Tuesday, May 23
This synopsis will no doubt end up being somewhat of a stream-of-consciousness effort and will likely be rather confused as things from the past two weeks come back to mind. Please accept my apologies in advance.
Well here I am safely ensconced in the Hilltop House in Windhoek, Namibia. The key word in the previous sentence is "safely". This place is like a fortress and I feel imprisoned. Like many houses there is a wall around the place and a locked gate to traverse. Not that this would deter anyone who wanted to penetrate the place as it is low enough to climb with ease (even I could do it). Once through the gate you use another key to get into the house, yet another to get into the room and yet a fourth to get out on the balcony. From what I have seen on my brief trip through town these precautions are not unusual. Just from my balcony all of the houses that I can see have locked gates, and walls topped with barbed or electric wire. The city appears to be under siege. While I am on the topic of security I should mention airport security. They appear to be more concerned with trying to ensure that things are not stolen from your checked baggage (a real problem at the Jo'burg airport and one of the group had a cell phone stolen from his checked luggage there.) than in what you might be carrying on board the aircraft. Not once was I asked to open my carry on bags, not even the other day when I mistakenly left my Swiss Army knife in my jacket pocket! That would never happen in a Canadian airport.
In spite of that my room is quite nice, large and roomy and comfortable except for the fact that all of the rooms are non smoking so I have to go out on the balcony whenever I want a cigarette. If I had known more about the place I would never have accepted the reservations here no matter how nice it is. I don't particularly like having to take a taxi everywhere and, of course, hate the no smoking bit. All of that being said, the view from the room is quite nice and I will post photos as soon as time permits.
Ok, let's go back to May 8 where I left off and see what I can remember:
I was up bright and early to send last minute e-mail, finish packing and make sure I wasn't late for the departure. I was one of the first downstairs waiting for the ride to the airport. Other than the long walks and the bus ride to the plane our check in and everything went fairly smoothly. We were a bit late leaving but that is apparently the hallmark of Air Botswana. Just as we took off I had a thought that finally a section of the trip had gone without a hitch. I guess I forgot to touch wood when I had that fleeting thought because shortly afterward a woman in the seat in front of me collapsed and our flight had to be diverted to Gaborone. Luckily for all the lady was probably alright but they decided to keep her there for a day to observe her. My perfect record continued.
As we flew and I watched out the window from 29,000 feet I couldn't help but think that if the clutches of trees were replaced with pools of water we could just as easily been flying over the Arctic. Many patterns and colours were much the same. The landing on the dirt air strip was reminiscent of many landings in NWT small communities except that this was in the middle of nowhere with no communities close. There were two Toyota Land Rovers parked about thirty or forty yards from the plane and only a couple of people, our guides Kitty and Kevin, to help carry the bags. In the heat of the day that was a bigger chore than I really wanted.
My recollections of the 30-40 minute drive to the mobile replacement for San Camp are sketchy at best because we have now taken so many rides on these game trails come rutted dirt and mud kidney jarring roads that I can't separate one from the other. I do remember being stuck by the beautiful silhouettes of the dead trees against the azure blue perfectly clear sky. They may call Wyoming "Big Sky Country" but what I have seen of Africa in winter gives it claim to the same title in my opinion. I do remember that we saw impala, baboons and monkeys on the ride in but can't specifically recall what else. I remember the monkeys and baboons because I didn't see them again until the day I left San Camp. Although this area is part of the Kalahari Desert it didn't look anything like what one pictures when the word desert is used. It is much more like savannah or the pampas, covered with long grasses with trees scattered n the midst. The golden grass punctuated by the green trees or dead trees is beautiful in its own way.
The camp itself was more or less what I expected as we had been told that because it was a mobile camp it would be somewhat more primitive than San Camp had been. They only had a couple of days to get it set up for us. The tents were strung out in a line with the dining room shelter (I hesitate to refer to it as a tent) at the extreme end. Naturally I was assigned a tent almost at the other end of the line along a twisting winding path through the grass which almost made you feel intoxicated even before having wine at dinner. My tent mate for the time here was Dana Alan who is originally American but now resides in Zimbabwe. He is a professional photographer and well known in the wild life photography circle I gather. The sharing worked out easily as we were very seldom in the tent at the same time except when sleeping. As things worked out this was the only time I was to have to share a tent so one of my greatest concerns didn't come to pass. My luck in this regard was due solely to the fact that one of the other guests had paid the extra money to ensure that he had a single tent. Thanks so much Sam!
The tents here, though somewhat primitive by comparison to the other camps, were much larger and better than any tent in which I had ever camped before. They were quite roomy and had real beds with a duvet for warmth. The wash basin was outside the front and fresh hot water was brought at wake up call every morning. The washroom was outside the back and consisted of a "drop toilet" (an outhouse setup to most of us) and a bucket shower that was filled once a day. Once the bucket was full you raised it on a pulley and then pulled another rope to release the water for a gravity fed shower. No pressure but it served the purpose. The best time to shower was after brunch when it was hot (25-30 C) as opposed to mornings and evenings when it was quite cool (4-6 C).
The first drive we went on that evening took us close to zebra and more impala but I can't recall what else. We stopped at one point to photograph the sunset and then proceeded to another area for "Sundowners". Sundowners are drinks you have after the sun goes down and you stand (or in this case sit around a camp fire) and chat. Well some people chat, I tended to stay off by myself so that my smoking would not offend anyone. Anti social soul that I am that wasn't a problem for me. That remained the pattern for the full two weeks whether it was morning coffee break, afternoon tea or following meals. The meals at this camp were sparse to say the least and i am sure that we all lost weight. They hadn't had enough time to fully stock the kitchen so had taken what food they could salvage from the original camp and what they could borrow form neighbouring camps. I don't think that I ever really went hungry but the servings definitely were small. I recall the meals being ok but certainly nothing special.
The next morning we began what was to be our exhausting schedule for the two weeks. Up around 5:00, start the drive between 5:30 and 6:00 (after coffee and a muffin) in time to catch the sunrise, return to camp around 11:00 for brunch and to upload the morning's photos, sometimes a brief break before a photography class, tea at 3:00 or 3:30 and then out for the afternoon drive at 4:00, back to camp for dinner and to upload the afternoon's photos around 8:00 (or often later), another photography class after dinner and then to bed somewhere between 11:00 and midnight. I trust that gives you some idea of why I don't have daily journal entries.
The drives at this camp provided some beautiful viewings of flamingoes, large herds of zebra (pronounced z(as in zed)ebra in Botswana), some lions, some elephants, lots of impala and meercats who stole the show in many respects. As you will see in the photos (eventually) the meercats are weasel like animals who live in families/colonies like prairie dogs or siksiks. This particular colony has become habituated and tolerated us being around. They performed, posed, mated and explored some camera bags as if it was just another day. Sometimes the elephants rather noisy at night and made sleeping a little difficult. One night two lions walked through camp and had some people worried for a while. It was here that we were introduced to the Francolin, a grouse like bird that is as stupid as the spruce hens at home. It can fly but prefers to run and walk on the road and tends to run along in front of the jeep stopping when you stop and then running again when you begin to move. The ones here were used to the Jeeps not keeping moving so they could play this little game. In other camps the guide just kept on driving so the Francolins got off the road right away.
One day as I was sitting waiting either for tea or for the afternoon drive I was thinking about being here in the heart of Africa, the so called "Cradle of Civilization" and then I glanced up and over at the mess tent and saw five people lined up at the table with laptop computers sitting there working away madly. Something seemed definitely wrong with that picture.
On the final day we went and had a look at the destroyed San Camp. There wasn't a great deal to see as most of it had blown away and they had already done some clean up work. It was located on a huge salt pan (dry lake bed) on which the surface temperature reaches 75 C in summer! After that it was off to the airstrip again for the hour long flight to Chitabe Camp.
At Chitabe we saw what San should have been like. Although the structures are basically very large tents they are permanent structures with thatched roofs over them and logs inside. The dining room, lounge and bar area is large and luxurious with comfortable living room chairs and sofas. It's a good thing that we had booked the full camp because we took over the entire area with our computers and camera gear.
The only guide's name I can remember there is Dawson who was excellent and also spoke very good English. I was lucky enough to go out alone with him on the last day and he found everything, and more, that remained on my list for that area. It was at Chitabe that I had an argument with the group leaders. My issue was that it was the professionals who were deciding where we we go on every drive and they always wanted to go to the lions or leopards or cheetahs even if all they were doing was sleeping. Because they were prepared to wait as long as it took for the "perfect" shot they would sit for hours watching the animals sleep. I said that, although I was only speaking for myself I was also, in many ways, a touridst and wanted to see as much and as many things as possible while I was here and once I had what were for me good enough pictures of an animal I wanted to move on. I also complained that the professionals/instructors were so busy taking their own shots that they weren't offering much assistance to others. Difficult though it was it ultimately served me well because they paid much more attention to people's wishes after that. I am pleased to say that no one, overtly at least, held a grudge.
The game at Chitabe was abundant and varied and every drive was different in its own way (even if you were returning to a previous locale. As at all camps the drives were long and it often took nearly an hour to find something or get to a particular area. The first drive was highlighted by finding a pack of the African Wild Dog. This was a stroke of luck because these endangered creatures hadn't been spotted in the area for some time. We sat and watched them as they slept and then as they awoke and went through their pre hunting ritual that looked more like absolute chaos at worst or a huge dog fight at best. I expect it was meant to both bond the pack and to get the adrenaline flowing. This was the only time they were spotted in the time we were there although some jeeps went in search of them. We also came across a very large herd of zebra and spent some time watching them from a distance. With the big lenses we were able to get pretty good shots anyway. The next day found lions as the focus and, while they weren't doing much of anything, we got some good shots. The next morning it was elephants to begin with and then a leopard and her cub were spotted so we watched them play, climb trees and then take down an impala the mother had hung in a tree earlier. The cub fed on it for quite a while as the mother went off somewhere. Another drive found us at a lion kill of a giraffe. The kill had taken place a week or so previously and the meat was RIPE to say the least. Sitting down wind was definitely not a positive option. Two male lions were at the site, one of them gnawing away at the back end. When we returned to the site later (or maybe it was the next day) the lions weren't in site but the vultures had taken over and put on a bit of show for us until the lions returned and chased them off. In addition to the big game there were countless birds, impala, baboons, monkeys, elephants, giraffes and other creatures to observe and phtograph.
On to Little Vumbura....
The camp is built on an island so after the plane ride and the transfer to jeeps we were transferred once more to boats for the approach to the camp. The first thing I noticed were the huge and beautiful water lilies. They covered the water in some places and were in shades of white, blue and purple. As I was to learn later these were "day lilies" and the "night lilies" were only found in yellow. The boat ride was only three minutes but it gave us good glimpse into the local environment of tall reeds, papyrus plants reaching ten feet or more in height and forming huge floating islands. I chose to take my first drive on the water and once again was lucky enough to have a guide to myself as everyone else wanted to go on a land drive. We didn't see much in the way of wild life but the water was glass smooth so the reflections defied description. Sometimes it was difficult to tell which was real and which was reflection. How the guides find their way through the narrow channels and back is beyond me. The grasses, plants, lilies and the sky were all beautiful and I greatly enjoyed the peace and quiet, not to mention the smooth ride, of the boat and was very happy I had made that choice.
Highlights of my land drives included getting some good shots of kudu (gnu) and Cape Buffalo. We had hoped to get shots of the buffalo with their horns silhouetted against the setting sun but they were in a bit of a valley and to get the shot we would have had to get out on the ground. Not a good idea! My last drive was once again on the water. This time I was in a mokoro which is a long, very narrow and highly unstable boat. They were originally made from hollowed out logs but are now made of fiber glass. The guide stands at the back of the boat and poles it through the reeds. How they manage to do that without tipping the boat is far beyond me as it seemed the boat rocked every time I took a breath. We saw the tiniest of reed frogs, little more than a half inch in length and very pretty. At night these frogs make sounds like tinkling bells or wind chimes.
On to Selinda...
The first drive at Selinda featured three lionesses and later a hippo grazing out of the water. I had been waiting days to see one out of water so was thrilled. The next day we spotted the elusive and endangered cheetah. Once again we got lucky as there hadn't been one in the area for some time. It was obviously full and not doing much other than surveying the territory. Later it led us off on a nice walk. Well, it walked, we drove. Beautiful animal to be sure.
Lots of birds and more hippos out of water were features of other drives. The weather turned colder and more windy and the animals were quite skittish the last day and a half so shooting wasn't quite as good though on the last morning once again I had my own guide and vehicle and we found a spot where there were baboons, lots of vultures, eagles, zebras and impala.
It was rather ironic. Just before we left on the final drive one of the professionals and the camp manager (Delmaine) were having a discussion about the merits of Land Rovers versus Land Cruisers. All other camps used Land Rovers but Selinda uses Land Cruisers. We were told that it was because they break down less often. We had three instances of Land Rovers breaking down in other camps. My guide and i hadn't been out twenty minutes when the Land Cruiser broke down. It took about a half hour but he finally got it going again just as the back up vehicle arrived. We think it was just a bit of dirt in the fuel line.
It was here too that I felt my most idiotic. Given how the guides find their way through non existent channels in the reeds and non existent trails on the land it was unbelievably embarrassing that I got lost numerous times trying to find my tent or my way back to the lodge. There were paths going every which way and not a sign to be seen. The first time I walked form my tent in daylight and without an escort I memorized some land marks so that I would be able to find my way back but when I went back they were no longer there and I was left to wander every path and ask the first person I came across. I felt a little, but not much, better when one of my "after dark" escorts also got lost and we wandered around for some time.
After our flight back to Maun we had a couple of hours to wait for our flight back to Jo'burg. Well that was four of us. The other six were going on to another camp right from Selinda. As we sat awaiting our flight they announced a direct flight to Windhoek and I fumed wondering why I was having to go all the way back down and then back up again when I could have flown here directly and had so much easier a time.
Windhoek:
I had originally planned to go on a day trip to somewhere from here but by the time I got here I was exhausted and decided just to relax and repack my luggage so that I could leave a big chunk of it at the office here. I am probably still over the weight limit but have cut back as far as I reasonably can. Yesterday I went on a city tour and had a fairly good talk with the guide who works in the media and is working to promote tourism in Namibia. Unfortunately it was mostly a case of me asking questions and him answering as opposed to any real dialogue. I found this to be the norm throughout the trip. Other than finding the Canadian North temperatures unimaginable people here don't seem to show much interest in finding out more about the country. For many language is a barrier because although they study it in school, and it is the official language of the country, their resulting level of understanding is basic at best. All ordinary conversation between the local people and guides is in one of their native languages.
I am a little concerned that I haven't yet heard what time I am to be picked up today. They were supposed to call me yesterday afternoon but didn't so I am left here sitting waiting and wondering.....
This ends the synopsis for now. I may well revise/edit/change it as I remember things.
Now it is on to the Namib Desert (the oldest in the world I am told) and the Skeleton Coast. With any luck I should be able to post this and some photos on Saturday or Sunday when I am back in Jo'burg.