episode description
When it comes to tour guides in Namibia Tommy Collard is a legend. Based in Swakopmund his area of expertise are the surrounding sand dunes of the Namib Desert, the oldest desert in the world. He starts his tour by showing the kids Zacheo and Nicklai the so-called desert newspaper - tracks left by insects and reptiles in the sand the night before. He and Zacheo follow a track up a dune and where it ends they dig out a little lizard that they immediately release. Tommy and one of his guides find a Peringuy's Adder or Sidewinder and scan it for a microchip put in by researchers. When they find another Sidewinder Tommy shares his knowledge of the reptile with Rudi, Marlice and the kids. Digging deep in the soft sand Tommy finds a Palmetto gecko to the astonishment of Marlice and the kids. Next they find a Namakwa chameleon that runs down an insect and catches it wit its long tongue. Tommy then catches a Parabuthus scorpion, one of the most venomous scorpions in the desert and Zacheo is brave enough to let it sit on his hand. In the beautiful final scene Tommy calls a Damara chat-chat that eats from the kid's hands.
