Weather

May started off with a bang - literally.  On the first evening of the month, there were very heavy winds which blasted everything not bolted down into the desert. Some of the more colourful items recovered the next morning included scatter cushions and women's underwear. Kobus was assigned the dubious honour of saving the undergarments while Dawie, the manager, occupied himself with collecting less personal items.

Another extraordinary weather phenomenon occurred a week later. A heavy fog bank moved into the Sossusvlei corridor, so that visibility in Dead Vlei was reduced to only two metres.

Animals

We're happy to report that the brown hyaena population is growing. Two juvenile animals have been seen around the lodge recently. They appear to be coming in from the dry Tsauchab River where some dens have been discovered.
The White Lady of the South - an oryx with leucism (a condition characterised by reduced skin pigmentation) - has only been seen a few times during the year. She has legendary status around here and we were lucky to see her grazing around the lodge one afternoon this month.   Johan and Jennifer took a few pictures and it looks as if she is pregnant.  This cow was first seen in August 2009.

Camp News

Soccer World Cup fever is hitting the south of Namibia! The satellite dishes are up and the sound is connected, but, being very aware that the camps still need to blend in with the desert, all sorts of ideas of how to camouflage them have been put forward. In the photo, Johan is trying his utmost to make the satellite dish blend in with the lodge walls.