The three life bloods

Contemplating the complexities of life
Originally uploaded by camandkristin

** For Darcy, here’s the abbreviated version: We went to Namibia. We drove a lot. We ended up in Cape Town. It was good. **

Another long bus ride… another good opportunity to write. This time we’re heading south, from Windhoek (Namibia) to Cape Town- the trip is supposed to take 20 hours or so, and we’re 2.5 hours in and already ruined. This bus has a particular highlight of broadcasting “Christian Content” on the overhead televisions. “What happens when you die? Where will you go? In order to ensure you go to Heaven, you must do two things: 1. Turn away from the wrong in your life. 2. Surrender to Jesus.” Really… on a bus…?

Anyway, we returned our truck this morning, luckily with no real issues. We managed to avoid a shattered windshield and any flat tires, not to mention more serious trouble, which I think is pretty lucky. We had to fess up to destroying a zipper on my parents tent- but in fairness to them, it was pretty hooped when we got it and Dad’s fit of rage that resulted in its ultimate demise on night #2 was not completely unwarranted…

This bus trip is taking us to our last destination of Stage 1- Cape Town. Originally we’d planned to spend a few days there and then catch a train to Johannesburg for our flights out, but the sporadic train schedule would have broken up our time too much, and left us with too long in the less desirable Jo’burg, so we’ve booked a flight instead which just extends our already long trips to Gabriola (for Mum and Dad) and Beijing (for us two). Whoever said “it’s a small world” obviously didn’t actually go anywhere… ;)

We actually did have our own “small world” moment today- while waiting for our bus in the Windhoek parking lot, I turned the corner and saw my Dad talking to somebody who I immediately recognized. I had two feelings about him- one was that he taught at Uvic, and the second was that he only wears shorts. We asked him about it, and I was right on both counts! He’s Dr. Paul Lim, a physics prof who I may or may not have had, and has been traveling the world for the last 2.5 years, sailing all the way here from Gabriola himself.

As for what we’ve been up to- since leaving Etosha we headed to Botswana to sweat it out in the Okavango Delta for a few days. After having surprisingly comfortable temperatures the whole time we’ve been here (such that our -12C sleeping bags haven’t been too far overrated) we were pretty shocked with the blast furnace that we found in Botswana. The Okavango Delta is flooded by waters that come from Angola, and eventually drain into the land, never forming rivers that reach the ocean. In order to really “experience” it, the common thing is to head out into the delta in a mokoro (a dug out canoe) with a guide at the back who poles the boat through the reeds while you sit back and attempt to dodge the zillion spiders who have strung their webs in the reeds across your path. It’s really quite beautiful, and relaxing- but effing hot. Our two day trip started with a 2 hour paddle out to our campsite (on an island in the delta) followed by a 5 hour siesta because it was simply too insanely hot to do anything. Our thermometer was reading 37C in the shade. Fail. After setting up our camp (we were on the trip with a Dutch couple) in and around the massive elephant footprints, we tried to sleep in the shade to no avail. Finally we had our guides pole us to a swimming hole which, after persevering past the elephant dung at the shore and swimming in our clothes, turned out to be a gorgeous swimming hole that was exactly what we needed to survive the heat. That night we cooked our meal of beans, wieners, and sweaty cheese over the fire (so delicious) accompanied by the sounds of elephants in the water, heard but not seen… Fortunately the temperatures drop significantly at night, so sleeping was easy enough, and we woke up for an early morning paddle and hike on a larger island where we saw several elephants, 3 giraffes, 3 hyenas, and zebra and wildebeest- nothing we hadn’t seen before, but still special to see them up close while on foot. After another brutal siesta we set off for our 2 hour paddle home, trying to cover all bits of skin from the midday sun, and counting the minutes until we could have an ice cold Coke…

Mum and Dad opted (wisely) against the mokoro trip due to the brutal heat and sun exposure. For those of you who know Dad, you’ll know he doesn’t do well in the heat. At all. And Mum got a sun burn on her hands over a month ago that she’s still paying for (thanks to the Doxy) and so is quite gun shy about being trapped in the sun all day. Instead they enjoyed a couple of days where their daughter the dictator wasn’t commanding them to and fro and forcing them to skip their 10am coffee break J

Anyway- we really enjoyed our Botswana experience, although it is a long way to drive for a single activity like we did. However, the other main highlight of Botswana (Chobe National Park) had to be dropped for lack of room in our itinerary, not to mention our already seriously notched bedpost of game park visits. We cruised all the way back from Maun (the staging ground for Okavango Delta trips) to Windhoek to set off on our southern Namibia excursion. At this point the animals were pretty much behind us, and it became more about scenery. And man, Namibia does not disappoint. The number one tourist destination in Namibia is Sossusvlei- a series of crazy red dunes and white pans in the middle of Namib-Nakluft park. If you’ve seen a picture of Namibia, you’ve likely seen these dunes. And they are beautiful- we’ve seen dunes before, but the red colour of these makes them unique. We slept at a campsite about an hour away (there aren‘t too many options closer to the park that won‘t break the bank), and woke early to arrive before sunrise. Unfortunately the park doesn’t open until exactly sunrise, and then you must stand in a painful queue and watch the best of African efficiency unfold before your eyes as permits are hand written, by a single staff member, for the snaking line of tourists who have traveled thousands of kilometers to be at that exact place for sunrise. Fortunately for us the frustration was partially offset by the fact that the morning was foggy, and there was no real sunrise to see. Instead we enjoyed a more unique experience of climbing the dunes in the fog. Eventually the skies cleared and we got to take in the whole vista. While there is no denying the beauty of that park, it was the two hours of driving south of the park that were our favourite. One stunning view after another- the road begged to be walked instead of driven so you could really soak it all in. Another time maybe…

The next day we drove further south and then headed to the coastal town of Luderitz- a town that exists because of diamonds, and not due to it’s less than desirable location on the edge of a barren desert. Luderitz itself is a neat town, full of German colonial architecture and a pretty sweet setting with the ocean on one side and a lunar landscape of sand and rock on the other side. It’s similar to Swakopmund, but more crazy. There are only two campsites in town, and they both happen to be at lighthouses. On this particular day (as with many days in Luderitz, we’ve come to learn) it was blowing a gale. A serious gale. It was clear that a night in the tent, on the roof of a truck, was going to be far from ideal. Turning to the Lonely Planet for an alternative, we learned that one lighthouse also offered bungalows and, miracle of miracles, one was available! A six bed ocean front bungalow with a full kitchen and bath for $57, or a freezing night in a tent for $39? Hmmm… tough call… (Apparently it was a tough call for my parents who opted to sleep in their tent, outside the bungalow, anyway. Their comment when asked in the morning how it went? “It was a bit noisy.” Shocking…)

After our night dodging the wind we visited Kolmanskop- an abandoned ghost town just outside Luderitz that was formed during the diamond rush in 1908, and lasted for only 51 years until bigger, better diamonds were found further south. It’s a neat town as it’s been overtaken by sand, and yet preserved in such a way that we can visualize what it was like to live there. Quite opulent for the times, with everything (literally, everything) being imported from elsewhere, much of it from Germany.

We left the sand and heat of the desert behind, with a quick visit to the Quivertree forest in Keetmanshoop, and then our final return north to Windhoek. Ironically up the exact road that we are now travelling south on again, only 30 hours later… Perhaps the one way truck rental might have been the better choice…

Anyway- that’s the Cole’s Notes. We’ve now been in on the road for 54 nights, and have spent all but 8 of them in a tent (and 2 of those have been on buses). With only 6 nights left on the continent, we’re essentially 25% done our trip. We’ve set foot in eight of Africa’s 52 countries and, if we’ve learned one thing, it’s that we’re doing a disservice by referring to the entire continent with blanket statements like “In Africa…” There is so much range and diversity to the culture, economics, wealth, geography, politics, etc and yet it’s so simple to lump it all together and make assumptions about the entire continent that are no more accurate than likening Canada to Mexico.

Oh- and as for the title of the blog- for the last 3 weeks as we’ve been on the road with the truck, we’ve come to rely on the three life bloods- gas, water, and Coke. We’ve been ever alert, keeping tabs on our quantities of each, and ensuring we never run out of any, for fear of the dire consequences…

And on that note, we shall sign off and learn more about getting ourselves to heaven…

Until next time,
K and C.

.By the way, for those of you who have been here, or for those of you who love Google Earth, our route with the truck as been: Windhoek - Swakopmund - Spitzkoppe - Kamanjab - Opuwo - Epupa Falls - Etosha - Grootfontein - Popa Falls - Maun - Windhoek - Solitaire - Sossusvlei - Betta - Luderitz - Keetmanshoop - Windhoek

Namibia rocks!

Is that an elephant in your hair?
Originally uploaded by camandkristin

It’s the last day of August- hard to believe we’ve been away from home for an entire summer. Sucks to miss summers at home and those rare, gorgeous days that really do prove that Vancouver is exceptional… sigh… Down here, in Africa, the sun sets at 5:30 every night and, while we do welcome the cooler temperatures the sunset brings, its kind of lame to be in the dark for the whole evening, and usually means we’re in bed around 9pm!

Anyway- I’m writing this blog entry pool side in Halali Camp in Etosha National Park, Namibia. Going back…

We arrived in Livingstone, Zambia on our Benji-replacement. Livingstone is the Zambia-side of Victoria Falls (the falls lie on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe, and the town on the Zim side gets the name Victoria Falls). We spent a few days exploring the falls- Cam and Malin and I walked across the Zim/Zam border to get the view from both sides (well worth it, if you’re ever faced with the chance- despite the total extortionate visa fees that Canadians are subjected to). Mum and Dad splurged on a 30min helicopter ride instead which was certainly a far easier, and no more expensive, approach. But they don’t have the Zimbabwe passport stamp :) Cam and I also joined five others from our truck for a half day of rafting down the Zambezi- it was my first time rafting since our “incident” in Ecuador and I was a tiny bit nervous, but the water was high so the rapids weren’t too extreme and by the end of the day we were all wishing for a bit more fear factor in the white water! One of the highlights on that trip was when we got to jump out of the raft and float down a more mild rapid- Ali and I swirled around each other in a whirlpool for a minute, and then after we were spat out we drifted further down river until people were pointing at the crocodile on the bank! Uh… seriously…? We got hauled into another boat as our own was too far away, and then jumped back into our own before the next rapid. I couldn’t tell if there was any actual danger- not sure crocs really venture into white water- but they did pull us into the boat fairly quickly…

After we parted ways with the Overland Team we hopped a bus for Windhoek so we could pick up our rental truck. The bus journey was billed as 18 hours, but took 21.5, but it did get us there safely and our truck was ready and waiting. We took care of some details in Windhoek, and marvelled at how beautiful and cosmopolitan the city is- we hadn’t seen anything like it in Africa yet, so it came as quite a surprise. That night we camped on the outskirts of the city and had the most amazing shower we’d had since leaving home. It was clear that Namibia was a whole new ballgame…

We headed straight for the coastal town of Swakopmund where, for the first time, the humidity climbed above about 0.5%. Swakop, as they seem to call it, is pretty sweet because on one side of the road is the Atlantic Ocean (next stop, Brazil) and on the other is a vast expanse of sand dunes. We climbed to the top of some of the dunes and explored a bit- much easier coming down than going up. The next day we did a drive out to the desert to check out some crazy plants (landscape architect in the car…) that exist only in that desert- they pretty much look dead, and have no real appeal, but some of them are 1500-2000 years old, so they’re worth checking out. After returning to the misty fog of Swakop we pulled into a parking lot to make lunch. Poor choice to park 6 feet from a street market full of vendors and no customers. The palm ivory nut sellers made their way over (picture a golf ball sized nut with African scenes carved into them) and, trying to distract them from their sales pitch, Dad offered one of them a cracker. The guys said “Ya, sure, but I have a big stomach so I’ll take them all.” and proceeded to take the entire package of crackers and put them in his pocket. And to top it off, Dad bought his frigging nut.

From Swakop we headed to Spitzkoppe, which is a gorgeous set of rock formations plunked down in the middle of the Namib desert. The campsites are all interspersed around the rocks, and it’s a pretty unbeatable setting.

From Spitzkoppe we headed north, with a stop at a Cheetah Conservation Farm (we’re going with the term “conservation” and not questioning it…) where we got to see 12 cheetahs up close and personal, and then a stop in Opuwo where Himbaland starts. The following morning we headed way north, all the way to Epupa Falls and the Angolan border. It’s stunning country up there, and we really enjoyed the drive through the middle of Namibian-nowhere, dotted with Himba villages. Epupa Falls (Xander, this is for you) is beautiful, but has been… changed… by tourism so now it’s a bit cluttered with campsites and Himba craft markets. Cam and I took the opportunity to visit a Himba village which, although we were unsure and skeptical, turned out to be a great experience. We spoke with several women (via our local guide translating) and got a much better feel for these amazing people who we had only previously seen along the sides of the road. The following day we headed south again to the gates of Etosha National Park, and our campsite at Okakuejo. The three main campsites within Etosha are highlighted by their floodlit watering holes, where you can sit 24 hours a day and watch Animal Planet unfold. Because it’s the dry season right now and water is scarce, the “assisted” watering holes at the camps see a lot of action. We saw herds of 35 elephants bathing only meters from us, rare black rhinos, and the spectacle of a giraffe bending to drink, not to mention hordes of the “lesser” game that abound. In particular, as if to remind us that the watering hole is still “real life”, there was a dead baby elephant lying off to one side, surrounded at first by 5 lions. We’re not sure when the kill happened, but probably the day we arrived. When night fell, a herd of elephants came and spent some time trumpeting and attempting to drive the lions away- perhaps thinking the baby could still be saved. The next day we saw a single elephant go to the baby and tenderly touch it with her foot and trunk- tear jerking to say the least…

Anyway… other than the “what we’ve been doing” blathering, here are a few other odds and ends that seem noteworthy:

On roof tents: For anyone who might be considering renting “one of those trucks with two tents on the roof” (which is how they were described to me when I first learned about them), read this carefully. These trucks are exactly that- a four door extended cab pickup truck with two tents on the roof, accessed by ladders that fold out and reach the ground. The premise seems awesome at first, but in reality… not so much… It might seem obvious to you, but for us, with a million other details on our minds when planning the trip, we overlooked the following:

1. The two tents are, like, 6” apart. Sound waves have no qualms about travelling through canvas walls, and across those 6”. Chances are, in a group of 4, at least one person snores. (For the record, that person is not me).
2. The tents are attached to the same, movable, vehicle. Motion has no qualms about travelling from one tent, through the truck, to the other tent. Chances are, in a group of 4, that at least one person will move at some point during the night.
3. The tents are attached to your primary source of transportation. Chances are, in a period of 21 days, you will want to have your tent set up, and still be able to move the truck.
4. The tents are on top of the truck, in the “elements”. The “elements” in Africa are dusty. Every time you set up, or take down, the tent (once each per day, see point #3) you will get filthy.
5. The flatness of your sleeping surface is directly related to the position of the truck. It is not always easy to position the truck in such a way that the fridge can be plugged in, the tents can open, the ladders can flip out, the gear can be accessed etc etc etc and the sleeping surface is still flat.

We’ve survived 8 of our 21 nights, and we should (hopefully) last the remainder, but if you’re thinking of renting one of these beauties, please heed that advice…

On the African tourist: The classic “tourist” has changed since being in Namibia- the ones here seem to be older, richer, and dressed in more khaki than ones we saw north-east of here. They are also packing serious, serious camera gear. Our investigation has been in determining if there is a relationship between quantity of khaki and quantity of camera gear (results say yes), and also if there is a relationship between quantity of camera gear and quality of photos (results are inconclusive, but the working hypothesis is no). We’re not sure where the manual is, but there must be something out there that says: Travelling to Africa? Do the following:

1. Buy only khaki clothes. One shade of khaki is best.
2. Ensure that your pants can zip off in at least one place. Two zips per leg is even better.
3. Purchase a hat with a brim that goes all the way around. Ensure there is a string for hanging the hat around your neck. Khaki colour is recommended.
4. Buy heavy duty hiking boots. Do not worry that you will be walking on only paved paths, and primarily sitting in a tour bus. Heavy. Duty. Additional note: if you are Italian, ensure that everyone in the group purchases identical boots. It adds to your charm.
5. Buy more camera gear than you can carry. Ensure at least one lens is longer than your leg. Two cameras around your neck proves your worth.
6. Travel in groups.
7. Pose for pictures. Be creative. Climb trees (four men in one tree is not too many). Remember- you’re more important than the baby elephant. Claim the focus.

Perhaps I’m being harsh and cynical, but… not really.

We head off to Botswana tomorrow, with 12 days left until we return the truck, and the roof tents.

Until next time,
Kristin and Cam.

PS For anybody that might have been concerned- we heard from our old group that Benji is back up and running, and in fact we passed them on the highway today as we left Etosha and they headed in!