(Lost worlds and romances: Ghaub Guest Farm, near Tsumeb and Grootfontein, Namibia)

Breakfast at Ghaub’s. Theuns tells us a story about an experience with elephants. A group of people are relaxing after a meal at their campsite in the bush. A family of elephants appears silently as is their fashion and walk through the campsite. One pauses next to the table and reaches into a pile of fruit on the table retrieving an apple with its trunk. Having eaten the apple, the elephant begins to stroll out of the clearing. One of the campers unwisely picked up a lemon from the same pile of fruit and threw it at the elephant. The elephant turned around sharply and walked back to the campsite. Eyeing the lemon thrower, the elephant took its trunk and gripped the top of the campers’ caravan (RV trailer) parked there and shook it violently from wheel to wheel. The elephant, having made its point, ambled away. Moral: Never throw anything at an elephant or perhaps, what does an elephant eat? Anything it wants to.

(Part of the beauty of this lost world: a Verreaux's eagle-owl(?) at Ghaub Guest Farm, Namibia)

Back to Tsumeb to pick up laundry, Will’s newly repaired eyeglasses, and some truck related items at Build-It and Cymot (bungee cords, screw hooks and eyes, and shackles). Will is spared the errands and goes to a Peace Corps get together in Tsumeb. Carole and I pay for a 15 minute session at the internet café, and attend to some roof repacking, and journal keeping. We rendezvous with Will and set out for Grootfontein while arranging to meet the Peace Corps volunteer there for dinner. We meet at her place in “the location” where we are immediately noticed and engaged by a group of teenage boys who have been happily downing either “tombo” – the local home-brewed beer or Tafel lager, a big brand in southern Africa. A long, joshing conversation about blowing this small town and coming to the US – how “bad it is here” – a pretty normal comment by kids this age who want to leave a country town and see the world. This part of the location is the closest to the actual commercial center of Grootfontein and is where the so-called “colored” or mixed race population lives. The houses, modest in size, nevertheless sit in a grid and have plumbing and electricity. The place has the same feel as the area I lived in for four years when I was very young (we moved from a trailer to a small house in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains when I was a year old). We invite the kids to come see the US but comment that Namibia is a very interesting place and give the usual advice about working hard and finishing school.

Beth emerges from her rented rooms and jumps in the truck. The Phillips family will join her soon for a family vacation like ours but tonight we are hoping to treat her to something nice. She has been a good friend to Will and has helped to lessen his sense of isolation and struggle as a first-year teacher in the village. Beth, very confident and friendly, climbs in the truck and we settle on Lala Panzi Lodge at her suggestion. We fail, I am sure, to feed her adequately because the menu offers her little as a vegetarian. She is invited to a wedding reception later on in town so we are hopeful that she will get more to eat there. Dropping her off at the party we head for Roy’s Camp http://www.namibiareservations.com/royscampe.html about 60 km north of Grootfontein on the B8 at the Tsumkwe turnoff.

We arrive about 9:30 or 10:00 PM cheerfully welcomed by Heinrich and Liezel. We are very happy to settle in here and the accommodations are both whimsical and comfortable.

Labels: Grootfontein, Tsumeb, Tsumkwe

¶ 4:38 PM