What a day!

I woke to find my arms and legs covered with itchy red blotches. The mosquitoes had a good time while I slept!

We had an early breakfast, the drive to see the Organ Pipes, a geological formation which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Then to a site where the Welwischia mirabilis grows. It is the national plant of Namibia, but grows only in a small area of the country. There are male and female plants, male in my extra.

We then drove along a dried up river bed*, looking for wild animals. There were springbok, ostrich and baboons, but it was about 3 hours before we saw our first river elephants. They are African elephants who have adapted to life in this arid region.

Once we had seen our first group of 3, we saw more. The baby in the extra is less than a year old.

One bull elephant pushed over a dead tree as we watched, open mouthed.

I was amazed to see that they eat dry branches.

*there was water running in the river bed three weeks ago. I added an image of some of the dried mud.

This was a packed day and one we will always remember. The sunset sky was spectacular too.