Breakfast with Cheetahs
An even earlier morning, this time to capture the Milky Way just before sunrise. While those photos aren’t worth publishing here, I did get some decent silhouettes of dead trees in the pre-dawn sky.
Once the sun came up, we were off to see KFC and Hannabella, which turned out to be one of the top highlights of the trip. For nearly two hours five of us, along with Kai, joined the big cats in their enclosure. They were most cooperative, posing in their sultry beauty atop the dune and letting us approach to within 8-10 feet. So many great shots, it was hard to choose a reasonable number to post here.
Note the non-retractable claws, part of the reason cheetahs are so fast and such fearsome hunters.
Hannabella got a little sassy with Kai, who settled her down by merely holding his hand out, palm facing her.
Reluctantly we bade the girls farewell, heading further into the Namib.
Along the way we encountered plains zebra and an area that had actually enjoyed some rainfall. The hard stubby knobs that characterize this desert had — briefly probably — turned into lush, swaying grasses.
