Christmas Tree

This is a Namibian Christmas Tree. It is a white-thorn acacia. It is nice, but to me it looks more like Easter decoration at the wrong time of the year. This here is not Christmas for me, it is some other kind of feast. Never mind, I enjoy this as well. I wish you all a merry time and a happy New Year!

I'm fine

Someone wanted to see this photo. It was on the way back from the Naukluft. I have been warned of the sand roads, but I still don't understand how this happened. The road was straight and solid, not much sand on it, no animals to run onto it and I only went 100km/h. I was alert and concentrated and just felt so well driving. The car started to loose its track and first I just took the foot off the accelerator and held the steering wheel straight. It did not help, so I started to press the brake which was wrong, people told me. But I did not want to drive into a tree or bush at full speed. The car went to the right onto the loose sand and spun around to face the other direction. I already thought I come to a halt, but unfortunately it then turned around onto its roof. I just switched off the engine and climbed easily out of the broken window. I was not hurt at all, no shock, no bruises, just a few minor cuts from the broken glass when I climbed through it not carefully enough. I knew my friends drove behind me so I went to the road to show them I am ok. They then managed everything for me, took my luggage into their car and spoke to people who stopped to help. The first driver informed the police in the next town (40km) and called a recovery truck. We wanted to wait for it as if you leave the car alone there will not be much left after a short while. People steal everything here. It took 3h for the truck to come from Windhoek. All but one car that passed during this time (which was about 10 in total) stopped and the drivers asked if we are ok and if they can help. How friendly! A farmer even asked us why we don't just turn the car around and carry on driving. He was probably right, the damage only seemed to be glass and metal, even the lights of the car were still working. But I was not too sure about this suggestion and the problem would have been how to turn a 2200kg car around. Finally, the recovery truck arrived and loaded the car. The people did not make a very professional impression, but we had no choice. The truck left for Windhoek and we a little later. Then, after 15km there were cars at the roadside and people stopped us. That recovery truck had an accident, a horse run into it. We saw the truck some 30m beside the road on farmland, my car fallen off it onto its side although it had been secured with chains. That was it. If it was not a write-off before, now it was. Shit. There was nothing more to be done but drive home and go to bed. This week I was busy sorting all the paperwork out for the insurance. And now I am on the outlook for another Landrover Discovery 2. Meanwhile I drive an ancient Nissan-Bakkie from the pharmacy I work for. What a different feeling!

Naukluft Park

Monday was a holiday here, "Human Rights Day". Funny enough in South Africa Human Rights Day is in March. Never mind. Anyway, I used the weekend to get away, walking with friends in the Naukluft Park. As I had to work Saturday morning and my friends left early, I drove there on my own Saturday afternoon. Already on the way from the Park entrance to the office I stopped to have a closer look at a social weaver birds nest, I saw Kudus and Steenbok. The Campsite has only 10 places, each for a few tents, and there were only 4 groups camping there. It is simple, but sufficient, sandy, shady space swept free of thorns from trees, braai place (=BBQ), water tap, toilets and shower. The camp is right by a dry river bed with a few puddles with tadpoles and crabs in it. The evening I arrived I just explored the closer surrounding and later we grilled venison sausage and sweetcorn. Of course we did not miss the obligatory red-wine sundowner.
In the middle of the night I heard some shrieks of animals and the noise of them moving around. I am not sure what it was, maybe baboons or mountain zebra, but it was quite close. I marvelled at the starry sky for about 15min before I recognized Orion there. There were so many stars that I nearly did not see the pattern. Unfortunately, I did not have my binoculars with me to have a closer look at the nebule.
Next day we started the 17km walk, first along the riverbed with cristal clear pools for a dip (not big enough to really call it swimming) and interesting rock formations. On the way we saw some antelopes, dassies, baboons and lots of lovebirds. The walk then left the pools and went 15km over the hills with not much shade and pretty powerful sun. On the way back we joined the riverbed again and dipped into more pools. You could imagine the waterfalls when it rains, the soft sediment stone was in many places washed away. When we crossed one creek we saw a snake in the water and it held still for long enough for me to take some fotos. I am not sure if it was poisonous or not, but many of them are. It was quite a long day and we arrived tired in the camp. Next morning I went part of the way backwards on my own to bath in the pools and take some picture of fig trees between the rocks in the morning light and then returned. I also watched a group of baboons having their fig-breakfast. It is a very different experience to go the same way in a group or on your own, you look with different eyes and are more alert. I really enjoyed it.

Himba in town

Windhoek is a European city. At least it almost looks like it. But there is still the real Africa every now and then. Such as today. A Himba woman came into the pharmacy where I work. She asked for some tablets in a language I did not understand. I needed the help of our security guy to find out what she wanted. She stood there in front of us in her traditional clothing which is almost nothing: a peace of animal hide wrapped around the hips and some necklaces made from animal bones and plant seeds. Bossoms bare, hair held together by a type of clay topped with a crown made of leather. She wore ockre paint on the naked body and smelt nicely of aetheric oils from a bush. Just as well as they never wash themselves. I found that contrast very strange, this woman as she comes from where she lives and the neon-lit glass shelves of a pharmacy with all its cosmetic range in the background. The spice of Africa.
Sorry, no, I did not take a photo, but the picture will stay in my mind.

Ameib

I am just back from a weekend at Ameib Ranch. We went hiking to the famous Phillip's Cave with Bushman rock paintings in it, through a valley called "Bull's Party" with giant bolders and even some rockpools with tadpols in them, and we climbed up a rock formation called "The Elephant". The landscape is very interesting, but this time of the year is really too hot for walking. We had lunch break and a long afternoon nap in the shade of the granit bolders and started again half two into the bright sunshine. There were still over 30 degrees in the shade and I do not know how hot it was in the sun. Climbing up that rock formation was sweat-driving, but the view rewarded us. I was amazed how plants survive on the granit, especially climbing fig tree. Back in the camp we refreshed ourselves in the pool before we had the traditional sundowner and then BBQ. We slept under the stars and full moon, the night was refreshingly cool. I woke up and saw an owl, bats and the housecats emptying the bin. Early in the morning a pair of giraffes came for breakfast very close to the camp.
This morning I joined the climbing group, but attempts to find a route in the shade resultet in a fairly long walk and scramble over bolders before we got just one route in. It was nice anyway and before the greatest heat came we were back in the car with its aircondition. I am afraid for the next trip I have to wait a couple of months until the worst heat is over.

It's getting hot

Now it is slowly becoming summer. Yesterday there were 38 degrees Celsius in Windhoek. Luckily I was at work half of the day, with the aircondition on. The heat hit me when I went outside. The only option was to have a very long siesta and then do something where you don't have to move much.
The moskitos are coming, a locust knocked at my window, butterflies decorate my garden and the weaver birds are breeding. And in this weather people try to gear up for Christmas! I cannot get into the mood for it and I will probably start baking Stollen just the week before. It feels all wrong.

Dassie on the rock

Hello,
as some people do not seem to know what a dassie is, I decided to post this picture taken this afternoon in my garden. They are quite tame here. I can also usually watch a fox mangoose in the morning, it is very nosy and comes quite close. Apart from this I have at the moment finger-thick millipeds climbing the walls of my house and a gecko regularly visiting the balcony in the evening. I wonder what else the summer will bring as it proceeds.
Cheers,
Heidrun

I believe it now

...that it is possible that water falls out of the sky here. We had the first rain since 6 months today! And a beautiful rainbow visible from my balcony. The rain did not even last an hour and the roads dried quickly again. Now I am waiting for the green to appear on the trees. Many plants already started flowering before the rain, I wonder how they do it, where they take the power from. Nature is amazing.

I could not resist

... to buy this T-shirt. For those of you who can't read it, it has "SAND-LOVER" written in the Landrover design. It is just sooo funny! I saw a guy in the supermarket with this T-shirt and asked him where he got it from. He happend to work in the shop nearby which sells it. And you really have to love the sand in this country.

Kassler mit Sauerkraut

Ja, unglaublich wie deutsch das hier ist. Da habe ich neulich im Restaurant nicht schlecht gestaunt, dass es Kassler mit Sauerkraut gab - fuer 4 Euro. Das habe ich mir schmecken lassen. Im Supermarkt gibt es Ostseebutter und Ruegener Fischbuechsen. Am meisten begeistert mich das frisch gebackene Berliner Landbrot. Schwierigkeiten gibt es bei der Quarkbeschaffung, das macht nur ein Farmer, der jede Woche mal nach Windhoek auf den Markt kommt. Ich vermisse noch Berliner Weisse. Vielleicht ist das ja zu politisch, aber schwarzes Bockbier gibt es auch nicht. Dann haben wir noch englische Muffins und Scones, aber keine clotted cream und keine Indischen Curries. Hm, und recht fette, fleischige lokale Spezialitaeten mit Maisbrei. Ist schon eine komische kulinarische Mischung, aber jedenfalls besser als was einem in England angeboten wird.

Moving house finally

Yesterday I finally moved into my flat. The landlords have made some improvements I requested and I have cleaned it so far that it is suitable for use. I have a lot of space now! So many rooms and so many cupboards, nothing to put in. The first visitor was a gecko which came in in the evening when I opened the windows to let the cooler air in. It was not easy to chase it out again, it holds very well to the walls. I put my things away which took not much time and now more cleaning and then shopping is on the list. I still need curtains, washing machine, tables, pots and pans... This morning I enjoyed the sunrise from my balcony and I share this picture with you.

Landrover

Hey, I got a car, finally! It is a Landrover by chance, not by deliberate choice. I want to say that I do not belong to the Landi-freaks, but this car just serves my purpose best. I have already been teased about it and I decided to collect Landrover jokes, so feel free to post some as a comment. It is quite a huge car compared to the little Corsa I drove before, but I am getting used to it quickly. It is a Diesel and Automatic and therefore a bit slow, but powerful. I am already looking forward to my first own 4WD trip.

Spitzkoppe

I had a great weekend at Spitzkoppe. It is a wonderful landscape with amazing rock formations and the mountain just arises unexpectedly out of the plain. The trees and bushes start flowering, it looks so nice. My friends went on a difficult all-day 13 pitches route climbing while I scrambled nearly up to the top on my own. I stopped often to see some plants close, watch a red and black striped lizzard, a small snake or Klippspringer with envy. It was quite a tough route, especially on the way down, and I got a lot of scratches from the thornbushes. In the evening I sat for a sundowner with my friends and we barbequed. It was a very mild night with a bright starry sky - until the moon rose. Next day we did some of the easier climbing routes together before we drove back to the city.

Safari part 3

Hello, I cannot catch up with the events. I have been away for the weekend again and not even finished my report from my last trip. Our next stop was in Chobe National Park at the northern Botswana border. There is abundant wildlife! We went on a tour with fairly large, busy river boats and we saw everything we could wish for. Literally, as soon as someone said "we have not seen a lion yet" there was a lioness with 4 young ones and after such a wish also a single giraffe appeared at the riverbank. We saw hippos very close, lazy crocodiles, buffalos, waterbuck and lots of elephants. When they cross the river they just walk on the ground and if it is deep only the tip of theit nose is above the water, although they can swim. This was a really amazing trip, we did not know what to watch and where to look first. We also saw open-billed stork, heron, shag, fish eagle, marabu, darter and last not least a beautiful sunset over the water. I am glad I have a digital camera now so I can just try the photos and discard the bad ones.
On our drive to Livingstone we saw a lot of ground hornbills, black, 1m high birds which are apparently very rare. Another rare species I found at a camp just outside Livingstone: someone parked a Trabbi at the roadside as advertisement for a camp with a German owner! I did not expect to see this in Southern Africa!
The Victoria Falls ARE impressing. Although we arrived in the dry season water was still roaring down the cliffs at a width of 1,5km! The mist came up to the high walkway opposite the falls. Down at the riverside the vegetation finally looked like I imagined all the area of north Namibia and Botswana: like a jungle with palms, parasite plants, monkeys ... I wanted to go on a half day elephant ride, but they were unfortunately fully booked. So I went horse riding instead and afterwards visited the museum. It is not as boring as some of you may think, there are a few exhibitions about local history, culture, flora and fauna, not just about Livingstone. I was really touched by some vodo-like figures used to cause misfortune. Apart from that, Livingstone is not really worth the word "town". I bought myself a nice red an rainbow couloured light dress, made in Taiwan - never mind.
Next day we started our long drive back - 1500km in 2 days in burning heat without air conditioning. We were now only 3 people in the car and so had space to stretch out and sleep, but I felt pity with our driver.

Safari part 2

We continued north to the Caprivi strip where we got to see them: hippos grazing on land and lying on top of each other in the water and elephants breaking branches off the trees and crossing the road just in front of us. We watched them for a good while, but then one came quite close, shook his head, flapped with the ears and our guide said we better leave now. We also saw lots of very grazile impala antelope which was not shy, the rare roan antelope, a group of mountain zebras, a water monitor lizzard, vervet monkeys playing and a mole snake escaping just in front of the car. This game drive was well worth it! At the end we marvelled at a huge baobab tree.
Then we visited a local village - it was actually a show village for tourists so that the people living there do not get disturbed. They showed us scenes from their everyday life which was very interesting: how to store corn, make flour and baskets, catch fish ... There was a mouse trap to protect the corn and the mouse was then used in the cat trap which was there to protect the pigeons. The people also explained how they used to hunt hippos: with an instrument called a "hippo caller" they made a noise similar to the hippos to attract them and then shoot them from 6m distance with a poisoned arrow - and run away fast. Very impressive was the dance of the medicine man, just not describable. There is still a lot of superstition and traditional medicine which partly keeps due to lack of access to modern medicine. I quite liked the idea of a healing dance for psychiatric patients.
For the next posting you will have to wait a little while again as I am going away tomorrow to Spitzkoppe mountains for walking and rock climbing. By the way, yesterday I received my registration certificate as a pharmacist in Namibia! I think I should start a collection, see how many I can get in my life.

Safari part 1

Hello, I am back, healthy and happy. Too much happened to write it all in one go, so here are the first few days of my trip. I was lucky that the group consisted of only 6 people - not up to 16 as normally. There were 4 Americans and a woman from Kasachstan who lives in London now, all nice people. We started with a long drive on the Trans-Kalahari highway, through Bushmanland to Ghanzi in Botswana. There was not much exciting to see on the way except for a Secretary bird which is a bird of prey that catches snakes. In our camp was a little zoo with lions, wild dog with young ones and ardwolf. I do not really like them behind the fences, but otherwise you do not get to see them. Eland antelope, Kudu and Oryx were also walking around. A group of San people performed traditional dancing and singing for the paying guests of the lodge, but we from the camp heard them and also got a glimpse of the dance. It was as I imagined it, but still amazing to experience it live, to see and hear that it really happens like this. I have a lot of respect for these tough people surviving in this environment. Going on from this, people do live in mud huts, use donkey carts and ox waggons, sometimes made from parts of cars and one of the waggons still had FORD written at the back. Our guide cooked our evening meal on the open fire.
We approached the Okavango Delta, but the vegetation stayed brown and dry until the last few kilometers. The camp workers picked us up with their 4x4 because the road became just a deep sandy way. I did not feel too confident when I saw lots of fresh elephant dung and huge, half a meter footprints from the car. There was a symbolic wire fence around the camp and the gate open. However, we did not see any animals. The camp has a nice wooden terrace by the river, huts overlooking the papyrusgirdle, an open bar and kitchen. The bathrooms are just hides made from wooden planks, with no roof and with a barrier at the entrance to put down when engaged instead of a door. Simple, but sufficient. We went on a boat tour in traditional "one-tree-boats", pushed around by local people using a pole. We were searching for crocodiles and hippos, but only saw kingfishers and frogs. However, the trip was beautiful and I was not sure myself if I wished to meet a hippo with this delicate boat. We stopped on an island to look for elephants, but again only found their traces. I still felt the tension and excitement. On the way back it was very hot and at a place where the waterlilies gave way to see in the clear water to the ground I went swimming. It was so good and refreshing and I had missed it for the last 2 months. We marvelled at the sunset and even more the sunrise over the water next morning.

Erongo Mountains

My long weekend trip was great. It is quite a drive to Erongo, but well worth it. We camped at a lonely place on a farm (not in the European meaning of it, it looks just like wilderness), where there is only a fireplace and a bush toilet. It was amazingly quiet. The landscape is wonderful, barren with small trees and bushes and lots of granite outcrops in astonishing formations. It reminded me a bit of bald rock in Australia. The first climbing routes were just a short walk away from the campsite and it is good stuff, a lot of friction. There are nice views around from the top as well and we saw and heard black eagles in the skye and dassies in the rocks. It is amazing how loud and bird-like these small animals cry. People said there are occasionally leopards seen on the farm, but we did not meet any. In the evening we had a sundowner and grilled meat and sausages on the open fire. I got up before sunrise to walk up a rocky outcrop and watch the sun rising. The light was wonderful. Then I went for a 2h walk around, saw Kudus and Klippspringer, droppings from Zebra and a lot of bleached bones(!?). I also took a close up photo of some red wasps building their nest and back in the camp I was told by my friends how aggressive they usually are and how painful their stings. Luckily it is still winter and it was early morning, so the cold made them lethargic. You see, I have a lot to learn to cope in the wilderness.
Back in Windhoek I learned the last day and wrote my exam. I think it went well, there was not much I did not know. Now I am already preparing for my longer safari which you may read about after 28.8.

Chameleon, Crazy Kudu and Wild Dog

Hello all,
now it is getting exciting: I have booked my first safari. I will go on 19.8. with a company called Crazy Kudu to Okavango Delta in Botswana, Caprivi Strip in Namibia and Victoria Falls in Zambia for a 10 day camping safari. It was not easy to get this, originally I wanted to go with Chameleon on a similar tour, but they were fully booked till the end of September when I am supposed to work already. It includes a boat tour in a traditional dugout canoe, a game drive to see rare antelopes, a visit to a local village with demonstrations of traditional medicine and superstition and good chance to see elephants, crocodiles and hippos in their natural habitat. I am really looking forward to this, can't wait! Yesterday I got my last vaccination (meningitis) and malaria prophylaxis is already sorted as well.
Meanwhile a friend from the climbing group called me and asked if I would like to join them for a long weekend in the Erongo mountains (300km northwest from Windhoek) for camping, climbing and walkabouts. Of course I want to! First I hesitated a bit with my exam on Tuesday in view. But never mind, I can take the books with me. I feel quite well prepared already and do not want to miss this adventure. I will let you know how it was next week.

Cheers,
Heidrun

Botanischer Garten

Jeden Monat ist eine Fuehrung im Botanischen Garten von Windhoek und diesmal nahm ich teil. Ich haette nicht gedacht, dass so viele Leute kommen, es waren ueber 20. Fast alle waren deutschsprachig, viele davon leben in Windhoek und unterstuetzen den Garten. Uns wurde das "Gewaechshaus" gezeigt, das diesen Namen nur aufgrund eines Daches hatte, das den Regen abhalten soll. Nicht, dass es davon hier viel gaebe und im Moment schon gar nicht, aber unter dem Dach haben sie Wuestenpflanzen, die schon wenige Tropfen zur falschen Zeit uebel nehmen. Es ist faszinierend, wie solche Pflanzen ueberleben und wie scheinbar lebelose Struenke oder Steine mit ein wenig Feuchtigkeit zum Leben erwachen und praechtig bluehen.
Nebenan ist ein Foto, dass ich einfach am Strassenrand gemacht habe. Es zeigt die Windhoeker Aloe and eine Euphorbie.

Bis zum naechsten Mal - Heidrun

My flat

I know, I neglected you here waiting for news on my blog, but I am trying to improve now.
I found a nice flat to rent for me. It will be free next week, but I will move in after my exam, on 15.8.07. It is the upper floor of a 2 storey house high up at a hillside. It will be quite a steep drive for my car, so I might have to buy a 4WD anyway. The view to the east is marvellous, straight to the mountains surrounding Windhoek. There are 2 medium size bedrooms with built in cupboards (not beautiful, but useful), one facing east and north for warmth in winter and the other one facing west and south, for a cool sleep in summer. Then there is a large living room southeast and from there you get out to the east-facing Veranda with the nice view. To the north there is a white tiled bathroom with shower over bath and a large kitchen with all cupboards, sink and fridge built in and space for a seating area. I will be able to use an old couch and a couple of chairs, will need to buy bed, tables and a desk. To the west is an area of currently stone and dust which with a bit of luck, advice and support from my landlords, may turn into my garden. Behind that is a rocky, unfortunately crumbly (therefore not suitable for climbing exercises) natural wall and then the mountain continues. I also have a shaded area and some wooden seats for a BBQ, a garage and a shaded parking area. The nearest relative of the elephant is living in the mountain rocks and my garden: rock dassies. They are very cute, but I have been told I will face problems with creating a garden. The place is not far from the city, 15-20min walk and the area is fairly safe so that I will be able to walk to or from work in daylight.
The landlords are very friendly, but hardly ever there. They have a guest farm north of Windhoek, maybe I can stay there one day with you?

Rock Climbing

Hey, I can't believe it is nearly two weeks since my last entry! Time is passing so quickly and I guess even quicker here in Africa than elsewhere. Last weekend I have been rock climbing with a couple of very nice people near Windhoek. It is a nice, solid, smooth rock on a farm and there is almost always shade which is essential inthis country. The only disadvantage is that baboons sleep on the rocks and leave all their shit there. At this time of the year there are no problems with snakes and scorpios, but I have already been told just to throw them down when I come across any while climbing. All the routes are bolted and the technique they use for securing themselves slightly differs from what I knew. There are only a few easy ones and then a lot which are challenging for me. I also noticed that I only climbe once before this year and was tired quite early. Never mind, this group goes every weekend, so there will be plenty of opportunities for my training. At some point this spring they also want to climb Spitzkoppe and if it fits in my timescale I will try to join them.
So, this is my first entertainment organized here, horse/camel riding will follow as soon as I have written my second exam and bought a car.

Heidrun

Back from the farm

The weekend in the wilderness was fabulous! I went with my friend on a number of game drives and although nothing was close enough to shoot we saw a lot of animals: Kudu and Oryx, some smaller antelopes, lots of Guinea Fowl, warthog and jackal. It is amazing how quiet it is out there, you just hear the calls of the animals and the squeaking of the pumps for the waterholes. Also, the stars at night are unbelievably clear and so many that I had problems to find familiar pictures such as Bootes or Corona Borealis (apart from the fact that they are upside down from what I am used to). I also found Scorpia, Libra and Virgin very clearly and high up. It has not rained since April and everything is sandy.
Now I am back in the "big city" finalizing my work for the law exam and then heading on straight for the Pharmacy Practice exam which will follow on 14.8. So, unfortunately, no safaries for a while.

I will keep you posted - Heidrun

first foto

Hello,
I am very busy, preparing for my law exams on the 16.7.
I just thought I show you a photo of a craft market in Windhoek city.
I will be away on a farm for a long weekend now, looking forward to it.

Hoping to post more in the future - Heidrun

Arrived in Windhoek

Hello everybody,
This is just a short note as I am currently on borrowed internet until I have my own sorted. I arrived safely, was picked up by my boss and straight away integrated in the family. I get lots of help with getting started. And I realized how much I have to learn for my exam - another reason why in the beginning I will not post very much, sorry.
People here are complaining about a very cold winter which is 2 degrees at night, but 24 during the day - comparable to a nice European summer, I am sure my colleagues in England envy me for this.

Heidrun