Overlanding in Namibia Part I
Overland holiday travel ain't for everyone.
I mean...for those who prefer NOT to camp outside in inclement weather, travel for hours at a time in a slightly smelly as well as cramped "Partridge Family" type bus (minus the merry sing-a-long) and share in chores such as cooking or washing up, you should NOT embark on an overlanding tour in Africa. Got it??!
But as for me? I kind of dug it.
There are a number of companies which offer these sort of budget package tours in Africa and it was pretty difficult for me to choose between them as the prices are fairly similar and the reviews from former clients are somewhat mixed no matter which company one is researching. So, in the end, I settled on ACACIA simply due to the dates of the Namibia trip I wished to go on and the fact that Stephen, one of the managers at Amber Tree Lodge, personally recommended them.
As the trip commenced in Windhoek, the capital city of Namibia, on Thursday, March 29, I had to get there from Cape Town somehow, but the one-way flights were cost prohibitive ($320) so instead I decided to travel by Intercape, a South African long-distance bus company. The cost of the ticket was only around $95 (Cool!) and by all accounts found online, the buses sounded clean/safe/reliable (Super cool!) Alrighty then...
Uh oh.
What I did NOT realize at the time of purchase (for NOWHERE on its website does it advertise this) was that Intercape is apparently on a mission to convert all its paying passengers to Christianity! Not only did the female bus attendant pray at both the start and conclusion of our journey, but they also showed highly religious Christian-themed programming non-stop on the TV! Furthermore, the volume was turned up fairly loud, making it considerably difficult to ignore the relentless stream of proselytizing. So for nearly 24 hours, I was subjected to religious indoctrination from which I could not escape. Being raised in a country where we have freedom of religion built into our constitution, my mind was absurdly agog at the fact that the South African government allows companies such as Intercape to sneakily subject its passengers to this. How would a Jewish, Hindu or Muslim passenger feel about having this surprisingly sprung on them while they traveled from Point A to Point B?! Seriously, I am still astounded. Please forgive me if I am coming across as anti-Christian, but anyone who knows me fairly well should know that I definitely believe in God and the power of prayer but that I was raised to be open-minded and embrace those of different faith, race, sexual orientation, etc etc. Moving on...
I arrived in Windhoek at around 8 in the morning on March 28 and was quite surprised by the chill in the air. I most definitely zipped up my fleece and hugged it more closely to my body as I hefted my small backpack from the bus and looked around hither and nither for a taxi. The only one there already had 4 other passengers stuffed inside, but apparently Namibians tend to share taxis so they simply scooted themselves over in the back seat so I could squeeze in as well. Cozy!
I spent the entire afternoon walking around the downtown of Windhoek, checking out the shopping mall, crafts market, and banking district, and even paid a visit to the city's main post office where I purchased a stamp for the postcard I intended to send my 2 cutie patootie nephews back in Joliet, Illinois. The downtown didn't particularly impress me as it seemed to lack local flavor somehow. The only thing that caused my eyes to POP was the fact that they had named 2 central city streets after the controversial leftist leaders Fidel Castro and Robert Mugabe. I would've photographed these thoroughfares, but I chose not to lug my valuable camera around with me as I was walking around all by my lonesome and didn't wish to attract undesirable attention to myself. So you will just have to believe me when I say that Namibians in Windhoek dig political shit-stirrers!
The following morning I cabbed it to Arebbusch Lodge which was the meeting point for the trip. There I met our illustrious British tour leader, the über-fabulous Kelly, as well as our solid but virtually silent Kenyan bus driver, Patrick. I also was introduced to my fellow overlanding travelers, 18 of them all told, the majority of whom came from Australia & New Zealand. All but 1 of them had been traveling with one another for nearly 2 weeks already, which proved to be a huge disadvantage for me socially as friendships/relationships had already been
But enough about the plastered peeps, what about the sights and sounds of Namibia?!!?
Etosha National Park (March 29-30)
Our first Namibian destination was Etosha, an immense nature reserve of over 20,000 square km, which is home to not only 4 of the "Big 5" (elephant, lion, leopard, rhino but not water buffalo), but also such zoo land favorites as the zebra, giraffe, hyena, oryx and jackal. The prime time for viewing the animals is during the dry winter season when they congregate around the watering holes. Alas, I was visiting at the end of the rainy season so I am afraid my luck was decidedly mixed. That being said, we saw so many damn zebras that I can still see their black n' white stripes whenever I close my eyes and there were also too many horny bastards to count. Hee hee. Okay, okay, by "horny bastards", I actually mean kori bustards, but I had such difficulty remembering these birds' actual name that I just started calling them...well...you know....horny bastards. Sigh. Animal Planet Factoid: the kori bustard is often referred to as the heaviest land bird capable of flight. In other words, they are a bit fat but can still fly if chased by a lion.
We camped for 2 nights near the Okaukeujo flood-lit watering hole, which was chosen due to the fact that it attracts the most wildlife. During the day, the zebras hung out, drinking themselves silly, but at night, bigger critters came a creeping. The first night those campers silently staking out the watering hole were rewarded by a visit from 3 black rhinos (Endangered Species Alert!). Before retiring to my tent on the following night, I paid a short visit to the watering hole and was pleased by the appearance of a lone thirsty giraffe. After that I went to bed, hitting the internal snooze button in my head at about 10:30, only to be suddenly awakened at around 2:30 AM all a'flutter and wondering "What the hell was that?!!?" I mean I could hear something, but my ignorance when it comes to the calls of the wild prevented me from properly identifying the noisy creatures. I debated getting up and heading to the watering hole for a look-see but....naah. Tiredness won out. However, I only managed to sleep for a further 90 minutes or so when, once again, loud animal noises nearby shook me awake. This time, it sounded closer and...gulp...louder. My insatiable curiosity roused me from the snug safety of my sleeping bag and off I silently crept to the watering hole to see what was what. I was the lone homo sapien stirring at that unearthly hour (4 AM) so it was just me and the big ferocious puddy cats. Unfortunately, I could only hear them rustling through the bushes for they refused to come out in the open, so after about a half hour spent shivering in the shade next to the watering hole, I returned to bed. But I didn't sleep soundly by any means, no sirree. I tossed, turned, and trembled as I could still sometimes hear the lions prowling through the surrounding bush. Finally, at about 6 AM, I abandoned all pretense of sleep and hastily laced up my boots and hurried over to the watering hole for another opportunity to spy on the felines. And this time, I was rewarded by the sight of a pride of lions!! We're talking a kingly male with a lustrous long-flowing mane and even a couple of cute cubs being fiercely protected by 2 or 3 adult females. I sat there watching them in absolute giddy silence, forgetting to even breathe at times. Why isn't there a word that exists which surpasses "WOW"?!?
I will never forget that night in Namibia when the lions most definitely did not sleep (to)night but ROARED...
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