The Road to Windhoek - Alrica

Saying goodbye to Table Mountain, Cape Town, South Africa

I’ve spoken of fear before and my intent to not let it impact this adventure so I have been trying to ignore a new fear ever since we booked this trip to Namibia. Specifically, all of the tour guides say that the way to see Namibia is on a self-driven tour in a 4x4 vehicle. Further research introduced us to double cab trucks with tents on top. This was very exciting to all of us and with a bit of negotiation, we were able to get a company to lower its price to fit our budget. We rented from a company called Zebra if anyone is looking. Now it was the morning to pick up the vehicle. Here is where the fear comes in. 

These trucks are standard transmission South African vehicles which means that the driver is on the right side of the car and the gear shift is to the left (in the middle). They drive on the left side of the road. On top of that, the windshield wipers and the turn signals are switched. At least the foot pedals are standard. To start, I haven’t been able to drive at all since my surgery and, while I have been healing nicely, I had some fear about all the stress on my right leg. Secondly, I haven’t driven a stick shift in twenty years. Finally, I have never driven on the left side of the road. Yikes!

Erich doesn’t drive stick shift at all so it is all me unless there is an emergency. We finished packing up our Cape Town apartment and called an Uber driver to pick us up. Setting up Uber was a pain, but the rest went really nicely. Our driver was also a part time tour guide and gave us a running commentary on the way to the airport. When we got there, our truck was there and waiting and Wanda (our driver) spent well over an hour going over details: how to set up the tents, all of the equipment that came with it (including a refrigerator), and all of the safety and repair gear. He was thorough and reassuring.

Then we were on our own. Happily, the driving came back to me pretty quickly. The first half hour was fairly stressful as we drove through a busy city complete with roundabouts and stop and go traffic. It also involved filling the gas tank and replacing a broken taillight (which the garage did for no charge!). A stop at the apartment for final checkout and a grocery store run and we were on our way.

Within ten miles of Cape Town, we saw our first ostriches! We passed vineyards and drove through mountain ranges and stopped for construction. All part of the adventure. Leaving a bit later than we expected meant a need for flexibility. We had planned to make it to a campsite in Springbok, South Africa the first night but we wouldn’t make it that far. As I drove into the late afternoon, Erich started looking up campsites that would be closer. We considered getting a hotel but we were all really eager to try out the tents. Finally found a place pretty late and set up camp by the light of flashlights (torches). Ate a cold dinner and enjoyed amazing stars and went to bed.

Wanting to make up some lost time, we had a quick breakfast and got on the road again. Continued north on the N7 to the Namibian border where luckily there was hardly anyone in line ahead of us. That still meant nearly an hour and a half at the border crossing. South Africa had to check us out and Namibia had to check us in and charge us the road usage fee of N$242. With all of my research, one of the things that hadn’t come up was that Namibia changed their law several years ago that now requires US drivers to carry International Driver’s Licenses, not just state licenses. The US state dept. hasn’t caught up with that yet. According to our rental company, most people aren’t given an issue though and that was our experience. At no time did anyone ask to see my license.

The first couple hundred KM of Namibia are flat, golden desert. It is very beautiful at first, but soon develops a sameness that had us wishing for change.  The turn onto the gravel road that lead us to our night’s camping brought us that change.  Being off the beaten path, we were forced to drive more slowly and enjoyed seeing birds and wildlife alongside small subsistence farming communities. A flock of ostrich crossed the road in front of us, the dust devils twisted along the dirt roads, and a stop at the Fish River let us watch a small herd of mule-like creatures.

Our nights lodging was an abandoned community campground on the side of an extinct volcano called Brukkaros. The ornate gate was abandoned but unlocked and we had the entire place to ourselves. This time we got there early enough to set up the campsite and the kids got to go for a hike while we got dinner made. A wind storm had kicked up and we ended up eating inside the truck to avoid eating the sand that was pelting us. Then, despite the wind, we climbed to the top of the nearby hill and watched the sun go down.

Day three put us back on a leisurely drive to Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. We got checked in to the Hilton Windhoek early and were given a free upgrade to a lovely suite of rooms. With two bathrooms, it still took us nearly an hour to get all of the dirt scrubbed off of us and we headed up to the roof to enjoy the pool. We took advantage of the free wireless, ate a wonderful dinner and dessert (I highly recommend the carrot soup and the bread pudding). It was nice to feel pampered after a few days of roughing it.

Tomorrow morning starts my fortieth birthday as we head north to Waterberg and then Etosha National Park. Another forty years of overcoming fears to live the life I choose. What an amazing adventure I get to share with my family!

Ice and Lemon? ‒ Erich

The rest of my family is doing a great job at covering our thus far short time in Namibia. They are hitting all of the big things to tell you about. I wanted to cover one of the small things.

For set-up, though, you need to know that while our trip to Namibia is mostly about the great outdoors, camping, wildlife, and terrain, we are, tonight, for one night, staying in a Hilton in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. Windhoek is nice, but not amazing. It looks like any none too big capital city of a westernized nation.

So tonight, we ate a restaurant. And when the kids ordered tap water to drink, the waitress asked, “Ice and lemon?” This is not unfamiliar to us. In South Africa if you order tap water, the same two part question is always asked. And, again, just like in South Africa, when the water was brought out it had ice cubes in it and a slice of a citrus fruit with a green rind. We've noticed this many times before. But, unlike those other times, this time, I asked about it. I told the waitress, Anna, that in the United States, our lemons are yellow and our limes are green. I asked if they had limes in Namibia. She seemed very confused by my confusion. She started to explain, but then said, “I will bring you a lemon and a lime.”

Here, my friends is a picture of one lemon and two limes. And you can see the color of the lemon!

Now she described the lemon as yellow and limes as green. And while I agree that the lemon is yellower than the limes, I would have called it green as well. I asked her how she knew it was lemon in the tap water rather than lime. And she pointed out that the lemons are rougher, they have a more textured rind. And the slices in our water glasses did indeed have that rougher rind. So they were lemons.

We tried to explain to her why we were confused. Alrica showed her a yellow daisy that had been decorating our table. Alrica explained that this was closer to the color of a lemon in the United States. This surprised Anna very much. So I guess our surprise was less surprising after that.

So there you have it. A small thing. A tiny mystery explained. Now I am wiser traveler, knowing that a lemon by any other color would still be sour. (Though Anna assured me that the lime would be much sourer.) But I am still left to wonder one thing: When South Africans and Namibians visit the States and get their tap water with a slice of lemon, do they ask, “What is this fruit?”

Namibia 2 and 3 - Syarra

                     Namibia 2

The first day in camp we drove all of seven hours and had lots of stops for construction. We also had to stop closer than expected for the sun went down earlier than we thought it was going to. We tried to find a camp but we had some difficulty. We found one in Kamieskroon (A town) that had camping which here is called caravan parks.

That night we slept on top of our 4x4. Which looks like this.

We have two tents that are for two people each. And they fold up so cool, like boxes on the top they look so small, but then you unfold them and the scene is totally different. I am very glad we got the 4x4 instead of just a car.

I like being able to see the stars so clearly and in Lancaster we never got the chance. Then you wake up and your high off the ground but you see so much. And we were the only one camping so we had a quiet night I enjoyed the night with my family, we had a dinner of salad.

We also have been seeing tons of animals when we are away from civilization and the animals are amazing. We have seen antelope like animals, ostrich, and some birds already. All thought there is lots of animal there are also a lot of trash. I think we should make that more of a concern to save the animals from the trash we put in this world. The world is not just ours. We have to remember we share with the animals and we can't pollute it. 

Namibia 3

The volcano

The volcano is a campsite. Anyway, we left the last campsite and drove another seven hours. Then we got to Brukkaros campsite on Brukkaros volcano. We went up a long winding path up the side of the mountain. On the way we saw a flock of ostrich running away from the road. When we got up to the campsite, the wind was blowing so hard it could knock you down if you weren't careful. That made it very difficult to set up our tents and to make dinner. So, for dinner we ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches while sitting in the car to hide from the wind.

After dinner, we climbed up a hill on one side of the campsite. Here, we watched a brilliant sunset of orange turn into a beautiful peach that was lovely to see from off the side of the hill.

We then went back to our camp and all gathered into one of the tents. We told stories, and at last, the wind began to die off. Then we went to sleep.

 

My half-birthday - Carver

I know Syarra started out the trip with a post called My Birthday and another one will be coming soon. Tomorrow, I would assume. So I wanted one and it was in fact, my half birthday. In exactly six months I will turn 12. Anyway, last night we slept in Kamieskroon Hotel and Caravan Park. I write this as we sit and wait at a construction site where only one direction can go at a time. I will publish this in Springbok when we have reception for Internet, I hope. It was fun sleeping on top of the truck. We hoped to get to Springbok yesterday but we left later and took us longer to drive then we expected. So we stopped in Kamieskroon. We got there late and set up the tents by flashlight. In the morning we drank a naartjie squash blend, not realizing squash (a juice) needs to be diluted with water. We are moving again, driving down the one lane road. After drinking the squash and eating Good Morning breakfast biscuits, we drove away. We packed up the tents before eating. We turned on to N7 North and immediately hit the construction.

I must post this in Windhoek, Namibia. There was no reception in the area where the highway was close to Springbok. I write this as we drive down a road in desolate Namibia. So I know more to post about.

We soon arrived in the border post. It was hot and annoying but we got through. I saw the Orange River which the sign showed water and said Oranje. We stayed at a dormant volcano. It was an old abandoned community campsite. We climbed up a great hill. And when we were all at the top, I sang a great song about it.

Oh say does that hill climbing prowess yet climb,
For the land of the two-legged,
And the home of the mountain dwellers.

Now driving, we saw an ostrich run, a shepherd herding sheep, and a dick-dick (a tiny antelope).

When I post this it will only be a couple hours after my half-birthday. I was born in Edison, New
Jersey so my half-birthday ends at midnight, eastern time.

Yop! - Carver

Our final Yop!

We are soon leaving. And the tradition started when we cleaned and sold our house in Lancaster. We Yop!ed every room when we emptied it. And then the whole house. We will soon go to the airport with Uber, a taxi service to pick up our car. Then we will either go to PicknPay or back home depending on how long it takes. We will meet someone to leave the house at noon. When we return here, we will finish packing, Yop! a couple more rooms, and then Yop! the whole house. And then we drive on to Namibia.

I can now post our address. It is 293 Main Road, Kenilworth, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa. However Google Maps will not find the right place. The maps that come with Apple Devices work.

Namibia - Syarra

Tomorrow starts the big trip in Namibia. We get the 4x4 and drive off. Tomorrow we leave South Africa. Now that means again we have no house. But that is better than a plane. I feel like we still have lots to do in South Africa but we will do it with a car. So that will wait. In Namibia, the sand dunes are waiting. In the airport, the 4x4 is waiting. And me, I am waiting for the experience of a lifetime.

Petty Crimes on the Sands of the Seas - Carver

Sea=False Bay and by extension the Atlantic (It turns out L’Aguilhas is the Southern tip of Africa and the dividing point.)

Sand=Crushed Quartz (Silicon Dioxide)

Petty Crime=Backpack Theft

My last post was about disappointments. This was a major disappointment. My last post was about minor disappointments so this has nothing to do with that post. Well, maybe a little. I suppose it has everything to do with the last post. It was packed with many minor disappointments.

We were renting surfboards this time at Muizenberg and while we were in the water, someone stole our backpack with our clothes and more important things. In there was a wallet with credit cards and a driver’s license. A cellphone. And my favorite polyester clothing. I find many clothings uncomfortable and so we brought comfortable clothing. My favorite is polyester clothing. We replaced the shirt with a bright orange polyester shirt but we haven’t seen the same polyester shorts I owned. We got a new phone. Telkom gave us a new SIM card with the same amount of data on it because the old one was in the phone. We got many people’s clothing replaced and most of the issues are solved. But a couple remain.

These are minor disappointments. I loved my clothing that got stolen. We are getting new credit cards shipped to us. And the impact could be minimized. But I had a bad attitude about it all because we were all freaked out. I had great expectations for the shorts and shirt that I lost. So, very hard to avoid in this situation.

Remember the t-chart.