my2cents

The first night in the roof tent was an ordeal. I guess I didn’t sleep much after midnight. It certainly didn’t help that the temperature dropped closer and closer to 0° as the hours went by. Fortunately, my dear wife was only centimeters away. Her presence gave me comfort.

In the morning we get up at dusk and enjoy a hot shower to warm up – feels great. Again, I’m surprised how good the infrastructure is. Soon after we prepare a wonderful breakfast starter – papaya cuts with sugar and Greek yogurt (plain yogurt). Tip: always look for Greek yogurt in Namibia! Akiko is incredibly helpful and cooperative preparing  and clearing breakfast, I’m sooo proud of her. It’s important to have people like her when you travel with a group.

The way back to the main road from the Waterberg Plateau seems never-ending, but I will get used to gravel roads over the course of the next three weeks. It certainly wasn’t worth it coming out here for just this one night.

We head north-west. Thomas and Stefan both run over a guinea fowl (each). They linger in herds on the shoulder of the road and if their escape strategies are absolutely unpredictable.

Might as well be in Australia I guess...

Wherever we stop, kids and teens try to sell us jewelry, “crystals” (usually polished white stones) and makalani nuts. It’s a little uncomfortable because we’re not (yet) used to that but we learn quickly how to say no. After all we want to be friendly and nice and yet we also don’t want to fill our baggage with stuff we might throw away at home. I feel sorry for the kids and teens. The idleness in which they seem to be caught is overwhelmingly sad.

In Outjo we stop in front of a super-market. Side note, I recommend using the one at the south-east end of the village. Before we even get out of the car we’re surrounded by a group of kids who all want something from us. I feel a little uneasy and queasy. Again, I have to learn quickly to deal with situations I’m not comfortable with. In the west we’re not used to being imposed on. One guy carries a wooden stick, he seems to be the leader of the pack. Marga asks him to watch our cars and we’ll bring hime and his deputies something to eat from the super-market. Although I’m happy to hit the road again that experience will prove to have been important for me in terms of “letting the African culture in” i.e. dropping some of my guards.

In Kamanjab we stop for gas. Although we carry spare cans on the roof of the Land Rovers we make a habit out of pumping gas at each gas station along the way. That’s certainly not un-wise in Africa. Kamanjab is dreary and bleak. At the gas station a few herero women in their traditional dress sell jewelry. Friendly teenagers try to sell makalani nuts. They’re a lot less touting than groups in other places. Of course, one of their first questions is “where are you from”. We don’t tell them right away that we’re from Switzerland but engage them in a little chat about what they know about Europe. Quite a bit, we learn. When we tell them that our country lays between Italy and Germany they’re at loss. When we finally unveil the answer they all yell “Hopp Schwiiiz!” (“Go Switzerland” in Swiss German). Now it’s our turn to be speechless! We burst out with laughter.

Entrace to Hobatere Camp decorated with antlers

After another 70km we finally arrive at Hobatere campsite. The camp is an naturalist’s dream – simply marvelous! There’s hardly any information about this community campsite on the Internet and I don’t know how you’d book in advance. The Hobatere Lodge is 1km away, they might know. The campsite is very basic and luxury at the same time. There are regular toilets aaaaand a hot shower! To build them black canvas is wrapped around trees and bushes. The foundation is made of concrete but there’s no roof – the star-laden African sky acts as the roof.  The water for the shower is heated up by a fire that burns underneath an old gas bottle turned into a boiler. When you wait taking a shower until the sun has set it feels like warm rain falling from the starry sky.

Outdoor shower and sink

We also try to fix the fridge built into Thomas’ Land Rover. Unfortunately, we have to learn that the tools the car is equipped with are lousy. Another lesson learned: make sure the tool set is complete when you take over a rental car in Namibia. We also notice that we weren’t given spare fuses for each appliance. With fuses from Stefan’s and my car we manage to get by…

→ Namibia 2009 photos

Since we didn’t sleep the night before (in the plane on the way from Europe to Africa) we enjoyed a good night’s rest in a cosy bed even more. Using the extra blanket – as in the US they’re called comforter in Namibia – we slept well and it was snugly warm.

So, we get up at 8 and already now what little luggage we brought to Namibia is spread chaotically around our room. This bothers me a little…the safari hasn’t even started and already certain items seem to have gone missing. Frantically I try to put everything back to a sensible place in our luggage, constantly assessing the expected periodicity of use of the item.

After a quick breakfast we’re picked up by our guides Stefan & Marga in order to run the last errands in Windhoek before we’re off for the wilderness. We shop at a large US-style supermarket located inside a mall in the center of Windhoek. The goods at display all look tasty but it’s hard to tell for us what we really need as we don’t know what our guides already bought for us. Food management during our safari is basically their responsibility. To be on the safe side we buy 20l of water per person in large 4l containers. Since the sleeping bags that came with the Land Rover’s camping equipment really don’t look like their made for temperatures below 10°C we also buy some extra blankets for our roof-top tent beds. Also, since we didn’t bring too much cash to Namibia (advise by travel agency) we try to withdraw cash from the ATM machines in the mall. We have to try out a few until we find one that is willing to accept our Maestro cards AND sputter out cash.

While loading our Land Rovers I realize that Akiko and I really travel light. Compared to the other two cars ours is half empty. I realize that we really didn’t bring a lot of luggage, indeed. Again I run through my mental packing list to see if I can come with items we forgot at home. I can’t and, therefore, I try to calm down.

Then, finally, we hit the road and head north towards Waterberg Plateau. I quickly get used to the Land Rover and to driving on the left side of the road. At a large BP gas station on the outskirts of Windhoek we have the Land Rovers checked for water, oil, gas, and tire pressure.

Last check at the gas station before leaving civilisation as we know behind for a while

In Okahanja, the next major village, we make a brief stop. There’s a nice craft market, many people hang around aimlessly. I wonder what they’re up to all day long. I feel watched and this makes me uncomfortable, ill at ease. Are we safe here? Getting used to Africa isn’t easy in the beginning…
At a nice liquor store (bottle store) we buy beer for Akiko and soda for me. Again, I notice that we buy less than the others in our party. What’s wrong with us?

Along the road from Okahanja to Waterberg we encounter the first “wild” animals: special species of sheep, baboos, small wardhogs, and a bush bock.

Waterberg plateau

The camp at Waterberg is neat and clean and we’re surprised about the sanitation. The camp ground might as well be somewhere in Europe. When Marga tells us that all the other camps on our route will be much less “luxurious” I wonder what to make of that comment. Is she joking? Is she trying to scare us? Or is she simply trying to set our expectations straight? I’m sure I’ll find out soon enough.
When we put up our roof tent for the first time we realize that whoever prepared the car and its camping equipment for us packed a ladder extension that doesn’t fit the ladder properly. I get angry that this anonymous African – and Africans in general – and his sloppy work. Not that it couldn’t happen elsewhere in the world… I get loud, hectic, and also a bit frustrated since also the tent itself isn’t as expected. The fact that Stefan’s Land Rover’s ladder extension doesn’t fit either doesn’t exactly improve my mood. After some hammering and bending I manage to make them both fit, though. Meanwhile Stefan & Marga prepared dinner and my mood curve points skywards sharply Life is good now and I apologize to Akiko for my behavior.

→ Namibia 2009 photos