Our vacation and lessons learned

Tourism is big in this country, and during some seasons I think there are more rich South Africans and Germans in this country than Namibians. Well, the advantage to that is there are tons of decent lodges and scenic areas in the country to get away to. So, we took a trip last week to the southern part of Namibia. The director of HPOM-N has a sister who is a travel agent and owner of a lodge and we were offered FREE accommodations. You have to know that we were going to take up that offer!

So, off to the "bush" country of southern Africa we went... and in doing so I learned just how small and vulnerable we are. Many valuable lessons were absorbed, and several I really really hope I never forget. Here are just a few:

(1) Don't under estimate the power of dirt and sand roads, washed out roads (from the rain), and a "scenic route" to slow you down
I measured it up... figured it out... and it should have taken about 4-5 hours to get to the lodge. So, we left at 8am. We arrived at about 6pm. You do the math... :-)

Ashlan in a Quiver Tree along the road

I did not even know the Tropic of Capricorn ran through Namibia

A small town in the middle of no where - called Solitaire - reminded me of "Radiator Springs" in the movie Cars (African Style, though)

(2) One spare tire is ok, but two is better
So, on day 3 of the adventure (Wednesday) we decided to head out of the general area of the lodge to a German-built town on the southwest coastline of Namibia called Luderitz. (Remember that it was the Germans who colonized Namibia for a number of years and in doing so they built up a few towns along the coastline. They are all well-built and are VERY much in contrast to the rest of Namibian towns. Anyhow, the Kaiser was kicked out of Namibia by the South Africans in WWI, but many of the German descendants still remained afterward. To this day, you can hear German spoken in several towns along the coastline, including in Swakopmund which is about 60 kilometers from Arandis where we live.)

It was going to be a long day of driving, sightseeing, and driving again - so we got up very early (5am). After driving 3 hours on dirt, rock, mud, and water we finally reached a paved road. Not more than 2 minutes later one of the back tires shredded like a carrot in a blender. And as I worked to change the tire I looked over at the other one and saw radials of metal poking out everywhere. That thing was NOT going to last.

Well, by God's hand we met a man named Washington, who is Zimbabwean. He is here because of the turmoil in his country. He not only helped me change my tire, but he road with us and showed us the nearest fuel stop and service station about 5 kilometers away - hidden back in a town called Aus. Next dilemma though... they only had 1 tire of each possible size. So, I bought a tire (used, and repaired) and we went on our way towards Luderitz. Once there, we found a place where we could purchase 2 tires. But, listen to this -> The used one we purchased, when removed there at the tire place, had a BIG gash in it. I do not know, apart from the hand of God, how it made it all the way there (120 kilometers). If it had gone, we would have been stuck in EXTREME desert territory without a good spare. God no doubt protected us.

(3) Every time I think I understand the history of how people have suffered here I learn more... and it just sounds worse every time.

When we finally made it to Luderitz we visited several places around the town (I mean, after visiting the tire store). One of those places is Shark Island, which is connected to the coastline via a short causeway. The history of Shark Island is depressing, to say it kindly. It was at one time a concentration camp for the German military during their fight against the Herero and Nama people of southern Namibia. Not only did they hold men there, but also women and children - most of whom died while on the island because of the terrible living conditions, and the harsh weather and climate. To dispose of the people, the Germans would dismember them and throw the parts into the ocean. That, of course, attracted the sharks for eating - thus the name Shark Island. You will see by the pictures below of our visit, just how useless the island would be for living on...

The surface of the island is pretty much all the same... rock.

And, right off of the island is nothing but harsh waters and more rocks.

This is a monument commemorating the struggle of the Nama people (shown as !AMA on the marble sign. The "!" is a hard click sound in the Nama language).

I think this is the only standing structure on the island... a lighthouse building built by the Germans and now used as a lodge

(4) Build as we may, God's creation will take back over sooner or later...

There is a small ghost town outside of Luderitz which is quite famous for it's scenery. The town is called Kolmanskop, and was a German-built diamond mining town in the heart of the sand dunes of the southern Namib desert. Abandoned in the 1950s it has been almost overrun with sand. We visited and walked through houses where the sand was so deep on the floor that there was almost no walking space in the whole room.

It was downright eery walking through the houses where families once lived that had been overrun with sand. Look at the German architecture - very surreal.

Old-style hot-water heater and tub. You would put hot coals into the lower part, and the water would sit in the upper part.

Anyone need to use the toilet?

(5) Traveling during the rainy season is crazy.

So, on the way back to our lodge we encountered a rain and wind storm in the middle of the desert unlike one we've ever seen before - complete with sideways rain and sand storms. The first 120 kilometers of that trip is mostly uphill, and so our van was Struggling (capitalized on purpose). When we reached the town of Aus again (remember, where we stopped first after our tire blew out) we returned to the service station we had seen earlier in the day. I was positive we couldn't make it any further, and I was looking for help. We found a small tourist-oriented hotel in the town and I went in ready to beg for a place to sleep. They were very helpful (glad to take Visa or Mastercard??) and we planted ourselves there for the night. Not but about 30 minutes after I took the keys for the rooms the rain stopped and the sun came out. You may think - well, maybe we should have waited and then continued on, but in Namibia when it rains the "rivers" start to appear everywhere including over the roads. And there have been stories of people who were caught in a flash flood a died and I wasn't about to mess around. So, there we stayed.

Check out the rainbow on the right side. It was a full rainbow at first, but the pictures don't really show it well

The hotel. Yep, that is really in a small town in Africa. Like I said, tourism is a MAJOR industry here. Unfortunately, it doesn't usually benefit the people living in tin-shacks and make-shift structures in almost every city and town because much of the tourism industry is owned and operated by the wealthy few, or South Africans who have invested well. And I really don't mean that in a critical way, it's just a general reality.

(6) Traveling during the rainy season is REALLY crazy.

Again on our way the next morning, we entered the region of sand, dirt, and rocky roads. The effects of the rain were everywhere, but I was NOT turning back at that point. We were desperate to get back to our lodge (remember- FREE). So, we pushed on.

It must have been about 10-12 times that we had to stop and evaluate the situation carefully before proceeding. I wish I could say that I was being a "man" about it and that I was the one scouting out the roads, but...

And all the ladies in unison say, "that IS being a man about it - letting your wife do it!"

This was actually one of the better river crossings. :-)

(7) Even in the rainy season, Namibia is worth seeing.

Safari time! The lodge had an older model Toyota Land Cruiser 4x4, and we took advantage of it. The area around the lodge is huge and packed with various animals. We saw a lot more than we got (good) pictures of, but I will share at least a couple of the safari adventure so you can get the basic idea.

Our little adventurers

Mom, I promise the vehicle was parked when the kids were up there.

An Oryx (aka "Gemsbok"). Click here for a picture of one so you can see what you're looking at.

A Blesbok (aka "Blaze Buck"). Click here for a picture of one so you can see what you're looking at.

Josiah thinks he's ready to live in the bush (the region, not the plant behind him)

We tried to find some zebra that were rumored to be in the area, but could not. We did see a few other things in the area though, including:

a. Bat-eared fox

b. Black-backed Jackal

c. Springbok (which jump around like they're on springs)

d. Ostrich (you don't need a picture I'm sure) - tons of them
e. And, we saw a VERY large Cape Cobra - but, don't worry, there are none in the area that we live (Arandis). So, Mom, Chris, Brian, Pastor Pat, Tori, Joshua, Ron, Brianna, et al... you probably won't encounter anything like that when you visit! Seriously.

Do I look like a nature-show host?

(8) A Safari in Namibia can be on-road or off-road.

I don't need to comment on this, do I? Just enjoy the pics

Sheep in the driveway

Cows in the road

Baboon that was in the road, but got off of it in time

A road, with no guardrails, on a cliff. I drove about 5 miles per hour on this one! It was 2 lanes most of the way, so don't be fooled by the angle of the picture that makes it look like a donkey-path. (again, Mom, don't worry, it was ok).

(9) Pot holes on a paved road stink, but pot-holes in a river going across a road are harsh.

Killed my van's shocks and lost a license plate in the process of driving back towards civilization. The plate is cheap, but the shocks are going to cost me...

+++++++++++++++

And a couple more pics for the record. Just because.

Swimming pool, African-style (a big water container for holding water pumped from a bore-hole).

Wild horse, but contained in a rather large fenced area. He's a beauty (cue Steve Irwin)