Africa Adventure, Part XI

Monday, 23 February 2009

Today we head back to South Africa after a wonderful nine days in Namibia with Tim, Venessa, Abigael, and Lillian. We have a 10:30 flight from Windhoek to Cape Town. After breakfast with the family, Venessa led us to the edge of town and onto the right road out to the airport. It's about 35 Km out of town in the bush, and is a nice drive.

We returned the car and had to fill out an accident report for the missing license plate and broken mirror. Then we checked in for the flight to Cape Town. South African Express is a branch of South African Airlines which reminded us of Horizon: small plane, good service, wine, etc. We had a very unusual experience with the flight. Since everyone with reservations was there, we left Windhoek 30 minutes early! There were only about a dozen of us on the flight. I bet that never happens to us again.

The flight back to Cape Town was good and uneventful. We saw the same scenery as when flying up, but it was a bit hazier. Our approach to Cape Town was not nearly as spectacular as our arrival a week and a half earlier.

After retrieving our luggage we got our hire (rental) car, which was a Mercedes. The agent gave me a choice of three cars, so I took the Mercedes. It was a small economy one, but nonetheless a Mercedes. We headed back to St James to Seamus and Carol's house. Seamus had offered us a Townships tour. His nephew was there to go with us. We went in Seamus's car and drove through three townships in Cape Town. There are rules to follow when visiting these areas. Photography is OK, but, or course, don't invade someone's privacy. If possible ask permission. And if there is a car jacking, walk away from the car without looking back at the person. You don't want them to thick you could identify them to the police. Seamus has never had that problem, but just in case . . . We started in Langa, a township closest to the city centre. This was known as a middle class township, but certainly not what we would consider a middle class neighborhood. A car full of whites didn't seem to draw any particular attention.

Our second drive through was Nyanga, a little farther out from the city centre. Following the pattern that the townships get poorer as you move away from the center of the city, this was poorer looking than Longa. We simply drove through Nyanga, also. Then headed a bit farther east to one of the largest townships in Cape Town, Khayalitsha.

It would have been interesting to visit a home, but that had not been arranged. We did see several small stores, and a few other businesses, like a building supply store that looked to have all used and recycled materials out on the street. The most interesting was an open meat market where they sold both raw and cooked meet. There were many barbecues made from drums, mostly in one area. There was also an open market in the bus station area which had a variety of household goods.

We made two stops in Khayalitsha, the first at an after school study center, where college students come to tutor. There is also a library and a computer lab. The school term had just started that Monday, so they were mostly doing organizational things. We talked with the director. Seamus particularly wanted us to see the computer lab. It was pretty well furnished, and they have classes for all levels. His reason for singling it out was that he said Tim had brought the first four computers to start the lab several years ago. It was good to see it pretty well equipped and well used. The library had an interesting collection of books, children's to adult, all well used.

Our next stop was at a health/senior center that Seamus had worked with. The director greeted us warmly and gave us a tour. We met some of the people who come for services. Things seem fairly normal in these centers, but driving through the township gives you a very real feeling of the poverty and extreme unemployment. Those that do have jobs travel to them by van and pickup truck. We saw 20-plus people in 15-passenger vans and several people crowded into the back of small pickups. No seatbelt laws here! But at least they are working and trying to support themselves.

After the tours we headed back to St James. There we retrieved out car and headed a couple of kilometres down the road to Kalk Bay and the apartment we had rented for the week. It was on the side of the hill with a view out over False Bay. That view provided magnificent vistas for beautiful sunrises over the bay. It was a "self catering" apartment, which meant it had a kitchen to cook our own meals, a sitting area, a bedroom, a bath and a sleeping area. It really was a furnished apartment and not just a hotel room. Very nice and very reasonable.

We walked to "downtown" Kalk Bay to explore and find a restaurant for dinner. There were several good choices. This was going to be great place to make our exploring headquarters!

Africa Adventure, Part X

Sunday, 22 February 2009

After a lovely light breakfast at the hotel, we checked out and met Tim & Venessa and the girls for the drive back to Windhoek. The road follows basically the same route as the train, heading east toward Okahonja and then south into Windhoek.

Leaving the coastal desert, we headed back into the brush. There were some very interesting mountains off in the distance. The road passes through some hilly country. There are also a few small towns on the road. We stopped in at the OK Market in Karabib for a coffee date. This is a typical town in Namibia, just a wide spot in the road.

After we parked near the market on the "wrong" side of the road, a friendly gentleman from the town let us know to move the cars, because they do ticket you for that violation. After re-parking, we headed into the market for our coffee date. It was an interesting place, since it was really a General Store with a bit of everything in addition to the groceries and coffee bar.

A little down the street was an African crafts store, which looked a bit like a museum, too. They had many of the usual things we had seen many places, and a few unique items. A couple of blocks away was the church in town, a Lutheran one of course. And across the street from the store was the Club Western, a bar with loud country-western music. It seemed a bit out of place.

We continued toward Windhoek. There was road construction going on, and I managed to hit one of the posts to mark the edge of the road. It cracked the housing on the rear view mirror on the left side. Now we had two problems with the car, since we had lost the front license plate in Etosha!

The rest of the drive was good and uneventful. We arrived back at the Foundation House in Windhoek with time to rest a bit, and get cleaned up for our final dinner in Namibia.

That evening we went to Orapoko Game Reserve for dinner and a chance to see lions, even if not free range lions. The lions range free within a compound, and come to be fed in the evening. After some late afternoon libations, we rode out to the feeding area in safari trucks and then hiked a couple hundred metres. There is a built up barrier with viewing openings in it for viewing the lions. They have added electrical fence at the openings since the last time Tim & Venessa were there. Which is a good thing, since you are only about five feet from the lions when they come over to look at you.

At first there was only one large male waiting for his dinner. The females stay back until he's had most of his dinner, an antelope leg. After the two females show up and look over the people, the workers throw them some meat which they grab and head off to eat without the male bothering them. They are all magnificent animals. And a lot safer than if you met one in open range.

We rode the safari trucks back to the lodge where we had dinner reservations. Dinner was a grand celebration of Tim's birthday, and the wonderful ten days we had spent with them in Namibia. It ended with a flaming dessert. It confirmed that I really like the taste of African game, especially Kudu.

Back at the house, it was time to pack our bags for the next part of the adventure in South Africa. We stayed up late for our last evening with the girls.

African Adventure IX

Saturday, 21 February 2001

The morning started by going through Swakopmund to a siding in the Namib-Naukluft National Park. This is an area of huge red sand dunes. The train stopped and everyone got off to play in the sand. That meant walking across the desert to the base of a very large red sand dune. Led by a guide from the train, we climbed the dune, going up the slope on one end. It was interesting to walk in the soft red sand. From the top one could see the coast (a little) and red desert all around.

Going down was fast and fun. You simply run down the side of the dune, a very steep slope. It's much faster going down! And your feet sink into the sand up to your knees as you run down. It's a fun and unique experience. After walking across the desert back to the train, we returned to Swakop to disembark.

Once we got the cars off the train car, we were ready to continue the adventure. We had met a gal from Australia who never spends winter anywhere. She is an author of children's books and travels most of the time. She had been in Namibia for several weeks already, and was planning to stay in Swakopmund for a couple of months. We gave her a ride to her hotel. It was interesting to visit with her.

We headed south out of town to Walvis Bay. Since we were on the west coast of Africa, it seemed much like driving along the coast here (except on the wrong side of the road), and there was desert and sand dunes to the east along the coast.

Walvis is a more industrial town. It also has some very nice housing on the south side on the beach. Along here we saw white flamingoes in the surf and lagoons. They looked a bit strange after the pink flamingoes we're used to in Florida. Someone told us their color is determined by what they eat, and when the shrimp are plentiful they turn more pink. I'll take their word for it.

We stopped for lunch at a restaurant on the water. I'm guessing it's quite lively in the evening. We had seen many people lined up with buckets and other containers at a fire station, and wondered why. At the restaurant they didn't serve water and asked us not to use the rest rooms. We also saw restaurant employees filling large containers with water out of the surf. It turns out that the city water supply reservoir had become muddy and not suitable for use because of the very heavy rains a day or two before. So the fire station or the beach were the only place to get any water, and the beach water was not drinkable.

It was a very nice lunch with a view, since it was built on a pier over the water. But we didn't drink the water!

After lunch we headed back up the coast to Swakop. We checked into our hotel, The Secret Garden Guesthouse, a very nice place. Tim's family was at another hotel a few blocks away. We wanted to explore the town a bit since we had read that it has become a real resort area and retirement home area, especially for Germans. But almost everything closes about 2PM on Saturdays. We found a few places open and then walked along the shore. The municipal pier was a good place to see the town. There was a large park along the coast. Tim and Venessa took the girls to the aquarium where they saw some feeding time. In the park at the beach a group of people were practicing with their dogs on sort of steeplechase course. It was interesting to watch.

We had a late afternoon coffee date near one end of downtown. There was also a wood carvers' market set up in a large parking lot. We didn't go through it because they were closing down for the day, and we had bought our wood carvings in Okahodja. We had dinner in a restaurant close by on a pier overlooking the beach. It was very casual and nice.

After dinner we played in the park next to the restaurant which had a unique marry-go-round. It hung from a center post and spun unevenly. The girls had fun on it. Lillian wanted to swing, and there was a little boy there whom Venessa gave her take home dinner leftovers to. After a bit, they headed back to their hotel, and we walked on the beach. Karen got her feet wet in the South Atlantic. We stayed at the beach to watch the sunset, which was very nice, before heading back to the hotel.

Back at the hotel we completed the lovely, quiet evening.

African Adventure VIII

Friday, 20 February 2009

The morning was unhurried. We met Venessa and the girls at a favorite coffee shop at the mall for a coffee date, while Tim had a meeting at the Polytechnic. (Yes, this was a working trip for him.)

At noon we headed to the train station to start another adventure. We went on the Desert Express to Swapokmund on the coast. It does cross the desert, but it's not much of an express, taking almost 24 hours to make the trip. The journey is as important as the destination. 

After checking in and parking the cars on the platform, we wandered around the station and visited the museum. When it was time to board, Tim and I first had to drive our cars onto a flatbed train car for the trip to Swapok. We had decided that one way on the train was enough adventure and we would drive back. There was one other car on the train. After watching the crew securely tie the cars to the flatbed, we found our way to our car and overnight compartments. We had never had a bed on a train before.

We joined the other passengers, about 35 of them, for a welcome reception in the Bar Car. And we were off! Heading north from Windhoek toward Okahandja, we saw some wildlife that was new to us, dik dik or duiker and hartebeest. It's a bit hard to tell for sure sometimes from a moving train. The rivers we were by or crossed had water in them from all the rain. They are usually dry. 

The train turned west at Okahandja, heading for the coast. We were still in green bush with some interesting mountains breaking the horizon. We stopped at a siding out in the middle of nowhere and disembarked the train. Waiting were two very large safari style trucks to take us on a game drive. We drove many kilometers into the bush, across several fence lines, to a game reserve lodge, Orapoko. The lodge is at the peak of one of the hills with impressive views all around. 

After a welcome iced tea, we once again took off in the trucks for a game viewing drive. There were more giraffe, springbok, wildebeest, and warthog. Also we added to the sightings list, waterbok, white rhinoceros, damara dik dik and rock dassie. Tim & Venessa said they had not seen waterbok on previous trips. This antelope looks like it sat on a toilet seat with wet paint because of the marking on its rear. And the dassie made up for no elephants—its DNA is nearly identical, but it's a small furry animal about the size of large cat. Go figure!

Back at the lodge, we had sundowners and starters (drinks at sunset and appetizers). Then it was back to the train and off on the next leg of the express. At the next siding we stopped for dinner.

Dinner was elegant in the dining car, with crystal and china. And with the train not moving, was no challenge. The menu was what you would expect for a first class dining car, and the food was very good. (Namibians really know how to cook.) After dinner, we thought we were able to take a walk off the train, but not at this siding. We misunderstood the schedule at that point. So we went to bed, and found out later only Tim & Venessa got off for a little walk when the train made its overnight stop on the siding in Karibib. Early in the morning the train starting moving again on the final leg to the coast.

But I'm already at the next day.

African Adventure VII

Thursday, 19 February 2009

On the way back to Windhoek, we again stopped in Okahandja after getting gas in Otjiwarongo. Karen had bought a carved elephant, but when we looked at it in Otavi, there were no tusks. The guy in the stall had removed them for travel, but had not put them in the package. He didn't argue, and in fact produced a couple better tusks to complete the deal. 

At the gas station across from the wood carvers' market, a couple workers recognized the Etosha Pan mud all over the cars and offered to wash them. After negotiating a price (we paid 5USD for a complete hand wash), we had both cars well washed. We had lost our front license plate, which now was obvious once the mud was gone. It was nice to have a clean car again.

BTW, most of the tar (paved) roads in Namibia are two lane and the speed limit is 120 km/h. And there are many long straight stretches. The longest I measured was 25 km. So unless you got stuck behind a slow truck, . . . 

After returning to Windhoek, we again visited the Namibia Craft Centre. Here we finished our major gift and souvenir shopping for Namibia. And had a coffee date. 

African Adventure VI

Wednesday, 18 February 2009

Karen & I were up early to take another try at Moringa water hole at sunrise. Still no animals, but many birds. We saw some really close as they came near us to feed, mostly on last night's moths. Guinea fowl, shrikes, hornbills, owls, starlings (not little black birds), doves, and numerous others I couldn't identify. 

After breakfast, in the dark because there was no power, we headed out. Fortunately, we had filled the cars with gas the evening before during the time the power was on. Our immediate destination was the Etosha Pan Overlook. It is another place you can get out of your car and look at the 5000 sq km pan, or dry lakebed, from which the park gets its name. Only we couldn't go all the way out to the usual overlook (the road was blocked) because of the real danger of its being under water in a heavy rain. It is still an impressive sight. 

We returned back to Namutoni, seeing many more giraffe, zebra, springbok, wildebeest and the like. Including several young ones of each kind, some wildebeests nursing. Several giraffe were very close and walked right in front of the car. They are so graceful when they move.

At Namutoni we saw a colony of banded mongeese playing on the lawn of the reception center. One more animal not previously noted. 

As we were loading back into the cars to head out and back to Otavi, by chance we met a lady from Norway with her daughter. She has been a visiting prof at PLU, and works with the consortium of colleges that includes the University of Namibia, PLU, and her school in Norway. So we agreed to meet her for a coffee date in Tsumeb, outside the park. 

When we got to the gate to leave, we discovered we had overstayed our daily permit by about three hours, and the guard would not let us out until we went back to Namutoni and paid for another day. (What happened to Africa Time??) That set us back almost an hour. But our new friends were still waiting for us at the agreed caffé shop in Tsumeb. We had a very nice visit in a lovely biergarten. 

We returned to the Palmenecke Guest House in Otavi for the night. Dinner that night was kudu steak! Two nights in a row. Fixed entirely differently, but still very good. 

African Adventure V

Tuesday, 17 February 2009

We drove west from Otavi to Etosha National Park's east entrance at Von Lindequist Gate. You get your daily permit at the gate, but pay later at the first rest camp you come to. So we drove in to Namutoni. On the way we saw zebra and giraffe and some antelope. It was a good beginning to our game "hunt." 

Namutoni looks like a fort, and indeed started life as a military outpost. It was leveled by the natives a year or so after it was built, then rebuilt a couple of times, most recently in the 1980s as a resort. After paying our fees and checking the shops and getting oriented, we headed off into the park to see the animals. Our destination was the Halali Rest Camp, our overnight stay.

Summer is the rainy, wet season, so the books all warn that animals may be less easily found since they don't have to come to the water holes for water. But we saw many giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, springbok, gemsbok, impala, kudu, warthogs, and others grazing placidly in the bush along the way. OK, the warthogs were almost always running away, but the others seemed unperturbed by the presence of a couple of cars. 

The roads in Etosha are gravel, usually well graded. However, the daily occurrence of heavy thunderstorm rains created some interesting passages through very large puddles (or very small lakes) in the road. We stopped for a sort of picnic at a designated spot where you were allowed to get out of the car. It has a fence around it, a couple of concrete tables, and a dilapidated concrete outhouse. But there was no gate. Not that it would keep elephants out anyway. So we kept one eye on the road in and the car doors open in case we needed to make a hasty retreat. But no one showed up. We enjoyed our lunch of biltong, cheese, bread, and juice.

After lunch the trek continued through the bush. We stopped at a couple of water holes where there had been sightings in the last week, but came up blank. In fact, we never did see any animals at a water hole. But we did continue to see many grazing.

At Halali we had a very nice house. It looked like one of the newest buildings at the rest camp. Dinner, which we tried to eat out on the patio, was moved inside when the downpour of the thunderstorm invaded our area. Once again, the food was very good. I had  steak of what may now be my favorite meat, kudu. Flavorful, tender, low fat. And unavailable in the states. After dinner we went out to Moringa water hole at the camp, but alas, no animals.

Electricity is somewhat sporadic in this area. And there are planned times of no power. It just makes life more interesting. Remember, as much as possible, travel as a local.