Goat Project

In the middle the principal

We went up north to Rundu (a 700km drive from Windhoek) in one day. There we went to Nkwasi camp which is about ten kilometers from the city. We stayed there for 4 days. The first day we visited Kayengona secondary school and Majanga pre-primary school. At Kayengona, we met the principal, a woman who holds the reins of the school with a firm hand. She accepted the two girls' idea and said she would talk to the committee. The next day the girls called and the principal said it was alright. The project was that the children had to write a short story and give it to the girls in exchange of some goats. It was agreed that the money would be given to a care taker during summer holidays (december). They would then buy the goats at the end of the school holidays.

8 days safari: Okavango, Caprivi, Chobe, Vic Falls

broken window

In a mokoro in Okavango Delta

I was fetched by a guy who I met before at Wild Dogs' office. Two Austrian girls, Christina & Heike, were already in the bus. We then drove on from Klein Windhoek to Eros to fetch a couple from Norway. The next stop was the office, and the rest of the group met us there. Vincent arranged himself another tour for after this one, with a few days in Livingstone. He's going to do the 7 days South Namibia tour towards Fish River Canyon, Orange River, Sossusvlei and so on.

7 days Safari: Damaraland & Skeleton Coast

Himba girls with Marianne's camera

Our last game drive in Etosha led us to the park's gates and on to our next stage of the trip. Our next stop was a few kilometers from Kamanjab on farmland owned by a man named Jaco. Jaco's project is to help Himba children in difficulty. So he invited Himba people to settle on his land and helps them however possible. It is a village built in traditional Himba style. When we arrived at the campsite nearby the village, we found the open roofed toilets and showers and we settled to some easy activities in the heat of the day. Some of us went onto a rocky outcrop next to camp to admire the view, others just stayed around talking.

7 days Safari: Etosha (part 2)

After lunch in Halali camp we spent some more time at the pool because driving too soon wouldn't prove to be a good shot to see game in the park. We left at three or four in the afternoon and drove in the general direction of Okaukuejo Camp passing. One moment I was looking to the front and so a lots of cars stopped on the road further ahead. I took out my camera because I couldn't see anything so I supposed it must be not too tall but very interesting. When we got near we saw that a lion cub was sitting on a small wall next to the road. The lions hide in a pipe under the road during the heat of the day. We stayed a long time and watched other lions come out of the hiding hole. The cubs played around a bit and the others lied down. Later we drove on to camp and had supper. After supper we went to the waterhole which was said to be the best waterhole in Etosha. We stayed there a long time watching the animals come and go like it were a television show. We saw some giraffes, then a jackal came by and later some rhinos. At one point there were seven of them drinking and wading in the water. Then an elephant herd came by and the remaining rhinos fled the waterhole. Two of them came back a while later but not too close to the elephants.

7 days Safari: Etosha

This night i didn't feel very good and stood up to go to the toilets. Later on i had to go out again because i felt i might throw up, which i ended up doing behind the campsite building. I still do not know what caused it, because nobody else was sick and i just can't remember having eaten anything special. So the next day i felt pretty bad. I didn't have breakfast and barely ate anything at lunchtime. In the evening we had curry chicken which was very good but of which i didn't eat too much from fear of being sick again.

This day's highlight, after having set up camp in Namutoni in Etosha National Park, was the elephant herds coming in for a drink at a waterhole. We drove around a while starting at 4pm because earlier most of the wildlife is keeping low in the heat. We saw a lot of animals like springboks, kudu's, oryxes, and other antilopes, giraffes, and so on. As we came to a waterhole we saw a giraffe drinking and some other animals like pintadas around.

7 days Safari: AfriCat Foundation

Leopard

This new adventure began with me sorting out pictures and posting the last blog article while waiting on my transfer to Wild Dog/Crazy Kudu's office. The driver arrived a little late so all the others were already settled in the bus. There i met Marianne and Vincent from the previous trip and the rest of the group. The others were the girls from another group who were on a 7 days trip to the south before. We met them at the last campsite. We were 2 men for 7 girls - happy us :) ! I wanted to buy a t-shirt so i just went into the office to buy one. I bought a cap to, because they look good and i'm fed up with my tourist's bob (i'll keep that one for home). After that the guide/driver explained our trip to us and we left for the north. We took the same road as for Swakopmund as far as Okahandja where the road west forks off. There we bought the necessary supplies: the driver the food, and we the drinks (lots of beer and some water). We drove on for a time to get north to Okonjima, the home of the AfriCat Foundation. Once there we set up camp and went straight to the pool because it was so very hot. We spent some time at the pool before heading back to camp.

3 days tour to Sossusvlei

The day before the tour, i came to the Chameleon backpackers where i had booked a room. There one of the coworkers recognized me, and told me there was another person, a French man, who booked the 18 days safari with Wild Dogs. So she introduced us while i was consuming an hour of internet.

First meal on the road

The next morning, when the tour operator came to fetch us, we saw we actually were 3 people going on the  safari. What we didn't know at the time, was that only me and Vincent  (the French guy) were to go on the 18 days combo. There was one Norwegian girl, Marianne, who will be continuing the trip with us for the 7 days safari to Etosha NP.

18 days combination Safari

Sea Lion

Hi folks, just to say goodbye. Yes, you never know when you will be eaten by a lioness. So i say goodbye to ya'll and hope you'll enjoy my last pictures taken while being eaten by the previously said lioness. All my goods i have bought while travelling should be sent back to Switzerland and evenly distributed among family and friends. All the goods and stuff i brought from Switzerland can be distributed among the local population (those in need).

Please don't try to call as my mobile phone is in my pocket and will have been eaten by the lioness as well.

All the rest i really don't care, as being digested by the lioness will be my main concern :)

But well, i think they won't like eating me anyway, so there's a pretty good chance i will be getting back alive to annoy you for some more time :D haha !!

Swakopmund and Walvis Bay

The Namibian Coast is full of expensive activities. You can go sandboarding, horse-riding, seeing animals on land or in water, fly over the dunes and so on. But i only did two of those activities. If you travel for more than a few weeks, you have to see that your budget reaches until the end of your trip.

The first activity was a tour on a big catamaran in Walvis Bay. The day started out cold and gray. The Namibian coast around here with its arctic ocean currents never reaches above 25° C. Most of the time it's cloudy around here. In the afternoon there's some chances of seeing the sun for a while, until sunset.

Windhoek, Namibia

Independence Ave Windhoek

Windhoek, the capital city of Namibia is a boring city. It reminds me a lot of Australian cities, but lacking any entertainement, activities or sights. All there is, are half-day city tours provided by multiple agencies. For any other activity you have to pay the price and go outside the city. I doubt if there even is a cinema. At least there is Wernhill Park, the mall. Within you find a big supermarket and many other shops and of course the banks. They even have the Nedbank at which you can withdraw money using your Maestro card. I discovered the whole city center with all it's points of interests (about 4 or 5 which aren't even really interesting) in about an hour's walking. I then drank a freezy drink and headed back to the hotel. On the way back i felt more and more depressed at the idea of having to stay one week here.

My first day on the continent

My first step on the continent has been in the International Airport of Johannesburg. The contrast to the small airport in Antananarivo is great. The whole place is sparkling bright with shops, lights, neon signs and marble floor (or something fancy anyway). The place smells of luxury. I thought, well it's probably only the airport anyway. But once a got to Windhoek in Namibia, i couldn't even detect something like a village from the airplane. When you fly over Madagascar, it's rare you can't see any village (if you're not too high up). What i could see was estates and modern buildings once arrived and driving to the city which lies 40km from the airport. The roads look better than in Mada too, even the cars look a bit less dumpy. There's a big influence from white settlers (Afrikaaners) over here. There are still lots of them living here. Windhoek itself has absolutely nothing to compare with a Malagasy town: it's more an american city than an african town. There even is a KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken, an american fastfood for the ignorants :P). I will have to wait to get to the back country to see how a Namibian village looks like.