(Michelin Map 746 -- Africa Central and South: the road ahead -- click on image to enlarge)

The hotel’s proprietor has visited the US during a tour there with her church choir. During breakfast she tells a story about life and how it is lived traditionally versus the modern. One of the choir members is a Herero woman who dresses traditionally which means neck-to-toe in Victorian layers with the (non 19^th century European) addition of a rolled cloth headdress representing cows’ horns.

As the performances are numerous and the time (and assistance) needed for dressing traditionally begin to tax the group – our host finally questioned her Herero friend about the need for the traditional clothing (undoubtedly a crowd-pleaser) when the choir sang – especially when she added the slow, stately “Herero woman’s walk” to the choir’s pre-performance scramble to their places.

The answer was a simple question asked in return: “How much time do you spend every day looking for your car keys?” Followed by the simple statement: “I always know where mine are – right here on my waist.”

Up and away after packing the truck and thanking Wilkie as we check out. North on the B1 by 9:15 AM stopping for water in Okahandja. The plan is to pick up groceries on Otjitwarongo at Theo’s SPAR which Will says is the best in Africa (this may well be true – at least in these parts). I stay in the truck to keep an eye on it and learn the ins-and-outs of the merula nut tourist souvenir hustle from the local street people. This involves a friendly intro in which your name or the name(s) of your children are elicited and then you are immediately obliged to buy your very own “carved” personalized nut. As a tourist I suppose that sympathy for the plight of these men is in order but “no thanks” did not seem to work too well with them. It ended with them declaring that I was “a very bad man” – a statement that might be true enough – nevertheless I told them I wouldn’t pay the equivalent of USD$30 or more for two key chains even at “home”.

We pushed off quickly after loading our groceries in this commotion along with a sudden hail storm– curses following me out of the parking lot. We made the Andersson Gate at Etosha National Park in good time and went through the formalities of paying our conservation fees and registering at the office at Okaukuejo. We had made our reservation through the Namibia Reservations web site because the semi-official Namibia Wildlife Resorts web site at that time (fall, 2006) and (at a later time) the actual NWR offices in Windhoek were dysfunctional. This company – Namibia Reservations -- and their web site were very good and we made all of our reservations in Namibia through December here: http://www.namibiareservations.com/

Again, once inside the Park we are treated to a wonderful show. The game is plentiful and varied: springbok; impala; a kudu; some distant lions under a tree; numerous birds and especially ostrich; blue wildebeest; and zebra. We do not pause for photos however we must be inside the enclosure at the Halali Rest Camp by 7:15 PM. Recalling our lateness the first day at Kgalagadi we do not want to attract unfavorable notice and a fine here. Will is a Namibian – at least for two years – and tries to walk the straight and narrow. Carole and Will push me to maintain speed but I have failed to deflate my tires and the corrugations in the road are giving the truck a tremendous shaking. Just as I am about to remark about the greater intelligence of the African antelope versus American deer -- so numerous where I live -- (because they cannily had not offered to run in front of the truck although the four-footed and fleet are very numerous along the roads here and at Kgalagadi) – WHAM, we are struck on the right (driver’s) side door by a rocket propelled springbok. Dammit! And my perfect record goes up in smoke (and I wasn’t speeding either). What a place to have my very first animal collision ever: ETOSHA NATIONAL PARK! Out of the swirling white dust it appeared head down and at full tilt about a millisecond before impact. The thorn veldt vegetation pressing the shoulders of the road concealed its presence completely. I swerve slightly but it bashes into my door and “rocker panel”. The door jamb is bent so my door will not open. I look out and miracle of miracles; the beast shakes its horns, clears its head and trots off unharmed. Will reluctantly gets out and inspects the damage – it is slight. Pressing on we arrive at Halali at 7:00 PM with just 15 minutes to spare. So far it looks like I will not be arrested or forced to surrender my subscription to National Geographic Magazine. Later I will claim it was a goat – the merula nut men are right – I am a very bad person.

We unload. The slightly run-down condition at Halali is no barrier to comfort or relaxation. Will cooks up a burrito dinner. (A later visit to Halali in 2007 shows much progress by NWR in renovating all of the public spaces and many of the accommodations.)

Labels: Andersson Gate, Etosha National Park, Halali Rest Camp, Okahandja, Okaukuejo, Otjitwarongo, Windhoek

¶ 1:41 PM 0 Comments

(Indispensable tool: Michelin Map Number 746 -- Africa Central and South; the route covered so far highlighted in "pink" -- click on image(s) to enlarge)

We postpone the truck related items as it is a national holiday (International Human Rights Day) and all businesses are closed. Will and I attend to a few errands including the laundry. Much of this is done on foot around the Wernhill Mall and the rest of central Windhoek. I get a glimpse of the old colonial buildings there but must pay close attention to my driving. Out to the airport (some distance from town) to pick up Carole who is delighted to see us. A very nice reunion for all. We take her to show off our hotel (very nice), more driving around the sights in Windhoek (including the Peace Corps office), and some Chinese food at Yang Tze which Will thinks (then) is possibly the only Chinese restaurant in Namibia. We drive out to the Avis Dam “where old people go to walk their dogs” which Will likes and in his description thinks we will like too. Very nice to get out of the truck and do some more walking. We decide on Taal, an Indian restaurant but are pleased to see that La Marmite is open. We stop there for an African dinner – Cameroonian curry. Back to the hotel for sleep – Halali Rest Camp in Etosha National Park is a long drive tomorrow.

Labels: Windhoek

¶ 1:33 PM 0 Comments

Up for breakfast at 8:00 AM. Enjoyed the comfort of the A/C. The Quiver Tree Forest (Kokerboomwoud) Lodge a throwback to our western highway tourist attractions of yore: “Trees of Mystery”; “Knott’s Berry Farm” (1950’s vintage) and the “Sea Lion Caves”. The central attraction is the grove of giant aloe trees – the quiver tree forest amidst a jumble of black rocks (ysterklip).

(The Quiver Tree Forest - 'Kokerboomwoud with Ysterklip' - near Keetmanshoop, Namibia)

(Giant Aloe: a kokerboom tree at the Quiver Tree Forest, Namibia)

(Quiver Tree: detail of branches and leaves -- the branches were used as arrow quivers by the San people)

(Detail of the bark on the tree trunk: Quiver Tree)

The lodge also has a pet baby eland; a tame wart hog; and two cheetahs.

(Two springbok heads and one pet cheetah - Quiver Tree Forest Lodge, Namibia)

(Beauty and the Beast: a close-up of a cheetah and the warthog, Quiver Tree Forest Lodge, Namibia)

Our host and her daughter provide us breakfast and some history both of the forest, the lodge, and their family. After visiting the lodge attractions we head north after a fuel and ATM stop in Keetman’s. We hit the road – a trip highlighted by big baboons scrambling over the road side fences, Wimpy’s mega-coffees in Mariental, the Hardap Dam, Rehobeth at dusk, and Windhoek at night. Wilkie, the friendly night clerk at the Kleines Heim Hotel http://www.kleinesheim.com/ suggests several restaurants. We settle on O Portuga: open late; cosmopolitan feel; good food.

(Hardap Dam reservoir near the B1 Highway to Windhoek, Namibia)

Labels: Hardap Dam, Kokerboomwoud, Quiver Tree Forest Lodge, Windhoek

¶ 1:28 PM 0 Comments