EJ's Travels

I was fortunate enough to join Susana on one of her tours as an assistant. Her clients were Antonio and Mercedes, a Spanish couple from the island of Ibiza who have traveled with Susana before, and their daughter, Monsina, and her boyfriend, Isidro (“EZ” for short). This trip was a gift to Monsina for successfully completing medical school. She now practices family medicine while Isidro specializes in otorhinolaryngology (ear, nose and throat). I was a little nervous that my presence would be resented or that I would feel like an outsider making everyone a little bit uncomfortable. Nothing could have been further from the truth. I was immediately made to feel welcome and soon even part of the family. They were absolutely lovely people.

Although they all claimed to speak very little English, which I thought would force me to practice my extremely limited knowledge of Spanish (despite 3 weeks in South America and having Spanish hosts in Namibia), the truth was they were all quite capable of expressing themselves in and understanding English. I am afraid they spoke far more English throughout the trip than I did Spanish. Although my vocabulary was growing I still had very little understanding of how to form sentences out of those words. Still I enjoyed listening to the dialogue each day knowing that hearing the rhythm of their language was an important step in eventually learning to speak it.

Day 1:

Our first stop was Okonjima Lodge just a couple hours north of Windhoek. The lodge is run in conjunction with Africat, an organization aimed at promoting large carnivore conservation and animal welfare. Unfortunately many of Namibia’s large carnivores (cheetahs, leopards, lions, spotted hyenas, brown hyenas and wild dogs) are in conflict with local farmers and often end up being trapped and/or killed. Others are captured and kept as pets, often being mistreated. Africat rescues and rehabilitates captured and injured animals and releases them back into the wild when possible. To date they have rescued over 800 leopards and cheetahs and returned 85% of them to the wild. They also conduct plenty of research and provide environmental education programs. Their sanctuary consists of approximately 1250 acres.

We arrived just in time to go leopard tracking. Not so easy, even when they are collared. But we were in luck. What an absolutely stunning animal.

Leopard found, but not so easy to spot

Off she goes!

Day 2:

Before leaving Okonjima we got a chance to see a couple of lions that are currently being housed there. We also went in search of cheetahs with the help of providing their morning snack.

Enjoying a little morning sun

Keep arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times

We then drove to Etosha National Park. Etosha means “great white place,” referring to the mineral pan which covers 4731 square kilometers (25% of the park). The pan is part of the Kalahari Basin, the floor of which was formed around 1000 million years ago. The pan was originally a lake fed by the Kunene River. However the course of the river changed thousands of years ago and the lake dried up. The pan now is a large dusty depression of salt and dusty clay. The perennial springs along the edges of the Etosha Pan draw large concentrations of wildlife and birds. And that’s what we went to see.

Jackyl

Gnu

This isn’t a great shot, but we had a wonderful sighting of 14 lioness!

I never grow tired of these magnificentally tall beasts

White with black stripes

So happy together

We actually found this one crossing the road once we left Etosha Park

Day 3:

After a full day of wandering throughout Etosha Park, we drove to Hobatere Lodge for the night. It was at dinner when Susana surprised Monsina and Isidro with the news that they would be spending the night in a tree house! The looks on their faces were priceless. They didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. The thought of being left in a tree house several kilometers from the lodge with no one but lions and other wild animals as company was exciting, but also terribly disconcerting! Eventually they warmed to the idea and after a night game drive we said goodnight and wished them sweet dreams!

No fear!

Day 4:

We drove to the tree house to retrieve Monsina and Isidro and were met with all smiles. They had enjoyed a peaceful night in the tree house. No tales to tell. We parked the jeep and went for a walk with Martin as our guide. It’s not often your trekking guide carries a loaded shotgun just in case.

Treehouse in morning light

All smiles!

Shotguns never seem to make me feel more at ease

Enjoying the view

An elephant sighting on our way back to the lodge

Day 5:

We made our way north to spend a couple of days at Epupa Camp near Epupa Falls. The falls are formed by the Kunene River which flows from Angola and descends rapidly westwards into Namibia through narrow gorges until it empties into the Atlantic Ocean. The last 100km of the river actually forms a natural border between the two countries.

This region of the country is home to the Himbas. The Kunene River is a significant source of food and water for these nomads. The government would like to build a dam here, but thus far has been unable to secure funding. Let us hope they never do.

And so, yes, we joined the other tourists with our very own token village visit. Actually, the family requested two. I tried to keep an open mind and to look at it as a beautiful opportunity. Of course I too brought my camera and couldn’t resist taking pictures of their homestead, and, quite simply, of their gorgeous selves.

Epupa Falls

More Epupa Falls

This Himba child was racing after our car in hopes for “sweeties”

Himba home & bull

Homes are built by the women and made from saplings bound by
fronds of a makalani palm and plastered with cattle dung

Inside home

The most sacred part of a homestead is the line between the main
dwelling, the sacred fire and the entrance to the calf enclosure

Leather loin cloths and goat skinned skirts are the traditional dress along with intricate jewelery made of iron and/or shells. Hairstyles are symbolic of age and marital status. An ochre paste made from powdered redwood and butter fat is rubbed on their bodies making their skin smooth and shiny (not to mention beautiful) like that of the sacred calf.

Young woman outside home

I played a wicked game of tag with these two boys

Day 6:

Made the long drive to Palmwag with a stop in Opuwo for lunch. At Palmwag we met up with Caesar, our guide for the next 5 days camping in Damaraland.

Roadside in Opuwo

Days 7 – 10:

I couldn’t have been happier to be back in Damaraland which was my favorite place in Namibia. Again we were alone in this remote region aside from the wildlife that call it home. This trip I added a lion to my list of animals seen in the wild.

My favorite seat

The view from on top couldn’t be beat

Barren

“True Adventure is Rare”

Look real close… there’s a lion there

Passing through a small village – horse drawn carts are still common

Last look at Damaraland

Day 11:

As we continued west the Namib desert met the Atlantic Ocean along the Skeleton Coast. The Skeleton Coast stretches for hundreds of miles with only a handful of small fishing villages along the desolate strip of land. It gets its name from the many ships which wrecked in the treacherous currents here and lives lost when they discovered nothing but barren desert for hundreds of miles upon reaching land. Aside from its reputation for excellent fishing along this stretch of coast, the largest and purest diamonds are also found beneath the dunes of the Namib. We were headed south to Swakopmund, but first we stopped at Cape Cross, a seal colony along the way. Upon reaching Swakopmund we said goodbye to Caesar and then rushed to the dunes just outside of town to watch the sun go down.

Skeleton Coast… it just goes on and on and on

There were hundreds of thousands of them…I couldn’t get over it!

Motherly love

One last sundowner with my amigos

Ocean, dunes and a full moon make for one happy Erica

Day 12:

This morning I went kayaking at Pelican Point in Walvis Bay (just down the road from Swakopmund) with Antonio, Mercedes, Monsina and Isidro before finally parting ways with them. It was a beautiful sunny day which is rare along this part of the coast. We enjoyed paddling through the water surrounded by seals and dolphins. And then it was time to say goodbye. It took but seconds for me to begin to miss their constant pranks, their contagious laughter, their traditional songs, their kind smiles, their earnest attempts to speak English, their wonder, their graciousness, their bathroom humor, their “buenos noches” and their friendship.

Happy days!

Sunset on my own in Swakopmund

see more photos at: http://ej.smugmug.com

Tags: Travel

This entry was posted on Friday, May 12th, 2006 at 7:21 am and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.