably get lunch and tour a winery in Temucula.

Other than our little desert getaway, we don’t have a specific vacation picked out. Australia is sounding better and better. Especially in November. We could visit gardens, wineries and hike. Everything we love to do on a vacation. We might even be able to get a little bit of desert in with a visit to the outback!

Dusted Out

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Dust, Dust, Dust. Everywhere! After 4 days of travel on gravel roads, it is everywhere. In the car trunk, in your hair, gritting in your mouth. You slam the car door and Poof – another cloud.

But this is the small price you have to pay to see the wonders here in the Namibian desert. We left Etosha and spent a luxury night in the rocky area of Erongo. We went on sundowner hike and had a glass a wine up on the rocks. Then it was off to the cool coastline in Swapkomund. A holiday resort town.

Then it was off to the desert. We wanted to see this prehistoric plant, Welwitchias and went searching in the Namib National Park. We found them and boy are they ugly. Six dusty hours later, we arrived at Sesreim and our home for the next two nights at Desert Homestead. The bungalows were really nice. But our main objective were the dunes of Sousselvlei. The next morning we were up at 5:30 to grab some coffee and drive to queue up for the park to open at 7:00. The light is good only for two hours and it is a made dash into the park to see the shadows on the red sand dunes. Unreal. Like something from the movie “Dune”…. hmmmm I wonder what did inspire Herbert?

We stopped at Dune 45 and we had to climb it. The sand was still cool and the view awesome. But the light quickly changed so we returned for a sleepy afternoon.

Today, we have returned to Windhoek. I’m in the ‘largest internet cafe in Africa’ according to the sign. Seems like it. Tomorrow we leave for home. Do we have to? There is so much more to see and it has been great. We will definitely come back.

Search for Elephants

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Greetings from Etosha. We have spent two amazing days in this wonderful paradise for wildlife. Here the people are in cages (cars and restcamps) and the animals are free.

Wednesday we arrived in Namibia. It feels very similar to SA but yet different. We got money at the airport and we were given SA Rands instead of Namibian Dollars. The currancy is interchangeable with namibian. We picked up our car. Boy, what was I thinking when I went with the lower cost class without A/C. and no Radio or CD. Oh well, roll down the windows and prepare for a hot dusty week.

We headed for our first stop in Waterburg National Park. Along the way, we stopped in a grocery store (Spar, same as SA) It was very clean and well stocked. The people are very friendly but there is a protocol. First, you say hello and ask them how they are doing. They will say fine and ask you back. Then you start your transaction. If you don’t, they are quiet and reserved. It is actually a very nice and polite way to do business.

The road stretched through dry leafless thorn trees that seemed to go forever in the distance. Very few cars and trucks which isn’t surprising since there are about 2 million in population and many do not have cars.

After about 3 hours, we reached the plateau. The bungalows were simple but very clean. We did a few of the trails at sundown and then had a good sit down dinner. It was not at night and we didn’t sleep much.

After breakfast, we headed on. The terrain was similar and rather boring. After about 3 hours we reached the Etosha gates. The terrain had changed to stark white ground and car high black thorn trees. The sky was gray-blue from the dust. We signed in and headed out. We hadn’t gone 10k when we saw our first springbok and zebra. We headed towards Okandeka, a water hole along the Etosha Pan. The pan is a huge dry salt encrusted lake bed. It shimmers in the heat. Along the shore and inland are several natural and man made water holes which attract animals. Okondeka was spectacular. We started seeing lines of Zebras and Springboks heading towards the shore but the best were the firaffes. In the distance, they looked like creatures from Star Wars in the heat and dust. They lumbered slowly on the horizon. At the water hole, there were hundreds of different animals; giraffe, springbok, zebra, secretary birds, wildebeestsn oryx, vultures and wild dogs. It was meserizing and spectacular.

We headed on to Halali, the middle camp. Unfortunately, it was midday and the animals were not that active although we did see a pair of lions sleeping and a wide variety of different antelope.

We arrived at Halali and checked in. We had a “VIP” bungalow which was great. Two bedrooms, full bath, kitchen and even satelite TV and air conditioning. There are only 2 VIP cottages. The rest of the cottages are more simple and basic. I wish I had known it had a fully equiped kitchen – I would have brought stuff to cook. There is a small store in camp with a lo of tinned goods and frozen meat. There is a braai (BBQ) which we could have used if we both ate meat.

We showered and relaxed before heading to dinner. A buffet which was so-so. We also checked out the water hole in camp but saw nothing.

The next morning we had breakfast and headed towards Namutomi hoping to see elephants. We hadn’t seen any the day before. It was several hours before we hit it lucky at Kalkheuwel water hole and found one drinking. We sat and ate lunch. Soon two more arrived. We think they were three male elephants.

But the day was topped off later that evening. After dinner, we walked to the lighted camp water hole. A black rhino family came down to drink. But out of the darkness came a spectular site; a herd of elephants led by the Matriarch and included two baby elephants. Outnumbered, the rhinos backed off and the elephants drank noisily. Just as quickly as they appeared, they left into the darkness. The rhinos had waited and came back for a second drink. We even saw the baby rhino nursing.

We have seen many of the different antelopes; oryx, hartebeest, impalas, bontebok, kudu and eland. The most common animals are sebras, springbok and wildebeest. You actually start to get ‘bored’ with the zebras although they are great to photograph. They are also always crossing the road. A whole new meaning to ‘zebra crossing’.

Time to move on. Next up Erongo and then the coast. After that the sand dunds of Namib desert. Still more to come before our return in less than a week.

Wine and Flowers

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We have returned to Cape Town (Kaapstad in Afrikaans). We have definitely put our little Dutch knowledge to use. We even had to use it to find a garden (Tuin) yesterday.

I am sitting here in the Internet Cafe in Stellenbosch after a nice fish lunch. I love the calamari! We also saw the Vergelegen wine estate with lovely gardens. Just don’t ask me how to pronounce it. We’re heading on to Fransehhoek later this afternoon.

We have seen and experienced so much, I don’t know where to start. A week ago we were still in Springbok. We spent a day in the Skilpad area of Namaqua National Park. Yes, it does mean tortoise and we actually did see one. We have seen several crossing the road both in Namaqualand and the West Coast National Park. It brings a whole new meaning to speed bump. To get to Skilpad, we traveled about an hour to Kamiskroon and then headed on a red dirt road for about 30km. We came over the hill and it was a carpet of gold. The area consisted of two 6KM trails and a circular ‘Tourist road’ for driving. We spent hours just meandering amid the flowers. There was a slight breeze and it was dizzying to watch the flowers swaying in the wind. We spent most of the day enjoying the vistas.

The next day we got up at the crack of dawn to met Piet, our guide and driver for a very long day trip to the Richtersveld National Park. We met him at 7am and climbed into his trusty Toyota Land Rover. The Richtersveld is located in the far Northestern board of South Africal along the Orange River bording Namibia. It is a series of Mountains with a unique landscape. A wide variety of plants grow only in this area. It is also a place of mystery and solitude. It took us 3 1/2 hours by tarred and dirt road to reach the park gate. Along the way we passed small villages and nomadic huts while flying along the dirt roads at 60mph.

Once in the park, the roads became rougher and Piet had to shift into 4-wheel drive. I was certain I’d be sore the next day from bumpy road but I wasn’t. Soon we came across one of the rarest plants in SA, the halfman or Pachypodium namaquanum. These spiny tree-like succulents are topped with a rosette of leaves and eerily, they bend towards the north. They look like men in the shadows. The road got even rougher and rougher at times the Land Rover slowly crawled over the rocks. Around 2pm we made it to the Orange River and stopped. Piet provided a tasty lunch for us. We relaxed before heading on. Along the way, we saw huge clumps of Hoodia and Euphorbia succulents along the steep cliffs. It was also very hot and dry – in the mid 90’s. As the shadows lengthened, the vistas became magical. We left out over Helsgoot Pass (spelling?) which meand Hell’s Gate. It lived up to its name. It was covered with a unique aloe which was burnt red by the intense sun and they looked like flames of fire in the setting sun. At 5:30 we left the park and started the long drive back to Springbok where we stumbled into bed after thanking Piet for a wonderful day.

Next we moved on to our next stop; Nieuwoudtville – the bulb capital of the world. Over 35-40% of the worlds geophytes (bulbs) are found in the area on the Bokkeveld plateau. We spent three nights at a wonderful farm guest house called De Lande. It is part of Papsuilsfontein Farm and it is run by Mariette Van Wyn who is a wonderful hostess. She made us feel so welcome and we quickly became friends. We spent the days searching for wild gladolias, sparaxis and other bulbs. Evenings were spent at dinner with the other guests. We also had a chance to get a tour by Neil MacGregor. He has become an ecological spokesperson and is very astute. Over the years he has been able to farm while respecting and conserving the natural flora. He is a true man of vision.

The weather turned and a hot dry wind blew from the North. It was over 90 degrees and we could see the flowers wilting fast.

Our time had come to an end and we headed back to Cape Town. The weather also changed and it was a rainy drive back. Quite a contrast from the day before. With George’s good navigation, we found the Clarkia Guest Cottage; our home for the next 6 days.

Suzanne, the owner, gave us a quick tour. Then it was off to the Woolworth’s, the local upscale supoermarket for supplies. We got breakfast makings and a pasta dinner. There were many prepacked meals similar to what can be found in Holland and England. The two different things are the supermarkets are often located in Malls and they don’t seel beer or other liquor in the supermarket. You have to go to a liquor store for beer.

Our first day back in Cape Town was rainy. The streets in Cape Town and Newlands area are narrow and very stressful driving. Especially for someone not used to driving on the left. Add on wet streets and no ability to see the white line. But we made it out and drove to the Karoo Botanical Garden in sunny Worchester. We went through a tunnel and on the other side found baboons running across the freeway. Some just sat on the railings and looked at the mountains. We also stopped in Paarl for lunch and a wine tasting at Fairview. They are the makers of “Goats Do Roam” wines. They have several other labels and some very good wines. We also tasted some cheese also made at the winery including goat cheese. 🙂

Well, it is only a few more days in Cape Town. Tuesday we head for Namibia. We will be pulling out the shorts since the temps have been in the mid 30’s (or upper 90 degrees!) in Windhoek. I’ll try to check in but I’m not certain if I’ll be able to get a chance in the desert. But who knows.

Namaqualand – Fields of Gold

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I only have time for a quick update. I promise to upload more details when we return. We are doing outstandingly well. Everything is going as planned or better. No close calls except for one that I will describe later.

We are currently in Springbok and we have spent a wonderful day chasing the flowers. Okay, let’s catch up – We left off after our arrival in Cape Town. We spent Sunday touring Kirstenbosch, one of the best botanical gardens in the Southern hemisphere. The gardens are on the slope of Table Mountain and the path takes you up through wonderful growths of proteas. There is also a wonderful succulent conservatory.

Monday, we picked up our car and hit the road. It is still hard for me to get used to driving on the left. “Now… where is that rear view mirror anyway?” We drove to Clanwilliam which is about 3 hours north of Cape Town. Here we saw a wonderful flower show staged in their old Dutch Reform church. Flowers (proteas, bulbs, succulents) had been gathered from the surrounding farms for display.

Then we were off for our luxury stay at Bushmans Kloof 35k away. We could definitely get used to this! We spent two nights being pampered and taken on flower/game safari drives. They are in the Cedarburg area which has a wealth of flowers. Also on the property are herds of hoofed animals such as Ostrich, Springbok, Bontebok, Gnu, other antelopes and Cape Zebras. We saw many babies since it is Spring. We also got to see ancient rock art painted by the San people over 2000 years ago. The food and service were wonderful as was our guide, James, who is also a botanical enthusiast.

But we did have our one close encounter here. We took a trail on our own one afternoon to explore some of the area. It was well marked but we were meandering along to check out the plants. Before we knew, it was almost time to be back for our afternoon sundowner drive. We rushed back and came quickly around a corner – face to face with a black spitting cobra! We surprised him and he reared up to strike displaying his hood. I was so shocked I could not get a picture before he backed down and slithered away. He was shiny jet black and over 6 feet long. Damn! I wish I had gotten his picture. What a way to celebrate our anniversay.

Soon it was time to leave the Kloof and we headed north to Springbok. The land became less and less inhabited and the terrain changed dramatically to desert.

Shortly before Springbok, we saw our first field of brillantly orange daisies. Acres and acres of Gazanias in the wild. Yipee! We weren’t too late for the flowers.

Springbok is a small town with mining as one of the main industries. It feels very similar to Arizona with large red stacks of rocks called koppies that suround the town. Our B&B is very nice and overlooks the town.

Yesterday we drove to Nababeep. The tourist bureau recommended it and it was great. We came over the hill and gold covered the hillsides and lined the road. We wandered for hours and George even found a wild salvia in bloom. Next we headed to Goegap Nature Preserve. Here we saw fields of magenta succulents accented by large Aloe trees called Quiver Trees amid red rock koppies.

We did find the sun hot and intense. The temperatures are only in the mid- 70’s but it is so dry.

We caught a bit of the news today. We don’t have CNN here in Springbok but we do get the three South African stations, SABC 1, 2 and 3. The news is broadcast at different times in the different languages; English, Afrikaan and Xhosa. We did catch the morning English broadcast and saw the protests over the rescue efforts in New Orleans. They showed the Mexican humanitarian troops crossing the border in Texas and the Move On protesters. The world is watching.

Today we head for Skilpad and more fields of gold. These are considered the best in Namaqualand. We can’t wait. TaTa for now.

Greetings from Cape Town

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It feels like San Francisco but different. The sun is in the north, the faces black, white and every color inbetween and I have to remember to look right when crossing the street so I don’t get run over because they drive on the left here.

We arrived safely after our 30 hour journey. We actually were able to sleep on several of the legs of our trip and so far minimal jet lag. Our first adventure occured in Jo’Burg. We had less than 2 hours to make the connection to Cape Town. But first we had to wait for our bags before going through customs. Of course, they were the last bags off the plane and the line was huge to get through customs. Needless to say, we were a little concerned that we wouldn’t make our flight. We got through customs with 40 minutes to check our bags through, get our boarding passes and get to the domestic terminal on the other side of the airport. We mentioned this to another passenger in line and she said “Get a porter!” We hesitated and she got one for us. Then we ran! He carried our bags and we had a hard time keeping up with him. He took us through the business class line and on to security. We made it! We were on the plane with 15 minutes to spare.

After a quick taxi ride from the airport, we checked into the Metropole Hotel and crashed for a few hours. We went to an early dinner at the Veranda restaurant in the hotel. Early is 7pm! Not as late as Southern Europe but definitely later than the US. Dinner was very tasty and cheap. Restaurants are amazingly inexpensive here. Our three course dinner which would have probably cost at least 100US was half that. The only bad item is the bar. On the weekend, they have a DJ from 10pm until 1am. Fortunately, we mentioned that we had mentioned that we needed sleep when we checked in and they moved us to the quieter third floor. And the earplugs helped. Don’t leave home without them.

The hotel is on Long Street in the Central Business District. During the day, it is busy but at night deserted. Especially on the sidewalks. There is a lot of activity in the clubs and restaurnts but few people strolling. Most people walk directly from their cars to the restaurant or club. The crime is notorious and walking around at night is not advisable.

The architecture is wonderful on Long Street; a cross between Art Deco, Cape Dutch and the wrought iron verandas of the New Orleans. The area has lots of ambiance but it is also very edgy and there is lots of new construction and renovation going on. They plan to turn the area into more residential to give life to the city at night.

By the way, the New Orleans disaster is big news here. Every taxi driver has mentioned it. The newspapers call it anarchy.

The weather has been mixed. It was sunny when we arrived but yesterday we couldn’t even see the foothills of Table Mountain when we started out in the morning. Soon it was raining but it didn’t stop us from touring the Company Gardens planted in the 1600’s by the Dutch East Indies Company. Later that afternoon, Table Mountain came out and it was sunny for a bit.

We caught the on-and off Explorer bus to tour around the city. One of the stops on the tour was the cable car on Table Mountain which we had planned to take. The bus slowly climbed the steep road, Kloof Nek, up to the cable car which was not running due to the weather. Damn! But we got our first view of the fynbos. Proteas and heather covered the hillside. G disappeared up the trail immediately but we only had 15 minutes. It was so hard to drag ourselves away. We hope to ride the cable car when we return in a week.

The tour continued around to the beaches of Camps Bay and Clifton passing through million dollar homes climbing up the steep hillside from the beach. I can see why it is so popular in the summer. It is beautiful!

We finished the tour at the V&A Wharf, a large tourist center with shops and restaurants. It is one of the most popular places in the country to visit. We took in the wonderful Two Oceans Aquarium. We had a chance to see the local sealife and be amazed at the reef exhibit and shark tank. It was messmerizing.

We had a nice fish dinner at Willoughbys in the mall. We were able to try a local species of fish, the Klipking. It is sort of a cross between a fish and an eel – very tasty. We spent the rest of the evening walking around the waterfront before heading back to the hotel.

Today it is on to Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden. Needless to say, G is chomping at the bit to go. Sun is out. Gotta go!

Final Countdown to Africa

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The airport hhuttle called today to confirm our ride to the airport. 7:40 tomorrow night. G is packed. I still have a bit more to do but I’m almost done. To take two pairs of jeans or not? Hmmmm… We have tomorrow to wrap up everything. And rest for the journey.

There was a great quote in the Seattle Times today. A local reporter interviewed director Peter Weir for the release of a special collector’s edition DVDs of his movies. Weir is one of my favorite directors. I loved his early movies like “Picnic at Hanging Rock” and he did a great job with “Master and Commander” They talked about his approach to filming “Witness”. The scene between Kelly McGillis and Harrison Ford is one of the sexy scenes on film but no sex is shown. It is all about anticipation.

“And as is often the case in life, the anticipation is the greater experience.”

This is also so true about travel. The anticipation period of our trip is almost over. It is time for us to actually experience our trip.

Geography Lesson

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I phoned the bank and credit card agency to tell them we are going to be out of the country. It was interesting talking to the customer service agents.

“Where are you going on vacation?”
“Namibia”
“Libya?”
“No Namibia”
“Gee… I’ve never heard of that. Can you spell that?”

It probably also doesn’t help to explain that it is north of South Africa. So for the readers who don’t know exactly where Namibia is located, here is a map of Africa from World Atlas.

Here is detailed map of Namibia.
Namibia Map