Namibia - Crazy
Kudu Tour Days 1-4
June
9 - June 18
June 9, we were picked up and our tour with Crazy Kudu started.
Why a tour? Well, one of the hardest parts of the trip had been
deciding where to go, what to do, where to stay, what to eat,
et cetera. The distances to cover in Namibia are vast, and for
both Namibia and Botswana, Lonely Planet suggested tours. I knew
how tired we were, and I knew that doing a tour would be nice,
here near the end of the trip. It was during this tour, as we
were talking about September and seeing Scotland, that Laura
and I hit a second wall (the first being in India when we decided
to go to Paris). We had little energy left, and so we pared our
Europe down to the very essentials, mostly staying with people,
doing halfdays, that kind of thing. In the end, the tour was
exhausting and many people fell ill, but it was easier &
cheaper than renting a car and doing it on our own. And the tour
was nice because no one cooked and cleaned for us. We did dishes
and chopped vegetables, put up and took down our own tents, and
helped load everything. I never have to be served again, and
you can quote me on that! Here is a list of the attendees:
CHARLES:
A Damara man, he was our guide, driver, meal coordinator
SHERRI:
Former Togo Peace Corp volunteer and new found friend from Illinois
EARL
and SHIRLEY:
From Boulder, Colorado, this couple, he in his 70's, she in her
60's, have travelled all over the place. Avid hikers and photographers,
they were very interesting and brought a nice wisdom to the group.
Along with Laura and I, that meant half of our group were Americans!
That is unusual!
PETE
(a.k.a Skippy):
No group is complete without an Aussie wildman. That was Pete.
A successful businessman, loaded down with electronic equipment
including the newest Sony digicam, he was the party animal of
the group, but alas, no partyers joined him. His sobriquet came
from a Brit who called him Skippy right off, something about
kangaroos and the way they skip about.
LOUISE
(a.k.a Pome):
Along with an Aussie, you have to have a Brit, or pome, as Pete
called her. Pome (sounds like "pummie") stands for
Prisoner of Mother England, and so when she would call Pete Skippy
he would call her Pome. She was on a short tour away from England,
away from her job at an computer company and her boyfriend Nigel.
She was reading The Prophet by Kahil Gibrahn, so for a Pome,
she wasn't all bad.
LUTZ
(a.k.a Lederhosen Lutz):
From Germany, it took us a couple of days to figure out how funny
Lutz was. He had this quiet, odd sort of humor, but he couldn't
be blamed for it; he was an engineer. He was a good sport, and
when Sherri asked him about his Lederhosen, he took it in stride,
and the joke became he was looking for Kudu Lederhosen in Namibia.
MIRIAM
and PETER:
From Holland, Peter was very travelled and Miriam was very funny.
Together, they made a great couple and we had a lot of conversations
with them. They stayed at the Rivendell after the tour, and we
became friends. So much so that we are going to stay with them
in their home this September, and they helped us coordinate tickets.
Both nurses, we started off by talking about a new show in Holland,
BIG DIET, sort of a cross between SURVIVOR and a Jenny Craig
infomercial. Whenever we ate, for the rest of the weekend, we
would joke that we were preparing for BIG DIET.
For tours in Namibia, check out the Crazy Kudu website at WWW.CRAZYKUDU.COM. I took their itinerary from their website, and then I added notes at the bottom. So the green and red are their words and my words are in black!
Day
One
Windhoek-Waterberg Plateau Nature Reserve (300 km) (Camping)
(LD)
You
will be collected from your accommodation on the morning of departure.
Travelling via the community woodcarving market in the small
town of Okahandja, about 80 km north of Windhoek, we continue
north to the 'Table Mountain' of Namibia. Waterberg Plateau towers
high above the surrounding plains, dominating the landscape and
providing us with an ideal campsite for your first night under
canvas. We aim to arrive in time for lunch, giving you time in
the afternoon to make use of the swimming pool and to take the
Mountain View Hike to the top of the plateau.
We were ten people in a mini-van built for ten! It was tight
but not uncomfortable and we all took our turns up front. One
of the things we had to get used to, along with traveling with
other people, were the stops at little mini-marts for snacks.
Laura and I don't usual get snacks and things, but we did on
this trip. Lemon cookies, biltong, curry pies, crackers, chips,
you name it, we ate it. All practice for big diet. We got in
a little late and hiked up to the top of the plateau. Earl, at
73, was in terrific shape, even with some lung problems. Not
to offend my lovely wife, but she finally found someone who hikes
her same speed. We all agreed that we wanted to be in as good
as shape as Earl when we entered our 70's. Hell, I'd like to
look as good now!
After the hike, we ate the best meal of the trip, and Charles warned us that ahead of time. As we ate, a local church choir came and sang and it was beautiful. We wished they had a CD because we would have bought it. The voices of the men and women were heavenly. That night we turned in and I woke up at 3 in the morning. Someone was drunk and making noise. I immediately thought of the irony of our situation. Here we are, inside a fenced in camping ground, seeing Africa, seeing the natural, fenced off for tourists (mainly white tourists). I thought of the poor people that we passed on the road, the obvious resentment our wealth would create. Laura woke up and started to get out of the tent and I told her that the man was drunk, could be violent, and worse yet, could have AIDS. I was afraid, ashamed at my wealth, wondering what I was doing out in this world. The shouting continued and Laura and I finally went out to go to the bathroom. We then saw that it wasn't local black Namibians making a fuss, it was a group of German tourists, sitting by their pick-ups, drinking and yelling. Laura went over and tried to use her German to get them to quiet down. It worked, somewhat, after they invited her to sit down and drink with them which she politely declined. I laid in the tent, the very nice Crazy Kudu tent, and thought about my own fears and prejudices.
Day
Two
Waterberg Plateau-Etosha National Park (300 km) (Camping) (BLD)
An
early start and continuing north we pass through some small towns,
making short stops for fresh supplies and fuel. Our first main
port of call today is the mysterious Lake Otjikoto. Otjikoto
is in fact Namibia's largest permanent natural lake and we take
time here to rest a little and learn something about the history
of this unusual landmark. Continuing on to Namutoni camp in Etosha
National Park we, again, aim to arrive in time for lunch, giving
you time to relax before heading out into the park during the
cool of the late afternoon for our first game drive. After your
evening meal there are still more chances to see Etosha's game
at Namutoni's floodlit waterhole. Situated on the boundary of
the camp and easily reachable on foot from your tent, elephants
are regular visitors here and there is a good chance of seeing
other species of big game as well.
It was during this drive we saw two wild cheetah alongside the road and we saw a leapard in Etosha. As we backed up to get a closer look, the leapard ran off and hid on a ridge, but with our binoculars (gift from Raul) I could see it's beautiful spotted face. The evening light was lovely and we took lots and lots of pictures of giraffe and zebra. That night we ate and Charles said that we were going to cook the next night. Sherri and I both jumped up and volunteered for the job, deciding on making West African Chicken Peanut Stew. Just like mom used to make. As we made camp, the rest of the tour groups descended down upon us. A huge group of Swiss astronomers with enough gear to put Carl Sagan to shame, a loud, brazen, group of Aussie girls, who swore like sailors and drank like bandits, and other organized tour groups like the one we were on. The astronomers were on their way to Zambia for the total eclipse of the sun. For us in Namibia, it would only be around 60% but in Zambia, it would be nearly total. Here is also where we met Flossy, so named because as we pulled up, this man comes walking up, flossing his teeth, asking us many these questions while he flossed. To make matters worse, he was an American! Ugh!
One of the coolest parts of Etosha are the lit up water holes, and we sat in chairs, watching a water hole for action, under lamps. It was nice, well, except for two German women who were gossiping and talking too loudly. I had to leave before strangling them both. Funny, here we were, sitting and looking at a deserted water hole, hoping to see wildlife. We fence off our homes from robbers. We fence off the world for "development", for strip malls and golf courses. We fence in the few animals we care about and hope for their survival. Those humans we can't fence in either die or assimilate. And this is our world. Etosha is, I think, the biggest National Park in Africa, but for how long? And most of that is inhospitable, white pan, like the great salt flats.
Day
Three
Namutoni camp, Etosha National Park (Camping) (BLD)
Namutoni
is our first two-night stop. No breaking camp today, so we go
straight out on an early morning game drive. We visit some of
the numerous waterholes in the area hoping to catch some of Etosha's
big game out for an early morning drink. The game drives around
the Namutoni area are some of the best in the park. We cover
several different terrains this morning, from wooded areas to
open savannah and in the rainy season, wetland.
Back to camp in the late morning and after lunch there is time
once again to relax during the heat of the day. The pool area
here is very good, shaded by palm trees and a stone's throw away
from the waterhole. As on day two, we take a shorter game drive
in the late afternoon, often driving out to one of the waterholes
popular with game and wait for the animals to come to us.
Laura took off the morning, she was feeling ill, and we drove around and saw the wide open spaces. The landscape was striking, bare, desolate, and still full of life. That afternoon I read, others swam, and then we cooked dinner. I must say that our dinner, cooked with everyone's help, was the second best meal we ate. Miriam joined Sherri and I in the prepartion, and over pap, the ground maize that makes up most of Africa's diet, it was delicious. Sherri and I then bonded and talked about going home and trying live a sane, slow life in the States. She is also working on a book, and I told her that she was the talent and the ideas to make it a success. It was nice to stay in one place for two nights, but the driving all day was still hard.
Day
Four
Namutoni camp-Okaukuejo camp, Etosha National Park (Camping)
(BLD)
A
full day's game driving. We again leave early to enjoy the cool
morning air. We game drive our way through Etosha to Halali camp,
situated in the middle of the park. Along the way we visit several
waterholes and are afforded splendid views of the massive Etosha
Pan. The game viewing is usually excellent and we have the chance
to tick off a few new species that are not normally seen on the
Namutoni side of the park. We stop at Halali for a rest and a
leisurely lunch. There is also time to visit the Halali waterhole
and to make use of the swimming pool and bar facilities before
continuing on our way and game driving down to Okaukuejo camp.
Okaukuejo is famous for its waterhole. It has been described
as one of the "best game viewing opportunities in Southern
Africa". Situated on the doorstep of our campsite, black
rhino, elephant, lion and numerous species of antelope are often
seen.
More driving. Saw lions, one big great male, before we went to the last water hole of the day. There we watched a giraffe doing the gymnastitcs it takes for them to drink. It was late in the day and we were about to drive off when Charles saw elephants coming, way in the distance. Then someone else saw lions, four or five, in the tall grasses. Over fifty elephants, two big groups, went down the hole and started drinking and bathing. There were little calves, nursing from their mother and splashing about. We saw a total of 43 elephants. A guard was set over the lions and we watched until the elephants chased the lions away. The giraffe we initially saw, was caught between the elephants and the lions, and Pete kept saying that we were going to see a kill at any moment. More film was burnt. We got to camp for the sunset and we watched the day end. Another day over. Another day through. I thought of the oryx and springbok who would have to survive the coming night. I thought of the people who had worked all day and had some time to rest. And I thought of Laura and I, so homesick, so ready to be home, even among all the beauty.
We had to put up our tents quickly, as night was coming, and we were jammed into a small space. Our tents were put up in two lines and it looked like a miliatry bivouc. That night at the water hole we saw a rhino come to drink
A local church choir performing for us while we ate our first night's dinner. Note the Harrare women wearing the interesting hat. These women have taken the traditional German colonists dress and turned into something different and their own. Very unique and only found in Nambia.
Aaron, Sherri & Miriam cooking West African Chicken Peanut Stew
Most of the group enjoying the sunset in Etosha at an old German fortress
Giraffe at a waterhole. You can see how flat, dry and open Namibia is.
All the elephants at the waterhole before they chased away the resting lions
