Africa – Been There, Done That

Well, we are on the plane to India after 8 weeks in Africa. I had never set foot on the African continent so my expectations for taking a family there were quite simple – the kids would cease fighting and become best friends, their culinary tastes would broaden dramatically, Janet and I would approach each new challenge harmoniously, all our minds would be enriched to the point where we would become better world citizens, and we would see some animals. We did see lots of animals, we did manage to celebrate cocktail hour religiously, I actually have grown facial hair, (and on my way to a mullet), and we had incredible experiences. Yes, the kids still squabble and worry about who got the bigger half of the chocolate bar and we are still the same people with the same wants, but maybe we will remember the poverty and the smiling children who had no material possessions the next time we are feeling hard done by. My expectations for India are somewhat more simple – I just want to get a haircut!

For those of you that have read our blog you will know that Janet has been diligent about keeping a journal so I won’t recap the trip, but thought I would get some of my musings down before I forget some of the things that really struck me. Of course I thought about doing this as the thoughts struck, but procrastination and laziness won out. Actually, I have been pretty damn busy for the most part. Trying to hide the lack of planning (my department) from the rest of the family has taken some work. It was the shock, with the phrase, “you gotta be kidding me, we don’t have a place booked”, that clued me in that I should always know next day’s plan or at least bluff that I did. Sitting on the airport floor at the arrivals terminal phoning hotels has been a thing of the past since Zanzibar. Tracking down internet, finding and reading guide books, phoning places and talking to other travelers has been a major role, and enjoyable job for me.

Talking to others generally leads to good advice and often interesting antidotes. An advantage to staying in budget (ie backpacker) accommodation is that it is quite communal and we meet interesting people. In Kenya and Tanzania we met many volunteers who were working with Aids charities, clean water projects, sanitation for slums, etc. A British guy in Kenya was building sand dams for local communities in the drought stricken areas. It was interesting to hear that the idea was to capture water from a rain event that would then be stored under the sand that would collect behind the dam. This way the water does not evaporate, as it does in soil, and one rain event can supply 5 months of water for a village of 100 people. He also pointed out that Nairobi has 3 reservoirs and one was out of commission, one was empty and one was 20% full. At that time Nairobi was down to 45 days of water if it did not rain. Couldn’t tell you what happened, but the jist of this is that the drought in Kenya is bad. I won’t go into how the price of cattle has plummeted due to no water as this is all from the first 3 days of our trip and I should probably move on.

So what does one think of on departing for Africa for the first time – animals, “Africa hot”, poverty, jungle, maybe a beach, a sunset….. Well, you would not be wrong. Africa is all of those things, but not entirely, and of course, more! The animal sightings and contact has been amazing and the biggest thrills for the kids. Watching lions in the wild is awesome, spotting a leopard in a tree can hold you for 45 minutes easy and a herd of elephants can entertain you for an hour. The smell and sight of 100 hippos hanging out in their own little cesspool is also rather powerful! The bustling, chaotic city life is enthralling and exhausting. The concept of a sidewalk that is either not busted up or taken over by hawkers or beggars is still elusive. There is so much more…..

What you don’t think of is how wonderful it is to get to know your African guide and cook and enjoy their company as well as observing their interactions with other guides and cooks. To my surprise Africa has not been that hot and the bugs have almost not been an issue. OK, the afternoon flies in the latter part of our Namibia trip were a bit much, but I don’t think I have had a mosquito bite yet. Exactly why am I taking daily malaria pills? The security precautions one sees in all the cities reminds us why we were advised not to walk around at night. Having said that I have not seen or had a scary situation, but some of the dudes sure look scary. The most hardened and scary men are in the cities and the ones I saw in Dar es Salaam were all of that. We were in a less desirable area and I needed peanuts to go with my beer so I went for a little walk. As usual first impressions are misleading as the men I approached were friendly and engaging, though no help in my peanut search. Cocktail hour went on sans peanuts.

Cocktail hour has been an integral part of the trip and I do not think we have missed one yet – some just start earlier than others. The kids get a daily pop – never would happen at home – and mom & dad get their beer. Hey, $1 for a beer, what is one to do? Have two. There is something very rewarding, and perhaps familiar, about sitting down to a cold beer at the end of any day. Some days we would celebrate and talk about the amazing things we did and saw and some days it was just a relief to be away from the dust, be finished the rough drive or be out of the daily rigors of African life. Other than cocktail hour, sunrise seems to be a daily staple for me. They are generally spectacular, as are sunsets, but it would be nice to get off the work schedule and sleep in at some point.

Our perceptions of Africa are drawn from the media and the suffering and poverty we see is all there. What we don’t see is how life goes on around it, how people adapt and somehow manage – for the most part! Living in Usa River, more a suburb of Arusha than a village, showed us just how tough life is and yet how people manage. Aids is rampant, orphaned kids the norm, single mom’s with no means, illiteracy is very high and of course garbage is everywhere. Amongst all this hopelessness people are doing the best to look after themselves and they almost always had a smile and greeting for us. There were no beggars, as there are in the cities, and one got the sense of community. Our week in Usa River was always dusty. Despite numerous dirt speed bumps on the one main road every vehicle through up a cloud of dust that you learned to just walk through and live with the dirt. Our accommodation was extremely basic so a cold water bucket wash was not even daily and the food was rice and beans. The kids did fantastic! Yes, they got pretty hungry and we did search out a bakery and a café for sanity breaks, but they took our situation in stride and were wonderful with the kids in the orphanage and the other various tasks they took on. They were exposed to a lot of sights and smells as we walked everywhere throughout the sprawling village. Their ability to adapt was impressive and I think the memories of Usa River will be with them for life.

Namibia was amazing, AMAZING….am I clear. OK, you have to like desolation with stunning and varied scenery and not mind driving 100’s of kilometers with possibly not seeing another vehicle. The contrast with the dirty, hot, garbage strewn, densely populated Kenya and Tanzania was stark. Don’t get me wrong, Kenya and Tanzania were fantastic, but travelling there is hard work and you need a holiday from it eventually. Namibia was easy, clean, organized and geographically incredible. The campsites were nice without exception and some simply fantastic – if you like hot showers in your private roofless bathroom, tame springbok and meerkats visiting you, your own bar b que site and a great view. The 4000 kilometers and 3 weeks we spent driving and camping from northern Namibia to Cape Town were great.

It is now Sept 25 and I never did finish my ramblings, but time to get it posted.

The only other thing to add is that I cannot say enough good things about Cape Town. The stunning beauty of it, the pounding surf and of course the luxury we lived in was a perfect way to get a little R&R for our last week in Africa.

September 12 - Cape Town, South Africa

We fell in love with Cape Town, right from the start driving in on a beautiful sunny afternoon. We hit the ground running trying to do as much as we could in a city offering a million things to do. A number of times we looked at each other, mouths agape saying “this place is AWESOME!” We really have a way with words. We even had the discussion whether or not we could picture ourselves living in Cape Town (Sadie & Anna emphatically yelled NO from the back seat as images of leaving their friends and family for good crept into their minds). Ok, so we’re not going to pick up and move to Cape Town any time soon. But the city is stunning, funky, interesting, brimming with history and from what we have experienced, friendly and safe. Yes we know, the fact is, there are alarming crime issues there. We are just saying, we adhered to general guidelines of how to be a smart tourist in a large African city and we felt safe & happy.

We rented a flat (when in Rome…) in an area called Camps Bay, about a 10 min. drive from downtown and the infamous Waterfront district. Camps Bay is right on the beach (and so was our flat) with a stunning western view of the ocean and setting sun. We were immediately awestruck with the groovy west coast surf and urban vibe; cafes, fancy cars and healthy people (many in bare feet) cruising around. One of the first things we noticed was the number of road bikers and runners. After a few initial blips trying to get into the flat (picture the Gosney family forming a human chain passing our luggage over the security fence and up on the balcony), get internet and get our bearings, we settled in to get clean and get hooked in to the electronics. It was so fabulous to have our own kitchen and stay put for a week. Cape Town is really easy to get around (not by public transit though, hence our car rental after we had to give back the camping truck) and all the amenities were close by.

I’ll try to stick to the highlights. We finally met up with Michael McWilliams (the guy we missed in Jo’Burg) and his wife for an evening. They had been traveling many of the same areas we had, a few steps ahead so it was fun to trade stories and have a few drinks on the deck as the sun went down.

We had two days of stormy weather but in hindsight, it was fabulous to see the coast like this. The waves were huge crashing into our beach. Kind of like going to Tofino and seeing a storm there – you just have to experience it to get the feel of the place. We used our time in poor weather (the first rain we’d seen in 2 mo.) to explore the Waterfront district shopping, Long St., see a movie (My Sister’s Keeper, Janet provided a full water works display), and catch up on internet. And just in time, the weather broke. We woke to a clear day and set about experiencing Cape Town in fine weather.

Cape Point & Cape of Good Hope. One of the most incredible days you can spend around Cape Town is touring down to Cape Point. Just the drive there is gorgeous. Driving through the various historical surf towns lining False Bay, we made our first stop at Boulders Beach. Boulders is famous for its sheltered white beach and being home to a large colony of African Penguins, formerly known as the Jackass Penguin because of the loud braying noise the males make when they are trying to find a date. We had been advised it wasn’t necessary to spend the entry fee to go right into the park. The Penguins are wild animals and freely roam up the banks, into the brush to nest above the park. So, a walk down the boardwalk above Boulders Beach was all we needed to do to get really close to a number of penguins. However, never being the ones who want to feel like we have missed out on something…Anna, Sadie & Janet bought tickets and went into the park. The park has boardwalks meandering through the nesting area and large viewing areas right down on the beach. We were not disappointed. We saw young penguins still molting and large groups we could observe from about 2 feet away. We found watching them waddle around hilarious! Ron had found a great spot right amongst the penguins outside the park, so we sat down and ate lunch after we caught up with him.

The drive out to Cape Point is about an hour without dawdling. It is a stunning point of land where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet. The original light house in now closed as it was too often hidden behind cloud. They have built a new one just below 90 m. which is more visible. There is a cable car to take you up the 250 m. to the original light house but we decided to walk up. The views were breathtaking. After checking out the top area, we hiked a trail on a narrow ridge out to the very tip, above where the new light house is. It struck us that Cape Town people are a hardy bunch, their park trails and look outs are not for the faint of heart. It was a full day between driving and hiking, we arrived “home” happy to have a kitchen, space and TV!

Our next thing to check off the list was Table Mountain. We had been told; when the weather is good GO RIGHT AWAY. The weather changes so fast there and often, if you delay, you have missed your chance. We decided to hike up what’s called Plataklip Gorge – kind of the Grouse Grind of Cape Town, a 700 m elevation gain over about 2 km with a final 1 km walk across the “table top” to where you can take the tram down. The girls were awesome, it wasn’t easy – very steep. Luckily it wasn’t hot. Actually it was really cold at the top in the wind. And we remembered lots of snacks and water this time – good parents, good parents. Sadie, Anna & Ron had a great time watching Janet ease her way out on to the various viewing platforms to peer over the edge of the table top. We were immediately humbled though when we saw a rock climber scaling the sheer rock just below the most precarious platform, the last stop for him would have been 700 m. below at the base of the mountain. The tram down was STEEP and it wasn’t until ½ way down it dawned on us, the floor was rotating. Duh. The exercise (much needed for us) and the view was the recipe for a perfect day.

Next adventure? Lion’s Head. We cautiously asked the girls if they’d be up for another hike the following day – NO! We let it ride for the evening and when we woke to another fabulous day, we pulled all stops (including promises of finding gelato) and convinced them to hike Lion’s Head. Actually, it didn’t take too much. I think they realized how great it felt to get the exercise. Lion’s Head takes about 1 hour or 1.25 hr. if you don’t stop and a bit more if you stop along to way to take photos or try to ease your mounting panic – the top 1/3 of the hike is scrambling over the rocks with the occasional assistance of ladders, chains and handles bored into the rock. Given the exact same trail 10 feet off the ground and nobody would give it a second thought, we don’t often fall off things the width of a sidewalk do we? Put the trail at the top of a very skinny mountain and one can get really freaked out. Ok, the girls really didn’t give it a second thought and Ron is much better at this kind of thing than me. I was ok too, at first. But as we got higher and higher...the panic set in. I made it to about 100 steps from the very peak, but then the view below (and it was 365 degrees when you looked down) was starting to swirl. I knew I’d have to make it down if I made it up. I crouched down and announced I’d wait. Sadie elected to stay and take care of me (she definitely saw the panic in my eyes) which I really appreciated. Ron & Anna went the last bit and conquered the peak. I wish I had known that descending was actually easier than going up but my breath returned to me with every step down. A helicopter buzzed Ron & Anna while they were doing the victory dance on top which added to the excitement. We did find gelato and huge satisfaction having experienced another great thing in Cape Town.

I’ll remind you and ourselves again about the friendly bird watcher with broken arms we met at the side of the road with her husband fixing a tire up in Namibia. Sally & Nicholas Harris from Cape Town. Sally was so insistent we call them while in Cape Town, we did! And so our last evening was spent with amazing company, laughs and lots of wine. Sally & Nicholas hosted us at their house for Champaign and followed with an amazing meal out at a local hot spot – noisy, casual, fun and unbelievable food, The Olympia Bakery & Deli. We would have never found it on our own – besides the company, it’s so great to see a place through the eyes of people who live there. This life is very different from the one we brushed with in Tanzania at Usa River. The contrast is interesting to think about and remember – Africa is so vast. Life there is so very different from one place to the next. We feel lucky we were able to see so many layers and realize there are so many more to experience, hopefully next time.

Time to move on. We were sad to leave Africa for sure but excited for the next chapter. India, first stop Mumbai.

September 7 - Aus, Fish River Canyon and Ai-Ais, Namibia

We had started making a bee line towards Fish River Canyon then Cape Town so our days driving were about to become longer, and longer. We were racing through our various books, having stocked up once and already dreaming of cable TV, internet, unlimited hot water and laundry as promised in Cape Town. We were a pretty dusty bunch. Ron felt like he was with a bunch of horses heading to the barn. Our car trance was shattered though as a couple of gemsbok bounded out from behind a knoll onto the road. The first one was not a close call at all, but the second one came really close to becoming our hood ornament. They are quite large though, so we are lucky we managed to swerve out of the way.

It seemed the crowds we had briefly experienced in Etosha had all but disappeared by the time we were in central and southern Namibia. We came here having been warned August is the highest of high seasons. No way. When camping in lodges, we generally had the pick of sites and often felt somewhat lonely for some activity around the pool or restaurants. But generally we were glad to have the flexibility to change plans and know we could find a spot in most places. As a family we were definitely getting into the groove of setting up and tearing down camp. The joy of being a turtle is always having what you need with you – the drag is, you can’t leave without everything with you. So even staying in one place two nights, we still had to tear down camp as the tents are attached to the car. Everyone had their jobs they were especially good at and upon arrival we all searched around for a great place to climb and watch the sun set.

From Sossusvlei we had a 370 km drive down to a place called Aus (like house, without the h) and had booked camping at a place called Klein Aus Vista. This was really just a pit stop with the added attraction of being able to see the wild horses hanging out in the pan just 20 km west of Aus. The whole area has lots of history other than the horses. Once WWII began, South Africa started heading into Namibia to take it from the Germans. Aus became an important front for this conflict and when the Germans did surrender (the final frontier was Windhoek), the South Africans set up a large POW camp just outside of Aus where the horses now roam. Sadly, influenza took many of the captors and captives so there is also a large grave area (we skipped this part). Once again, we were struck with wonder what people living there now do for a living. It is the smallest town I have ever come across with the largest tourist information office. Go figure.

We arrived at the pan to see the wild horses a bit late (3pm) as they tend to hang out there only during the heat of the day to drink from the spring. But we were treated to about an hour of watching them play, fight, drink and roll before they headed off into the horizon. About 6 of them stood right beside the shelter where we sat, rubbing their teeth on the wood and coming about as close to us as you could ever imagine a wild horse would come (Anna’s fingers grazed the muzzle of the most friendly one). As with any wild animal, we had to remain respectful, sit quietly and watch (yes, we were all able to do this and we are getting better at it all the time!) The best part was watching the stallion who was obviously in charge round them all up when it was time to head off. The body language, authority and obedience was so overwhelmingly quiet and obvious – it was incredible to watch.

Next stop, Fish River Canyon at the Canyon Roadhouse. The Roadhouse is famous for its press coffee and Amarulo (a South Africa treat like Baileys Irish Cream) cheese cake. A perfect indulgence for Janet’s birthday! It is somewhat under construction which kind of took away from the ambiance we had been expecting but still a great spot with incredible food. By now we were through our groceries from Swakop and unable to find a grocery store anywhere. What a great spot to be forced into eating out!

I think we had been expecting a bit more at Fish River but really, except for those who are going to hike the canyon, the main activity is to drive and hike to the various view points and gaze down. Day hikes are strictly prohibited into the canyon so unless you are willing and able to do the 85 km hike down and through the canyon (over 5 days), you are limited to just looking. Fish River Canyon is the 2nd largest canyon in the world, the first being Grand Canyon I believe. As you can imagine, it is stunning to look at…but really only entertained us for about an hour or so and about 3 view points. We did finally bump into a family who had just finished the hike with their teenage boy and 12 yr. old daughter. So it is apparently hard, but obviously doable. The heat is the main issue and you must be completely self sufficient. We decided rather than stay another night at the Roadhouse, we’d check out the Canon Lodge en route and Ai-Ais for the hot springs! Perhaps it was a mistake to take a look at the Canon Lodge – my advice to anyone visiting Namibia is to budget for and book a stay. The food is apparently incredible and the little bungalows are built right into the rocks so when you wander around your room, it is divided into cool little nooks by boulders and steps. We actually considered briefly a splurge but they were fully booked.

Ai-Ais was a great spot. Fed by a hot spring (65 degrees Celsius), they have built a spa, restaurant, indoor and outdoor pools nestled in the very end of the Fish River Canyon. This is also where the 85km hike ends. And they have camping. Whoo Hoo’s all around as we raced from one pool to the next. Sadie & Anna indulged in having a pedicure and we spent as much time as possible bobbing around in the various pools. You can hike up the canyon for a bit from this end but the canyon is no t nearly as spectacular there as it was further up where we stayed at the Canyon Roadhouse.

We were not sure where to make our stop once we crossed the border from Namibia into South Africa. Our border crossing was uneventful but the area was not enticing enough to stop for long. There is apparently a lot to discover around the Orange River but as I mentioned, we had time restraints getting to Cape Town. The diversion would have been too long if we had tried to do it right. We landed in a town call Springbok, famous as the gateway for Namakwa Region’s incredible spring flower displays. We had heard this from Sally (remember the birdwatcher with broken arms?) and a few other fellow campers along the way. Now, you may wonder what the heck we were thinking..since when did Janet and Ron (let alone Sadie & Anna) become interested in finding displays of flowers. Well? It was along the route and so emphatically described, we figured it was a no brainer. We were wrong. Springbok’s best Caravan Park was hilarious. We were camped under a transformer box and sandwiched amongst a SEA of avid flower and bird watchers. Conversation was lively in the communal kitchen (it was so windy we couldn’t use our gas stove outside) and the bathrooms. We talked, listened and picked our route…just a short diversion off the main highway (back on to the gravel roads) to see fields of brilliant coloured daisies, aloes, lilies & mesembryanthemums (Heb?). Yikes. The short detour turned out to be over 60 km and an hour long taking us on the gravel track into beautiful farm country BUT, the winds were too strong, it was too early in the day and may even have been an area already spent. Needless to say, save for a couple of shots of colour it was very underwhelming. Having already mentioned our desire to get to Cape Town and our glee at finally driving on paved roads, you can imagine the mood in the car as we bumped along looking at the green fields. We eventually found humor in the whole diversion, able to laugh at ourselves and our brief insanity thinking this had been a good idea. The down side of the day was the 370 km in gale force side winds on the highway. Ron took the helm and was exhausted when we stopped.

Our last night on the road was in a place called Citrusdal at a camping spot called The Baths. Another hot spring area, The Baths is a lodge/spa/camping destination and a large orange farm. As luck would have it, the camp ground was full but the owner showed us up the valley to his own private camping spot, right beside an orchard and best of all, completely on our own. If I was to give advice, depending on your preference, I would either phone ahead to book at the Baths or arrive and ask specifically for the owner’s special spot. It was a great last night with a full moon, awesome chicken dinner over the fire and wine. The climate was so different already. It no longer felt like our skin was going to crack off and we woke to find everything soaked from the dew. Feeling relaxed and ready, we drove the final 175 km easily into Cape Town with incredible views and lush fields all around.

Sept 1 - Solitaire and Sossusvlei Namibia

I woke up 46 years old today. We were in a beautiful camp site in the desert just outside of Aus, Namibia. Ron made me coffee in “bed” and breakfast. Sadie & Anna had found me a Namibian People Magazine which they presented to before breakfast with an invite to sit back and take a break from camping life. Not that I need a break, this camping life here in Namibia is deluxe!

It did however give me a chance to reflect. We’ve driven 3,000 km, seen 38 wild animals, seen 46 sunsets (Ron has seen just about as many sunrises, turns out being away from work does not mean he sleeps in), visited 5 countries (ok, so we only stepped foot in Zimbabwe at the border), played countless games of Euchre and tried wild game for dinner once. It’s a darn good thing they don’t have night clubs out here in the Namibian Desert ‘cause we are finding it hard to make it much past 8:30 or 9pm before we slip UP into our tents. Which is also probably why I have seen almost as many sunrises as Ron. The ribbons of road here are unbelievably long and straight. Driving is more like surfing; riding the sand or gravel and rolling dips. The stretches of road ahead reaching as far as one can see kind of lull us into a sense of ease, then BAM, we find ourselves in an undetectable dip in the road which we feel for the next 1 km because our truck has such bad shocks. The dips are just steep enough to require speed adjustment and sometimes are, and sometimes are not marked. The scenery out the car window is spectacular and vast. Usually our destinations are marked by a road sign and small “t” intersection with a dirt road leading off into…who knows where. But we have consistently been pleasantly surprised by what we find. The lodge/camp sites have yet to let us down and often by far surpass any camping in North America I’ve ever done. Never crowded, spotless toilets/showers, usually a small pool (freezing but refreshing) and almost always has a great restaurant if you would like to skip making dinner yourself. The hosts have become more and more friendly (must have more tourism host requirements the further south we go) and the lodges always offer a brief glimpse into the life of those who choose to live way out in the middle of the Namibian Desert. Gas is about CAN$1 per litre and our beer of choice is Tafel (Dave & Kristy I’ll take a photo for you). We did find internet briefly, but the most expensive yet. So I took a minute to check all is well (no replies though) and send a happy birthday to my fellow Virgos Mike, Don & Ava. Now back to where I left off.

Our next stop after Kusieb Canyon was Solitaire and camping at the Solitaire Guest Farm. Our pit stop in Solitaire did not disappoint. This dot on the map consists of a small lodge, gas station, general store and bakery, that’s it. The property surrounding the facilities was littered with antique car wrecks and beautiful desert plants. The best part though was the bakery – Moose McGregor, the baker was a Scottish transplant there for the past 30 plus years. And did he know how to bake! His specialty was apple strudel which we definitely indulged in. The Guest Farm (about 5km from Solitaire) was our best yet. We will cherish our memories of the tame Meerkats, 3 great dogs, the tame peacock named Tweety and the nasty but tame springbok. Talk about cats and dogs living together. Somehow they all sorted it out. We did witness the occasional display of tussle between Spike the bulldog and the springbok. The restaurant was so funky and inviting we decided to eat out which was a good call. Our host Simone, a German married to a Namibian, was an incredible cook. She made a buffet to die for. It was here we tried wild game (springbok) for the first time, it was delicious. I don’t think Sadie & Anna could separate in their minds the cute live one they were patting from the dead cooked one being offered at dinner so they did not partake. Springbok is very lean and she had cooked it in a tasty rich sauce, it really could have been anything but it was delicious. Ron tried Zebra sausage from a grocery store bbq which didn’t go so well and that’s the extent of our African meat experience.

Inspired also by the horses in the fields at the Solitaire Guest Farm, we asked about horseback riding because, well, it was something we hadn’t checked out yet here in Africa. Sure enough, there was a lodge offering rides between Solitaire and Sossusvlei, our next destination. At first our stop seemed deserted but we eventually unearthed someone who seemed to know what was going on and he eventually found the guides; a German girl staying as a volunteer and Noah, a Namibian who rides horses for movies and I guess he guides on the side. His claim to fame is being able to fall with his horse from full speed and then hop back on again, also at full speed. Our ride was a little more tame than that. Ron did not hesitate to decline the ride (he starts to feel uncomfortable looking at a horse) leaving it to us girls. The saddles were English and the horses were lovely. Sadie’s legs dangled down so low on her pony, I thought maybe her toes would scrape and Anna’s pony had incredible attitude. They stayed in the back with their ponies battling it out for the best spot in line (there were only 4 of us, including Noah) and I rode beside and chatted to Noah. Eventually, Sadie’s horse got sick of the battle and dropped back so far behind…and then he decided to roll. Luckily it was at a walk and he took his time to do it so Sadie was able to dismount…and she came up smiling. All in all, it was a really fun ride. Noah was pretty game for anything and it was us who had to ask him to stop galloping and trotting so we could enjoy a more mellow pace.

It seems the South Namibian dorps (small towns) are getting smaller and smaller as we head south. If you have ever seen photos from Namibia, you have most likely seen a photo of Sossusvlei, also in the Namib-Naukluft National Park. Sossusvlei is famous for the dunes, sunrises and old pans or lake beds. Sesriem is the gateway to the park and does not have much except lodging, camping and restaurant. The camping there was full (it books out months and months in advance, although we did meet a family who got in a couple of hours before) so we had booked in a place called Betesda Lodge, about 40 km away.

Now, the deal is with Sossusvlei, everyone wants to get in the 2nd park gate and bolt up the park (about 60 km long) to the best spot to watch the sunrise. If you get a camping spot at Sesriem you are in luck as they open the gate for them at 5am giving ample time to drive up to Dune 45, climb the dune and see the sunrise. The gate outside Sesriem, for all the rest of us does not open until 6am and is often lined up. So being the anal planners we are (you should have seen us maneuver Disneyland lines) we bought our permit for the park days ahead, got up at 4:30am, drove the 40 km and indeed was the first car at the gate. High fives all around . It was however, kind of a speed sunrise from the car as we drove as fast as we could to the end of the park. If your timing is not right to get up the dune in time to see sunrise, we’d heard the next best solution is to race ahead of the crowds to enjoy Dead Vlei (an old pan) at the end of the park before the heat of the day and when the light is best. Check out Dead Vlei Namibia on the internet, you will see some great photos I’m sure, no guarantee ours will be as good!

Dead Vlei is unique to the world, with its cracked clay floor and petrified black acacia tree stumps. Beautiful. Looming above is the 2nd highest dune in Sossusvlei begging us to climb it. We headed off with a couple bottles of water and great intension. It was brutal! The route we chose was of course the most difficult, determined by the pitch and softness of the sand. But we were all lured by the goal of getting to the top and surfing down the front pitch on our feet. The girls were amazing, chugging up the 220 m (official height but we think it was higher) with barely a complaint. It was hot and exhausting. But we made it. It was another mutual King of the World experience standing up there with a 360 degree view of the dunes. Our only mistake was not bringing enough water, having not known we were going to do the hike. We swallowed the last drop before our decent and headed down, leaping, rolling and giggling the whole way. It was well worth it…at least until we realize we had to get back across the pan (3/4 km long) and back to the car which was a further 1km. It was then the heat of the day. The drama was good as the girls dragged back to the car but Ron was the hero and ran ahead to bring back water. Thanks Dad. We recovered enough to go and check out the Canyon which was a much less ambitious hike down into a natural river canyon just inside the park boundary. And it is a river that runs for about 3 mo. of the year during rainy season. We barely made it past 8 pm that night after a dinner and fire. And did we sleep well!

August 28 - Namib-Naukluft National Park, Namibia

Our plan was to head into the Namib-Naukluft National Park which requires permits and preparation as the camping has no facilities. We drove for most of the day in the park and saw…nobody. Our camping reservation was for a site called Homeb. We got there in the mid afternoon and except for a couple of shacks and locals living not far from the camp site (presumably caretakers) there was nobody around. Oh, and there were flies. Seems if we stop anywhere in the heat of the day our first greeting is from the flies. Solitude is alluring, but you have to go with your gut whether or not it feels comfortable. None of us felt the urge to stay at Homeb (and we generally take a poll in these situations) so we pressed on to find the camp ground at Kusieb Bridge, another 60 km or so.

We had the road completely to ourselves again for the afternoon until we stopped at what we thought was Kusieb Bridge. Finally another vehicle, out of which came a young German couple looking for the camp site too. The only problem was, we could not see any sign of a camp site. Taking note of the sun hanging low in the sky (and any other options not within reasonable distance) we decided to head back 5 km to the picnic site we knew was just off the road. We drove for another 3 km or so off the main road and finally came to the picnic site just as the sun was setting. It was magnificent. Except for our new friends (who decided to stick with us rather than camp under the bridge) we knew there was nobody for miles, and the picnic site was right on the edge of the Kusieb Canyon. We were surrounded by views of mountains in one direction as the backdrop for the canyon and endless fields of straw coloured grass in every other direction. We shared a fire and the spectacular view with Alex & Laura and our prize was the most beautiful sunrise we have ever seen, anywhere. It was really great to take a stab at wild camping, although the girls were a little nervous (fortunately we didn’t find the “No Overnight & No Fires” sign until morning) but I think we all loved it in the end.

On our way out of the park the next day we stopped again at the Kusieb Bridge and drove down into the river bed and under the bridge. We had heard you could maybe find water pools in the river bed so we walked up until we found one. OK, so “pool” is a bit of an exaggeration. But it was water (although pretty sandy) and apparently fresh. Ron was the only one of us inspired to strip down and jump in (can’t wait for the photos can you?). Once back out, obviously feeling invigorated from the experience, buck naked, he threw his arms in the air and yelled (in a sort of King of the World moment) “I am Jesus, I am REBORN and I do not need clothes!” He opened his eyes and said “Oh geeze, there are two people up there!” It was a canyon, but it sure wasn’t The Grand Canyon so there is no doubt the couple peering down on us heard and saw everything.

August 26 - Uis & Swakopmund, Namibia

Our next camping stop was Uis (pronounced oose, like moose without the m), a tiny mining town, except the mine closed almost 20 years ago. We’re not sure exactly who lives there and what they do (we heard a lot of pensioners) but we stayed in a camping rest stop that had a great bar/restaurant and FREE high speed internet. I think we spent every waking moment with someone on the keyboard; emailing, downloading photos, planning our Cape Town stay and checking in with our banking. We did meet a great group of South Africans there also passing through. Two, the twins, were on touring dirt bikes and two (husband and wife) were in a 4X4 vehicle as support . They arrived to use the internet as well, ordered their first beer at 10:30 am and were still ordering when we enjoyed the sunset with them later that day at a different spot (you can see why we were instantly drawn to them!). They were great fun to talk with and a wealth of knowledge as they have spent a lot of time traveling around Namibia. They talked us into staying in the area for one more night and taking a 4wd trip up the white sand dune just outside of town (great photo ops and even a bit of exercise). Uis and our campsite at White Lady Lodge are both situated below Brandberg Massif, Namibia’s highest mountain at 2,573 m. Moving to the White Lady Lodge Camp was fabulous. As already mentioned, we had more social time with the biker dudes (still not sure of all their names) and endless entertainment playing with the tame Springbok and 3 baby Meerkats (just like the TELUS ads) in the gardens. We were also treated with our best sunset yet. Our plan is to keep in touch with the biker dudes (although we really should get to know their names) and get together with them in Cape Town.

Southern Damaraland, the area we were in, has many rivers. The “rivers” look like absolutely dry sand river beds but apparently there is actually water flowing under the sand. You can drive up and down the “rivers” but risk getting stuck and/or getting charged by desert elephants when they are in the area. There are however, large green trees lining the rivers and in the middle of the rivers providing proof of some sort of moisture and relief from endless parched and sandy coloured vistas.

We left Brandberg Mountain with a heavy foot on the accelerator in anticipation of arriving in Swakopmund, 2 nights out of our tents and in a lodge called The Alternative Space. Swakopmund, or Swakop to the locals, is a resort town for Windhoek and briefly famous for being Brad Pitt & Anjolina Joli’s residence while having one of their children and I think adopting another. We didn’t see them while there. It is also an amazing centre for adrenalin activities from sky diving to sand boarding, quad biking and kayaking. We followed the advice of our biker friends to drive by on our way a place called Spitzkoppe – a massive eruption of red sand stone rising out of the middle of a huge desert plain. Once driving amongst the rock formations, we felt as if we were in Moab, Utah. We spent a couple of hours climbing on the rocks, eating lunch and checking out the one arch. The land, rocks and sky provided the most incredible palette with blue, red, sand, sage and straw (ok, now you definitely know it is not Ron writing!).

What an incredible feeling to arrive to clean, comfy and groovy accommodation after camping. I mean, camping is GREAT, but arriving back to a few comforts is great too. The Alternative Space is every bit groovy, providing a room for us with a round master bedroom, two beds for the girls in the main space and a claw foot tub with full bathroom facilities at the other end. We have an attached common area with fire place, courtyard and access to a fully stocked kitchen. The owners are art collectors so the white walls are covered with all sorts of art created by local artists. They also fancy themselves to be photographers and their favourite subject is the woman of the partnershop…naked! Sadie looked at me and said, “Mom, I’m so glad you don’t do that.” Our only complaint was being torn between spending time in our awesome pad and heading out to enjoy all that Swakop has to offer.

We’ve had two great dinners out, some fabulous wandering into shops, finally found a great book store with English novels and enough time to have a couple of hot baths and showers each. But the main attraction was sandboarding. And it is exactly as it sounds. We drove out to the sand dunes just outside of town and commenced a 3 hour hiking accents and decents on the dunes with nothing but a helmet and piece of rectangle flexible board. Ron tried stand up boarding which was doin’ the dunes on a snowboard. Our only measure (except for smiling photos) was the speed gun which clocked us at 68 – 74 km per hour on the steepest slope. Ron got the speed record for the day, what a surprise! Sadie, Anna & Janet beat most of the others. Call us the Crazy Canucks. Sadie & Anna both showed incredible energy hiking up these dunes numerous times in anticipation of the next run. We finished the day energized by some thrills & exercise and sand spilling out of our clothes, ears, shoes…

Namibia and especially Swakopmund definitely does not feel like the Africa we conjure up in our minds when we imagine Africa. Except for the local stores selling African trinkets and art, looking around at mostly white faces, we feel more like we are in Europe than in Africa. It’s more of an observation than a complaint. We’re just glad we’ve seen a bit of Kenya, Tanzania & Zambia too.

Since being on top of the dunes and seeing quad bikers off in the distance, Sadie was plugging for us to check that out too. It was a bit of a squish to jam it in the last morning but they offered early trips so we booked. Hilarious! We were the only ones on the dune tour, two quad bikes with Sadie & Anna on the back. Janet can drive both a car and a boat with confidence and has experienced lots of sled driving in her very distant past…but nothing prepared her for the first go on a quad bike in the sand. Anna kindly offered to be Janet’s first passenger which was especially kind because that’s when the learning curve was the steepest. Thankfully she chose the semi-automatic vehicle, which had gears (more power for when she finally got the hang of it) but no clutch. The first hour was good for lots of laughs as Janet jerked, chugged and swerved along (nobody told her it feels like you are driving on ball bearings!) at a ridiculously slow pace…but the good news is, she got the hang of it and was howling along before too long. Completely environmentally questionable but an unforgettable bit of family fun.

Good-bye Swakop – it was a great fix .