Hey everyone and sorry for the extremely long delay in updating my blog, but the internet in Africa has been a bit sketchy and not really conducive to uploading pictures. That being said, the past two months have been absolutely fabulous and I can’t wait to share it all with you. I have to warn you that I have become a bit of an adrenaline junky so get fired up for some hard core, adrenaline pumping action in the upcoming posts, folks! Whether it’s jumping out of planes, walking with lions, or swimming on the edge of Victoria Falls I’m all in and crazy excited about it! Are you fired up to hear some more? Can I get a hell yeah? HELL YEAH! On that note, let’s get this party started! After I said goodbye to Ayhan I spent the rest of the afternoon catching up on some emails, prepaying my bills, and Skyping with my family before I headed out into the African bush for my 54 day camping adventure. As I mentioned before, I didn’t grow up doing a ton of camping so to jump in for almost 2 months is kind of a big deal for me, but I have every confidence I can hang. I met up with my group later that evening and was relieved to discover that most of my fellow travelers were more my kind of camping peeps…weekend campers who drive to their camp sites and booze it up for a few days. Phew! At least I’m not the only fish out of water here. Fingers crossed we all can hang or it’s going to be a painfully brutal 2 months. We met our guides, Maretha (pronounced Marietta like my hometown…Holla!) and Raymond who seemed very laid back and cool. They had few rules, but were adamant that we don’t call our overland transportation vehicle a bus!. “It’s not a bus, it’s a truck” was pretty much the first thing Maretha said to us, enforcing a 2 Rand penalty for each transgression. The money was to be applied to farewell cocktails at the end of the trip so it‘s not like it was a horrible punishment. We all were guilty of calling the truck a bus on more than one occasion so you can imagine that the penalty box filled up quickly. Here’s a pic of our truck, Pumba. What do you think? Bus or truck? You better say truck or be prepared to cough up some cash.
We were basically a rolling house. This is our kitchen.
Here’s our luggage and our luxurious accommodation.
And here are our mattresses.
And our ever important water. Sandy, you will be pleased to know that I’m drinking water. Definitely not as much as I should be, but tiny bladder + 10 hour bus, I mean truck ride = holding it, being miserable and getting a UTI. So I decided the better option was to remain on the brink of dehydration.
OK I realize that may have fit into the TMI (too much information) category, but as you have probably noticed by now, that’s how I roll when it comes to bodily fluids. It’s TMI Central here and you know you love it.
So day one we drove a few kilometers away from the South Africa and Namibia border, staying for an evening on the beautiful Orange River. We were all thrilled to get off the truck and immediately throw ourselves into the river. Shan, I know I’m disobeying your strict orders to NOT swim in any body of water in Africa, but Maretha and Raymond assured us it was OK since it was flowing water. Also, it was crazy hot so I think it’s all good. Of course you’ll be the first one to know if this ends up being a bad decision, but I mean, how can I say no to this?
After a refreshing and hopefully parasite free swim in the river we settled in for an absolutely delicious plate of potjiekos, which is a stew-like dish of lamb and tons of veggies. Yummy! I certainly didn’t expect something this gourmet. Bring it, baby! Keep the scrumptious food coming.
The next morning some folks canoed down the river, while the rest of us luxuriated in the water and around the camp. Birgit, my German tent mate, and I took a stroll outside the campsite to get a better view. What can I say except gorgeous?
After lunch it was back on the truck and time to say goodbye to South Africa and hello to Namibia.
Hello Namibia! I’m thrilled to be here. Our first stop in Namibia…Fish River Canyon, the oldest canyon in the world. Oooh ahhhh!!!!!!!!!! On our way to the canyon Raymond would occasionally pull over to share an interesting tidbit with us. Our first fun fact of the day involved the Rhino Bush, which is filled with strychnine and as a result extremely dangerous to everything except the rhino who has the appropriate enzymes to digest it. So, if you should ever come across one of these bushes, please resist the urge to rub your skin against it, ok?
Our next educational lesson involved the nest of the social weaver bird who works tirelessly to build these elaborate nests to only have it inhabited by several other types of birds.
Don’t worry, the other birds don’t kick the social weavers out of their homes, they simply become the guests that never leave. Poor lil’ weavers. They are tireless though, building nests on just about anything. Here’s one on a phone line.
Finally, after hours of driving, we reached the canyon. Yeah!!
Just in time for sunset as well. Raymond and Maretha were so sweet and surprised us with some wine and cheese action to make things even better. Aww, thanks you two!
We were certainly off to a great start. Next stop: Sossusvlei with the red sand dunes. I’ve seen so many pictures of these dunes so I couldn’t wait to see them in person. We arrived at Sossusvlei just in time for dinner and another spectacular sunset. Look at Maretha hard at work preparing our dinner. If I’m not mistaken, tonight’s entree was green curry chicken, South African style. Yummy!!!
Here’s my tent.
We were up at the crack so we could view sunrise from atop Dune 45. Not too shabby!
It’s much taller than it may look (150 meters to be exact) and being the first ones to ascend the dune, it was even more work since the sand was untouched. We stopped about ¾ of the way to catch our breath and take in the view and then powered on to the top!
It was totally worth waking up at the crack for this view, and upon our descent we were welcomed with a tasty, hot breakfast made by the talented and immensely patient, Maretha. We were all massive pigs, gobbling up every last bit in preparation for our Desert outing.
I cannot say enough positive things about the Sossusvlei desert walk we did with a man by the name of Boesman. He grew up in the desert where his father worked as a tour leader. As a young boy his father taught him everything one needed to know about the desert, but Boesman went away and got a fancy desk job, only to quit years later to return to his true passion, the desert. He was incredibly enthusiastic about the desert, practically running to the next great thing! This is the view we had of him when he wasn’t explaining something to us.
As a further demonstration of his oneness with the desert, he wore no socks or shoes. The rest of us were instructed to wear closed toe shoes since the sand could get hot enough to give us blisters, but he knew just how to walk on the sand without scalding his feet. Impressive!
Before we get to some of his lessons for surviving in the desert, let’s take a minute to gush over this incredible scenery!
Boesman explained to us that the desert tells a story that is easy to follow if one is paying attention. Here we can see which animal walked by first and which other animals crossed it’s path.
He could even tell that a mouse was sitting in the sand because he could see the tiny, practically imperceptible line made by its tail. It definitely would have escaped me before, but not now. I’m practically Bear Gryls.
In keeping with the Bear Gryls theme, let’s discuss what one should eat if stranded in the desert. If you think ants and beetles are a good idea you’re in trouble because they have no nutritional value. In the desert things are classified into 3 categories: dangerous, food, and not worth it. Ants and beetles fall into the last category. Instead of the bugs, go for the lizard and you‘ll be all set. Got it? Good.
Let’s gush some more, shall we?
One thing we didn’t see, but we learned about was the golden mole, or sand shark. This fascinating creature lives beneath the sand and catches its prey via vibrations in the sand. In fact it has become so adept at this way of hunting that it doesn’t even have eyes or ears anymore. It’s literally this hairy faced animal with no eyes or ears. Cue the song, Obsession, please!
Next it was time to see the Dead Vlei, which may look a bit familiar if you’ve seen the movie, The Cell. Creep central, but so cool!!!
That’s right, I walked the walk of Jenny from the Block.
The trees, Camel Thorn Trees, have been dead between 600 and 900 years. They are one of the few trees able to live here and that’s because their roots go between 70 - 90 m deep.
How ‘bout a lil’ black and white action?
Cool, but I think it’s better in color!!!
This tiny little circle is a spider’s nest. Don’t ask me how Boesman found this in a sea of sand…the man is good!
The spiders are neat freaks and hate it when sand gets into their nests, which are held in tact by their spider silk lining. Boesman enraged the spider when he popped the top and sprinkled in a little sand to get the spider’s attention. It quickly came to the surface and within seconds closed the lid on its nest.
After learning desert survival skills Boesman shared some wonderful and sometimes tragic stories about the Bushmen who used to roam these lands. They were only 1.5 meters tall, but despite their small stature, they were eating powerhouses, able to chow up to 10 kg of meat in one sitting. If meat sits in the heat it rots, if it’s left next to you it’s stolen by jackals, so you might as well eat it was their theory. Not to mention it helps one sleep, which is certainly helpful when one doesn’t have blankets, pillows, or even shelter for that matter. Instead of these creature comforts, the Bushmen told stories to distract them from the cold temperatures. Wow! I feel pretty confident that I wouldn’t make it as a Bushmen.
One of the first things a mother would teach her child was the look of her footprint in the sand, as no two footprints are the same. That way if a child wandered off, he/she could always find his/her way back to mom. Sadly though many times parents had to leave their children and the older generations behind when traveling through the desert in hopes of finding a new food source. It’s a dog eat dog world out there so they couldn’t risk the entire tribe for one child or one grandparent so they simply had to turn their backs and keep walking, choosing to never look back and never discuss it in hopes of making it less gut wrenching. In the evenings following such tragic events, grieving mothers would strategically sit where the smoke was wafting from the campfire so that if someone asked them why tears were falling from their eyes they could blame it on the smoke. Awful!!!
As you can probably imagine, the Bushmen were exceptional hunters, able to sit still for hours without so much as swatting away a fly or wiping sweat from their brow in hopes of catching their prey. Unfortunately the hunters became the hunted when Europeans came, and as per usual, started some trouble. Europeans didn’t understand the Bushmen ways and so they feared them, taking their fears to a new extreme by hunting the Bushmen for sport. In fact, there were laws that allowed people to shoot Bushmen until 1928. Um….what? Disgusting! When the Bushmen were first being hunted they used their expert hunting skills to defend themselves so Sossusvlei, pronounced with a T in front, actually means place where people disappear. It was given this name after countless Westerners would go into these lands, but never return. As my Aussie, Kiwi and British friends would say, “Good on you, Bushmen.” Sadly, the Bushmen’s numbers dropped dramatically when they were being hunted, but some still exist today and I was lucky enough to meet some when I was in Botswana. Don’t worry, I took tons of pictures, but we won’t be viewing those babies until we get to Botswana. For now, it’s Namibia and Namibia absolutely rules so I know you won’t be disappointed to wait.
After the desert we headed over to Sesriem Canyon for a lil’ stroll.
We arrived back at camp exhilarated, but exhausted, rewarding ourselves with a swim and an absolutely delicious braii dinner. A braii (roll the r, please) is a South African BBQ, but don’t let them here you call it a BBQ. It’s a braii and it’s Raymond’s specialty.
After our tasty braii and some beverages we enjoyed another stunning sunset. Africa definitely knows how to do sunset!
Once the sun went down the sky became even more spectacular with perhaps the most star-filled sky I have ever seen in my life. It was literally like a dome of stars, kind of like you are in a planetarium, but the real deal. I sat out there for a long time just gazing up at the sky and taking it all in! I hope more skies like this are to come because I cannot get enough of them!
The next morning we were up early to head to Walvis Bay for lunch and then set up camp in Swakopmund, a German town that dubbed itself as the adrenaline capital of Namibia.
On the way to Walvis Bay we stopped in a tiny town by the name of Solataire (population between 11 - 15 people), which has this fabulous German bakery known for their apple strudel. Don’t mind if I do!!! We also passed the Tropic of Capricorn so of course we needed to pull over for a photo shoot.
Here are our fun and fabulous guides, Maretha and Raymond! We love you guys!!!
At last we arrived at Walvis Bay with high hopes of watching flamingos as we enjoyed our lunch. Luck was on our side today because the flamingos were in full effect. Check it out!
As I mentioned, I love flamingos so here are some more pics for you! Along with the pics, I’ll give you a flamingo fun fact. Actually, let’s test your knowledge a bit here instead of me just spoon feeding you. Do you know why some flamingos are white and some are pink? If you said it was determined by diet you are a genius. As a lil’ cherry on top, the white flamingos are called Greater Flamingos and the pink ones are called Lesser Flamingos. I’m becoming quite the animal expert here. Maybe I should get my own show.
After checking out the flamingos we headed over to Swakopmund to learn about the many death defying ways we could entertain ourselves for the next few days. They played a DVD for us, highlighting the various activities and for some reason sky diving was kind of calling to me. I definitely had not planned on sky diving, but a wild hair must have shot up my buns somewhere along the way because now I found myself seriously considering it. Who am I? What the hell could I possibly be thinking to throw myself out of an airplane?
As I was trying to decide whether or not I should do it, I was nervously pacing around the room, walking up to people in my group who I have only known for a few days, grabbing them by the collar of their shirt, shoving my face into theirs, and asking them with crazy eyes if I was insane to consider such an adventure. After getting their response I would resume my psychotic walking back and forth for a few seconds before bursting into conversations between others to glean whether or not they thought I was a lunatic to attempt such a scary thing. Am I an idiot to invite potential disaster? Let’s just call me a loud maybe who remained as such for a good 20 minutes. Once I finally made my decision though I was eerily calm. Thankfully, within minutes of making my decision to jump, we were loaded into a van and whisked away to the jump site. The date was Dec. 3rd and the time was approximately 4 PM. That will remain etched in my mind forever.
As we were driving like a bat out of Hell to the jump spot, our driver, Nils, was asking everyone where they were from. Mark, an Aussie, was received warmly as were Line and Rami from Denmark, but when I piped up with “I’m from the US”, his tone dramatically changed to one of utter disgust. He groaned and I think vomit may have actually risen up his throat, but he was able to compose himself briefly enough to inform me that he hated Americans. Special. Let’s hope I’m not jumping with you, Mr. Negative. When I inquired as to why he hated all Americans he claimed it was because we lived by our watches. Really? That’s it? Geez, hate seems a bit extreme don’t you think, sir?
We were invited to go to the bar to have a pre-jump beverage and load up our cooler for our post-jump celebratory beverages and when I entered the bar I was immediately encouraged b/c my fave booty rap song of the moment (another Luda jam) was playing on the stereo followed by other sweet booty rap jams. “Ok, ok it’s a sign that everything’s going to be ok. Why else would my fave song of the moment be playing?” Whatever it takes to keep calm, right?
Thankfully, I wasn’t alone. Here are my jump buddies who I will never forget: Mark, Rami, and Line.
Within minutes of arriving at the jump sight we were given a brief, 45 second explanation of what was going to happen when we got into the air. Essentially, when we reached 10,000 feet, we would scoot over to the open door of the plane, grab the straps on our shoulders, turn out head to the side and place it on our jump master’s chest/shoulder, and then do the banana out of the plane. The banana involves tucking your legs under the plane and dangling in mid air. Of course we were strapped to our jump master, but our bodies were physically dangling out of the plane. Amazing! Why the hell am I doing this again? Once we were both out of the plane we were to extend our arms out to the side and just enjoy the ride until we were instructed to lift our feet for the landing. With the explanation completed we were then put into body suits and marched into the plane. Game on! Fingers crossed all goes well. Here we go.
As I mentioned, I was eerily calm once I made the decision to jump, but fear did start to creep in as I watched Mark and Nils approach the door.
One minute Mark was there and then the next he was gone, tearing through the air and hopefully having a ball. Within seconds we were scooting towards the door, I was doing the banana out the plane, and the next thing I knew I was falling through the air. We were free falling for 30 seconds at 220km/hr and I couldn’t believe that I was really doing it. Dries was great, screaming and cheering and inviting me to give a big thumbs up to the camera on his wrist. I was right there with him screaming and loving every second of it. I will admit that it was probably the longest 30 seconds of my life and I actually thought to myself that it was a bit long that we were falling through the air, but then the next thing I knew the chute had been pulled and we were gliding through the air. It was quiet and beautiful. It actually took my breath away. I couldn’t help gushing over and over to Dries about how much I was loving it. He gave me the reigns for a few minutes, allowing me to twist and turn the chute as I pleased. I was a bit mellow with my driving so he pumped things up a bit by pulling hard on the chute, which resulted in us spinning like crazy! I adored it and was screaming in approval as he did it again and again. Before I knew it Dries was instructing me to lift my legs for the landing, which was spot on. We were like ballerinas, barely touching the surface.
I met Mark on the tarmac and we high fived a million times, hugged and screamed about how awesome it was and how we couldn’t wait to do it again!
Rami and Line were after us so we stayed in our outfits so we could have a group photo together after. Here are some pics of Rami and Line in the air.
Once they both had landed Mark and I made our way over to see them, but we could immediately tell that Line wasn’t sharing our post-jump elation. Poor thing is afraid of heights so as you can imagine she looked majorly shell shocked. Good on you, Line, for overcoming your fears and throwing yourself out of a plane. I really don’t think it gets more hard core than that!
Here’s me and my fabulous skydive master, Dries.
Dries was wonderful from start to finish. When we were in the plane he would squeeze my shoulders and arms from time to time, telling me it was going to be great, that I’d love it, and we were going to have so much fun. Throughout the jump he was screaming words of encouragement and joy! I couldn’t have asked for anyone more reassuring and positive. Thank you, Dries! I will never forget you.
We each purchased DVDs of our jump, which we watched over a couple of beers at the jump site bar. They are awesome and totally bring you back to the experience. I wish I could post it for you, but you’ll just have to take my word for it that it rocks. If you find yourself in Namibia and you want to skydive, I highly recommend that you go with Ground Rush Adventures. They were fabulous!!!
On the drive back to our lodge, (yes I said lodge…2 much appreciated nights off from the tent.) poor Line got sick. As I mentioned, she is afraid of heights so she was still coming to terms with what she just accomplished. After yacking she felt better though so game on, friends.
When we returned to the lodge everyone was all dolled up for a dinner in town. We were still in our grimy clothes from the drive and then the jump, but we were too exhilarated to bother showering. We just jumped out of an airplane and survived so let’s celebrate. Maretha booked us reservations for a proper dinner at Napolitana. I made the mistake of getting pizza, but I tasted the springbok and kudu dishes and knew what I’d be getting the next evening. The game here is so delicious and always better than other things on the menu. Lesson learned.
After gorging ourselves we dropped some folks off at the lodge and then headed back into town to get our freak on. I was still super skank in my hiking boots and driving clothes, but who cares? I was still on a massive high from the jump and ready to boogie down. We had a great time at the club, dancing our faces off for hours. These pics are courtesy of Tarmo AKA Mr. Lobster. Thanks, Tarmo. I love these pics. What a hysterical night.
I was so surprised and happy to see Line arrive. What a trooper! You go, girl!
This dude was a total freak and was all about busting a move with our crew. You will see his favorite dance move featured below. It’s kind of Thrilleresque with the arms up like a zombie.
The next morning Mark, Fabian, and I boarded a boat for a cruise with the dolphins in Walvis Bay. It was kind of overcast and chilly, but the dolphins did not disappoint. Neither did the pelicans, seagulls or seals.
This one seal learned that if it jumped up on the boat it would be rewarded with fish. He was loving it and hamming it up big time for more treats. Notice the gross gash on its backside. It’s mating season so there’s been a bit of fighting among the males.
Here’s an oyster farm.
After seal mania we were ready to see some dolphins. There’s no guarantee that we’ll see the dolphins, but thankfully they were out and about today and ready to play. Initially they steered clear of the boat, but once they were ready to play we obliged. Dolphins love swimming in the wake of the boat, leaping through the water with those cute, little smiles on their faces.
After hanging with the dolphins we were treated to a lovely snack platter and some champagne. Don’t mind if I do. Then it was off to check out some more seals that love relaxing on this one beach. As we made our approach we were practically knocked unconscious by the skank smell emanating from the shore, which we were informed was the excrement from all the seals on the beach. Yummy! The foul odor became a distant memory though once we spotted the baby seals. There were tons of them on the beach, some so new that they could barely walk. Watch this little guy as he attempts to walk. Insanely adorable!
Oops…
There are actually more seals than people in Namibia. Now that’s a lot of seals.
After our cruise we headed back into town to check email and top off our supplies for the journey ahead. It was a fabulous 2 days in Swakopmund! Who knew I’d be leaving here a sky diver? It feels great. Keep the good times coming.
I have a ton more to share with you so stay tuned for more updates shortly. It’s great to be back in touch with you all. See you soon!
