Deadly serious

We weren't on a game count so, on schedule, the wildlife is out in action, including this springbok racing across our path and then perhaps jumping for joy. I'd be there too if this was my back yard. An ostrich too joins the party and seems to be racing ahead of us. It was clearly in the fast lane and again another loner. Perhaps they're on the way home from a heavy night. A walk of shame perhaps. But as ever it's more just the long open road. An expanse of sand, mountain and two winding tire tracks. And also, eventually, the grass...

It was a thirty minute drive back to the camp in a cold tin can. Standing in the sunrise didn't give us much warmth so we're hugging ourselves to escape the cold. The cold is not something you associate much with Africa, but I'm actually grateful for it. I wouldn't want to be here in the height of summer. That must be hard work - not to mention how early you'd need to be to get the sunrise.

The phrase "sun and sand" normally strikes me with fear. I'm no fan of the beach. The idea of roasting beside the water's edge has never appealed to me. This is my idea of sun and sand. A winter's morning in a land full of sand as far as the eye can see. Then it was back to the car for the ride back and a chance to get warm. Despite the run, it's still mid winter here and nowhere near double figures.

As the sun finally broke from behind the distant mountains the eeriness quickly evaporated as the landscape was bathed in a golden glow. But I must admit I did struggle a bit to get the exposure right and any photos I have will take a lot more work. With a long lens you obviously don't want to be staring directly down the barrel, so fortunately the LCD screen makes this all possible. Even so, it was hard to make out what I was doing - it was either too dark or too light. Some birds sillhouetted against the blue made for an easier target.

There was an eerie still all around before the sun began it's approach. We were busy rubbing ourselves to get warm and bolting down the food and drink in the hope it would warm us up inside. This is the start of our last full day in the camp before our return to the capital, Windheok, tomorrow. It was a fitting start and I was very grateful. The researchers here have pulled out all the stops to ensure our volunteer experience was filled with awe as well as fun and work.

Yes, it really was another sunrise, but not the usual view from the living room. We got up especially early and drove back out to the sand dunes. We had brought with us breakfast and settled down in the cold sand and waited for the sun to rise, once again. Well, some of us waited. I had my camera out and wouldn't stop. It was muffins all round and a range of other sweets and pastries and bread. It was fortunate we had wrapped up well because the wait was cold and we'd arrived with plenty of time to catch the sun drifting up behind the mountains.

With it being almost a full moon when we first arrived in Namibia I was so disappointed that I might not get to see the stars. It was probably the biggest reason I'd chosen this destination. I'd searched for best and most accessible places in the world to see the Milky Way. There are others in Europe but this did top the charts, along with Chilli's Atacama desert. So when stargazing went up on the board nothing was going to stop me. And it doesn't take much guesswork to figure out what I did for the hour. With my camera. Once the darkness had properly fallen we drove out to the runway, where a few days ago we'd ridden the Blokarts. Now, in the black of night the sky came alive in ways I had never experienced. If daytime was something to behold, this night sky was (literally) a dream come true. It was top of my bucket list to see the Milky Way trail across the sky from horizon to horizon. In fact, it was pretty much the only thing on my bucket list. The sky wasn'...