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Hello from Namibia!! Hope all is well with everyone back home and thank you for all your messages! Love getting them!
So since I last updated I was in Swakopmund - I spoke to Mum and Dad very briefly as my money seemed to be hemorrhaging out of the machine! We all went out in the evening to a lovely restaurant - I had Oryx Pizza which was amazing - it tasted gorgeous and they look gorgeous too! After dinner we went to a club and danced the night away to either very strange music or music from the early 90's - very odd!
On Saturday I had the morning to myself as lots of the others went Sand boarding - I didn't see the point in paying to get covered in sand again! I saw the video's of them doing it later and it looked amazing but I was happy with my morning of wondering around and hand washing!! Also went to a market and had a look around - I didn't buy anything and was told "you're killing me!!" Drama Queen! We went out for dinner again in the evening to a beautiful restaurant and I had a massive Spag Bol which after eating as much as I could I still hadn't got half way through! The food we're getting on this trip is amazing! Mia is a fantastic cook and I've been told we won't get the same thing twice! Every so often they throw in something south African (couldn't tell you what it's called or what's in it but it always tastes good!) but otherwise it's all normal food!
Sunday we left our lovely houses and set off to the next site - half way through Anna and I were allowed to sit in the front which was awesome! It was so nice to see the landscape from the front and not the side! We stopped to see some traditional Damara people at the side of the road selling rocks (no mum I didn't get you any!). We got to camp just before lunch - set up and ate - this amazing bird called the Yellow billed horn bill ( or Banana Bird) came down to steal our food! Then the rain came! And did it rain! 2 tents had leaks in them and guess who's was 1 of them!! Luckily we hadn't put our bags in yet so it was just the sleeping mats and tent! When it cleared up we went on a guided bush walk to see the stone carvings of the Damara People dating back to 6000 years ago. They were fascinating and I saw some awesome lizards, and some bush rats. When we got back to camp the ground was so flooded after the rain that the truck got stuck and we all had to get out and push! We got it out eventually just before the rain started again and stayed all night! Luckily there was a bar at the camp so we took shelter in there and later in the evening the locals came and sang and danced for us which I really enjoyed! It finally stopped raining and we went to bed to a damp tent! There were jackel's in the camp and they screamed all night so didn't get much sleep.
On Monday we had a long drive to the camp but it was through Etosha National Park so we were on the look -out for animals! We didn't see much! We set up the tents then the rain started again - luckily we hadn't put our bags in as it got totally flooded and we hadn't dried out from last night yet! It didn't stop all afternoon but we just relaxed and chatted. There is a watering hole here with a sheltered viewing platform so when it was time for bed 5 of us decided it would be drier there and took our sleeping bags to the shelter to watch for action! We took shifts to stay awake and look for animals - nothing happened till about midnight then we heard roaring from just behind a bush! During the night 3 lions could be heard growling around us but they never showed themselves! It was so exciting though!! I think if I'd looked through the binoculars and seen something I would have had a heart attack! We were all so on edge!
Tuesday we did a whole day's game drive through Etosha National Park - it was amazing! We saw loads of animals - lots of Springbok, Impalla, Wildebeast, Ganu, Zebra, Giraffes, Goshawks, Secretary Birds, Jackels, and so much I can't remember without looking at the photos! We didn't see any lions or giraffe but we did spot a black rhino really close which is pretty rare! An amazing day but absolutely shattered so went to bed early.
Wednesday we got up extra early as the guides had decided because we didn't see elephant or lion we'd try again before we left. We still didn't but we saw a zebra kill being ripped apart by vultures and jackel which as gross as it may sound was amazing! We also saw a Cheetah having just eaten laying in the sun - another really rare sight - so it was absolutely worth it. We then drove to our next site at Waterburg Plateau - we were told we'd be there for lunch - we arrived at 3.30 very hungry and some grumpyand were told "Hakunah Matata!!" No worries! After "Lunch" some people went for a hike but most of us chilled out then went for a swim but the walk to the pool was a ½ hour hike anyway! Such a beautiful spot though. Dinner was on time and a gorgeous little owl sat in a tree above us that kept swooping past our heads! Had another early night and managed to get 8 hours! Feel great today! We drove all morning to get to Windhoek where we have our last night in Namibia as we cross to Botswana tomorrow. We're staying in a gorgeous hotel but have been told don't get used to it! We're going out for dinner tonight as we are losing Buz and gaining a new guy - it will be strange!
Everything is amazing - I'm not struggling at all with the group travel thing - although some get a little grumpy everyone is still getting on really well and we were told day 10 we'd all fall apart! I'm still being eaten alive no matter what I try and Adrien thinks I was got by a blister beetle one night as some of them have come up really nasty - which is nice! I still count myself lucky though as one girl Carlee got stung by a scorpion which was scary and no one could find it - it appeared in her tent again 2 days later in a different place so they'd been sleeping with it!! She was very calm though - I think I'd have screamed the place down! She calmly walked up to Adrien at about 2.00am and said "what would you do if you'd been stung on the hand by a scorpion?" He grabbed her wrist and said "we go to hospital!!" As it turned out it wasn't a nasty one so we all were very relieved and she didn't have to go!
Couldn't upload photo's again as it's such a bad connection but I have over 600!! Not sure when I'll be next on line but love to you all! X x
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