Yearly Archives: 2017

Sossusvlei is a salt and clay pan surrounded by high red dunes, located in the southern part of the Namib Desert, in the Namib-Naukluft National Park of Namibia. The name “Sossusvlei” is often used in an extended meaning to refer … Continue reading →

DIAMOND – THE MINERAL Formula. (repeating unit) C Crystal system. Cubic Crystal class. Hexoctahedral (m3m) Color Typically yellow, brown, or gray to colorless. Less often blue, green, black, translucent white, pink, violet, orange, purple, and red. Crystal habit. Octahedral Cleavage. … Continue reading →

Namibia Mar 27-April 14, 2017 WHY GO? The combination of vast space and landscape ensures that a trip through this country is a great road adventure – many lonely dirt roads cutting through desert and rock. Natural wonders max out … Continue reading →

Swaziland Motto: “We are a fortress”, “We are a mystery/riddle”, “We hide ourselves away” Capital. Lobamba (royal / legislative), Mbabane (administrative) 26°19′S 31°8′E Largest city. Mbabane Official languages. Swazi, English Demonym. Swazi Government. Unitary parliamentaryabsolute diarchy, King Mswati III Independence … Continue reading →

Lesotho Motto: “Peace, Rain, Prosperity” Capital and largest city. Maseru 29°28′S 27°56′E Official languages. Sotho, English Ethnic groups. 99.7% Basotho, 0.3% other Africans Demonym. Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural) Government. Unitary parliamentaryconstitutional. monarchy King Letsie III Independence. from the United Kingdom … Continue reading →

South Africa April 10-March 7, 2017 Motto: . Unity in Diversity Capital. Pretoria (executive), Bloemfontein (judicial), Cape Town (legislative) Largest city. Johannesburg Ethnic groups. Black, Coloured, White, Asian Government. Unitary Parliamentary/Republic President. Jacob Zuma Independence from the United_Kingdom_of_Great_Britain_and_Ireland – 31 May 1910 Statute_of_Westminster – 1931, Self-governance … Continue reading →

Pronounced ‘boy-oh-bab’, these trees are common in all semi-arid and lowland areas of the DRC and Angola and at a similar latitude north of the equator. They have very thick trunks, up to 7m wide, and their gnarled branches, leafless … Continue reading →

DRC March 9-14, 2017 The Democratic Republic of the Congo also known as DR Congo, DRC, DROC, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo is a country located in Central Africa. From 1971 to 1997 it was named Zaire, and from 1908 … Continue reading →

Angola March 9-10 & 14-28, 2017 TRAVEL TIPS 1. Angola is a black market money country. Therefore never use an ATM or credit card as it will attract the official rate 1US$ = 175AOA whereas the black market rate was … Continue reading →

Republic of Congo – March 4-9, 2017 The Republic of the Congo (French: République du Congo), also known as the Congo Republic, West Congo, Congo-Brazzaville or simply Congo, is a country located in Central Africa. It is bordered by five … Continue reading →