From Cape Town we jumped on an overland truck heading north into Namibia. The population density here is delightfully low (only 2.54 inhabitants per square kilometers!). So, you rarely see anyone else as you drive on the rough dirt roads cutting through a massive desert peppered with satin-barked quiver trees, ostriches and eagles, baboons and scorpions and snakes and many horned beasts such as kudu and oryx. We have been camping for the past few days, sleeping in rugged thick canvas tents made for Africa. One day it is swelteringly hot, the next quite cold - our driver said that the weather has been unpredictable lately, adding that "this is the year of surprises!". The landscapes are epic and stunning. Yesterday we visited Fish River Canyon, which rivals the Grand Canyon in size and surpasses it in age. From a cost as well as a safety and convenience perspective, going overland in a group made more sense than renting a 4X4 and heading out on our own like we did in the U.S. The other travellers are mostly younger Germans, some Dutch and Australian. It's a pleasant group, and everyone pitches in to keep the camp working smoothly.