Across Namibia to Botswana
Trip Start
Feb 02, 2006
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6
Trip End
Mar 25, 2006
Swakopmund to the Okavango, Namibia
Sunday, February 19, 2006
We left modern life behind us today and continued on with our journey north deeper into Namibia. We stopped at a rock/precious stone marked on the way to Spitzkoppe. We bought a small polished amethyst stone for and a large rock with quartz and amethyst clusters all over it for another. When we arrived at the Spitzkoppe campsite we sat around for a while and played cards with the Irish- they are quite the competitive bunch. Later in the afternoon, we went on a hike in the area to see the rock paintings by the San people. The paintings were quite faded but interesting nonetheless. It was strange to see the Spitzkoppe formation popping out of the fairly flat ground. We enjoyed snook for supper and spent the evening fending off moths that were trying to sample our wine.
Day 17
No shower this morning as the camp didn't have any washroom facilities. Good thing it was cool, the previous night was the coolest yet (Colin was still sweating). In the morning we hiked up one of the rock formations and saw more rock paintings. It was back on the bus for a big travel day- unfortunately we lost 2 hours because a road had been washed out and we had to double back. We saw some wart hogs and baboons along the way. Upon arrival at our campsite we setup, had showers ate and slept. The shower facilities were very interesting - open air and water heated by fire.
Day 18
After breakfast we visited with the Himba in a nearby village. It was an interesting experience but it felt a bit manufactured. The women leader was partners with a white man who gave us the tour. We were allowed to take as many pictures as we liked although it was hard to take pictures of the topless women. There were a number of half naked children running around, and they were like savages when we handed out some candy. We learned a little about village life and the morning routine, 'showering' over hot coals and applying the red 'makeup' for the ladies. We left the Himba village and drove north to Etosha. Within 2 minutes of entering the gates we saw a male lion lying under a tree. We watched him until he grew sick of us and hid behind it. We also saw some zebra, giraffe and springbok. We enjoyed a second game drive later in the afternoon and we saw a pride of 6 lions. It rained all night long - everything was soaked. With all the rain nothing turned up at the water hole-except for some loud mouths on our trip.
Day 19
We packed up our campsite and headed west across the national park to the next one. Along the way we looked for game and were fortunate to see quite the sight in the morning. We watched a lion stalking a springbok! Nothing came of it as the springbok was spooked before the lion made a move for the kill. It's likely the springbok smelled the lion. Nonetheless, it was very cool and amazing to watch. Everyone on the truck was rooting for the lion. In total we saw 12 lions, and several water buffalos, jackals, oryx, giraffes.... everything but rhinos, leopards, and cheetahs. After getting to our campsite and relaxing a little we went out on another evening game drive. It was a lot of fun- nothing new just a lot of animals. A herd of about 250 impala right out the gate of the campsite!
Day 20
Today we did any early morning game drive as we left Etosha. We didn't take any pictures as we didn't see anything different. We sat back and enjoyed the scenery. We arrived in Rundu just shortly after lunch. We had an hour to buy our supplies for the Okavango, use the internet and go to the bank. We were only able to get groceries because our bank cards didn't work at the Namibian Standard Bank and the internet was too slow and there was a line up to use it. Rundu isn't particularly nice, it was very busy as we were there on payday. We arrived at the Nkawsi campsite to find it very crowded with another larger tour group. We were unable to upgrade to a hut that night. It rained all night - we didn't get wet but everyone else was absolutely soaked. Before supper we went on a 'sunset cruise' on a little boat with lawn chairs on it. We illegally crossed the boarder into Angola and enjoyed some traditional dancing at the bar. The campsite really is beautiful on the edge of the Kavango river.
Day 21
We enjoyed a tour of a local elementary school today. It was really neat to meet some of the kids. They all wanted to get their pictures taken "photo, photo..." A grade 1 class sang us a great song in their native language and we wish we had it on video. We couldn't believe how much passion they have. We were expected to reciprocate so Colin belted out a song for the kids (call and response). It was quite popular and a riot. We later visited a local church, and once again they sang to us. The minister shared a sermon which was a little long. We walked a couple kilometers back to camp and visited some villages on the way. We passed out candies to the kids we saw along the way and they followed us for a couple kilometers hoping for more. We were able to upgrade accommodations today- it was worth every penny (well, Namibian $). The room was very nice with its own shower and toilet and a wonderful view of the river. During afternoon we relaxed by the pool and got ready for our expedition into the Okdavango
