Namibia

After the Khan Al-Khalil night bazaar, we were back at the Cairo airport to continue on to southern Africa. The boarding process was infuriatingly slow and, once onboard, there was essentially a party on the plane, as the losing South African team from the FIFA tournament was in the cabin. They were screaming, laughing, hollering, etc. So loud. I was upset since we needed to get some rest on the overnight trip but, thankfully, the bucket of beers (and then some) that we drank at Stiletto on the Nile did their job, and Matt and I each slept about six hours of the eight hour flight.

We arrived in Johannesburg, changed our money over and sat down for a bite to eat during our layover. We’d hoped to charge the laptop and camera batteries while we were there, so we switched tables while we were ordering to be close to an outlet. Unfortunately our converter wasn’t compliant, so that idea didn’t work out. We had a great lunch and, as we stood up to head to our gate, panic hit me. My camera bag was gone. Matt later told me that my face had gone immediately gray. He kept trying to reassure me and I couldn’t believe he was being so calm. It finally occurred to me that he wasn’t connecting the fact that my camera bag is also my “purse”, and my credit and debit cards were in there. I was more concerned about those than the camera, since each night we’ve been moving all our pictures onto the new hard drive we bought (already filled 32GB prior to the safari!!). After about five minutes and three jerks at the bar telling us no one found anything (without asking their co-workers or checking the lost and found), one of the waiters came running up to us and said, “It’s your lucky day.” Apparently we had left it at the original table. Matt hugged the surprised man. Had he known the cards were in there, he probably would have kissed him, too.

Flying into Namibia after the quick flight was really beautiful. The terrain is so different than anything we’ve seen here. Definitely the desert, it kind of reminded us of Joshua Tree, with different plants, of course. Landing was bittersweet. We are insanely excited about our safari, but so sad that this is the final leg of our trip. No time or excuses to be negative, though! We shared a shuttle with a Namibian couple on the way to our guest house in Windhoek, who reminded us to keep in mind that the animals on safari are truly wild. This only elevated our anticipation.

After checking in, we decided to go into town. We were a bit disappointed, though, when we found out that Windhoek isn’t a very safe city. Apparently you shouldn’t walk around after 5pm and even the taxis are suspect. We read a news bulletin and saw many signs around the guest house warning of rapes and muggings at knifepoint. We had the guest house call us a reputable cab and went over to Joe’s Beer House, where they have various game on the menu, to make the most of our one night in Windhoek.

We set up our safari through Mango Safaris (thanks again, Shelly and Nate!). The next morning, our guide, Martin, picked us up for our 8-day journey. We were paired with a great group – Chad and Beverly, an English couple; Hans and Nomi, a Danish couple; their daughters, Simone and Ristele (aged 17 and 12); and Franc, who is Martin’s right-hand man. We stopped at a local supermarket on the way to camp to pick up supplies for the next two nights, and stopped for lunch along the way. I’d been a little nervous about the food since it’s all prepared by Martin and Franc at camp, but there was plenty for me to make myself happy. There was some pink-ish cold-cut/loaf-type of thing, which I steered clear of. We had become fast friends with Chad and Bev, and she assured me, “It’s lovely. It’s beef with olives in it.” Obviously Bev didn’t know me well enough yet, as neither the fact that it’s beef (pink beef, no less), nor the fact that olives were embedded in it, nor the fact that the suffix was “wurst”, were even remotely appealing to me. I opted for cheese, fresh rolls, cucumber, tomatoes and Greek salad dressing. Essentially a Greek salad sandwich, which was delicious.

We continued on to Etosha, Namibia’s largest national park. Even though we weren’t doing an official “game drive” on our way to camp, in the first 15 minutes inside the park we saw elephants, giraffe, kudus, impalas and jackals roaming in the wild. It was amazing.

We pulled up to Okaukuejo Rest Camp and were pleasantly surprised! Matt, Chad and Bev said they thought we’d be roughing it but that, instead, we were in luxury. I don’t think “luxury” is exactly the word I would use, but it was leaps and bounds above my expectations. Dinner prepared by Martin and Franc was fabulous – pasta; spinach with mushrooms, onions and potatoes – we all ate huge portions. We had several beers with Chad and Bev, and then walked over to the watering hole to see what we could in terms of wildlife. We were in shock. White rhinos, endangered black rhinos, elephants, jackals, various birds…it was unbelievable to watch all the animals interact among their herds, just hanging out, grazing on some plants, drinking water, bathing themselves. We were awestruck, but even more so when we heard a rumbling roar in the night. The elephants stood dead in their tracks. The rhinos’ tails went up, and they stared and snorted. And then, two lions gracefully walked the perimeter of the bush, making their presence known and reminding everyone who is king. Absolutely amazing.

I was a bit nervous about going to sleep, as Martin told us that we would see jackals on the way to the toilet in the middle of the night. Um…what? I was expecting to see animals from our vehicle, not outside my tent! I always wake up at least once per night to use the restroom! Especially after a few (too many) beers! Martin assured me that they would run away when they saw me, but I was not convinced. Of course, midway through I woke up and there was no going back to sleep, so I put on my “brave” hat and grabbed our “security blanket” (the SAIC flashlight…who knew it would come in so handy?!). Fortunately, I made it to the bathroom and back to my tent without seeing ANY animals. I was, of course, running the whole time.

We celebrated Matt’s 32^nd birthday the next day with two half-day game drives. We didn’t think we could top what we had seen the night before. Boy, were we wrong! We saw literally hundreds of animals – more kudus, impalas, springboeks, giraffe, lions, jackals, zebras, you name it. I’ve seen zebras at zoos, but to see them in person, running through the land, they are stunningly beautiful. Possibly my favorite, but all the animals are so unique it’s hard to choose. We stopped at the Etosha pan, a vast salty desert – all bright white as far as you can see.

We really thought we were interacting with the animals. Until we came to a watering hole with three elephants. They were hanging out, drinking, bathing. Suddenly, two of them starting making their elephant noises at each other. We wondered if they were going to fight, but they didn’t. One of the others walked away and we were still distracted by the possibility of the first two going at it. Then we realized the one who had walked away was standing about 20 feet from our vehicle. It was a giant bull and we were all in shock, excited to get some great pictures. We realized the importance of the situation, though, when Martin loudly whispered, “Nobody jump. Nobody move.” We didn’t. It was intense. He just stood there staring at us for what seemed an eternity, and then calmly walked away. Crazy!

By the end of the drive, Matt said he had been pondering all his birthdays and had to say this was the best one yet. The celebration continued when we when we got to camp, though. We had a few beers at the Oboma Bush Bar. Serious. How funny is that?! Obama Bush. Love it. Then, after dinner, the two young Danes sang “Happy Birthday” to Matt in Danish. Martin followed by singing it in an African tribal language, complete with clicking noises. So awesome. Matt was really touched, and the lamb dinner prepared by Franc and Martin was certainly more exotic than anything I would have prepared back home in Encinitas.

The next morning, we drove past a tree and saw the remnants of a leopard meal – a springboek carcass hanging in a tree. Every morsel of meat had been removed from the carcass. It was unbelievable. We hoped to catch a glimpse of the leopard itself, but it was probably far gone, digesting the meal.

Just when we thought nothing could be crazier than what we had seen the day before, we were in for quite a surprise. Previously, everyone agreed that Martin was driving much faster than the posted speed limit, be it 60km or 100km. However, we had gotten used to it by then. I apologize in advance for my language, but there is no other way for me to express the feeling I experienced. Just as we were about 500m from exiting the park, WE FUCKING HIT A GIRAFFE. I don’t mean that we saw a group of giraffe. I mean that we were speeding along and Martin slammed on the brakes, the van started skidding, the Danes screamed, and we fucking HIT a giraffe. It was running out of the bush, crossing the road just as we were approaching. I saw it try to jump out of the way, but we still hit it. The image of beautiful dark brown and gold giraffe print pressed against the windshield is something I will never forget. We are very lucky Martin braked and that the giraffe jumped, because while the windshield shattered, it didn’t break all the way through, and, most importantly, the giraffe remained OUTSIDE the van. The poor thing ran off on three good legs and one obviously mangled leg. Surely it was a feast for at least one lion that night. Obviously, we were all shaken up, but the accident definitely bonded us all. So traumatizing. In our safari welcome kit, it was clear that this is Africa and we should expect the unexpected, like warthogs invading our camp, etc. But, we had never imagined this in our wildest nightmares. When we stopped for gas, Hans ran in and bought a round of hard cider for all and we toasted to our safety. Even though it was just 9am, we all needed that.

We then stopped at the supermarket to get supplies for the next night. Unfortunately it turns out that alcohol is not sold on Saturdays and Sundays (despite having just purchased cider at a gas station). After the giraffe experience, we were on a mission and at the next stop, Matt ran out of the van and spoke to a man named “Shorty” (at the suggestion of another employee in the store), who agreed to sell him a couple six packs. Thank God! Franc taped up the windshield with clear tape – you will not believe it when you see the pictures – and we soldiered on with the same van to Roy’s camp, where we went to visit a local bushman village. We walked through the bush with a native guide, learning about hunting, the vegetation, seeing their huts. It is unbelievable and very humbling to see how these people live in modern times. Afterwards we were treated to six songs by the tribeswomen, which was incredible. We all slept well and that night and Matt said a special prayer for the giraffe.

Most of the next day was spent driving to the Okavango River. It was unbelievable how much the terrain changed in the 400km we drove. Our site at Ngepi Camp was on the river, under beautiful trees. Everything was so green and lush. There was even some moisture in the air! We got to camp early, so we had plenty of time for visiting the swimming area (which was an approximately 20’ x 20’ section of the river, fenced off so the crocs and hippos can’t get in) and enjoying some beer and wine on the river banks, watching the hippos. Everyone had a blast and was in great spirits.

Over dinner, Martin warned us that since we were camping on the river, we needed to beware of hippos AT CAMP! He told us that we needn’t worry…hippos are vegetarians. But, Hans quickly reminded us that hippos kill the most humans each year of any animals in Africa. I was very nervous, but Martin said, “If you hear someone walking outside and your partner is in your tent, stay in your tent and keep your head down.” Ok, then. I had read that on some nights we would camp without gates and that it was “exhilarating”. Um…hardly.

Of course I woke up for my nightly trip to the toilet. Matt was asleep next to me and it was completely silent. Except for the slow, heavy steps right outside our tent. I was pretty much freaking the hell out. I laid there for what seemed like an eternity, but was probably about a half hour as the steps moved from our tent around to Chad and Bev’s. I don’t think I have ever been so terrified. I didn’t even wake up Matt for fear that he would be in a half-sleep and be loud and draw attention to us. I had already devised my emergency plan. I would wake Matt up, tell him to follow me and run to the van and up onto its roof. Wow, I was really losing it. Fortunately, Matt rolled over and must have felt the tension in the tent. He said, “Are you ok?” I whispered, “Be quiet. There’s an animal outside.” He heard it as well, and we listened together for probably another 20 minutes, when Matt determined it had gone back to the water. He did a quick peek outside using the SAIC light (again – what a lifesaver!) and decided there were no animals (at least in sight…we could hear the hippos in the water). We made a beeline for the toilet which, of course, was the one that’s been the furthest from our sites yet, relieved ourselves and bolted back to our tent. We both had weird dreams the rest of the night, but at least we were alive and able to get some sleep!

We woke up, loaded our camp gear and headed to Mahango Game Reserve for breakfast, where we saw monkeys, more hippos and birds, then drove to the Namibian border. We’ll spend the next two nights in Botswana. With only a few nights left, we’re hoping to see the elusive leopard, the last of the “big five” we need to see. The big five are the African animals that cannot be killed by another animal (except one of their own) when full-grown. So far, we’ve seen the other four – elephant, lion, rhino and water buffalo. Wish us luck!