Swakopmund

 We visited Wharvis Bay and saw the flamingo population, both lesser and greater. Bottlenose dolphins were also jumping out of the water, full breach! 

At Swakopmund, we visited the Mondesa Youth Trust, where we played soccer against the kids. We lost, 6-8. Those kids were good, and also sneaky. The area we visited was very poor, and was quite a reality shock for all of us. The MYO facility is very nice, and they appreciated the school items and soccer balls we brought them. 

The next morning we went on a marine tour, where we saw cape fur seal colonies, pelicans, and jellyfish. The guide worked at a marine rehabilitation center, so she called a pelican and seal she worked with onto the boat. All of us have pet a pelican, and high fived a seal! A a cultural tour followed the marine one, which was very impacting to our idea of Africa. The people on the outskirts of town live in shantys, and hold menial jobs with next to nothing. The people were all very happy to see us, and we visited a native Herero woman who runs the only orphanage in town. She explained the customs and traditional ideas of the area. Another woman showed us the craft store of handmade products by the the native peoples. ( later we also met the Himba people ) . The whole experience was very eye opening, and we are thrilled that we were able to do something for the MYO kids at least. 

Orange River

Hi Everyone, Our trip has taken us 22 miles down the Orange River in Namibia. Felix Unite River Adventures provided us with canoes and a river guide, so we set off downriver! We camped out one night on the beach, under only the stars, after a hard afternoon of paddling. Dinner was cottage pie in a Dutch oven over a campfire, with Brie and crackers. We definitely are doing this camping thing right! The wildlife is mainly birds, such as African Fish Eagles, African Darters, and numerous heron species. The river winds through a mountain range, so the view was always gorgeous. The river does have a few areas of rapids, of pretty decent size, but with the help of our guide only one pair tipped into the river. Lilja and Jacob bumped a rock on a smaller rapids and got to go for a swim! Everyone came out happy and healthy, just a bit damp. Upon our return to Felix Lodge, we once again set up camp under the stars. We can't quite decide if our group is really just too lazy to put up tents, or if we just enjoy the sky at night! However, we have learned to rise with the sun, which might prove beneficial once we are back home and have re adjusted to the six hour time change.