The Okavango Delta

At 8:00 we leave in an open 4x4 wheel with the whole group. We get to take a small bag, our tents and mattresses. It’s a bumpy ride to the Okavango and very cold this early in the morning. We get to the Okavango around 9:30 and load our stuff into a Mokoro. The Mokoro is being poled by a woman, who will take us to our “camp”. It’s beautiful, from the dryness of Namibia into the green and wet busch of Botswana. About one and a half our later we arrive at the riverbank where we put up our tent behind the toilet of an elephant. The polers also stay at the camp, do our dishes, make us dinner and pole us around. Feel like real tourists again! In the afternoon the two of us take of in a Mokoro. Looks easier than it is, jeez! The rest of the afternoon chilling on our mattresses on the riverbank. At one point we saw two elephants approaching our camp, action! But they went back in the woods. Lou and Ceen on adventure!!! We went searching for the elephants. Walking slowly, not making any sound. And there they were, just eating some leafs of the trees. We were looking at them from a distance, when all of a sudden they ran towards us and hit us with their trunk. Ok, I’m exaggerating just a little. But they came towards us. The problem is that when you run, they’ll come after you. So I was like; Lou, let’s get out of here! And he was just making pictures, while this elephant was getting closer and closer. Fortunately we got away, but what an adventure! We did a game walk from 16:30 until 18:00. The guide told us about the plants and animals living in the Okavango Delta which was very interesting. We had dinner with our poler friends and enjoyed the sounds of nature.

Hello Botswana!

Today we leave for Botswana!! Another drive of 500 km, we’re kind of fed up with it now. Botswana is very different than Namibia. The first thing we noticed here are the houses, round with a roof made out of reed. It’s very dirty around here and wherever we look, we see donkeys just walking around in town, very weird. At four o’ clock we arrive at the campsite outside of Maun, 50km from the Okavango Delta (oh yeah!). Tomorrow we leave for the Okavango Delta, we sleep in the wild for two nights without any showers or toilets, surrounded by elephants, lions, buffalo’s and hippo’s. Sweet dreams!

Windhoek and Gobabis

Breakfast at 5:45 (we’re getting used to it). Today we have to drive for 600 km. We arrive at Windhoek about half past ten and have one and a half our to look around here, and that isn’t a long time to see some things. We went to the Christuskirche and the statue to remind the Germans who died during the war (???). For the rest of the time we walked around in the center of Windhoek. We arrive at the campsite outside Gobabis around 16:30. At this campsite they keep cheetahs and lions whose mothers were killed by farmers when they were cubs. They keep them here in large catches and feed them donkey meat every day. Because they’re getting used to being fed, they can’t be released into nature. They wouldn’t survive without they’re hunting instinct. They kept 6 cheetahs and one lion. We saw the cheetahs being fed, it’s an amazing sight, they jump for the meat and take of with it. Personally I didn’t like seeing it, although these animals are being helped, it’s still a tourist attraction like this. We went to bed early, cause tomorrow we have to drive for another 500 km to Maun, crossing the border into Botswana!!

The Waterberg Plateau Park

Today we leave early for the Waterberg Plateau Park, which is a drive of about 250-km. On our way we stop in Otjawarongo, where we did some shopping. We arrived at the Waterberg Plateau Park around noon. Put up our tents (we can do it in 5 minutes now), had lunch and went for a mountain climb. There are maps with the routes to the top of the Waterberg, but we took an alternative route. It was quit a climb but we had lots of fun, we’re surrounded by beautiful nature and had a great view from the top! After we got down from the mountain, we took a dive in the swimming pool near the campsite for relaxation. Tomorrow we leave for Gobabis, and cross Windhoek, the capital of Namibia.

Game drive in Ethosha

An early day again! We leave for our first game drive at 6:30. The game drive will take about three hours. You can see it’s the dry season in Africa, no green at all, you wonder how the animals survive here. The drive was all right, we would have expected to see more game, but you have to be lucky. The waterholes we visited were crowded with animals, so that was very cool! That afternoon we had another game drive. We weren’t looking forward to it, because it was so bloody hot at that point of the day, and to sit in a truck with no airco....pfff. Put we were surprised, this game drive was amazing, we saw so many animals, and above all..we saw LIONS! It’s very difficult to spot these animals, before you track them, they’ve already smelled you from a mile away and take of. But the two lions we saw, were just lying under a tree sleeping. These animals are huge..fantastic! We arrive back at the campsite half past five, which is necessary because the gate closes at sundown, which is about this time. We have a nice meal at the restaurant and go into bed early, because tomorrow we have another driving day ahead of us.

Etosha National Park, at last!

Today at nine we leave for our first national park; Etosha! We’re really looking forward to see the animals in the wild, can’t wait to get there. After a drive of 700 km we arrive at the campsite in the heart of Etosha National Park. First thing we do is jump of the truck and head for the waterhole where the animals come to drink in the dry season. It’s breathtaking, everybody is very quiet and you just see all kinds of animals taking their time to drink some water. We saw Elephants, Rhinos, Giraffes, Springboks, Ostriches, Jackal's..beautiful! What amazed us the most is that the animals take so long to take a zip of water. You can see them coming from miles away, but they approach the waterhole real slowly. Looking around, to see if any lions are on the look out. Especially giraffes are very voorzichtig, which is logical..seeing the way these animals drink. We sad at the waterhole for a while, put up our tent, had something to eat and went back to the waterhole to see if anything was going on. The same herd of elephants was still there, drinking one at a time, so the others could keep an eye out for enemies. Nature rules!

Skydive!!!

Today is the day! We’re picked up in front of the hotel at ten o’ clock. Lunch is good for those who are able to eat. With a bunch of other people and one of our own group we drive to a small airport a few miles outside of Swakopmund. The butterflies start working and the adrenaline starts pumping. We have to wait for an hour before we get into our diving suits! Pink looks very good on Lou, it matches the color of his face! We get some instructions on the ground before we take off in a small plain. We fly up to 10.000 feet, which takes about half an hour. Lou is getting quieter and quieter while Ceen is talking more and more, we’re both nervous as hell. Then we arrive at 10.000 feet and the door opens..oh my god! Lou is going first, feet’s outside..count to three and of he goes. A free fall of 30 seconds seems like a lifetime falling. But it’s amazing, you feel as free as a bird and when you’re back on solid ground, you just want to go again and again!! The area is beautiful and very suited to experience something like this! We went into town for lunch and checked an internet café. We just had a very relaxing afternoon and had pizza at “Papa’s” for dinner. After this we met up with some other people of the group and had something to drink at a local bar.

Swakopmund, a german city in the desert

Today we leave for Swakopmund at 7:00. This will be two relaxing days. We’re gonna stay in a hotel and sleep on normal beds again…wiiihaaaa!!! It’s a ride of about 350-km, so that’s a small distance for what we’re used to. We arrive at the hotel in Swakopmund at one o’ clock and have a nice hot shower (that’s something we’re not used to anymore). Swakopmund is a very touristic place. You can do all kinds of activities here, Quadbiking, Paragliding, Sandboarding and even Skydiving. And of course Lou and Ceen booked, without any doubt or fear…SKYDIVING!!!!!! Tomorrow is the last day of the rest of our lives!! Before we go to bed Ceen writes a goodbye note for her parents and friends, just in case….