Namibia

We arrived in Namibia expecting the usual chaos associated with big cities in undeveloped countries, but were surprised (and a little bit freaked out) by the calm and quiet of Windhoek. The German influence is seen in everything from street names to restaurants and the lack of anything African except for souvenirs. We arrived on a Saturday and were thrilled by the supermarket (which we visited at least twice/day) and other mod cons like the abundant but slow-as-hell Internet cafes. There was Coke light, Kelloggs Variety Packs, and toilet paper as far as the eye could see!

However, after 1pm on Saturday, and all day Sunday, Windhoek is boarded up like an Amish whorehouse. Strangely there is little but auto parts shops and eyeglass stores; there are just a few restaurants in the whole city and fast food is limited to King Pies, Pie City, Mac Pie, etc. Pies are fairly gross, greasy pastries filled with everything from steak & kidneys to curry chicken. Fortunately we did enjoy one of our best dinners yet at La Marmite - the owner and the cuisine are from Cameroon.

The other interesting thing about Namibia is the utter lack of people. The country has only 1.7 million people, or something like 2 people per sq. km. Add that to the standard African lack of sidewalks and boarded up houses (gates, guard dogs, etc.) and you really never see anyone else.

After a few days we embarked on a 10 day camping safari/tour that we had arranged with Crazy Kudu Safaris. We decided to go this route - as opposed to independent travel - due to the difficulty of independent travel in Namibia (public transport isn’t available to the parks and rental cars are $$). The safari was a “participation safari” which means all 10 participants are supposed to help with the cooking, cleaning, setting up camp, etc. Our group included a young British couple, a Swiss couple, and 4 middle-aged Germans. Our guide, Sean, was from South Africa but had worked as a guide in many National Parks all over Africa. Of course, those who know Dale well know that he is always the first one to assist with any sort of food preparation and/or clean-up, so being part of a safari like this was not a problem for him. For Dana, however, it was a little more of a struggle. Meanwhile, the Germans had a way of vanishing entirely directly after a meal or just before we were supposed to break camp.

The highlight of the trip was our first stop, Etosha National Park. Within 10 minutes of our first game drive we happened upon a pride of lions that were feasting on the remains of an elephant (that seems to have of died of natural causes a few days earlier). We counted 11 lions, including several young ones. Because it is the dry season (very dry), you can see tons of animals (literally) hanging out at the various watering holes throughout the park. Animal sightings included: lions, elephants, giraffe, zebra, black rhino, black-backed jackals, spotted hyenas, wildebeest, ostrich, warthogs ; antelope-like animals included: springbok, gemsbok/oryx, red hartebeest, eland, kudu, impala, steenbok; birds included: hornbills, heron, kori bastard, maribu, flycatchers, bee-eaters, and lots of others.

At night, at the Okaukuejo camp, we saw a few rhinos (and babies) coming in for a drink, along with more elephants (and babies). You basically sit around the watering hole, freezing your ass off, waiting for the animals and grow annoyed at the drunk Germans having multiple conversations at top volume nearby (you’re supposed to be dead silent so as not to spook the animals). Lots of fun.

After Etosha we went to Damaraland, where we are supposed to see some local “culture” but really the disappointing part of the whole trip is complete lack of interaction with local people. We did take a “tour” through the Petrified “Forest” (quotes indicate sarcasm), and also saw other standard touristy displays in the area.

The next stops were at Swakopmund, where we stayed in internment camp-like A-frame bungalows surrounded by sand and barbed wire, and then went to Sesriem/Sossusvlei to see the dunes. At the Swakop dunes we tried sandboarding, Dana lying down head first on a piece of flimsy waxed beaver board, and Dale standing up snowboard-style (see pics below). Dana, however, opted out of the 80 km/hr run and lent her board to Dale for those. Lots of fun, but the hard part is you have to walk up the dunes after each run. At night they show a hilarious video of the runs in the local pub, on which you can catch Dana dragging her feet to slow herself down, and Dale wiping out on the slopes as well.

While we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, by the end we were getting a little tired of the group and the set itinerary, so we developed our own obsessions to keep us occupied. Dale’s was with Rusks -- a South African snack that is something like a cross between a biscotti and a bowl of dust, and come in delicious flavors such as Buttermilk and Condensed Milk. However, when eaten in large quantities rusks can substitute nicely for an actual meal. Dana, on the other hand, was obsessed with spotting a bushbaby, because it reminds her of our pet guinea pig Tessa, and also just because she likes saying the word “bushbaby.” Bushbabies are tiny nocturnal primates, and we never did actually spot one (once we thought we had, but it turned out to be a tree rat).

After returning to Windhoek, we made our way to Gabarone, Botswana via public transport, and in 2 days had more interaction with locals than on the 10-day tour. We had to figure out the route from scratch -- basically no-one had any idea how, exactly, to get to Gabarone from Windhoek. To do it we had to catch a local mini-bus from Windhoek to a town called Gobabis (a sign in front said in english, “Welcome to Cattle Country”), and then stand on a corner for a few hours until we managed to arrange another minibus with some Zimbabwean women to the Nambian border. After we finally got on the minibus, the driver drove to his house to get his drivers license!

At the border, we walked across to Botswana, and then hitchhiked to the next town in the cab of an 18-wheeler (this was the best part). It was now dark and we were dropped off at a gas station, where we were supposed to sleep (outside on the cement) until the next bus came in the morning. Fortunately, Dale was able to convince a VW full of South Africans to cram us into the back seat with the grandma and take us a few hours through the Kalahari Desert to the next town. On the way we saw an amazing full, huge red moon rise over the desert, and almost slammed into hundreds of animals lining the road at night, including a porcupine strategically positioned in the other lane as we were passing a truck, jackals, cattle, deer, etc. At the town of Ghanzi we got a hotel room and the next morning caught a terrific bus (big, fast, comfortable) to Gabarone.

We’re now in Botswana -- next update coming soon!

Namibia Pics! (click picture for full-sized version)

Windhoek, Namibia / Etosha Park: Zebra and Springbok