Namibia - Days 1-2, Covid travelling, crocodile farm

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As you probably know, I had been working from home since March 22nd, and only left the city of Dubai 5 times during that time period. No family, limited social interactions, stuck in a room for months on end.... I needed something. My usual travel group was putting on a trip to Namibia during the long weekend break in the UAE - celebrating Commemoration Day and National Day, we had a 5 day weekend, so made the trip 10+ days. I had been trying my best to follow the rules this whole time, but I decided to try this trip, helped by the fact that Namibia is one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world and it was on my bucket list.

I had been fighting a bad cold before I left - I was half worried I had Covid, but my test came back negative (I was actually a little sad about that since I needed rest!). I was so worried about the test, sticking a swab up my nose did not sound appealing. But I went to Emirates Specialty Hospital at 6 in the morning, when no one else was around. I quickly registered, paid and sat in the chair. The nurse or technician promised she would not hurt me. And she didn't! I didn't know what the fuss was about, I barely felt it! (Will update you on test #2 in Windhoek later - ouch!). I was in and out in less than 20 minutes and got my results five hours later. Easy!

I tried to finish up work before I left, and was thankful that we would still have a holiday break, which should limit the emails I would have to follow up on when I returned. I met our group at Terminal 3 at DXB - Terminal 1 was currently closed. I checked in and was surprised to see such a long line of people (so many of whom had huge amounts of luggage - it was insane). Our flight to Addis Ababa via Ethiopian Airlines was packed. Packed!!!! Of course, someone was sitting in my seat and of course they poked me the whole time so I could not get any sleep on the overnight flight. Love the hypocrisy of maintaining your social distancing in the airport.... but you can be squeezed onto a flight for hours where you have to touch other people. I was irritated. Fortunately, the flight to Windhoek was practically empty and I was able to fully stretch out across all 3 seats and sleep on the six hour journey.

We touched down at the airport, which is about a 40 minute drive from Windhoek. I was able to get through customs relatively easily, but there were a couple of people who had issues and had to pay an entry fee in Namibian dollars before getting through, so it took a while. But we met our guide and his 5 assistants, a couple of whom had previous guiding experience while the others were drivers assisting. Due to Covid regulations, we were limited to having 3 people in a car plus our driver, so that was 6 cars (4x4 covered trucks actually) for our group of 18. I just picked a truck and was joined by two other women, one Colombian and one Dutch, and our driver was named Elvis - he was great! It was a nice driver into town, where our lead guide, George, had told us we would change our money, getting better rates than at the airport. However, it was their Election Day and basically everything was closed, and it also meant that no alcohol was being sold or served. People in our group were watching me like starving animals as apparently I was the only one who bought something at Duty Free before we left - a bottle of honey jack....

It took forever, forever, to get our money for 18 people. The banks were officially closed so we were apparently just dealing with one guy, who was super slow. But finally we made it to the Uzuri Guest house, which was super cute, but it was kind of a free for all with getting our rooms. I was paired with one girl and we got along fine - we both liked our rooms cold. We then went to dinner at a nice restaurant in a plaza-like, courtyard setting. It was really good - I just had chicken. But it was a nightmare getting everyone to figure out how much each person owed. The Pbot took control. The dinner was probably 3 hours long, but it was nice getting to know each other. I was exhausted as soon as we got back. My part of our large room was not affected by the A/C, so it was a warm night for me.

The next morning, we left, having to wait for our guide who had to finalize the money again, taking our first photo ops under a highway bridge. We continued north to Otjiwarongo, taking random road sign photo stops on the way. In Otjiwarongo, we had lunch at a crocodile farm, first ordering our food (I got kababs) then going to see the many crocodiles. There were so many: babies, juveniles, and big giant fat crocodiles. They were pretty active. Soon, it was time to eat them. This is the second time I had crocodile, and I did not like it as much - it tasted like fishy chicken. It was ok, but if I ever do get it again (which is a big 'if'), I think thinly sliced pieces or fried.

We continued on to Kamanjab for our stay at Melissa's Guesthouse. Another madhouse scramble for our rooms, but they were all nice. There was a nice pool in the back, a great bar, and just a general good vibe. We had a group dinner there that night, where most of us got oryx steak which was.... ok. Kind of tough. But the rest of the food was decent. Then they followed up with a performance by singers from a local tribe, who were part of the native speakers who make the clicking sounds. It was a great end to the evening.

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[D MJ Binkley]

Namibia
This is a trip we want to make. Have fun.