Well, that concludes the story of my African adventure.
In the course of 8 weeks, I was chased by a rhino, mock-charged by elephants, given the runaround by lions, driven nuts by giraffes, jumped on by kids, licked by a cheetah, bitten and pissed on by baboons, had my tent invaded by a meerkat and nearly bitten by a "black mamba".
And I loved every minute!
As a sign-off, here's a short video of Kapella the black rhino chasing us, with me attempting to get him to stop while being thrown around the back of a fast-moving Land Rover. It's a bit chaotic, but conveys the general impression of what was going on..
I hope you have enjoyed reading this blog as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Thanks for sharing my adventure. I look forward to the next one, whatever that may be..
Sunday 20 February 2011
Swakopmund
For the last few days of my adventure, I decided to hang out on the beach at Swakopmund. This meant another four hour drive from Windhoek, but it's got a lot more going for it than the capital city. There is not much in the way of public transport in Namibia, so I'd booked myself on a private mini-bus and was quite relieved when it actually turned up at the guest house the next morning to pick me up.
It's not unusual for Swakopmund to be enveloped in a light sea fog which gives the impression of fine rain. It was like this when I arrived. Within a few hours the sun had broken through, but the coastal winds mislead you into thinking that it's not that hot. I realised that I didn't have my suncream with me, but thought I would be fine wandering along the beach for a short walk. It was only when I returned to my hotel that I could see the redness on my face contrasted against the lighter skin around my eyes where my sunglasses had been, making me look like some endangered species of red panda.
Swakopmund is a blissfully relaxing place to hang out in. And I spent my last few days wandering around, taking photos of the jetty, sitting in cafés, people-watching and failing miserably to resist the temptation of chocolate brownies.
It's not unusual for Swakopmund to be enveloped in a light sea fog which gives the impression of fine rain. It was like this when I arrived. Within a few hours the sun had broken through, but the coastal winds mislead you into thinking that it's not that hot. I realised that I didn't have my suncream with me, but thought I would be fine wandering along the beach for a short walk. It was only when I returned to my hotel that I could see the redness on my face contrasted against the lighter skin around my eyes where my sunglasses had been, making me look like some endangered species of red panda.
Swakopmund is a blissfully relaxing place to hang out in. And I spent my last few days wandering around, taking photos of the jetty, sitting in cafés, people-watching and failing miserably to resist the temptation of chocolate brownies.
Saturday 19 February 2011
Back to Windhoek
Having yomped through the dunes, this brought us to the end of our grand tour and heading back to Windhoek. I spent my last night in the tent, dozing off to sleep to the sound of howling black-backed jackals. After two weeks I had become pretty proficient in putting the tent up and taking it down again, but I was looking forward to sleeping in a proper bed again.
On the drive back to Windhoek, we stopped off at a small town called Solitaire. It was another middle of nowhere-type place in the desert, but we managed to get a coffee and a large slab of apple strudel and were offered the chance to take a ride on a camel. The town also had some rusted old cars spread decoratively around the place. None of these things in isolation are that remarkable, but when you put them together it strikes you as somewhat bizarre. But you get used to that in Namibia.
Our last campsite was one of the nicest, with a quirkily-designed shower block and a pool. It also had some additional accommodation that had a staircase going up to the roof area where there was a bed - so you could literally sleep under the stars if you wished to.
On the drive back to Windhoek, we stopped off at a small town called Solitaire. It was another middle of nowhere-type place in the desert, but we managed to get a coffee and a large slab of apple strudel and were offered the chance to take a ride on a camel. The town also had some rusted old cars spread decoratively around the place. None of these things in isolation are that remarkable, but when you put them together it strikes you as somewhat bizarre. But you get used to that in Namibia.
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| Apple strudel! |
Back in Windhoek, we headed out to Joe's Beerhouse that evening which is a popular venue with visiting tourists. Aside from beer, it also offers plenty of exotic game dishes - oryx carpaccio, gemsbok steak, kudu steak, zebra steak, ostrich, crocodile.. Like typical tourists, we took photos of our meals even though it looked pretty much like any other steak.
Over a couple of bottles of South African red, we reflected on all that we had seen and the incredible beauty of the landscape. By the end of the tour, we'd covered a lot of miles. There's a lot of driving around in this vast country to get to all the main sights, but it is one of the best road trips that you'll ever do in your life.
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| End of tour dinner at Joe's Beerhouse! |
Monday 14 February 2011
Death Vlei
Once we'd seen the sunrise from somewhere near the top of Dune 45, we made our descent and were greeted by our guide who had set up breakfast in the parking area. It was a welcome sight after getting up at 4.30am.
We didn't hang around too long though as the next activity on the agenda was to do a 5km walk through the dune field to Death Vlei and we needed to set off before it got too hot. We were also lucky that there was a bit of cloud cover to shield us from the blistering heat of the desert sun. Our route took us over three dunes, which was hard work on the way up but great fun on the way down - just like bouncing down through deep powdered snow. We had to stop a few times to tip all the sand out of our boots.
At the top of the last dune, we sat there like birds on a wire as we gathered our breath after the steep climb up and took a moment to contemplate the surreal scenery below us. Death Vlei certainly lives up to its name in terms of its isolation and barren landscape that is devoid of any living thing.
They say that Namibia is a photographer's dream. To be honest, you'd have to be a bit of an idiot with a camera to come away from this country without at least a few good shots.
We didn't hang around too long though as the next activity on the agenda was to do a 5km walk through the dune field to Death Vlei and we needed to set off before it got too hot. We were also lucky that there was a bit of cloud cover to shield us from the blistering heat of the desert sun. Our route took us over three dunes, which was hard work on the way up but great fun on the way down - just like bouncing down through deep powdered snow. We had to stop a few times to tip all the sand out of our boots.
At the top of the last dune, we sat there like birds on a wire as we gathered our breath after the steep climb up and took a moment to contemplate the surreal scenery below us. Death Vlei certainly lives up to its name in terms of its isolation and barren landscape that is devoid of any living thing.
They say that Namibia is a photographer's dream. To be honest, you'd have to be a bit of an idiot with a camera to come away from this country without at least a few good shots.
Sunday 13 February 2011
The dunes
After nearly two weeks of travelling all round Namibia, the grand finale to our tour was the Namib dunes - which proved to be a fitting end. Towering up to 325 metres high, these orange-coloured mountains of sand are the top tourist draw in Namibia.
We stayed in the campsite at Sesriem which is the best place to be for the early morning drive to Sossusvlei if you want to take part in the daily tourist ritual of watching the sunrise from the top of Dune 45. We woke up at 4.30am that day to make sure we were away by 5am. It's about a 20 minute drive through the dune field to Dune 45, so-called because it is 45kms from Sesriem.
Our guide had warned us of the consequences of being up late - that we might see the sunrise while we were driving along rather than from the top of the dune - and so we were all motivated to be ready on time. As it was, we were the first vehicle to reach the parking area. But once there, we were unprepared for the power-walking race to the top of the dune with all the other tourists.
It's hard work climbing the dune because your feet are sinking deep into the sand and you have to walk along the ridge with a steep drop on either side. After a few minutes your thighs begin to burn, but it's tricky when you stop because there's a stream of people behind you and it's difficult for them to overtake. We thought we were close to the top but as we got higher, it seemed to continually stretch further ahead. Pride sacrificed, we decided to call it quits and sit down where we were to watch the sunrise.
As the sun came up, it was remarkable to see the change in the colour of the sand - from muted yellow to warm orange. It was quite unlike anything else I have ever seen - but I seemed to be saying that every day as I travelled around Namibia.
We stayed in the campsite at Sesriem which is the best place to be for the early morning drive to Sossusvlei if you want to take part in the daily tourist ritual of watching the sunrise from the top of Dune 45. We woke up at 4.30am that day to make sure we were away by 5am. It's about a 20 minute drive through the dune field to Dune 45, so-called because it is 45kms from Sesriem.
Our guide had warned us of the consequences of being up late - that we might see the sunrise while we were driving along rather than from the top of the dune - and so we were all motivated to be ready on time. As it was, we were the first vehicle to reach the parking area. But once there, we were unprepared for the power-walking race to the top of the dune with all the other tourists.
It's hard work climbing the dune because your feet are sinking deep into the sand and you have to walk along the ridge with a steep drop on either side. After a few minutes your thighs begin to burn, but it's tricky when you stop because there's a stream of people behind you and it's difficult for them to overtake. We thought we were close to the top but as we got higher, it seemed to continually stretch further ahead. Pride sacrificed, we decided to call it quits and sit down where we were to watch the sunrise.
As the sun came up, it was remarkable to see the change in the colour of the sand - from muted yellow to warm orange. It was quite unlike anything else I have ever seen - but I seemed to be saying that every day as I travelled around Namibia.
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| Climbing up Dune 45 |
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| The steep drop to the bottom |
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| Here comes the sun.. |
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| My desert rat look |
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| Coming back down Dune 45 |
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