Hello everyone. I am writing to you from the African country of Namibia, in a small coastal town known as Swakopmund. I have been on my African safari for 8 days now and the experience has been amazing. Africa has not been at all what I thought it would be and I have learned an amazing amount so far
I left India on may 9th and headed towards Africa. My original plan was to land in Johannesburg, South Africa…spend a day there and then head to Capetown to begin my Safari on may 13th. However the process of leaving India was a bit more difficult than I had imagined. My flight times had been changed and I ended up missing the flight from Mumbai to Bahrain that I was supposed to take. Luckily, Gulf Airlines was very accommodating and routed me through Dubai instead, and even booked me a seat on an Emirates Airlines flight from Dubai to Johannesburg.
After the ordeal at the airport and being excited I got to take another international Emirates flight I made some phone calls home. As the plane door was closing I told who I was talking with good-bye and waited for the plane to take off. After about 10 minutes it was clear that my health wasn’t what it should be. I was feeling much too cold and my health only worsened during the travel. When I landed in Oman (my connection to Dubai left from there) I was shaking with the chills and felt generally miserable. I would be sick for my entire travel to South Africa and instead of going to Johannesburg I went straight to capetown and to a hotel to sleep 80% of the next 3 days. Capetown seemed like a beautiful city but I didn’t get to experience any of it. The night before my safari left I still felt generally miserable and hoped I would be good when the dawn broke.
On the morning of the Safari I miraculously felt much better and packed my bag one more time and headed to the departure point. When I got onto the bus I was introduced to 11 other strangers who would grow to become my friends over the week and hopefully become life long friends over the next 42 days. The group consisted of the following people that I am sure I will write much more about as time goes on:
Me: As you all know
Jude: A Swiss nurse who has been working in South Africa for the past year
Brett & Kirsten: An engaged (Canadian) couple who are traveling before they get married/start school again in august.
Denis: An Irish guy traveling the world before going back to Ireland to teach. Happens to be the comic relief on the trip.
Rich & Monic: Another couple. Rich is from London and Monic from Los Angeles. They will be returning to San Francisco where rich is a life coach and monic is a jazz singer.
Adell: An English girl who has been doing advertising work in Ghana for a few months. After completing this trip she will be volunteering in Nairobi then heading back to England to work.
Mika: An Australian in Africa to do this trip…afterwards she will be returning home.
Rik: A boy from Holland who has been working in South Africa and after the trip returning home.
Sam: Another English girl (lots of English people on the trip) who has just finished high school and begins university when she returns home.
Elena: A 58 year old retired polish woman living in Australia. The stories of her life are amazing and what is more amazing is that she has more energy than anyone else on the trip.
The trip leaders name is Kim and she was once a participate in the same trip I am doing about a year ago. She loved it so much that she wanted to spend a year guiding trips learning as much as she could about Africa.
Our first day consisted of a four hour drive (the daily typical even though there will be a few days with as much as 8 hours of driving and even one with 9 at toward Kenya). Wen went along the stunning South African coast and then entered into wine country. There were a number of rolling hills and vineyards dotted along the landscape for the rest of the dive. The trip ended at a vineyard that caters to overland safaris such as ours and we learned to pitch our tents and the job system for the first time. As the trip works there are 4 different tasks that have been created and 3 people are assigned to a task each day. They include: dishes, pitching the tent for the cook/driver, truck clean, and food prep. The worst one by far is the dishes and my group was unlucky enough to be assigned the task on the first day, when we had a stew as the main dinner course.
The food on the trip has been really amazing. The truck comes with a cook who is named Joseph…a Kenyan who has been all around Africa. He does an amazing job with all his dishes and no one has gone hungry yet. For breakfast we usually get eggs, beans, toast, coffee, tea, and fresh fruit. For lunch there is usually some sort of sandwich with different meats and vegetables. For dinner the meals have been really diverse ranging from stew, roast chicken, soups, and a number of other things….all really good. We also stop from time to time at rest stations where people can fill up on snacks….I’ve been trying to eat healthy but I have been getting the occasional ice-cream.
The first night was a great icebreaker for the group as a wine-tasting had been prepared and we sampled a number of different south African wines. Everyone got along great and the trip has not had an fights or arguments arisen between group members….yet. We will however be picking up 7 additional members once we get to Victoria falls so hopefully they will also get along well with everyone else.
Ah…I am running out of time at the Internet cafe so I will have to condense the rest of the trip.
Africa so far has been for those who love large landscapes and like to be thrilled. After the vineyard we moved to the Namibian/south African border which is made up of the Orange river. There we swam in its cold waters and the next day canoes down some minor rapids and met the other overlanding trucks doing similar trips. Of the other trucks the only one I’ve had major contact with is the Nomad Truck….we are the ATC (Africa Travel Company) truck. The nomad truck is made up of 11 girls and 3 guys…but that is another story altogether.
After the Orange river we made our way up into the country of Namibia. The southern part of the country is dominated by the geological wonder known as the Namib desert. It is the home to the world’s oldest and largest sand dunes and the location for the filming of almost every Hollywood film that requires the grandiose desert setting. There we climbed dune 45…one of the largest dunes in the world standing close to 200 meters. The walk up was miserable as every step my foot slide back down half the distance I covered. The run down the share face of the dune was much funner however. The sand helps you keep your balance so you can run full speed covering 10 meters per step and just sink into the sand. I tried to roll towards the bottom and got a face full of sand but it was well worth the experience.
Also in the desert we met with a guide who had grown up in a tribal setting and walked us around the desert teaching us survival tips and how to navigate the desert and find food. I was amazed at how dry and dead the desert looks on the surface but how much life is accessible if just look. I was really amazed that there is a plan there that the locals use to combat Diabetest!!!! Also, in the desert I went sand boarding (basically snow-boarding on the sand) which due to the comic relief…and lack of coordination…of Dennis back perhaps the funniest day of my life. (I have a dvd of the experience that is sure to make anyone laugh). Finally in the desert….today… I went quad biking in the dunes. The views were spectacular but my camera didn’t accompany due to the fear of rolling and destroying it during a wipe out.
That is all for now but next time I write I will have been to the national cheetah park, estosha national park, spend a day with the bush tribes, and who knows what else I might have done in Africa. Hope everyone is well.
