Blogs from Kalahari, Namibia, Africa

A day on the road today and plenty of adventures and sightings along the way. An early start this morning as I thought I could hear meerkats just as it was getting light, but despite checking all around there were none to be seen. After packing and a short walk we were treated to more wonderful food at breakfast. We were also able to see the elusive meerkats before we left and the adventures began. After a short blast down more tar roads we turned onto the gravel where vibration and dust are the hazards but solitude, scenery and wildlife are the rewards. Our route took us past farms of cattle, goats and sheep, which is an animal we had not seen in Namibia before. We were also rewarded with wildlife, even a meerkat standing in ... read more

3.01.18:51 Ich konnte letzte Nacht nicht schlafen: Bei der Kontrolle meines Portemonnaies gegen Mitternacht ist mir aufgefallen, dass ein wichtiger Bestandteil fehlt: Mein Führerschein. Nicht gut! Gott sei Dank sind wir immer noch in Afrika und der Angestellte unserer Autovermietung in Windhoek weiss nichts vom fett gedruckten Satz in der ÖAMTC-Broschüre: "Ohne gültigen Führerschein ist der internationale Führerschein nicht gültig". Er kopiert sich in gemütlich-afrikanischer Manier den Internationalen und gibt sich damit zufrieden. Sein Kollege Patrick übernimmt ab der Vertragsunterzeichnung. Patrick ist 20 Jahre alt, geboren und aufgewachsen in Namibia. Seine Familie stammt aus Dresden. Sein Vater hat die grösste Jagd-Ranch im Land und erlegt hie und da auch mal einen Elefant; Nashörner sind allerdings Tabu. Patrick erklärt uns unser Fahrzeug, kontrolliert das Inventar und erzä... read more

Botswana & Namibia After having concluded our affairs ain Livingstone it was time to head to Botswana which meant going over the river in a boat, here I use the word boat in the loosest sense of the word. On the approach road to the ferry for about a mile and a half the sides of the roads were lined nose to tail with trucks and lorries waiting to cross the border. According to our driver it can take weeks for the necessary bureaucracy to be in place, and if the truck doesn’t weigh the same as it did in Livingstone where it also has to be weighed then they are sent back to be weighed in Livingstone with an extra fine, which makes it surprising that any business at all is conducted between these countries. ... read more

It's a strange feeling being the only person on a tour. Both you and the guide have only one person to talk to, meaning the guide/group relationship is broken down and it's more like two friends together. Not being a particularly chatty person, I can't say this arrangement necessarily appeals but fortunately my guide/driver/cook T is fond of monologues requiring no input from me. He's a white Namibian whose English comes with intriguing rolled r's. His several decades in tourism mean he has plenty of information to pass on, as well as enough connections to mean he knows 50% of the people we pass. Driving out of Upington, T points out the airport, saying it's one of the umpteen alternative landing sites for the Space Shuttle dotted around the world (though NASA's website doesn't mention it). ... read more

I am in the Middle Eastern part of Namibia, in a one horse town where the horse is long dead. My hopes for internet dashed immediately, and I still have items to attend to in the personal life. Lesson learned... get all your crap done before you leave for Africa. My worldphone (that hot phone sold in the US by CDMA providers) which allows "world" access, doesn't work at all - neither their sim card or any other international card provided. GRRRRRR. Not terrible except for every other non-american phone is working just fine. We have the worst phone service in the world, I'll conclude, again. Anyhow, my impressions thus far are mixed, our guide, a native South African, I'd say about 60 years old, has rubbed the entire group the wrong way, and you now ... read more