p.a.w.s.

For this holiday I didn’t want to just vacation like a tourist but also wanted to do some good for the world. I found this really great organization called PAWS (People And Wildlife Solutions) in Namibia that is working to reverse the damage that cattle farming has done and restore the land for cheetahs, leopards and other animals to roam freely. Sadly, cattle farming has destroyed the soil, left behind dangerous wire fences and rusty traps, and introduced endemic plants like thorny sickly bush that have pushed animals out and overtaken everything.

Clive and Roma have created a fantastic program that not only has us busting our butts but incorporates phenomenal access on game drives and detailed information on the land, animals and the nomadic San people that used to roam, all in the most beautiful setting surrounded by bush and a great camp (best showers EVER). Every morning we worked, fence rolling, bush cutting or maintaining roads/camp. It was actually pretty grueling – think huge thorns on everything, unruly rusty wire fences and unrelenting African sun – but it felt so good to be doing manual work.

See how big those trees are? Now add the sharpest, stickiest thorns that covered everything and you get the idea. But it was so satisfying when they fell.

Peter and Felix work for PAWS and they’re so hard working and patient with our ineptitude but also fun to be around. Peter loves Akon and is definitely the party type while Felix is much more introspective and always asking philosophical questions. Really great guys!

See that pool? Its like an oasis or mirage hanging out in the middle of Namibia. I was there everyday to escape the heat and it was just perfect, maybe a tad too cold but very refreshing!

I could get used to this…

The afternoons were spent going on game drives and learning about the land. It made for a good mix of work/holiday and some great animal shots:

How weird does this bird look? It’s a yellow-billed hornbill but looks almost prehistoric.

Oryx are everywhere! They would just stand and stare at you with those huge horns.

I LOVE giraffes. They are hysterical with their heads sticking out of the trees. They’re even better when they run, it’s a wonder they don’t fall over.

We were incredibly lucky to see this guy! Aardvarks eat ants and termites and look kind of fleshy.

We had porcupines pretty much every night to eat our food scraps. They look like ballerinas with all those quills, right?

Wildebeests are ugly. Sorry, but they really are.

Another favorite! These are dik-diks and they are just as cute as their name implies. They are the smallest antelope at about 12lbs but don’t tell them. Dik-diks are quite proud and will stamp their teeny feet when they stand their ground.

I can’t imagine that’s comfortable.