Elephant course

Last weekend I took part in a course about elephant behaviour, just out of interest. It turned out to be a professional tour guide course, but never mind. I never thought one could talk 3 days solid about elephants, but it was possible and even very interesting. My intention was to learn what to do when near elephants and how to predict when one has to leave them alone to avoid being charged. I got an idea of that, although there is of course no clear answer for all situations. But I also got so much relevant background information starting with anatomy to guess when a broken tusk would be painful (and therefore the elephant aggressive) to the family structure of elephant groups. There were surprising facts such as that they have only one molar tooth at a time in each quarter of the jaw and that they have 6 sets of that. Or that giraffes communicate by infrasound (a bit off topic, but still interesting). Or that the weight of an elephant results in only 600g per square centimetre footprint area. All in all, it was a strenious, but enjoyable weekend and I hope I passed my test today so that I can join the practical part of the course next year. And avoid elephants like the one on the picture which I took on a guided tour last year in Caprivi.

off-road driving

Last weekend I finally managed to take part in a gravel- and off-road driving training course, something I already wanted to do before I rolled my first Landrover. Two women from the Afrikaans course joined the party. The training is provided by a German couple on a farm near Solitaire, almost in the Namib desert. To get there you have to drive 250km from Windhoek - mostly on gravel road, so you have already done some training before arrival. I was glad about the airconditioning in the car because it was very hot - summer in the desert. We started with 2h of theory and the most important thing I kept in mind from that is: YES, you should brake when the car becomes unstable. So far many people told me this was what I had done wrong during my accident: I put my foot on the brakes. Another useful thing to know was that one should not look at any obstacle on the road, but rather at the way around it. The practical training was exhausting, of course more for the nerves than for the body. We started with driving at low speed around some cones and then gradually increasing the speed until the car started to slide. This was a horrible feeling, but after a while I found out that even then it is possible to gain control again (within limits) if you react calmly in the right way. The next exercise was to brake fully while steering the car around a wall of cones. Yes, ABS makes it possible, although in this case only at speed up to 70km/h. Then we tried driving bends and our trainer asked me whether I want to become a ralley driver. No intention at all, thanks. I think our tyres lost a bit of rubber during these lessons.
The second part was off-road driving, to find out what the car can do and where the limits are. Now both of us (my car and myself) know what is possible. I would never have dared to try all these things, the worst of which was driving along a slope with the sky in one side window and the earth right in front of the other one - at least it seemed so. We also drove diagonally through ditches and up steep hills. The highlight at the end was a drive up a solitary hill from where we had a great view down to the dunes. Then we drove back to camp through a dry riverbed, trying not to get stuck in the sand.
The evenings we passed enjoyable with BBQ and chatting.

climbing Pontok

This is about my latest climbing event. I managed to get a Saturday off work and escape on Friday 1pm. Andreas from the mountain club drove with me to Spitzkoppe and we did 5 routes that afternoon to get used to the rock. All went well and so we decided to go for the route “to bolt or not to bolt” up to the peak of Pontok Spitz on Saturday. We camped at the foot of the walk up the Pontoks, a mountain range next to Spitzkoppe. It was going to be my first long climbing route up to the top of a mountain! There would be full daylight half past six, but Andreas crazily decided we have to get up half past four already. It did not matter as I was so excited that I hardly slept anyway. So we had plenty of time for breakfast and to sort things out in the morning. With the first faint sign of dawn, still under the light of half moon, we started walking up a huge slab towards the beginning of the climbing route. At the end of that slab we had to pause and wait for more daylight in order to find the little stone cairns which marked the further way through the boulders. Sunrise up there was great! The landscape was like a huge, beautiful stone garden with strange plants like Aloe and Euphorbia. Half past seven we reached the bottom of the first climbing pitch. We re-packed our things, left the hiking shoes, enough water and what else we did not need on the climb there, tidied up the ropes and off we went! In front of us waited 9 pitches, 270m, partly natural, partly bolted, granite route of grading 15 to 18. 18 was the highest I ever managed to climb, so it was quite a challenge for me. Andreas has been there before and he was kindly leading all the way. Especially granite is so much easier on a top rope! Most of the time you feel like sliding down, standing on almost nothing and holding at nothing at all. Nevertheless, I enjoyed that climb very much and after 4h and only one slip of myself we reached the top. We were rewarded with great views over to Spitzkoppe and the field around. After a short break we abseiled down to an overhang for lunch in the shade. Then we abseiled all the way down which took quite some time. At the last pitch the rope got caught between the rock so Andreas had to climb up again and free it. Back at the bottom of the climb I was glad to take the climbing shoes off, the feet were really hurting from all the standing on the steep slopes. 12h after setting off we were back in camp, enjoyed a bush-shower and braai. We went to bed very early that evening and slept well until the sun was high up. On Sunday we climbed a few single routes to round up the weekend. Then I even followed Andreas up a grade 21 route, although he said it was overgraded. When toes and fingers hurt too much we called it a day and made our way back to Windhoek.

Waterberg

It is unbelievable, but there are permanent lakes in Namibia. In the Tsumeb area are 2 very deep craters in the limestone, collapsed caves. We went to see one of them. The lake was about 40m in diameter and the walls leading steeply down to the water surface, 20m below our viewpoint. It was a shame really, there was no way to go swimming in the clear, fresh water. The lake is said to be bottomless which is probably not true, but it comes quite close.

Next we visited a crocodile ranch where they have 50 adult animals for breeding, huge beasts, all caught in the Kunene/Caprivi area. The offspring is used when they are 3-6 years old: for shoes, handbags and meat. We had a look in the nursery and were surprised how small the 4 year olds are, maybe a meter in length. Our guide held one of them and we were allowed to touch it: the skin is very smooth and soft, not as it looks like. Afterwards we had crocodile steak which was very tasty, but somehow it felt the wrong way round: we should be eaten by crocodile instead of vice versa.

On the farm Gaub we took a guided tour into their famous bat cave. It was very interesting to explore the cave, not with built ways and staircases as I knew it from Europe. We only saw 3 bats, but very close and they did not move away. We took camp on another farm where there was a sign for camping, a note with the prices and a box to put the money in at the gate, several campsites with fire places, a simple toilet and shower for which you could make hot water by lighting a fire under the boiler. We were all on our own and enjoyed it.

Despite warnings that it is not worth it we went to the Hoba meteorite. I found it quite impressive: an iron lump 3m x 2m and 1m high. Yes, there is not much to see about it, but when you imagine when and where it comes from …

At Waterberg we went on a guided walk onto the plateau with a Herero who explained a lot about the plants, the animals and Herero tradition. It was interesting to listen to him. The other reason why we went with a guide was that there are buffalo and black rhino on the plateau which can become quite aggressive. However, we did not meet any. The other days we walked around in the plain on our own. The landscape is phantastic, red sandstone towering maybe 50m above the plain! There are permanent springs and it was lovely to walk along the water, you do not get this chance very often here.

Etosha

Our next stop was on the farm Otjihaenamaparero to see 219 million years old dinosaur footprints. There were very well visible, over 20m long tracks, deeply imprinted into the sandstone, surprisingly impressive. The landscape was wonderful with mount Etjo towering above the plains. We stayed on the small, simple camp site there, all on our own, it was so quiet.

Next day we took our time, topped up our stock in Outjo, and carried on to Etosha Safari camp 10km south of Anderson Gate. That evening we started our first attempt of cooking a meal on the open fire and it worked! To our surprise nothing was burnt. We got very excited to enter the highlight of Namibia, Etosha Park. And it did not disappoint us. Already at the first waterhole we stopped for a long time, amazed that the animals did not run away as usual. They are so used to cars here. There were zebras and springbok and fresh elephant shit. The view of the pan itself was just unbearable, so wide and endless, you could see the animals kilometres away. It was still muddy in places. We drove around all day and it never became boring. I took lots of photos of beautifully patterned zebras, secretary bird and the cute little ground squirrels. We returned to our camp and next day we set off to cross half of Etosha and camp in the middle, at a place called Halali (regards from the German hunters). We added elephants, rhino, impala, kudu and oryx to our list and laughed at drinking giraffes. The camp had its own floodlit waterhole were we watched a herd of about 20 elephant at night, 2 black rhinos with a calf drinking, and a spotted hyena. On our last day in Etosha, early in the morning, with the sun blending me through a dusty windscreen and the bushes throwing striped shadows on the road, I slowed down as I saw an animal on the road. I was busy working out which big antelope that would be when I realized that it was a lion! In fact, there were two. We watched them slowly disappearing into the bush, marking them on the way. Wow, what a start of the day! We drove through an area of interesting landscape with hills, smaller pans and palm trees. There were even large areas with water and pelicans. Again, we saw a lot, but we had stopped counting except for the 3 lions and 4 black rhinos. Not long before sunset we left the park and took camp nearby. We were looking forward to a day of rest, walking around a bit, without driving. This is the big disadvantage of Etosha that you are not allowed (for good reasons) to leave the car. Even the toilets are fenced in.

Africat

My next trip started with a visit at Africat Foundation, a place that cares about big cats that are not suitable for living in the wild. They have a posh lodge (at posh prices) and show visitors the animals and explain the rehabilitation projects. We started with leopard tracking in a car. The leopards there are actually not part of the project, but had been fenced in by accident as they are living there. However, some of them had been marked with a collar with a sender, so that the animals could be located. They also got used to the cars and are thus not as shy as wild leopards normally would be. It took a while to find one of them and on the way we already spotted Eland antelope, Kudu, Oryx and Zebra. Kudus make a barking sound when disturbed and when we first heard the leopard we thought it was a Kudu, such a strange noise it made. Then we saw the leopard between the bushes, a beautiful animal. We followed it for about half an hour and it did not seem to mind. It took a sand bath, walked around, and shit on the way. It was interesting to learn that it carried its tail high to signalize the nearby Kudus that it is not hunting. Although the whole activity had a little bit artificial feeling it still was a great experience. In the evening we went to a hide and watched porcupines which came for the kitchen waste.

Next morning we got up early, before 6 o’clock, to watch the three lions in their large enclosure on their morning walk. They had been rescued from cages as small as a car, but were too used to humans to be released into the wild. Then we went to see the wild dogs which had been rescued as cubs after a farmer had buried them alive in a plastic bag to get rid of them. They are an endangered species with unpleasant characteristics: they hunt their prey in packs and eat pieces out of it while it is still running! The next stop was for feeding the cheetahs that could not go back to the wild. They came really close to the car, chirping and purring, yes, almost singing! It was a joy to watch these elegant cats jumping for their piece of meat. We also learned a lot about their properties, habits and life stile. After a good break and a proper brunch we went on a little walk on our own, in an area without big cats. To our surprise we discovered quite a few tiny flowers despite the dry and cold season.

On the afternoon programme was cheetah tracking on foot. The animal was used to humans, but lived wild, i.e. it was not fed. It also had a radio collar so that we could locate it. The tension grew when we knew it was close and we left the car to follow it. Firstly, it moved fast and then not anymore. When we found it it had just killed a Dikdik, one of the smallest antelopes. We watched it eating for a while from of distance of only about 5m. On our way to a wonderful sundowner place we saw a troop of baboons and dassies in a tree.

On our last morning we went on a “Bushman trail”. They explained to us how they live, showed how they make ropes, bags and bows, how to catch animals in a trap and how to make fire. The ropes were made of sansiveria and were very strong. This demonstration was full of interesting stories about their culture. I really like their attitude not to take more than they need and to use the resources of nature so that they can recover.

cheetahs

Finally we left the mountains behind us and arrived in Marienfluss: a wide plane framed by mountains on each side. We had a great view at all this space. There we were picked up by car and driven the last 20km to the Kunene to a proper tented camp with toilets, showers and warm water. We spent two days there, going for short trips, one day upstream, one day downstream. This involved some rock climbing and traversing in places because we wanted to stay close to the river. It is a beautiful area and I could have carried on hiking for another 100km down to Kunenemund. Then we set off for a two days drive with the Unimog to cover the 250km of bad road back to Opuwo. We had a flat tyre twice and it is hard work to change the wheel of an Unimog, but our men managed it well. We passed a point called “red drum” where three roads meet. There is literally only a red drum with an old, damaged emergency telephone and a sign for each direction. Nevertheless, this point was marked as Red Drum on my map of Namibia, so I would have expected at least a village there! Back in Opuwo it was difficult to get used to civilization again. We carried on driving in our own cars for another few hundred km and stayed at a cheetah farm and camp. They have 19 cheetahs there and we were taken on a drive to feed them. It was interesting to watch these cats so closely, fighting for the food. In a separate enclosure was a female with three little ones, only a few months old. It was cute to see them playing on a fallen tree. Also on the property was a 7 months old giraffe which came to the farmer sucking on his thumbs and drinking milk from a bucket. The farmer also had two tame cheetahs and we could stroke them and listen to their purring!

The leopard

Our next camp was near a little creek which run over the rocks to form a pretty waterfall with a beautiful private pool underneath, surrounded be reed. It was such a nice place and a good feeling to have a save bath. The advantage for us two climbers and the drawback for the others was that this place was only accessible by a 5m down climb the rock face. We followed the cascades down for a while until we came to a spot with a good view at the magnificent Kunene river. After taking in the view we climbed back up to the camp in fading day light. This evening our guide bought a goat from the nearby village. It was slaughtered and skinned and then barbequed straight away. We tried the heart and liver which were good and later had the ribs which were tasty, but the meat was very tough and not much of it.

The next day took us some of the time along the river again. At one point we wanted to fill our water bottles and were looking for a suitable way through the reed down to the river. We changed our mind when we heard a loud splash, probably originating from a crocodile that had rested on the shore and jumped into the water at our approach. Later, at the campsite we saw a big one on the rocks on the other side of the river, in Angola. We climbers usually went in front of the group as the geologists were slowed down by rock sampling. We followed our guide through a wide, dry river bed which narrowed into a steep gorge. About 120m from the gorge our guide stopped and pointed at a leopard coming down the rocks to drink from the puddles in the gorge. The animal had not noticed us. We waited and after a while it returned, looked at us and majestetically jumped up the rocks to where it came from. What an elegant, powerful cat! We were very lucky to see a leopard in the wild. The sides of the gorge were vertical, water washed rock. At the bottom were pools with fish in them, it was nice and cool. Further in the gorge the pools merged and filled the whole gorge so that we had to take our shoes off and balance barefoot over the pebbles. It was great to look at the steep walls from down there, tree trunks which had been carried there by the river far above us. We continued until our feet became tired of the permanent hopping and balancing, then returned to leave the gorge and carry on on our route.

Our last camp directly by the river was at a wonderful place. The river was wide and calm, with mountains in the background reflecting in the water. Another river flew into the Kunene. In this river was a small waterfall, very convenient for a shower. The next day we followed this river which again required some rock-hopping, an unusual exercise in this country. Then we crossed the mountain range which brought us trough a new type of a beautiful landscape. There were more gorges and rock face inviting us to climb. However, we did not have any gear with us, so we left it at eye-climbing. The walking became more interesting and challenging, involving some climbing over boulders along the creek. Unfortunately, we only had foul tasting water from some pools at one camp there and exactly on that day I felt a bit dehydrated and had to drink a lot. I put a water disinfection tablet in and some lemonade powder so that it became drinkable. Even the tea tasted bad.

Himba kids

The following day took us to another, bigger waterfall coming from a lakelike widening the river formed. The river split into two parts there and a rock island had been formed in the middle. There were interesting rock formations in marvellous colours: black, red and green. It was a long walk that day as we skipped one camp. I felt it was far too hot to carry on walking and I really got to a point that I did not want to continue anymore. Not that I was exhausted, but just tired from the heat. Finally we reached a dusty place under a tree which was our camp. Some areas of the riverbank were blocked off with cut bushes to prevent crocodiles coming on land. We were directed to a shallow, stony stretch where we could wash off the sweat of the day, cautiously watching the water. In the evening people from the nearby Himba village visited us and there was some chatting, dancing and singing going on. They were friends and family of our guide and two of his kids were living there, a boy of 10 and a girl of 8 years. The kids joined us for the rest of the trip, going to live with relatives at Marienfluss. Even though they were so young they knew the way cross country and they were able to go much faster than us, even barefoot on all these stones and thorns! They helped their dad, never complained and we accepted them as our guides. Tough kids in a hostile environment.
The whole area was not as deserted as I thought: all the time we were crossing paths and every couple of kilometres we passed a few huts and a kraal, where Himbas had lived for a while with their cattle grazing. In front of some huts we even found quite sophisticated wooden toy cars, probably carved with a machete. They had proper wheels and the kids used a stick to move them around.

Donkeys

Next morning the donkeys were loaded, and how! Saddle bags on both sides and on top a big sea sack with our tents, sleeping bags and mattresses. Some animals got the cooking pots tied on top of it which looked funny. The poor donkeys had to carry a lot, it nearly made me feel guilty. The way the guides led them was strange: the donkeys went ahead and were shushed from behind or the sides when they went the wrong way. Often the pots got caught in the bush and the whole group made a funny noise. When the guides whistled the donkeys would stop and wait what was to happen. I admired how surefooted they went through stony, steep terrain, where even we started sweating. The day passed pleasantly, but without any remarkable events. We camped under a huge tree at a marvellous spot at the riverside. Black rock formed little pools save for bathing protected from crocodiles. Further downstream was a small, but forceful waterfall and behind it a rock rose up to 15-18m above the river. At the current low water level it was possible to get over to it and of course I had to climb it together with my friend from the mountain club. On the top we found to our surprise a huge tree trunk, surely thrown there by the water during the flood. What impressive power the water can have! This night we again enjoyed the wine, looked for shooting stars (and I saw a couple of them) and listened to the silence of nature.

day 1

We usually got up with the first sign of dawn, around 5:30, in order to do some of the walk in the pleasantly temperated morning hours. Breakfast was usually muesli with sugar and warm water which tasted surprisingly acceptable. On a few days we tried porridge or millipap which was edible, but much worse. On the first day we passed the waterfall once more and then walked for quite a while along the river with breathtaking views around each corner. Alone the contrast between the dry landscape and the lush green at the riverbanks and the brown-blueish of the water was amazing. Although there was a lot of rain this year the grass was already dry, but most trees still green. There were places at the river where you could think you were on a tropical island: fine, white sand, black washed rocks and Makalami palms. The seeds of these palms are very hard and the Himbas carve beautiful pictures of animals into them and sell them to tourists in the cities. The leaves of the palms are used to make basket with interesting patterns. After a careful footbath we left the river and went cross country through stony terrain. Towards midday it became very hot for walking and I wondered what people do here in summer! Eventually we reached the 4x4 track and were picked up by our Unimog to drive to a place nearby a creek where we put up our camp. The donkeys got there already, this time still without their load. In the afternoon we explored the surrounding, played chess, chatted with each other. When we were sitting on our groundsheet after the meal, drinking wine and chatting, a scorpion came crawling onto the sheet. It was quite a big beast, interesting creature. Our tour guide caught it, but we then moved around more carefully.

Kunene Hike

My latest adventure was a 2 week 150km hike along the Kunene river in northern Namibia. It was organized by geologists and designed as a professional trip for sampling of rocks. However, as 2 people dropped out only two weeks before the trip started they were desperate to fill the places with anyone who would like to do the hike and pay the money. I got to know this from the mountain club and was immediately hooked. A hike through an area where there are not even 4x4 tracks, guided by indigenous Himba people! What an opportunity! I asked my boss nicely and he made it possible that I could have the time off even though I did not have enough holiday left.

The tour started in Opuwo, a town where only a handful of white people live. The majority of the population there are Himbas. We only had to bring tent, sleeping bag and personal items as well as a day backpack for water and snacks. Everything else, including food, was cared for by the tour operator. On the first day we were transported on a Unimog to Epupa Falls, a dusty 200km drive which took about 4h. Our camp was directly at the steep riverbank. We were warned not to enter the water because of crocodiles. That day we only saw a water monitor lizard, though. The waterfalls are beautiful and impressive, with huge baobab trees on the rocks. We saw Himbas from the nearby village washing their clothes there and putting them to dry on the surrounding bushes.

Love birds and Go-away birds...

... fly around my house. The love birds even come to sit on the balcony, chatting very noisily. They must have offspring now as there are many of them, behaving a bit clumsy. Most of them are green with their rosy face, but there are 2 or 3 in white-blue-greyish colours. I wonder whether they escaped somewhere as these are not the natural colours.
The go-away birds are not less noisy, but they do not come that close. The story is that they warn the wild animals from hunters, shouting "go way" with their loud voices. It is the equivalent to the European jay.

grass insect

There are some funny animals around here. On my last walk I found this insect in the middle of the path laying eggs or something. When it sits on the grass you really cannot make it out.

Brandberg

Last weekend I spent in the Brandberg area. My friends already left on Thursday which was a public holiday, but unfortunately I had to work on Friday. This only left me with 3 free days and the task to find them in one of the gorges of a mountain massive with a diameter of 50km. I have never been there before and there are no road signs at the many tracks. However, my friends gave me a good description of the area and some printouts from google earth. I also bought topographic maps with a scale 1:50000. So I packed my car on Friday and left Windhoek with the first daylight on Saturday morning at 6 am. It took me 5h to Uis, the town nearest to the Brandberg. I thought this was not too bad, but then it only started. The road on the remaining 80km was incredibly bad, ripples all over. On top of this a yellow warning light in my car went on which made me nervous. So I drove very slowly, watching the mountain carefully and trying to identify described features. This was surprisingly easy and even the tracks that turned off from the "main" road were in the right place. Thus, 3h later I found my friends without difficulty. They were as glad to see me as I was, already imagining me camping on my own in the wild. They had cleared a path into a dry riverbed, a very romantic setting. We went for an evening walk and then sat around the fire, braaing and chatting. The others slept in their roof-top tents on their cars, but I just spread my sleeping bed on a mat on the floor, enjoying the free view to the stars. I was not disturbed by anything in the night, only noticed some bats hunting above my head. And it was ABSOLUTELY quiet, no sound at all at times, not even snoring neighbours ;-) What I had not considered was the mist rolling in from the coast only 60km away. So my sleeping bag was wet outside, but never mind, I was not cold. Next morning we set off to a trip up the mountain. This turned out to be harder than it looked because of huge bolders we had to climb over. It is amazing that we still always found a possible way. There were interesting plants all around: Welwitschias in the plain, reed in the now mainly dry creeks and somthing like a little stone garden further up. The view from the top was rewarding. The way down trained the muscles in the arms as well as the legs because we had to let ourselves down the bolders and jump from one to another. I still feel the muscle pain today, two days later. The whole tour took 7 hours. It followed another relaxing evening at the fire. Next morning we set off straight on the way back in order not to get into a Namibian traffic jam.

fontain

Last week we had a special entertainment in Windhoek: a fontain nearly as high as the building nearby in Independence Ave. I don't know whether it was a broken pipe or what, but the result was quite impressive and lasted for almost half an hour!

climbing hazard

Today I went climbing again and discovered some of these animals. I looked at them closely, marvelling at the beautiful colours. However, my friends told me that it burns and you get blisters when touch your skin and someone even mentioned that their bite can be deadly! I had not expected this animal to be that dangerous and looked at it with even more respect then. Luckily I did not meet it when I was up on the rock.
In a presentation on Saturday I heard that in Australia live 7 out of the 10 most poisonous snakes in the world while Namibia only has 1. How reassuring! Never mind that the next 10 poisonous snakes can still kill people and several of them exist in Namibia.

Pontok mountains

Last weekend I spent with a friend at the Spitzkoppe again. It is 8 months since I have been there and the landscape now looked totally different. Due to the good rains it was green everywhere and the flowers in blossom. We arrived at 8pm, in the dark, at the camp. The half moon was just above the mountain and run down its side which was great to watch. Thus we had light till after 9pm, enough to get our meal ready and ourselves settled in the sleeping bags under the starry sky. It was wonderful to wake up at night and look at the stars. In the morning we watched the sun dunking the Spitzkoppe into light. This time our aim was not Spitzkoppe itself, but a walk around the nearby Pontok mountains. A Pontok is a hut covered with a mud roof which looks like the peaks of this mountain range. We took our time, had a look at Small Bushman's Paradise first where you can see ancient rock paintings. I am always fascinated by the rock formations and caves in this area. It was a hot day and we had to climb over the saddle of the mountain to get to Big Bushman Paradise, but I thouroughly enjoyed the tour. Back in our camp I went on another small excursion to a rock formation called the bridge through which you can also see the mountains. Then I used the luxury of a rock pool which stays for about 3 months after the last rain to take a quick bath. I was back in time for the sundowner and then the usual ceremony of braai started. It followed another wonderful night under the open sky. Next day we tried to reach the top of the first Pontok, but we did not know the way. Surprisingly, we came across some way marks and climbed quite high over bolders and rocks until all possibilities ended at a steep wall. Without rope and proper climbing equipment there was no way to go further. I think next time we should try it from the other side. Anyway, it was a nice trip, we returned to the car and drove back to Windhoek just after lunch.

Moltkeblick

Last Sunday I decided to climb the second highest mountain in Namibia, Moltkeblick, with a friend. It is only 10km away from Windhoek. He has been there before, but years ago. The mountain is 2400m high, but you already start at about 1700m. We set off about 9am, asked at the farm for permission to walk on their property and then we are on our way. First we went along an old, disused farm track where grass and flowers grew on the way. My friend could not exactly remember the way he went once, so we just turned to the mountain range after a short while. We climbed up to the ridge and continued along there, first on a kind of path, then just through the bushes and bolders where there was space. We had a great view from up there. I found a lot of beautiful flowers along the way, some of them only come out every couple of years after a good rain. There was yellow and red and purple and white amongst the high, green grass. What looked so beautiful made walking harder, though, especially as one should look out for snakes as well. The longer we continued along the ridge the more evident it became that we should have stayed for much longer on the farm track. Our "way" was up and down, through deer fences and around cliffs. However, I found it a pleasant walk while my friend began to struggle and slow down. Finally, more than 6h later, we reached the top of Moltkeblick which was not very exciting. There was a wind motor and a signal post, all fenced in. So, the way has been much nicer than the destination. We had a short break and then started to make out way back down. This was not easy as the ground was full of medium large, loose stones and it would have been easy to break ones ankles. When we reached the foot of the mountain it was getting dark. We just about managed to identify the farm track and stayed on it through dusk. It was still several km back to the car, there was no moonlight and the way became harder and harder to follow. At some point we lost it and had to return to the nearest fence to find it again. Then we tried with a torch, but it was still very hard to identify the remainders of the track. I already thought we had to stay in the field over night. Finally, 12h after we set off, we reached the car, fairly tired, but happy.

Erongo again

Easter saturday I followed my friends to a farm in the Erongo mountains. I set off after work and it was a fairly long drive so that I only arrived in the evening at the farmhouse. The camp was about 6km away and I have only been there once. The farmer described the way for me and it sounded easy enough: follow the path along the fence and bear left. However, as far as I could see there was nothing to bear right or left, just the one path. I noted a totally overgrown track to the left which did not look as if a couple of cars had passed there 2 days ago. I remained on the main path which led to an area I could not remember and then got worse until it only was a tractor track. Meanwhile it has gone dark and I turned around. There was no chance to find my friends this night and I did not want to return to the house. So I just pulled to the side, pitched up my tent, had a bread and a drink and sat on my cool-box watching the stars and the full moon coming up. It was very quiet and peaceful, an overwhelming feeling of beeing alone in the wilderness. Even the farmer asked me the following day whether I was not afraid, but of what? Leopards have been seen in the area, but are very shy, snakes escape when they feel the vibration of approaching man and the farm gates were locked, so there were no people. Next morning I got up before the sun, drove to the farmhouse and asked them to show me the way. It was really that overgrown track I considered the evening before! My friends had just decorated the camping tables with branches with easter eggs and I joined them for breakfast. Then we went climbing some fine granite walls and I even led one route myself. In the afternoon we went to the natural rock pools to cool down in a bath and wash the sweat off. Others had filled a black bag with water and hung it in the sun to have a hot shower, called "super solar shower". Then I went for a walk along the dry river bed and found a piece of a clay pot made by the bushman, probably thousands of years ago! I also discovered a small dead snake on the track, probably a poisonous puffadder. In the evening we had a delicious barbeque and lots of wine. We watched the lightening far away in the Brandberg region and were glad that it did not rain where we were.
Monday morning we packed slowly, went to Omaruru for an icecream and then each set off our own way. On the road back I saw a dead monitor lizzard, a giant beast of nearly 1,5m! I would not like to meet this alive on foot.

Okambara Elephant Lodge

The second weekend in March my parents and me spent at Okambara Lodge. This is only a 2h drive from Windhoek to the east. The first question they asked me when I called to confirm my booking was what car do I drive. The last 8km from the “main road”, which is already only a gravel/sand road to the lodge just consists of mud and puddles after the good rains. The day before someone got stuck there with a combi. They advised me to keep on the track even when it goes through relatively deep water. We made it, but afterwards you could not even read the number plate anymore because of all the mud. Approaching the house offered a dreamlike view at a green jungle of bambus, cacti, bougainvillea and large trees. There were even ducks and geese on the grass. First we were greeted by a cute, tame suricate nibbling at my toes. Then the friendly house lady came and showed us around her little castle which she had designed herself.

After a delicious lunch and a nap we went on our fist game drive there. It started with feeding the captured leopards and cheetahs which were problem animals from other areas and found asylum here. One leopard was quite tame and I stroke his fur when he leaned against the fence. It was very soft. The cheetahs fought with each other for their food and it was a joy to watch these graceful cats. You could see that our guide liked his job and with the help of a sender he found the little herd of elephants on this gigantic farm for us. On the way there we saw the damage they hat done to the fences and wind-engine. One bull had fought with the others and then escaped from the farm. Later we heard that he had to be shut. So there were 7 elephants left and we saw the whole group. Furthermore we spotted red hartebeest, wildebeest, steenbok, impala, eagle, stork, ostrich and some small birds. At the end of our excursion it started to rain and we were rewarded with the view of giraffes in front of a rainbow. In the evening we fed wild porcupines at the terrace.

The next day we started with a game drive after breakfast to find the rhinos. We drove criss-cross through the farm, discovered tortoises and saw a beautiful large kudu-bull very close, but no sign of the rhinos. We already turned back to the house when we spotted a little grey hill between the bushes at our side. It was the back of a rhino. We drove closer and met the whole family which was peacefully grazing. Very satisfied with this success we returned to the main house. After a swim in the large pool we said goodbye and made our way back to Windhoek.

The way back

We took a slow drive back via Helmeringhausen and Maltahoehe. In Helmeringhausen we stayed in the old post office which is now a very tastefully decorated B&B that belongs to the hotel. The settlement itself only consists of 5 houses including a shop, an agricultural museum, a petrol station and the hotel. In former times the place was just a farm. There was not much to see and do, but we enjoyed the peaceful setting. The road to Maltahoehe was very bad because of the rain, mud and deep puddles everywhere. We only made 50km/h on average. So we could marvel at the lilies in blossom at the roadside and we discovered some bright orange oryx-weaver birds who build their nests on the long grass in the puddles.

In Maltahoehe I was surprised to find a backpacker, but no-one was staying there. The river there was severely flooded, trees and fences were under the water. This was a strange sight in this normally dry country. Near Mariental we also looked at the full Hardap Dam which is a gigantic sea of brown, muddy water. Unfortunately, we could not do the game drive there because the roads were closed for safety reasons. On our way back into Windhoek I hardly recognized the area. It was green all around where I weeks before only saw brown, burnt grass.

Luederitz

On our way to Luederitz we stopped at Garub to watch the wild horses of the desert. It is surprising how they survive in this bleak environment. We saw a number of them at the well, fighting with each other. A single oryx also came for a drink, hardly taking any notice of the horses. The remaining 90km of the road were straight and boring and I was happy to use my automatic speed control so that I did not even have to keep my foot on the accelerator, but could relax. In Luederitz we rented a large, colonial-style flat. There were 3 bedrooms, a large living room with TV and many very old German books, 2 bathrooms, a fully equipped kitchen with sitting area and an entrance hall. For the whole flat we paid about 40 Euro per night! It had a special atmosphere, it looked as if the owners from colonial times had just left. Luederitz disappointed us first as we walked through an area of old, disused industrial buildings and rotten houses. The other day we discovered the new waterfront with restaurants and shops which is much nicer, but nothing special. They still had the Christmas decoration on, a bit behind the time.

We visited the old diamond-town Kolmanskop. It was interesting to see how well organized and technically equipped people lived there in the desert up to 60 years ago. Now the sand is claiming the area back with dunes walking through open doors into deserted houses. Still, what can be seen is impressive. Most houses were built in a generous style, there was a theatre, gymnasium, shops, hospital and even a small railway connecting the few houses. In the surrounding area diamonds are still harvested, but not by the handful on the surface anymore as it was the case in former times. All vehicles and people leaving the diamond mining area are screened for hidden gems.

From Luederitz we went on a day trip to Diaz point. On this barren and sandy peninsula we really needed the 4x4 again. We watched seals and dolphins playing in the sea, flamingos in the lagoons and we even had a good view at the penguins on the nearby Halifax island. It seems funny to see penguins in Africa, under this burning sun, but the water there is quite cold, only about 16 degrees. To our surprise at this remote and lonely point, there was a café! They served excellent apple cake, tea, hot chocolate, beer and fresh oysters. I did not expect anything that civilized in this area.

Ballooning

I have heard a lot of contradictive opinions about ballooning here. Some people say it’s great, others think it is boring and not worth it. Only in one point they agree: it is expensive. We started very early in the morning in a vlei between the dunes. We rose up to 1000m and saw the sun rising over the misty mountains on the other side. Then the mist cleared up and we could see quite far over the dune sea. We travelled very quietly, watching the dunes pass and animals moving on the ground. Where we landed, in the middle of nowhere, the team had prepared a table for us with Champagne breakfast. This was the i-point of this marvellous start of the day. Then we were driven back in a 4x4 to our starting place.

It was a long way to our next lodge, but it was a beautiful drive. Sometimes the now green landscape reminded me of Scotland! However, we saw secretary birds on the way, zebra, ostrich and oryx which you certainly would not find there. On the farm there was a oryx-family with a very small one. While walking around in a dry river bed I found the skin of a snake, easily 3m long. I asked the owners of the farm and they think it was either a cobra or black mamba. I am glad the snake was not there anymore! We enjoyed our stay at the lodge in this beautiful surrounding. The meals were taken together with the owners in a tastefully decorated hall. This was a good opportunity to find out more about the area and farm life.

Sossusvlei

Of course we made a trip into Sossusvlei. This is the most famous part of the real desert, a usually dry chalky plain surrounded by red dunes. A tarred road leads 60km into it and then a sandy track continues for another 5km until it is stopped by the dunes. This time there were some puddles at the roadside and grass was growing on the dunes, a strange sight. We started very early in the morning to be there before the heat of the day. A herd of springbok was in front of us and bouncing to the right and to the left between the farm fences at both sides of the road. Eventually some of them got through and others let the car pass. This is the downside of all this farmland. Later we saw ostrich very close and oryx galloping across the road directly in front of my car.

For the sandy track I reduced the pressure of the tyres, realizing that I had forgotten the especially for this event borrowed compressor in the camp. Never mind, I just had to drive back the 60km to the park entrance and petrol station very slowly. Driving through the sand was quite an experience, very difficult to steer. People say you have to steer to the side the car is veering to in order to get it under control again, but this is just against your automatic reaction. Finally we arrived at Dead Vlei, a plain that had been cut off from the rest of the valley by shifting dunes with the result that water cannot enter anymore and all trees have died. It looks ghostly, this wood of black stems and branches. I decided to climb up the highest dune in the area, called “Crazy Dune”. Instead of going the normal long way along the ridge I went straight for the deep ascent. This is an angle of about 45 degrees and with one step up you slide half a step back. It took me over an hour, a lot of breaks and sweat until I reached the top. I was rewarded with great views over the other valleys and dunes. The way back took only 10min. Meanwhile it was half past 11 and over 40 degrees in the shade of which there was none. We drove back with the aircon on full power.

In the Desert Camp we cooled down in the pool and then just lay on our beds and waited for the day to pass. In the evening a strong wind came up which made the braai a difficult task. At night we listened to the barking of the geckos which can be amazingly noisy.

River Crossing

We drove further south, past Solitaire and then through an area which I knew dusty, burnt brown and dry from a few months ago. It was unbelievable how green it was now! Leaves on the trees and bushes, juicy grass on the ground and the river flowing with a strong current. However, the only animals we saw were a few baboons. We heard that all the antelopes had travelled north much earlier, towards the first approaching rains. Strange, how animals know where the food will be.

Not far from our destination, driving down into a dip, I had to stop. We suddenly stood at a muddy river crossing the road. Although there were some tracks going through I was not sure about the crossing and rather returned to the nearest farm to enquire about the river. Luckily this was only a few 100m away. I was told that this river was ok to drive through, but the next one we should check out first. I was a bit nervous at this my first river crossing, but my car knew how to get through. At the next river we stopped and I walked through first. The water was almost reaching my knees and the ground was a little sandy in places, but the current not strong. The manual of my car stated that the car can easily wade through 50cm deep water. Still nervous, we tried and although it felt a bit weary in the mud we got through. Later we heard that someone got stuck in that river this morning, trying to get through in a 2x4 combi! At this point the latest I was really glad that I did not listen to some people who told me that you can drive almost anywhere in Namibia in a normal car. This may be true in winter, but not in the rainy season.

Finally we arrived at our destination: the only wine farm in Namibia. They have 5 wells on their property and thus enough water to grow Merlot and Shiraz at the edge of the desert. There is also a veggie garden, date palms and a lovely little shady pool, very romantic to sit at. Walking around in the there already dry river bed we were accompanied by “go away birds”, a kind of kakadu. We spotted a large praying mantra and even a wild cat. In the evening we had a delicious braai with home made sausage and very tender lamb and of course, wine with it. It was also very interesting to chat with the owner about the development of the farm and about Namibian history.

The sound of stillness

We moved on from Swakopmund via Walvis Bay towards Spreetshoogte Pass. We took a scenic detour along the dunes through the Namib-Naukluft Park. You need a permit for using these small roads i.e. you have to pay an entrance fee. It was well worth it, the sight of the dunes behind the green riverbed on one side and dry, stony desert on the other side was an amazing experience. We passed some villages of the local “Topnas” people. They used to make their houses of wood, clay and reed, but nowadays you mainly see ugly huts made of leftovers from the civilization: wooden boards, tin, plastic and wire. We met a family travelling in a donkey cart, quite a common method of transport amongst the indigenous people.

It was a hot day and a long drive on bad roads. I was really glad to have air conditioning in the car and in the end we avoided stopping to have a look around because when we switched it off it immediately became unbearably hot. We passed the Tropic of Capricorn. In shallow places, where the rain water was kept for a little while, the grass began to grow. Zebras and oryx were grazing there, ostrich and springbok running around.

Approaching the mountains we saw dark rain clouds in front of us, but it rained very locally and we only got a few drops. However, it was impressive to watch the weather developing. A few days before one of the two passes we had to drive through was closed because the river was so strong and high that it threw tree-trunks onto the bridge. By now the road had been freed and there was hardly any water left in the riverbed. This change is hard to imagine.

Late afternoon we arrived in the camp where we had booked a “family unit”. This consists of 2 permanent tents with 2 beds each, a raised place between them with an open (that is without walls and a roof) kitchen with gas cooker and fridge and a bathroom behind. In order to have a warm shower you had to light a fire at the back and heat a tank of water. About 100m away from this place was a little pool, more like a stone-built bath, in the middle of wilderness. I had a bath there at night, watching the starry sky (and there are a lot of stars out there!) and listening to the sounds of nature. Before this, however, we observed the Namibian ritual of sundowner drinks, walked up a hill to a lapa (thatched roof with a bar underneath, but it was empty), taking our wine with us. We took our seats on the wooden benches outside, had our drinks and watched the beautiful sunset. All that was around us was space and nature with the mountains forming a phantastic background. The only signs of human beings we could see were the lapa and our tents. And it was so still …

Living Desert

We went on two more excursions into the desert, one into the “Moon Valley” along the dry Swakop riverbed and the other one into the dune girdle between Swakopmund and Walvis Bay. One was as exciting as the other. The barren, hostile landscape of the Moon Valley was breathtaking and you could easily imagine how people get lost there and die from thirst. Yet, there are plants! “Living stones”, almost invisible, sunken into the gravel to expose only the absolute necessary amount of leaf surface to the burning sun. The sunlight enters the plant through little windows at the top of the thick leaves to allow photosynthesis inside. Then, there is the “pencil plant” with little grooves along the stem-like leaves to collect moisture from the fog and lead a few drops towards the stem of the plant where they enter the soil and can be absorbed by its roots. Last not least, we saw Welwitchia Mirabilis, actually a conifer which consists of a wooden stem and only two leaves. It can grow for thousands of years. It is amazing how some plants are used by animals. For instance, a kudu would injure a euphorbia and cover its fur with the poisonous milk so that any ticks fall out.

Along the way we found strange rock formations resembling the sinking titanic, a giant lasagne or comic figures. There were also some rocks very rich in iron sitting loosely on each other. When you hit them with a stone they gave a sound like from church bells, in different nuances. What a concert of the nature!

The drive through the dunes was a special experience, one of the highlights of the whole trip. Our guide would spot an animal track – not of antelope or such, but of tiny, tiny animals like scorpion or spider – and follow it to find the animal. Most of the time he was successful and brought the beast to us to have a close look. Thus we saw sidewinder and horn viper, two poisonous snakes. He even dug out a Palmato-gecko just after spotting a tiny heap of sand next to a little hole. The skin of this gecko is so delicate that you can see the vertebrae and guts through it and it would burn in the sun within 20 min. The most amazing animal, however, was the Namaqua-Chamaeleon. Our guide spotted one from the driving car, threw some tok-tokkie beetles to feed it and then caught it. We observed it changing colour and apparently it can even go pink. We watched it snatching out its long tongue to catch the beetle. We held it in our hands. We saw it turning its eyes in completely different directions. It seemed like a creature from the ancient past.

Sandwich Harbour

The first tour was a 4x4 drive through the desert to Sandwich Harbour on my birthday. We were only 4 people in the group, so it was quite a private atmosphere. The vehicle was a purpose-built Landrover Defender with a steel construction inside in case we roll over. Which we did not. The drive alone was exciting enough, climbing up the dunes and going down so steeply that you sometimes could not see the bottom on the other side. On top of this it was an amazing landscape: first the salt pans near Walvis Bay, then “hammock dunes” (bushes in the pan that have caught the sand and become a little hill), then real, high dunes, the seashore and finally the lagoon Sandwich Harbour. The sand of the dunes has different shades depending on the material deposited. The base colour near the coast is yellow while further inland, at Sossusvlei the dunes have literally rusted and display a bright orange colour. Then there are black patterns from iron containing sand and dark red ones which is actually garnet.

On the way we saw springbok, flamingos, pelicans and even one spoonbill who got here by mistake during strong winds and was adopted by a group of pelicans. It was an awesome sight to see some pelicans flying in front of the dunes. Sandwich Harbour itself was formerly a fishermen’s settlement, but all the houses have been swallowed by the ever moving dunes. Today the area is a biosphere reserve because the lagoon provides a unique biotope for fauna and flora. Our guide explained how the plants have adapted to the conditions of living between the desert and the sea. We tasted salty sea-asparagus and sweet-savory Nara, a kind of melon which is highly valued by the native people for its water content. On the way back we stopped for a play in the strong waves of the Atlantic followed by a picnic on top of a dune. It was delicious and combined with the great view of the empty landscape just incomparable.

In the evening I made a “braai” (BBQ) in the cozy backyard of our accommodation. Unfortunately, just at this time Swakopmund received about a third of its annual rainfall (which is about 5mm) so that I had to use an umbrella for it. Nevertheless, it was very tasty.

Hoodia

Hello everybody,

I am back from the tour with my parents and have collected my first experiences as a mini-tour guide. I bought another Landrover just in time. It was a great holiday, full of fun, beauty and adventure. We went from Windhoek to Swakopmund, then past Sossusvlei and the Tiras mountains to Luederitz and back via Helmeringhausen and Mariental.

We took our time and a sand-road to get to Swakopmund on the first day. The Landscape was beautiful and changed every 50km or so. We stopped a number of times to have a close look at wild flowers, marvel at unusual rock formations, have a picnic or follow the track of an antelope. Just from the roadside we saw kudu, warthog, ostrich, jackal, springbok and several large birds. However, the highlight of this drive was the unexpected discovery of the “Queen of the Namib”, hoodia gordoni. She was in full blossom with butterflies all around her. I have heard of this plant, mainly from patients asking for the herbal wonderdrug to slim down, but I have never met her personally. She is beautiful.

After this hot and dusty drive through the desert we enjoyed a swim in the Atlantic when we arrived in Swakop. We stayed in Swakop for 6 days and joined a number of very interesting guided tours.

Katutura

Hello,
today I got the chance to join a free tour to the township. It was very interesting. The area is called Katutura which means "the place where we do not want to stay". This origins from former times when the black population was told where they were allowed to settle. There are "posh" areas within Katutura with small stone houses and water at each house and the poorer areas at the outskirts where people just own a hut made of tin and have to share a drop toilet with several neighbours and carry their water from a tap hundred meters away. The huts are really only for sleeping and keeping their few belongings; everyday life happens on the streets. There are stalls where people sell things such as dried beef or a kind of self-brewed light beer. There are open "restaurants", consisting of a fireplace and wooden benches in the sand where women cook and sell the food in the evenings. We also visited a market where people sell dresses with big patterns and bright colours, get their hair straightened, cut or artificial hair knotted in and where barchelors buy their food directly from the fire, cut off half animals. There are shoes on sale made out of antelope leather with the soles made of old tyres. Those people just use everything you would regard as rubbish - a very economic way of living.

Game Park

Hi,
I wish you all a happy new year! I celebrated it with friends barbequeing in the garden. To fill the time we tried funny games such as balancing on a rope or jumping over a stick you hold with both hands. So, quite a sportive change of years! New Year we went "hangover-climbing" which was a successful start for me.
Now the citizens of Windhoek slowly return from their holidays and the peaceful and quiet time is over.
I have been in the Daan Viljoen Game Park today, starting early at 7am. It was worth it. I saw Giraffe at breakfast, Springbok, Zebra, Kudu, wildebeast, Red Hartebeast and lots of birds. It is unbelievable how hard it is to spot even the big Kudu as the colour is the same as the ground and the rocks. Although I have done this walk before it was still interesting. I also saw horns of Oryx, Kudu, Red Hartebeast and Springbok lying in the sand. Luckily we had a good rain yesterday and it was still cloudy, so it did not get too hot. Afterwards I enjoyed a nice ostrich steak in the park restaurant.