Blogs from Rundu, Namibia, Africa - page 5

“Two of the greatest gifts we can give our children are roots and wings”.Hodding Carter. Thankfully our parents have bestowed these two essential ingredients and being able to travel and spread those wings adds an intriguing dimension to life.Towards the end of last week our numbers swelled by two with the arrival of Charles and Sue Summers.Close friends of the Birketts,they had driven up to the Caprivi from Beira on the Mozambique coast where Charles is Financial Director for one of Tongaat Hulett’s sugar mills.Daily life at Island View Lodge must rank highly in the oft quoted clichéd statement…..”it doesn’t get much better than this”.Firstly,the weather is sublime….warm,windless days with golden sunlight contrasting superbly with silvery water and riverine growth.It does not rain here from April to November so no chance of the weather turning things ... read more

June 6th I woke up promptly in the morning and got my things packed away in the truck while the kettle was on and the bread was toasting. After speaking with the reception of the campsite I had been informed that if we were to get within 20 meters of the Angolan side of the river then we would be forced to go over to that country, and be arrested. “What if we don’t go over to the Angolan side after they call us over?” I asked. “Then you’ll be shot”, she replied. Sooo my decision was made, and my 32nd would have to be South Africa, and not Angola. The receptionist also mentioned how ill-mannered the Angolans are, especially towards Namibians. I don’t know all the ins and outs of the history between the two ... read more

Hi Everyone Well it’s been a few days since my last post....pretty much due to the lack of internet facilities in the Okavango Delta area. We’ve been roughing it bush camping with no shower and a long drop loo in the most beautiful places When I left you last time we were in Kasane Botswana. We had yet another night of playing cards and drinking in the camp bar and yet another early morning after when we hit the road to the Okavango......600 km’s of road....with a few sightings of lions, zebra, giraffe and impala. We hit the delta area and were taken by boat....a very cold and wet 90 minute boat ride through the delta pan handle to a village called Serongo. We were then shepherded onto trucks to take us to our camp through ... read more

Hi everyone Just a quick update as we are having a quick stop in Rundu ... So we went tracking with the San Bushmen and they showed us how to make fire, make traps to catch animals and also where to find water and gather medicine in the wild. The camp was in the middle of nowhere and we stayed just outside the village the minute we arrive the kids were all over us wanting to sit on our knee and Rob had a game of football with them while I had piggyback races. The following day we went to see how the San live now and it was quite an eye opener to see how much poverty there is. We then went to start helena to leave and she wouldn't start again so back to ... read more

Dawn brought steady rain - the last thing we wanted! We packed the cars as best we could, leaving the tents in place in the hopes that it would stop before long. Meanwhile we went back to the lodge and had a cooked breakfast there and watched the steady downpour into the papyrus and river. It was nice to have a cooked, English breakfast, but there was no marmalade! It didn’t stop raining and looked as though it was set for the day so we dismantled the tents in the wet and set off for the Namibian border, filling up with diesel in Shakawe. The border was a few miles further on and the formalities were quite simple and the place almost deserted. No sharks hanging around wanting to change our money but no facility for ... read more