 Getting
to Africa from Grand Cayman is no mean feat! We started on a Friday at 1.00pm,
stopped overnight in Atlanta, continued onto Johannesburg the next day (a 17
hour flight with a quick pit stop in the Cape Verde island for refueling!) for
another overnight stopover and finally arrived in Walvis Bay, Namibia, on
Monday lunchtime.
 |
|
 |
enjoying the local street cafes
in Melville |
|
at the Apartheid Muesum
with downtown Johannesburg in the background |
The last part hour of the flight to Walvis Bay gave us a good idea of the
vast, barren landscape that Namibia is known for. The view was of endless
rolling sand dunes. From the remote airport it was a short drive to the resort
town of Swakopmund where our trip was scheduled to begin. This town, on the
Atlantic Coast, was billed as a "busy and bustling" place but in
reality it was cold, ugly and dead!
 |
| Swakopmund, Namibia from the air. A town
with a lot of German influence. |
While in Swakopmund we spent two nights in the Dunedin Star Guest House,
basic but clean, and took advantage of a "free" day before the big
trek commenced to spend some time exploring the dunes. For a rather expensive
US$360 each we took a private flight (www.scenic-air.com) in a single-engine Cessna to Sossusvlei.
 |
| Our transportation to the dunes |
 |
|
flying low over the Namib Desert
(note the distinctive tracks of dune-buggies in the lower right corner)
|
The journey took about an hour and our pilot, Jack, swooped and banked into
Kuiseb Canyon and flew very low over the magnificent dunes.
On arrival at Sossusvlei we were immediately
struck by how much hotter it was here in the desert than in the nearby coastal
town. We were met by our guide, Oscar, who took us the 65 kilometer journey
into the dunes over pot hole ridden, dusty tracks in an open 4-wheel drive
truck
 |
|
 |
| |
|
1 hour ride to the Dunes near
Sossusvlei |
 |
|
We saw Dune 45, the most accessible of the red dunes and so-called because it
is the 45th dune from Sossusvlei. |
| Dune 45 |
|
|
After bumping 75kms down the road we reached Deadvlei, arguably the most
interesting dune due to the pure white, 1km long salt pan at its base, and the
very dead trees therein - trees that have been carbon dated at 900 years old.
 |
| Deadvlei, with its 900 year old dead
trees |
This whole area is a popular spot for visitors at sunrise and sunset but we
could only get there for midday - far, far too hot for climbing dunes! After
the dusty hot journey we returned to Sossusvlei Lodge, (www.sossusvleilodge.com) close to the airstrip, for a great
lunch and a much needed swim in the pool (all of which was included in the
price of the trip!).
On the return flight to Swakopmund we took a different route which gave us a
fantastic view of the dunes, one of the worlds most inhospitable waterless
areas, and a portion of the skeleton coast, so named because of the numerous
shipwrecks that can be seen half buried in the sand. Our pilot did a lot more
swooping and banking to give us some good views of the shipwrecks and the
numerous seal colonies. We arrived back at our guest house tired and dirty and
in need of a good night's sleep before the start of our safari!
 |
| one of the worlds most inhospitable
waterless areas |
Our 14 day trip through Namibia, Botswana and ending at the Victoria Falls
in Livingstone, Zambia was booked through Jenman African Safaris (www.jenmansafaris.com).
The company is owned and operated by a friend of Jayne's who currently lives in
Cayman which is why we chose this tour operator. We chose the
"deluxe" option which for an extra $100 gave us 8 nights in chalets
and 5 nights camping, as opposed to camping for the entire trip. As well as all
transportation and accommodation fees the package price also included most
meals and all park fees.
 |
|
We started our day at 8.30 sharp in a sandy and tired Toyota Hi-ace (we later
learned that this was its second from last trip before the scrap yard!). We
traveled north along the coast under a hazy sky and through a barren, dry and
dusty landscape. |
coastal roads made with sand and salt
water...
both of which are very abundant |
|
|
Our first stop was at the Cape Cross Seal Colony, a place that as many as
200,000 cape fur seals ( the largest fur seal) call home during the breeding
season. It was very noisy and very stinky! |
|
 |
| |
|
Cape Cross Seal Colony |
From here we started the 200 kilometre journey inland to the Brandberg
Mountain. Most of the trip took us over bumpy, dusty roads and it did not take
us long to realize that all windows on the van had to be shut quickly whenever
we saw an oncoming vehicle approaching. Luckily the roads were fairly empty for
the entire journey!
 |
| the dusty roads of Namibia |
By early afternoon we had reached the site of the infamous "White
Lady" rock painting. To reach the paintings we had to walk for about an
hour in some very intense heat, so intense than a few members of our group had
to turn back part way through! |
|
 |
| |
|
2000 year old 'White Lady' rock
painting |
After recovering from the walk we had just a short trip to the Brandberg
White Lady Lodge; (www.brandbergwllodge.com) our home for the next two nights.
The lodge's pool (and the bar's cold Tafel beers, a Namibian staple!) provided
some welcome respite from the heat and dustiness of the walk and the day was
perfectly finished off with an Oryx steak.
|
| Brandberg White Lady Lodge, Namibia
|
The next day we did a trek into the bush to seek out the famous desert
elephants. Unfortunately, while we saw plenty of dung and fresh tracks, the
elephants eluded us as they had passed through just a couple of days earlier.
We did however see a large troupe of baboons who spent several minutes watching
us curiously from a rocky outcrop.
 |
| Locals near Brandberg Lodge |
We left Brandberg after an early breakfast and headed for the Twylfontein
rock engravings estimated to be anywhere between a few hundred and a few
thousand years old.
 |
| Twylfontein rock
engravings |
 |
|
Our final leg of the day took us to the town of Outjo - a sophisticated place
complete with internet cafes, a German bakery and a well-stocked supermarket.
|
 |
|
After a very long hot and dusty day we arrived in Etosha National Park - for
our first night in a tent! Our camp was at Okaukeujo, at the western end of the
park. |
| Etosha National Park, Namibia |
|
|
We spent the evening by the watering hole which, particularly as this was
the dry season, was a gathering place for all kinds of animals, including
giraffes, rhinos, zebras and elephants. We were thrilled to see a few lions
approach and even more so to see them scared off by the adult elephants, which,
we assume, were protecting their young. That night we would have slept well in
the tent, except the silence was broken throughout the night by the roar of
lions!
 |
| jackals fighting over a carcass
of an animal that had been killed earlier |
The next day we had to be up before dawn to do a game drive through part of
the park. We were fortunate enough to see some jackals fighting over a carcass
of an animal that had been killed earlier.
Amongst many other animals we were also lucky to see a group of spotted hyenas
- in two years of doing the game drives here our guide had not seen them
before!
We returned to the campsite at 9.30am and after a good breakfast went back to
the watering hole to watch the comings and goings of all manner of wildlife.
|
|
 |
| |
|
Spotted Hyenas - Etosha National Park
|
|
| Etosha |
 |
| huge birds nests |
 |
| resting lions |
 |
|
The following day we moved to the eastern side of the park to the Namutomi camp
site. En route we saw two prides of lions, one of which had clearly feasted
well the night before! Just before we arrived at the camp we saw a solitary
leopard not far from the main road, apparently a rare sighting since they are
nocturnal animals. |
 |
| rare glimpse of a
leopard |
|
|
 |
animal activities
at the watering hole |
 |
| Etosha's salt pan |
The following day we left Etosha and headed towards the Caprivi area of
Namibia. We stopped in a small town called Tsumeb to get gas and provisions. On
leaving the town the change in scenery was very noticeable. Gone were the
concrete buildings and signs of civilization; the landscape was now dotted with
traditional African villages, complete with thatched huts, minimal electricity
and a lot of goats!
Our stop for the next two nights was at n'Kwazi Lodge on the banks of the
Kavango River, which marks the natural border between Namibia and Angola.
 |
|
 |
n'Kwazi Lodge on the banks of
the Kavango River, Namibia
www.safarinow.com/go/nkwazi/ |
It was a beautiful spot and the
accommodation was charmingly African. The next day commenced with a substantial
breakfast, lodge style.
We then went to a nearby village were we visited the school, church and some
local families. The kids at the school looked mostly dirty and ragged but they
sang beautifully and all seemed innocently happy.
They were thrilled to be able to see themselves in our digital photos, so much
so that, on our return to Cayman, we had them printed and sent to the school
along with some much needed supplies of pens, paper and calculators. |
|
 |
click here
to see the children
at Mayana School,
near Rundu, Namibia (6MB) |
 |
|
 |
| visiting the Mayana School...the
children loved to get their photos taken |
 |
|
Whilst at n'Kwazi we took advantage
of the opportunity to go horse-back riding along the river at sunset. Our guide
was very knowledgeable about the politics and economics of the area. Dinner at
the lodge consisted of a huge buffet and this was followed by some native
dancing….and some rather large amounts of rum! |
click here to
see
the church singers near
Rundu, Namibia (9MB) |
 |
|
 |
| horseback riding...overlooking
Angola across the river |
 |
| our riverside chalet at
n'Kwasi |
 |
| relaxing at the lodge at
sunset |
We left Namibia the next day and crossed the border into Botswana. The
villages here looked in better shape than those in Namibia! We arrived in Etsha
where we had to leave most of our property on the truck and pack only a few
essentials for our two day trip into the remote Okavango Delta.
 |
|
We were collected by a large 4x4 open topped truck for a one hour journey
across some very deep sand. It was, to say the least, a very uncomfortable one
hour! The truck kept stalling, it was incredibly hot and we quickly became
covered in dust and exhaust fumes! We later discovered that the driver had
forgotten to release the handbrake! |
| journey into the Okavango
Delta, Botswana |
|
|
On arriving at the delta we transferred from the truck (thank god!) to a
motor boat which took us on a ten minute trip to Makwena Camp ("mother of
crocodiles" in the local language), a secluded island with nothing on it
except a couple of bathrooms, a bar and a plethora of truly wild animals!
 |
| hippos in the water around our
camp |
After setting up our tent we went on a quick bush walk. The recent passage
of elephants was evident everywhere in the form of large piles of fresh dung
and some devastated trees! We also saw a large group of vervet monkeys, all
watching us curiously from the trees and we heard the unmistakable sound of
grunting hippos coming from the water. That evening, after our campfire dinner,
I surprised Jayne with a bottle of wine that I had carried all the way from
Cayman for her birthday.
The following morning we had to be up early
to start the trip into the delta.
We took a motor boat for an exciting ride through the 12' high papyrus reeds.
There was just enough space cut between the reeds to accommodate the boat and
we often had to duck to avoid getting attacked by them!
Every so often we would come across an obstruction in the channel caused by
elephants - the driver had to reverse the boat and take a big run-up to jump
over the fallen reeds! |
|
 |
| |
|
click here
to see the ride
through the reeds near
Makwena Camp, Botswana (4MB) |
After about an hour we arrived at an island where we were met by some local
"polers" with their "mokoros". Traditionally mokoros were
made from a hollowed out tree but, even in the Botswana outback, environmental
concerns were given credence and today's canoes are made from fiberglass - they
looked very much like the real thing though! |
|
 |
|
traveling by Mokoro |
 |
|
The 11/2 hour excursion into the delta was a little uncomfortable on the floor
of the mokoro but it was worth it for we came across a herd of elephants
walking through the water just ahead of us. |
elephants in the Okavango Delta, Botswana |
|
|
We landed on another nearby island were we went for a long hike.
Much to our guide's surprise, we came across another herd of elephants and had
to quickly retreat so as not to agitate them!
Our guide looked far more scared than we did! After a quick lunch we made an
attempt at poling - only then did we realize how easy the professionals made it
look! |
|
 |
|
hiking in the Okavango Delta |
 |
 |
|
The next morning we were greeted by our very first sight of rain on the
trip!
We were due to leave the camp by 8am but instead were given the opportunity for
a lie-in until the rain eased. Later that morning we finally realized the rain
was getting worse….it was leaking into the tent!....and we had no option
but to pack up camp and get wet! By the time we had stuffed our soggy tents
into their bags and rolled up our muddy tent we were both soaked and
filthy!
The journey by boat and the open top truck back to the mainland was cold and
uncomfortable and we were all relieved to finally get to our bags and some warm
dry clothes! |
| improvising with garbage bag
rain coats! |
|
|
 |
the roads of the Caprivi Strip, Namibia |
 |
| Camp Kwando, on the crocodile
infested Kwando River |
Our next stop took us back into the Caprivi strip of Namibia to Camp Kwando, a
gorgeous spot on the banks of the crocodile infested Kwando river.
We were due to take a promising game drive from the camp into the famous Horse
Shoe area but, due to the late start, we did not arrive in time! Our
accommodation at the camp was in a thatched tent with an open air washroom -
very cute but not so good as far as bugs were concerned... |
|
 |
|
Camp Kwando (www.campkwando.com)
|
 |
| at the Namibia/Botswana
border |
 |
|
We then returned into Botswana, our passports filling up with
stamps, for the Chobe National Park and our camp, Toro Safari Lodge in the town
of Kasane. The town is situated on the banks of the Chobe River; where four
African countries (Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana) and two rivers
(Chobe and Zambezi) meet.
|
| sprayed at the Namibia/Botswana
border |
|
|
 |
| warthogs |
Even en route to the camp we saw a variety of wildlife, from zebras to
warthogs. After a quick break to lay our (still very damp!) clothes in the sun
to dry we set off to the Chobe Marina Lodge, a place we knew to be beyond our
budget, even after seeing only the driveway! This would be the departure point
for our sunset cruise along the Chobe river.
|
|
 |
 |
click
here to see the dancers at the
Chobe Marina Lodge, Botswana (3MB) |
dancers at the Chobe Marina Lodge
(www.chobemarinalodge.com |
|
| Chobe River, Chobe National
Park, Botswana |
We were even fortunate enough to see a herd of elephants cross the river. At
times the tips of their trunks were the only visible signs of them as they were
swimming almost completely underwater! |
|
Within minutes of leaving the dock our eagle-eyed guide had
spotted crocodiles and it wasn't long before we were up close with yawning
hippos and trumpeting elephants.
 |
On the last day of our trip, this cruise on the Chobe was one of the
highlights.
 |
| Chobe River, Chobe National
Park, Botswana |
The following day we left Chobe for the short drive to the ferry dock on the
Zambezi River. It was then a quick trip across the river to the Zambian border
and the town of Livingstone. The immigration "office" was not the
most efficient of places - we each had to plough through a pile of ragged
looking papers to find our visa!
 |
| arriving at the Zambian border
|
We were pleased to arrive at Thorntree Lodge (www.safpar.com/thorntree.htm) for a couple of days of luxury
before heading home. We were immediately impressed with the excellent personal
service and the superb location of our accommodation: "monkey thorn",
our home for the next two days, was very "African" with a beautiful
terrace that overlooked the Zambezi.
 |
| Thorntree Lodge, near
Livingstone, Zambia |
Livingstone is considered the activity capital of the area and is a popular
place for backpackers and adventure seekers. I took advantage of the
opportunity to partake of one of the areas most exhilarating activities
outdoors activities; white water rafting down the Zambezi River.
 |
| White Water Rqafting on the
mighty Zambizi River, Livingstone, Zambia |
| I saw the spectacular scenery of the gorges and
the Victoria Falls from a unique perspective. The rapid are amongst the wildest
in the world. In November the water level is at its lowest making the rapids
even more thrilling! Rapid # 6, known as "the devils toilet bowl" had
us all in the water and rapid #9 "commercial suicide" was rated a
level 6, and therefore considered impassable - we had to get out of the raft
and walk around it! It was an exhausting trip but I had to reserve some energy
for the climb out of the steep gorge! After a much needed lunch and rest we
spent the afternoon exploring the craft market in town. It was an interesting
place - and you definitely need to have a thick skin to avoid buying things you
don't want and a tough haggling stance to get the best bargain! |
|
 |
The next morning I had to be up at dawn for the final adventure of the trip;
a ride over the falls in a microlight, a motorized hang-glider. The flight
offered an awesome view of the falls and was a totally exhilarating end to our
Africa trip! Later that day we were driven to Livingstone airport to commence
the three-flight, 24-hour journey home!
 |
| Microlight tour over Victoria
Falls, Zambia |
We had a great time in Africa; the unique wildlife was worth seeing in its
natural habitat as was experiencing the way that people live in some of the
remote and poor areas. In hindsight we realized that doing a self drive trip
around this part of Africa would have been a safe and more enjoyable
alternative to being a part of an organized tour but we don't regret the
experience!
|
home
