Serra Cafema Camp
Climate and Landscape
The month of January saw the rest of Namibia’s rainy season start and areas like Damaraland experienced flash floods after several short and heavy downpours. However, the far north-western corner of the Kunene Region, where Serra Cafema is situated, has unfortunately remained dry except for light drizzle in the mornings. We do see signs of rain elsewhere – as proven by the Kunene River flowing at a higher level and looking brown from flash flooding.
An unexpected and beautiful phenomenon was seen in the sky over Serra Cafema: a perfect circular rainbow appeared around the sun just after 12 o’clock on Sunday the 25th of January. This sensational sighting is scientifically defined as a halo. Halos around the sun or moon happen when high, thin cirrus clouds occur and tiny ice crystals in the Earth’s atmosphere refract the light. Whether solar or lunar, the old saying has it that halos are signs that storms are coming….
Birding
The pied kingfishers of the Kunene have been closer to camp than usual this month. During December and at the beginning of January, the Kunene River rose and some smaller water channels flooded, bringing in more fish. As the river withdrew, these fish were cut off from the main river, catching the attention of the kingfishers.
The pied kingfisher is a water-based kingfisher and is widely distributed across Africa and Asia. Its black and white plumage, crest and habit of hovering over clear lakes and rivers before diving for fish makes it very distinctive. When perched, they often bob their head and flick up their tail. The pied kingfisher is estimated to be the world's third most common kingfisher, and, being a noisy bird, is hard to miss.
Camp News
Muhenye Uarenda has been working at Serra Cafema since August 2005, when he started as a gardener and dealing with general maintenance, taking care of plumbing and guest rooms. Today Muyenhe is responsible for maintaining Serra Cafema’s wooden decks, lighting for outside dinners and the beautifully clear plunge pool.
Training
The Serra Cafema team had the pleasure of hosting Matt Naude, our Lobster Ink Trainer, for two days. Matt introduced us to some of the new courses available and to the new Wilderness Way video. A few refresher sessions on the basics of service (such as the importance of body language) were covered as well. As usual the response from staff was very positive and all had a good time.
Climate and Landscape
The month of January saw the rest of Namibia’s rainy season start and areas like Damaraland experienced flash floods after several short and heavy downpours. However, the far north-western corner of the Kunene Region, where Serra Cafema is situated, has unfortunately remained dry except for light drizzle in the mornings. We do see signs of rain elsewhere – as proven by the Kunene River flowing at a higher level and looking brown from flash flooding.
An unexpected and beautiful phenomenon was seen in the sky over Serra Cafema: a perfect circular rainbow appeared around the sun just after 12 o’clock on Sunday the 25th of January. This sensational sighting is scientifically defined as a halo. Halos around the sun or moon happen when high, thin cirrus clouds occur and tiny ice crystals in the Earth’s atmosphere refract the light. Whether solar or lunar, the old saying has it that halos are signs that storms are coming….
Birding
The pied kingfishers of the Kunene have been closer to camp than usual this month. During December and at the beginning of January, the Kunene River rose and some smaller water channels flooded, bringing in more fish. As the river withdrew, these fish were cut off from the main river, catching the attention of the kingfishers.
The pied kingfisher is a water-based kingfisher and is widely distributed across Africa and Asia. Its black and white plumage, crest and habit of hovering over clear lakes and rivers before diving for fish makes it very distinctive. When perched, they often bob their head and flick up their tail. The pied kingfisher is estimated to be the world's third most common kingfisher, and, being a noisy bird, is hard to miss.
Camp News
Muhenye Uarenda has been working at Serra Cafema since August 2005, when he started as a gardener and dealing with general maintenance, taking care of plumbing and guest rooms. Today Muyenhe is responsible for maintaining Serra Cafema’s wooden decks, lighting for outside dinners and the beautifully clear plunge pool.
Training
The Serra Cafema team had the pleasure of hosting Matt Naude, our Lobster Ink Trainer, for two days. Matt introduced us to some of the new courses available and to the new Wilderness Way video. A few refresher sessions on the basics of service (such as the importance of body language) were covered as well. As usual the response from staff was very positive and all had a good time.
No comments:
Post a Comment