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JULY VACATION (Part I)
After having been part of the World Cup celebration in Stellenbosch for over 2 weeks, we decided to spend the last weeks of our holiday travelling. As people had started leaving for the winter (summer back home), Stellies got quieter and quieter for each day. So, very much on an impulse, we made some sandwiches to go and left early one Thursday morning, running to the train station in the freezing cold 6 o'clock in the morning. Our destination: Namibia and Zambia.
This was our 3rd trip to Namibia, and once again we took the Intercape bus from Cape Town to Windhoek. We were very excited about going back cause the main reason for going to Namibia was to meet up with some dear friends we've made while working at Harnas as well as of course meeting all "our" animals again. After 25 hours on the bus, including 2 hours on the border where a hungry dog marked on every second suitcase, we arrived in Windhoek (WHK). It felt like it was only yesterday we were there last, and the warm summerday was incredible for us very white mzungo's from the Cape of Storms. We stayed in WHK for a night, met some nice people at the backpackers and watched the Uruguay-Ghana game with the locals. Already we felt that the world cup was not just for South Africa, but the whole region was proud "hosts" to this major event. By the way - one of the girls we met that day was a Finnish travel journalist who'd been working for 13 years, visited 66 countries. By the end of her Africa trip it will be up to 72..! Oh,what a life.…
We spent the day walking around WHK "shopping" for rental cars, but due to the world cup almost all the cars had been shipped to South Africa and all the rental companies were out. Finally we managed to find 1 shop that had 1 car available. The next day we took our car for the week, a 2010 Toyota Corolla, on the road towards Nicola and Harnas We drove through Gobabis and on to the sandy dusty roads where Nicola met us in her bad ass 4x4 backie - more suitable for those roads than what we were cruising in for sure. We first had a stop at a farm where her mother works and we met lovely Mrs Robberts (Nicola's mom). She looks after the farm for the owner when he's not around, and there is an old gaspump in the driveway which was once the local gas-station as well. Not only does this farm offer gas, but Mrs Robberts took us to the "pharmacy" in one of the buildings which she also was in charge for when the owner isn't home. She gave us some non-description worth of coca cola, but on the shelves was basically only stronger stuff the local bush people from all over the area comes and buys. It is a very rural place where the farms are widely apart, with only dusty sand roads between them travelled by 4x4 cars or donkey charts. Nevertheless, the "pharmacy" could get pretty busy at times.
After saying hi to Nicola's mom, we went to their farm to drop off our luggage before going to Harnas. As we drove in to the house we were greeted by what felt like 20 adorable dogs, most of them tiny Chihuahuas. Maybe not quite what we'd expect to find on Nicola's farm, rather imagined there would be huge and lazy dogs guarding the place. It was such an amazing farm, and as we just stopped by to drop off our stuff we met all their dogs, cats, parrots, sheep, horses, ducks, geese and cows
The three of us then headed for Harnas - so excited to go back, and this would be our third time going there. Not only were we going to meet all our animals again, but also dear friends we've made the previous times which happened to be back and working again. Weird enough parking next to the crocodile water at the guest parking, it was like we never left the place. And when Erin (from Australia) came greeting us it felt even more like we were back in 2008 - Erin and Nicola who we hadn't seen for 2 years! It was awesome! In addition, Alex a Norwegian girl we met there in January was there, as well as the pleasant surprise of Suzette - our stand in for old Frikkie in January, being the volunteer coordinator. We did not know she was going to be there, and like us she was also just visiting this time having been there for Marieta's 60th birthday the previous weekend. It was so nice catching up, and when Erin and Alex had to go doing their duties as hard working people they are, we, Nicola and Suzette walked around saying hi to all the animals again. Our little Coco and Jessica was now in with 4 other baby baboons - although they had grown a lot in these 6 months. Frikkie, Gracie, Sanna and Sir Roger were all exactly as perfect as when we left - spending most of the time by their fence. There were new volunteers coming that day and when they were given their tour and the turn had come to Gracie's enclosure, all 4 of them looked briefly at the new faces before coming over to us on the other side instead. They say baboons never forgets, and having spent as much time with them as we did when they were infants, it does seem like they do recognise us, just like it seemed when we came back in January. Who knows?
A lot had changed on the farm the last months, and of course all the animals had grown so much. Suzette took us around and in to the various enclosures which was so nice and much more than what we could have hoped for. In the backyard there were now 2 young jackals running freely, and Coco and Jessica were now sharing a cage with 4 other little baboons. The vervets were full of energy as usual, but little Mr Nelson sadly did not seem to be doing to good… We also went to see Martha, the young lioness, awesome to see her again. As the day went by we had seen all the animals again, heard all the stories of what's happened the last six months with all of them and it was as if we had never left the place. The last animals we went in to that day was the cheetahs Cleo and Duma. Cleo is Suzette's favourite, and she has always been a special one because of her brain injury. We went to their enclosure and Cleo was busy eating some meat she had left and we spent most the time cuddling with Duma. As we kind of settled with the idea that this probably would be the last time we will see old Goeters again, the story goes that a week after we left Harnas that day, Cleo suddenly passed away.
As the sun set, Suzette took us and Nicola to Zion and Trust - the lion we walked the first time we were there. Their mane was now black and they had become big boys indeed. As always, when they're fed and the sun sets, all the lions at the farm starts roaring. Suzette called the boys to come to the fence, but no on came. As we were about to give up all of the sudden they came. And they roared!! The loud basses in their voices were unbelievable!
After having had such an awesome day, we stayed for a few more hours with Erin, Suzette and Alex before it was time to get going. When we came home to Nicola' s, her mom was waiting with dinner ready. We had a wonderful night, Mrs Roberts is one of the sweetest ladies we've ever met! We had so much fun, and it got pretty late with the four of us sitting in the kitchen with all the dogs and parrots just talking. The next morning we were supposed to get up early and explore the farm, however, we woke up around 10.00 of Nicola knocking on our door wondering if we were alive. The alarm had apparently been shut off in our sleep, so instead of getting up at 7, we were now 3 hours behind schedule.. Nicola on the other hand, had been up since 7 and eggs and meat were already on the table when we stumbled in to the kitchen. Her parents had gone to church in Gobabis in the morning, and after breakfast Nicola wanted to take us hunting. She got the gun (big rifle), the bakkie, three San boys to help on look out and with opening the gates, and most importantly, 3 of the mighty bell-wearing Chihuahuas… We drove around their big farm, looking for Kudu tracks. As we drove around, we learned that growing up on a farm in Namibia includes having to deal with various poisonous snakes, gun shot wounds, thieves and whatever possible else could happen. One thing's for sure, Nicola is one tough girl! We climbed up their hunting tower from where we could see big parts of their huge farm. The dogs were running around on the ground. We did not see any game, and even though it was en exciting thing to be doing we were quite frankly a bit relieved. Not sure how either of us would have dealt with actually hunting.
Back at their house, Nicola had yet another surprise for us; we went horseback riding! It was Roger's first time ever on the back of a horse, and while Nicola was galloping bareback on the big black horse named "Satan", Roger slowly walked around in circles amongst all the sheep on the smaller white horse "Nicoline". It was so much fun, and although John Wayne found it difficult to "steer" the horse, he quite enjoyed it. We both had a wonderful stay at Nicola's farm and before we left, Nicola's friend Pottie came over who we met in January when they both came to Harnas and visited us there. It was sad to leave, and as we got in the car we already started dreaming of perhaps owning our own farm like this one day…
We drove back to Windhoek that day because we discovered our bookings for Etosha Game Reserve had been booked for the wrong date. On the drive down, we passed numerous warthogs and a zillion baboons - wherever you drive in Namibia, these fellows are sure to cheer you from the sideroad. Before heading to Etosha, we went to a small town northeast called Tsumeb. We had a nice stay in a cosy hotel there where we got a world cup re-fill. The next day we went to Etosha, a "drive yourself" game reserve where you can play safari guide, constantly looking for tracks or signs of the animals, and it is actually one of the biggest reserves in Africa of its kind. They have all sorts of animals there, though funny enough not baboons (!) or any other monkeys. We saw some amazing wildlife, including oryx's fighting, big herds of elephants taking a bath and rolling in mud. As you were driving you never knew what to expect, and behind ever corner could be a big elephant in the middle of the road, giraffes, zebras and springboks. The most memorable parts however, were the nights we spent at the waterholes while sharing a bottle of wine. We spent two nights in Etosha, each at different waterholes. As the sun was setting, we would go down to the waterhole which was lit by floodlights so one could see the animals. The first waterhole was not too big, but it was the rhinos favourite. Sitting there surrounded by wild nature and silence was only interrupted by the birds flying around. Every now and then you heard animals walking in the bushes on their way to drink water, but often you did not hear them at all before you suddenly saw them there drinking. As the sun was quite low, the first of many rhinos appeared. That was a special experience, and first time seeing a rhino up close in the wild. As the evening went on, we heard rhinos breathing and stamping their feet in the bushes before they'd come luring curiously to the water. We saw a rhino mom with her little baby, we saw rhinos playing and play-fighting, zillion jackals, a lonely giraffe and even elephant herds as we sat there. Words can not describe how that was, sitting so close to all these creatures and watching them in their natural habitat.
But the best was yet to come...The second night, we spent at a different waterhole. It is the biggest in Etosha, and all day long there was this non-stop flow of big herds of all sorts of animals. So as one were sitting on a bench relaxing and enjoying the sun, the next thing you know there would be an elephant taking a bath in front of you, or a kudu family. There was a continuously stream of zebras and wildebeest, springboks during the day, and there we were, luxury chalets behind us and the busy waterhole a few metres in front of us. That night, Germany was playing Spain in the quarterfinal, and so all the tourists were up at the restaurant watching the game. We brought blankets, warm clothes and a bottle of wine and went down to the waterhole - we had it all t ourselves! As we came, there were rhinos, springboks, elephants, wildebeest, zebras, jackals, oryx and giraffes there, taking turn in the cooling water. We sat there for a while, enjoying the wild animals and the silence. It is strange how quiet it can be even though so many animals are gathered. Sometimes the rhinos would make a little noise if they started playing, but it was nothing like when the big elephants started blowing their trunks! We even saw two young bulls measuring muscles for quite a while too. Anyways, after having been alone there in the dark for a while, an old tipsy former game-ranger came and joined us. He was, to say at least, not cheering for ze Germans, and he could gladly inform us that it looked as if that was their final game in the world cup. He told us one story after another from his days as a game ranger in Etosha and from his own farm, and even though he was old and drunk he spotted and heard animals coming to the waterhole as he was talking which neither of us would have picked up on. His favourite animal was the elephant. Sadly he told us that back in the days he had been hunting them and killed many of them - on the government's request as they were seen to be too many destroying too much of the forests. As we sat there and talked to this interesting man, all of the sudden 5 -7 lions came… They came down to drink, constantly looking around aware of the other animals, before they hid in the bushes. They would come and go a couple of times, though never going far, just hiding in the bushes. A little peck of springboks had been drinking and were in their way back to the dark night when suddenly the lions rised from their hiding place and started running. We could not believe what we were about to see! The lionesses managed to cut one little springbok off from the rest of the pack, leaving it fumbling between the bushes all alone while constantly crying for the others. We could see the lions patrolling around it, making sure it couldn't go anywhere. Listening to the terrified little creature was needless to say heartbreaking. What made it so awful was that the lions did not kill it - they just kept it there, screaming for its pack. It went on for an hour, when suddenly, we could hear one other springbok calling back! It got closer, and in the end we could see it on the other side of the lions - but it couldn't get passed them and to the other one. It stopped answering back, maybe not to draw attention from the lions, while the young one was getting more and more desperate. A couple of times there was a rhino that came and chased the lions around a bit for whatever reason, but they were so many that there was always someone to make sure the little springbok did not get away. Our Namibian friend said he hadn't seen a lionhunt going on for so long before, and that the little one had no chance. When we left the waterhole at midnight, it was still calling out to the others…
The next day we spent half the day in the park before we started on the way back to Windhoek. As we were driving out the gates of Etosha and handing in our tickets, we randomly met a couple we got to know at the backpacker's a few days ago as they were driving in and getting their tickets. Weird coincidence, since both Namibia and Etosha itself is huuuge, and we met them exactly at the entrance gates!! As we drove on the forever straight roads, we suddenly saw 4 giraffes standing on the side of the road looking at us. And randomly, when we did come to one of 3 turns on the whole way down, behind the corner a big kudu jumped out in the way. Siri hit the breaks, and when the kudu was done looking at us, it graciously ran over the rest of the road and jumped over the tiny fence they've got going on a long the roads. There were a few other times we had to stop for road-crossing animals, like a warthog family who wanted to dig in the ditch on the other side of the road, and "living on the edge" baboons. We have no idea how many warthogs or baboons we passed on the roads that week, but they are everywhere! So even though the roads are just one long stretch for as long as you eye can see, it is never boring because all of the sudden there are loads of animals saluting you.
And that was basically the story of how our third Namibia adventure took place! We had one more night in Windhoek before we got on the bus towards Zambia the next day…(to be continued)...
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