Namibian Adventure: rain, rock engravings and rhinos

Elephant Crossing Sign on the way to Namibia

We returned Sunday from our ten day adventure to Namibia. We had rain every day except the final night, when we splurged and rented a room in Windhoek. While that weather report might make it sound like it was a disastrous trip, most of the time it was not too bad (except for one morning when we had to break down camp in the pouring rain!). The good news is, the rain did manage to keep things much cooler than they would otherwise be for this time of year. 

Bats in the cave! Creepy!

Our adventure started with a stop at Gcwihaba Caves located in north west Botswana. We bush camped our first night and entered the cave area on our second day to be informed that President Ian Khama (the current president of Botswana) was in the area along with 100 or so men from the BDF – Botswana Defense Force. It seems the President is particularly fascinated with the caves and is actually “drilling” to find more (for tourism?). His entourage had set up a bit of a fortress and while we didn’t see the President, we did see plenty of vehicles and men in fatigues (sometimes with leaves and branches attached to them for camouflage). 

The caves pushed my limits a bit as I don’t really enjoy the dark, confined spaces or bats (there is no future for caving in my life!). But I did fine and was fascinated by the number of different formations created by the rocks and how bat guano (poop) feels like a thick sponge under your feet. We spent much of the afternoon in the cave with a guide.

Me and our guide at the caves.

From here we headed to the Namibian border, crossing at one of the smallest border crossings in the middle of nowhere that I have ever seen. Needing a place to camp our second night we follow a rather elaborate sign for a “Bushman - Living Museum” that offers camping. The area near the fuel station, where the only other accommodation that we know of, looks a little sketchy so we decide to try the “living museum.” 

We follow the signs to a small village of locals. One who speaks English asks if we’d like to see the museum and camping area. We say yes and make room for him in the back seat of the vehicle. Entering with him is the most horrific smell I have ever smelled in my life. It is worse that the bat guano in the cave. It is even worse than the rotting bodies of decaying baby seals at Cape Cross I smelled two years ago in Namibia (up to this point serving as "the worst smell I've ever smelled"). I struggle not to gag (breathe through your mouth, through your mouth...). He is the sweetest guy and when we exit the car he proudly motions to three barren sticks strategically placed near the parking area and says, “there is the craft shop.” I blew it and didn’t get a picture of the twigs…with no crafts on them. The museum is similarly unimpressive with four or so “skerms” – grass huts in a circle. We decide to move on to fresher smelling camping areas. In retrospect, this may have been a mistake…

Creepy toilets at Sekereti

We head north east toward Khaudom Game Reserve (a Namibian park on the border between Namibia and Botswana). When we arrive at Sekereti, not only does it look like an abandoned ghost town with what used to be ablution blocks (toilets and showers) in total disrepair but it is infested with flies. It’s like a horror movie. From what we can see from the vehicle windows the entire sides of our white vehicle are black with flies. Thousands of them. To make matters worse they are tsetse flies. The kind that carry sleeping sickness. Great!

After driving around, scoping out the camping areas, we decide it is too late to find another place to sleep so Paul makes the move to sacrifice himself and leave the vehicle and see if they’re aggressive biters. We decide they are not too bad and use dish towels as “fly movers” as we set up the tent. Fan, fan, fan with the towel then quickly unzip the tent and throw things in and re-zip fast. I won’t even tell you what we had to do when I had to pee. Fortunately, Paul’s love for me seems to have no limits.

We survive the night with only a few bites and make a break for it in the morning before they get really active. From here we head to Etosha – Namibia’s version of Kruger Park (the well known game park in South Africa). We spend three nights in the park (two nights in Namutoni and one in Halali) with our days consumed primarily of riding around looking for game. The park is lovely. The rains have made all green and lush and there are lots of babies of all kinds suggesting healthy times for the animal populations. Some of the highlights include large herds of giraffe, amazing bird diversity, and a black rhino sighting. Black rhinos are rarely seen in the wild in Botswana and have been moved for safe keeping to the Khama Rhino Sanctuary (to avoid poaching for their horns).

German Bakery in Outjo

From here we head south stopping at Outjo to refuel and have lunch in a wonderful little German bakery that my study away group ate lunch at last year. Why this amazing bakery is here, of all places, is beyond me but it is yummy and we enjoy bratwurst and German potato salad for lunch and buy some apple strudel for breakfast – very decadent. I feel like quite the expert on remote locations in Namibia having made this recommendation!

Petrified Forest

We pass through Khorixas (where the Furman students do rural home stays) and visit the petrified forest before heading off toward Twyfelfontien where there is a large collection of Bushmen rock engravings. Our guide, Michael, is tremendously well informed and tells us all about the different geological changes that could have caused these huge trees to turn into stone millions of years ago. We are so impressed that this man, in such a remote location, would have such a broad range of knowledge (we give him a nice tip!). 

On our way out we are confronted by a large group of evangelical Christians who are questioning the validity of the entire place (if you truly believe the earth is only 6,000 years old, there is no place for petrified trees millions of years old). They are handing out CDs in Afrikaans to all the workers– I’m assuming perhaps the Bible in translation? Since we don’t speak Afrikaans, we aren’t eligible to receive them…although the patriarch of the group does ask Paul if he’s considered the biblical interpretation of things as Paul speaks with Michael at length about the subduction zones. 

He then asks Paul if he is a “geologist” (presumably he can’t know anything about these things if he isn’t), to which Paul replies no, his real passion is astronomy, string theory and ideas about multiple universes, etc. I imagine that gave him food for thought for many hours of driving just like his presence (and attempts at conversion) was impetus for many conversations we had.

Twyfelfontien Rock Engravings

The next day we head to Twyfelfontien, one of the most important sites in Southern Africa. While we’ve studied the rock art at Tsodilo Hills in  Botswana we are amazed at the number of “rock engravings” (actually etched into the rock as opposed to painted on it). They have an amazing eco-friendly museum (made of old oil barrel parts, rocks, wire, etc.) explaining the significance of the engravings and their ties to the bushmen healing trances. Fascinating!

We also see dassies, dassie rats (the difference being the tail) and some pretty colorful lizards!
 

Organ Pipes

The next 24 hours of the trip might be my favorite of the entire ten days. We head off to see a couple sites on the map (Burnt Mountain and the Organ Pipes) and end up in a completely isolated area near Doros Crater. 

Described as an “igneous intrusion,” it is a huge unoccupied area of dramatic mountains, dry river beds, and wide open spaces (makes me think of the Dixie Chicks). We have “Tracks for Africa” loaded on our GPS which gives us some sense of where we are (but not much). We see many Welwitschia  -- these rather bizarre looking plants that look like they are dead but somehow survive in very barren regions of Namibia and Angola. There is a male and female version of the plant that is pollinated by a specific bug. They grow incredibly slow and live a very long time (some estimates up to 2000 years!).While it only has two leaves they rip in the wind so it looks like much more.

Welwitschia

Rhino Midden

We also see several rhino “midden” (basically a “communal toilet” – rhinos are territorial so they mark their area with these latrines) but sadly, no rhino. The midden looks “fresh” so they had to be somewhere. They sleep during the day and eat and move around at night, probably explaining why we didn’t see any.

We camp in the most remote area with the most stunning view. And even in this area, which reportedly only gets 3 mm of rain a year…it rains at night causing us to scramble to get the rain cover on the tent. The next day we head toward the coast.

On our drive out of the crater we go up to a scenic overlook only to be greeted by a cobra flaring his hood. Paul gets excited turns off the vehicle so he can search for his zoom lens. At that precise moment the cobra decides to come right towards the car and when Paul goes to start the vehicle to back away...it is completely dead (not kidding)!! The battery terminal connector had come loose - so we had no electricity. Fearing the snake might work its way up into our engine Paul jumps out of the vehicle to chase him off. Fortunately I had my camera handy.

View of the Ocean from The Tug, Swakopmund

We opt for a night of dryness staying in a little bungalow in Swakopmund. We eat at our favorite restaurant, The Tug. A fabulous restaurant overlooking the ocean. Shop for some good wine (trying to avoid the ever rising taxes that Botswana’s President has placed on alcohol) and avoid a pick pocketing (in broad daylight I was surrounded by three men and when I realized something was up, I stopped causing the one who had unzipped my bag to my right to bump into me. He didn’t get anything and we had a nice little shout at him on the street!).

Ebony and Ivory Dessert at the Tug

Ironically it even rained in Swakopmund. You'll note from this helpful chart in our guide book that, in January, there is only 1 day of rainfall!
 
Saturday we take the more scenic route back east toward Windhoek. We decide to stay indoors one more night (although it was the only night of the trip we didn’t get any rain) and had a delicious meal at a restaurant called La Marmite with foods from North and West Africa. Delicous.

Kuiseb Pass

Sunday landed us back home and in the office for a week finalizing the details for the Furman student’s arrival on Tuesday. We depart for Johannesburg tomorrow to make the 15 hour ride back to South Africa. Better go finish packing.

PS: This year’s trip we only had two flat tires but they did come in the first days so I thought we were headed for a challenge of last year’s eleven flat tires. Fortunately, we only had an abundance of rain this year (not flat tires!).

Pilchards with your Fanta?

PPS: Any one for fish with their Fanta? I couldn't resist this picture of pilchards for sale with beverages at Twyfelfontien. 

The Astronomer's Wife

I’m not sure how many of you have seen the “Time Traveler’s Wife” (I sobbed uncontrollably on a plane once while watching it) but over our past several outings I’ve been inspired to write of my life as the “Astronomer’s Wife.” Unlike the movie, I don’t change time periods when I travel but rather socioeconomic statuses. On a recent trip to Eagle Island – a luxury tented lodge in Moremi Game Reserve I found myself transported to an unfamiliar world of opulence. The  cost per person per night ranges from a low of $580 to a high of $1280 (that’s more than our monthly mortgage for one person for one night during the highly season!).

This amazing lodge is only reachable by small aircraft and our short flight not only had us leaving Maun but leaving our usual social class. With only twelve tents the staff caters to the wishes of its limited pool of clients. So Paul, the telescope and I are transported by  private plane for an evening star show. After landing we are greeted by six staff clapping and singing “Dumela” (hello) in three part harmony before we are handed a cool wet wash cloth and cold lemonade to drink. It feels a bit like a luxury Disney World!

The setting is stunning. All luxury tents have lovely views of the delta. The tents themselves are posh – but eerily identical to their other camp in Savute. Guests are often sold two night at each of their three camps as they make a circuit from one to the next. It seemed a little odd to me that they were so similar – no wonder people at times do not know where they are or where they have been when traveling like this.

The tents are super clean and creature free (for all of you who hesitate when reading about my adventures – somehow they manage to create an almost sterile environment smack in the middle of the bush). There are more living creatures in our house in Maun than out here (we have a resident lizard who lives under our couch and sometimes scares the crap out of me as he scampers down the long hall between the kitchen and the living room).

We arrive at high tea and are dismissed by the woman we are meeting when her employee tries to introduce us to which she hisses with a sideways glance, “Not at high tea.” There are way too many rules here and I stress a bit about the meaning of “smart casual” which is listed as appropriate attire for dinner. I’ve really got to work more on my “bush glam” (what I call women who somehow achieve an impressive level of “glamorous” in the bush).

I can’t help but wonder about the people that work at these camps. Most camps run with a three months on, one month off schedule which means employees see their family/friends only three months out of the year (less than Paul and I and we live on different continents!). How do they access health care? Who cares for their children? How do THEY feel about the clients that pay more for one night’s stay than they probably make in a year? 

And what about the management couples that run the camps? They are the last to bed at night and first up in the morning and during their waking hours they have to deal with guests who complain that they got cold on the boat ride they just took because it rained and they didn’t bring a coat. I actually heard a client making this precise complaint to which the employee initially responded by stating that the weather front was unanticipated and brought in cold air but ultimately relented acknowledging that he, the staff person, was to blame for not telling the guest to plan ahead. Really? Is this what paying this amount of money gets you? Can one buy rudeness?

We struggled with the clouds for the star show in the evening but things clear up enough to see some things. We spent a nice leisurely morning enjoying the view from our veranda with me reading my Kindle (which I think I’m becoming addicted to! Thank you family for the wonderful Christmas gift). After several changes of our flight time we are jettisoned off to return to Maun about mid-day.

The nice thing about being the “Astronomer’s Wife” is you do get to meet some very interesting people. Our New Year’s Eve night at Meno a Kwena was shared with a family from Germany, another from the Netherlands, a couple from England (who told lymrics and sang songs that had us all doubled over with laughter) and two sisters (and one the spouse of one of them) with a wicked sense of humor and contagious laughter. If you can’t be with family and friends on New Year’s Eve, at least you can be with interesting people.

  

Since our return from the two star show trips we have been in the office. I’ve been busily working on the final details for the study away trip and Paul has been making a map of Maun for tourists (amazingly, there aren’t any maps of Maun, the tourist capital of Botswana). We are anxiously awaiting the return of his passport from the American Embassy down in Gabarone as he needed more pages sewn in before we could cross any borders as he was almost out. We are thinking now of perhaps going over to Northern Namibia (instead of Malawi because we have less time to travel and it is closer) but we can’t leave until the passport returns. Hopefully sooner rather than later. I'll keep you posted.