Weather
It has been a very warm month, with the maximum temperatures reaching 43° C (110° F)! The evenings always cool down nicely though, to a very enjoyable 18°C (65°F). We almost had a few drops of drain, but then it went away again, so we didn't get to see (or smell) the drops falling onto the dry Damaraland soil. We are hoping that it will rain properly soon.

Wildlife
This was a very successful month for tracking the desert-adapted elephant. We spotted both Oscar and the Rosie Group, which is mostly settled in the Huab River and feeding on the pods of the ana tree.

About two years ago, the Doro !Nawas Conservancy introduced a number of red hartebeest to the area, and their numbers have been growing steadily. Staff at Doro Nawas Camp had great sightings of the introducted antelope from the veranda in the early mornings. These beautiful creatures seem to have made their home about two kilometres from camp.

We had some special and rare sightings this month: Michael, one of the new guides at Doro Nawas, was very lucky to spot giraffe on his way to Twyfelfontein on an afternoon game drive. The guests knew how rare this was, and were very excited to spot these graceful giants in the area.

Richardt, one of our newly promoted guides, spotted two cheetah on one of the elephant afternoon game drives, which made all the guests extremely happy.

Just as the sun was setting, Coenie, our Camp Manager, spotted the two cheetah crossing the road in front of the camp, while he was on his way back from one of the local villages. This is really a very rare sighting as cheetah don't normally come close to places where there are a lot of vehicles and people, so we were very pleased to see them that close to camp!

Guest Comments
- "My Nature Drive with Michael (Guide) - he's the best. Pamela, Shelvia and Danize were extremely friendly, efficient and kind" - DP
- "We saw the "Oscar Desert Elephant Group". That was really a highlight for us. Thanks, Arthur! Thanks for everything. Now I know why my guests who stayed here come back so happy" - HK
- "We had a perfect guide - Richardt - he knows a lot about animals, is a good driver and very friendly. Shelvia and Theodore were very friendly and helpful - always a smile on their faces" - ME
- "Sleeping out under the stars was one of our highlights as well as the wonderful staff. With two punctures on our journey here, we are very grateful to Festus for checking and repairing our car. Thank you so much!" - JM

Photos
We would like to sincerely thank Jack Bonde from Belgium for the displayed images.

Camp Staff
Coenie van Niekerk (Camp Manager)
Danize van Niekerk (Camp Manager)
Agnes Bezuidenhout (Assistant Manager)
Morien Aebes (Assistant Manager)
Steven Jones (Assistant Manager)
Arthur Bezuidenhout (Guide)
Michael Kauari (Trainee Guide)
Ignatius Khamuseb (Guide)
Richardt Orr (Trainee Guide)