Namibia

We saw the lions feeding and the lioness took a liking to Jeff which was quite startling! She charged the fence (hide) which we were behind!! We felt it appropriate to have gin and tonic in the sunset to calm his nerves in the thatched lodge house!

We also found a local bar El Cubano in town and managed some meringue dancing. The dress code for women is very strange here as the shoulder is not bare generally but extremely plunging necklines are the fashion!

In Windhoek we went on a township tour to see how the local native population lived as Windhoek looks surprisingly like a European City rather than an African city. I as many white Africans as black in the centre of the city. Most black africans have had land granted by the government and have built either brick houses (the rich ones) or have corrugated tin roofs and mud and timber homes (large majority). They all have a tiny bit of land to grow things. However the township keeps growing as they get refugees from Angola and village people come to the city for work and find that there is mainly unemployment. There is a great deal of poverty and no money to buy things.

We also went to a Leopard and Cheetah sanctuary and learnt that a Leopard kills by biting its victim’s neck whereas a Cheetah brings the animal down by its hind legs and kills by strangling. A cheetah only eats fresh meat and neither will eat their kill on the ground but up in trees as it is safer. Every where we went there were enormous termite mounds.
We learnt that Rhinos sharpen their horns on termite mounds. Wild dogs live in packs and are the best hunters as they chase down their prey until it is exhausted. They have similar habits to wolves. There are only 300 hundred left in Namibia.

At Sossusvlei the sunrise on the sand dunes was amazing. We climbed a big sand dune and I took lots of photos. We then went on a 5 kilometre walk to Dead Vlei which was exhausting in the heat of the sun and walking through sand but great fun as we had done very little exercise on our trip.

I then spent seven or eight days travelling with a South African driver Kelly. Kelly was a strange guy, half Irish and half Afrikaans, which explains his drinking habits and lack of conversation. I had to hire a tent for him but he would not use it preferring to sleep in the back of the car (4 wheel drive). He then complained of Cold or Mosquitoes as he wanted to stay in proper accommodation. I tried to explain that the tent was being hired by day and that it cost me double to also hire accommodation for him. We hit on a compromise calling him a guide and getting guide discounts. Dead Vlei is a valley with dead trees which are surrounded by sand dunes. This is because the river used to run through the sand dunes but has since dried up. I stayed in luxurious accommodation there and was joined for dinner by the General Manager of the resort (Sossus Dune Lodge) which had only been opened for eleven months. He loved everything Scottish and if you are from Strathclyde you would be his best buddy as he went to University there and they have the best catering University in Europe!! What you learn when travelling! So there I was sitting on a chaise longe in a thick white dressing gown drinking percolated coffee watching the sun go down Ab Fab! I saw large families of Ostriches. They can have up to 15 chicks and can have chicks twice a year.

We then drove to Klein Aus Vista to see the wild horses of Namibia.It is an amazing sight to see these wild horses milling around the waterhole. The theory is that they were shipwrecked off the Skeleton Coast in the 1800s.
I had an amazing stay at Fish River Canyon Village. I noticed the staff dancing to some great music while serving dinner so I went to the bar after dinner and they invited me to join them so I danced my heart out. What fabulous rhythm everyone had. Hotel Manager, Receptionist, tour guides, waiters, waitresses, Chef and kitchen staff and Jo. My driver, Kelly, tried to get me drunk as in his bleary way he decided I was fair game! What I didn’t know till the next day was that I was paying for the drinks to get him and me (Not!!!) drunk. The next morning I was best friends with all the staff and was sorry to leave!
Oh and Kelly almost let us run out of petrol, some guide/ driver! We were almost stranded in the middle of Fish River Canyon with no petrol, wild animals and a native population who are poachers and will strip a car bare in minutes!! I know this as we saw poachers and Kelly wanted me to take photos and send them to the papers. Knowing now what I didn’t then about Kelly I realise I would probably have been shot if spotted. At the time I was game for it but when I had my camera they had disappeared (thank goodness). Half way through the trip I realised that Kelly, although a good driver, had a few missing links. In the desert the golden rule is fill up whenever you can. I asked him to keep the tank full but he told me petrol was not a problem. Of course it was, and only a few filling stations had unleaded! However, we again had really helpful people and they came and brought us emergency petrol so we could get to our accommodation and then again in the morning arranged for more petrol to be brought so we could get on our way and all at no extra charge!