Namibia Tour 2009 Report
What a fantastic tour - 18 dinners together and how the time flew towards a truly amazing conclusion of the mighty Zambezi in flood at the Victoria Falls.
We started our African adventure in Johannesburg the Gold pour and the kindergarten in Soweto, followed by the unforgettable walk in their streets.
- Windhoek the equivalent of a mini German beer festival the WIKA
- The grasslands and sand desert, dunes and the rocky schist desert; Welwichia and the moonscape; the resort town and cooler temperatures of Swakopmund. Then to the Seal colony at Cape Cross and our guide Johans beloved Damaraland.
- The Himbas and Etosha with the pans full to overflowing. Nukumbale and the village visit and thoughts of what would make a Finnish man travel to the backblocks of Namibia in the 1850s.
We saw villages in Namibia of baked mud, wood and thatch some round, some square, some with iron roofs and almost all surrounded by thorn tree fences, wood or grass of course not far away one or more Shebeens and some small shops.
The great Northern area of the Oshana, Oshikoto and Kavango and the Caprivi a complete contrast to the desert, dunes and rock.
We experienced the sunrise each morning with the cool fresh air, doves cooing and the expectation of the heat to come and the sunsets we wished would go on and on.
The finale of the Victoria Falls the cherry on the top.
Johan opened our eyes to the people of Namibia the Hereros, the Damara, the Bustards, the Himba, the Kavango, the Ovambo and the peoples of Capvivi.
We saw a Damara family out in their donkey cart women carrying large containers of water on their heads and babies on their backs and the staff at Nkwasi carrying our suitcases on their heads!!
Children always appealing looking at us with big brown eyes some well dressed, some not, some with runny noses and others with sore eyes and some who must have been orphans.
Hotels we experienced a variety of hotels high-rise in Windhoek, sea views in Swakopmund, tents at Talaleni, the rustic at Igowati just emerged from the flood, to luxurious rooms at Divava but oh the cold water
each time we had a shower, we thought how blessed we were to have water on tap and not have to carry the water on our heads for several kilometres!!
Some hotels had air conditioning some not, some even came with extras such as a mouse or black beetles in the shower!
The couples on the trip also probably perfected the art of bed jumping as doubles were few and far between!
We learned of Acacias, Mopane, Mahogany and Baobab trees- of dung beetles, spiders, grasshoppers and ticks!
Then the birds:
One day we seemed to see Lilac Crested Rollers all day we heard doves coo each morning, , Plovers, Grey Louries (Goway), Weaver birds, Batleau Eagles, Egyptian Geese and my favourite the African Hoepoe, and many more of course!
Then the animals:
- The bull elephant as we entered Etosha Park followed by the male lion relaxing under the tree beside the road only seen because of Johans sharp eyes.
- Buffalo Distancia as described by Jim, it was standing in trees in the distance the elephants who had just finished taking their bath and of course the Kuda, Lechwe, Zebra, Impala and the Giraffe.
- The Roan, the wilderbeast and heartabeast, the little steinbok and DikDik, the Hippo and Croc plus vervet monkeys and baboons.
Let us not forget the Red Afrikaana and local Nguni cattle that had horns and such eclectic spotted hides.
Our guide Johans expertise, knowledge, care and attention gave us a great experience introducing us to Magdalena, finding chameleons, a dead green Mamba and a huge weaver bird nest. He talked to people along the way so we could take photos, shared his knowledge of his family farm and farming in general; drove superbly over some pretty rough roads shared a joke or two and joined us as we relaxed watching wonderful Namibian Sunsets.
He stopped whenever anyone wanted to take a photo or have a bush loo stop.
All in all, an unforgettable tour and one we will be repeating in 2010.