We are thinking of a trip to Namibia, in a far future October. I worked out that you can rent a car in Cape-town, then drive up through Namaqaland viewing whats left of the spring flowering. Stop at Darling, West coast NP, Nieuwoudtville then a few places further up. The reason for driving is so as to be able to see Halfmens - Pachypodium namaquanum, around the Orange river. Then carry on up into Namibia, where you can see Welwitschia mirabilis in the Namib desert, I believe it isn't very difficult to find. We once talked to a group of bikers in Nieuwoudtville on the way down from Namibia, they'd seen it, and if they could we ought to be able to! I'm not sure what more there is to see in Namibia, but I remember seeing a good deal of nice plants when I researched it, and animals. The rented car can be handed back in at the airport in Windhoek. It's a lot of driving, but quite possible in 2-3 weeks. I have some good places to stay in Western Cape, get in touch for adresses. I'd love to do this at some time, but right now we're booked for Costa rica in February/March ,it feels lika a mistake, does anyone know a good botanical guide there? /Neil (Swedens west coast, -2C and 20cm of snow)