Nothing but mammals...do it like they do on the Discovery Channel (Namibia)

We weren’t expecting such levels of development when we first arrived in Windhoek (Namibia’s Capital).  With the infiltration of South African chain stores (retail and fast food), Les was even able to find a non-fat latte.  Not intending to be racist, but the other stark difference was the much higher proportion of Caucasians (for the first time in Africa we could potentially pass for locals, until we spoke).

The big treat in town is dinner at Joe’s Beerhouse and this is not your typical brew fare - you can order some of the game we have been viewing with menu items such as the Bushman Sosatie or Namib Bush Fire.  I ordered a kebab platter that comes with five different animal cubes - Ostrich, Crocodile, Kudu, Oryx and Zebra (not sure if I got the black or white stripe meat).

The next day we traveled north to the showpiece of Namibia’s parks – Etosha.   The park system is quite advanced in Southern Africa and a bit different by North American standards.  The tendency is to mix all types of accommodation with equal access to all facilities.  That means that we lowly campers got to share the swimming pool and bar with the well-healed luxury lodgers.  After a few hours of morning game driving and the obligatory Giraffe and Zebra sightings (one gets non-chalant after visiting six parks in six weeks), we did manage to add to our game viewing list when some majestic Oryx pranced by with their ominous spear-like horn. 

Despite some obvious peril, it is interesting that in Etosha you can drive yourself around the dirt roads unescorted.  There are several strategically positioned watering holes within the park where normally, with quite a bit of patience, you can wait for the thirsty animals to arrive (we saw some Springbok and a Wildebeest).  Problem is that there had been so much rain throughout Namibia that most fauna had easy access to more proximate water flows and small pools throughout the park.

Springbok

Wildebeest

More fun poolside with the Kids

After a few hours poolside (annoying the fancy-ass folk) it was time for the late afternoon game drive.  This time we stumbled upon a pride of lions by the side of the road (which for us was becoming commonplace), but this time the situation was right out of the discovery channel.  One large male was attempting to dismount his mate of the moment as we approached, for what seemed like a very short rest period.  Off in the distance we could make out a solitary second mature male literally licking his (pretty severe eye) wounds.  The best theory proffered was that there had been one, or many, fights between the two males over the past few hours or days for Pride dominance.  It seems the old proverb proved true here in the wild – to the victor goes the spoils - as we learned that in the mating season they “do it” every 25 minutes for four days.

Winner!

Loser!

Spoils!

Adjacent to the park’s luxury condos is another watering hole (this time man-made), with 180 degree seating alongside (and some barbed fencing).  More importantly, this strategically positioned site is equipped with flood lights for night viewing.  After dinner, several of us made the “arduous” two minute walk from the campsite (with a sufficient supply of cocktails in hand) and were almost immediately rewarded with the sighting of an approaching Rhino.  The next morning some compatriots told us that around 3am, a Rhino couple and infant came down for a dip – but alas, we had retired a few hours earlier when we ran out of Gin.

Lots of prep - but alas no night vision equipment

We arrived in the seaside vacation spot of Swapokmund the next afternoon - a nice place to find some finer dining for our tenth anniversary dinner.  Hey, we got married somewhere funky; why not find a suitable spot to celebrate this milestone anniversary.  I was also able to add another animal to our newest list - Game eaten – with the German influenced Springbok Schnitzel.

Swapokmund is also the action / adventure capital of Namibia, so stay tuned…

Delta Dawn (Botswana)

Don’t call it a bus – the one cardinal rule – it’s a truck!  A fierce African mask mounted on the front grill of Omaruru (each vehicle is named for a Southern African river), provided a sense of protection as we arrived at our opening destination, a campsite adjacent to Chobe National Park (“and what was that about Elephants keeping us up at night?”). 

Our first day was all about familiarizing ourselves with the expedition experience (the “Truck”, routines and daily assigned tasks). After introductions at the meet and greet campfire BBQ dinner it was apparent that this group was quite eclectic spanning a considerable age range (no we were not the oldest).  There were several under 25’s from the UK and Australia, some 30-40’s from Australia, Holland and France/New Zealand, another Canuck couple(early 50’s) from B.C., and a lad from South Korea (27) travelling with his parents (late 50’s) – his dad being ex-military, ex-UN envoy, historical novelist, fluent in several languages and my new hero.

The next morning, we set out early into the park on a game drive (another damn sunrise – what is the preoccupation with that down here?) - a bit disappointing in terms of animal sightings save for this one bird who walked in the shallow water spreading  his wings like a bat cape in order to temporarily blind the fish below making it easier to catch them.

Adding to the sleep deprivation, it was also quite a bit cooler on the drive than most of us were prepared for, leading to some communal bonding whining.  After our warm up lunch, we set off for a late afternoon cruise on the Chobe river (sunset – that’s more like it).  Despite the abundance of Hippos and Elephants that feasted and played at the waters’ edge; the highlight of the river cruise was the dazzling array of colourful birds (including several varieties of Kingfishers).

After a day’s drive to Maun, we prepared for our overnight Okavango Delta boat trip, but not before some drunken campground hide and seek (it’s actually fun hangin’ out with under 25’s especially when the facility has a fully stocked bar).  The next morning we learned that our expedition leader had gone down with Malaria overnight – and he’s from Kenya (better not miss any doses of those prophylaxis pills)!

We plodded on with our driver as lead and set out on the marshy waters in our convoy of two-man “Mokoros” (narrow wood dugout canoes) punted by some locals with 20 foot wood poles through what seemed like laneways and avenues within the reeds.  

What's That Flower You Have On..

We only traveled an hour and a half to our island outpost, barely scratching the surface of the world’s largest inland Delta encompassing some 16,000 sq. kms.   

We spent the day trying to learn for ourselves the optimal punting method (the proper term is actually polling), but ultimately resorted to playing water games in swimming areas we were assured were safe (the games themselves either involved trying to get as many people in a Mokoro as possible or trying to tip them out – once again pretty fun traveling with under 25’s). 

Traversing some of the dryer areas on foot yielded much more flora than fauna, but our guides nevertheless made it interesting by pointing out medicinal plants and then, at dinner,  serenading us with village local song and dance (luckily we brought along our own libations).

Another dawn wake-up call for the Mokoro return trip and after a half-hour of reed smacks across the head we were back on land (the delta is pretty thick this time of year so passengers are actually below the thicket).

Nice Umbrella

In order to get an even better perspective on the Delta, we opted for a scenic flight over the area that afternoon.  The Okavango is quite unique as the water has no natural place to go (it actually gets absorbed by the Kalahari Desert) and so the fluvial areas most associated with river deltas are not present.  Instead there are alternating areas of swamp, marsh, small lakes and ponds, and dried out areas.  This affords a great variation in fauna and in quite large numbers- as evidenced by the herds of elephants, buffalo and wildebeest visible from the plane.  These sightings helped to keep our minds off the nauseatingly bumpy and twisty ride.

Our last day in Botswana brought us to a ‘real” bush camp (no facilities save for some huts, but also a refreshing quarry swimming hole – a welcome respite from the 35C+ temperatures). 

It was here that we encountered the bush people (straight out of the film “The Gods Must Be Crazy” – click language, loin cloths, the whole nine yards).  They were fascinating and the most authentic indigenous encounter in Africa so far (in contrast to the sense you get in Kenya and Tanzania that the Masai are putting on a show and then slipping back into their Levi’s to go to the bar).  We began our walk in the nearby fields and a family of about eight silently emerged from the bush.  During the hour walk we were treated to explanations and demonstrations of their traditional uses of naturally occurring products (roots for fertility, disease, common ailments, hangovers and hygiene – including alternative plant-based soaps and toothpaste). 

They even tended to our driver Tony’s foot injury he had suffered in a particularly competitive segment of our evening “Hide & Seek” game a few days back.

Hope it works – the staff are dropping like Tse Tse flies…

For more Botswana photos, see flickr at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thegoobers_pics/sets/72157626292882566/

Wondering where the Lions are? (Zambia)

It seems like most of the world’s famous waterfalls tend to span two or more countries – as is the case with the mighty Victoria Falls separating Zimbabwe from Zambia.  We made our way to Livingstone via Lusaka (the capital) and noticed the change from East to Southern Africa immediately.  One Zambian woman we met put it this way “we actually have some order here.”  The infrastructure is the most prominent improvement, including almost universal adherence to traffic signals.  Other notable differences include the pervasive use of English and a more organized marketplace (with real supermarkets – mostly chains from South Africa).  

Livingstone is the “jump-off” point for activities on the Zambian side of the falls, including the adrenaline rush bungee, zip lines and other even more hair-raising gorge swinging apparatus.

Our first stop was Livingstone Island, a small outcropping of grass and trees sitting at the edge of the “Horseshoe” section of the falls. It is here that Dr. Livingstone exclaimed “scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight.”  The Island can be reached by speedboat from the luxurious Royal Livingstone Hotel (no we weren’t staying there – but when we arrived by cab from our backpacker accommodation we were still greeted by the staff singing local welcome songs).  After only a five minute walk from the mooring point on the Island, we emerged from the woods and beheld one of the “new” Seven Wonders of the World (due to the fact that it has the largest sheet of falls in the world – length x height combined). 

We were already within 10 metres of the overhang, but our guide had plans to get us closer.  We spent the next 45 minutes carefully finding footholds in the rapids to reach the precipice of the watery abyss (in low water season one can walk along the top of the entire length of this section of the falls and even venture out to a swimming hole at the edge). 

Then the “big” surprise – a sumptuous breakfast of Florentine-esque eggs, cheddar scones and morning glory muffins, all served under a canvas falls-view tent.

The Hotel is so fancy they have their own walkway and entrance to the falls national park.  We spent the next few hours following the various paths: down to the gorge (guarded by Baboons), along the drenching walkway adjacent to the falls, and to the border bridge (from which some newly made friends were hurling themselves).

The next day we decided to chance the “Lion Encounter” – a special program of walking with Lion youths (around 14 months old) before they are moved to be part of a breeding program for reintroduction of their offspring to the wild.  It is one thing to view and photograph them at a reserve or park, quite another to accompany them for a morning saunter.  The similarities to domestic cats is eerie as they roll around playfully, chase tails, grunt and groan and fastidiously groom, all incorrectly intimating the need for less caution – but we are warned that, despite their time with humans, these are still basically untamed animals.

Before leaving the area, I booked myself a helicopter flight over the falls (Les bowed out of this one).  While we were able to view much of the falls area the day before, the river flows over several cataracts spanning 1.7 kms and so the best way to get context is from above.

Livingstone Island from Above

It was time to meet our fellow travelers aboard a Zambezi booze cruise, as we were about to join an overland truck expedition for the next two weeks to journey through Botswana and Namibia (as it is supposedly a bit more difficult to reach the parks and natural areas by public transport).

For more Zambia photos - see flickr at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thegoobers_pics/sets/72157626217136746/