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The last out of six blog posts covering my May/June trip to Africa. This one also includes parts of both African countries I visited, in one blog post. The story continues in Maun, Botswana, where I am changing planes after I returned on a charter flight from the Okavango Delta, which was described in the previous blog post.
Tuesday, June 5th
Upon arrival in Maun from the Okavango Delta, I was greeted in the airport terminal by representatives of Moremi Air and Kwando Safaris. Moremi would fly me to the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, and Kwando Safaris was the owner of the lodge I was going to. Right after leaving the airside, secured area of the terminal, I was checking-in to the next flight, to Tau Pan Camp in the CKGR.
The Central Kalahari Game Reserve, as the name suggests, is a game reserve in the Kalahari Desert. The Kalahari itself is vast, spanning several countries in southern Africa, but the game reserve does not encompass the entire desert.
It is however still the second-largest game reserve in the world, covering over 52,800 square kilometers (~20,400 square miles). I flew to Tau Pan along with an American family, with whom I was grouped for the activities. After our flight landed at the dirt airstrip, we were picked up by lodge representatives and driven to the camp to check-in. We were given a briefing about the lodge, the daily schedule and the various rules. Then we went on a game drive, after a short time to unpack in our rooms. The main sightings were jackals and springboks.
As we returned to camp past sunset, it had gotten dark and everyone were escorted by guides to our respective rooms. We had about 45 minutes, before it was time for dinner. At that point we would be accompanied by guides back to the dining room again. Essentially the policy was that guests were never walking around the property on their own at night. There were no fences and wildlife was free to roam around. Case in point, when I was getting picked up to go to dinner, the guide said “I want to show you something”.
My room, notice there’s no glass in the windows or the doors, just a fine-meshed net.
The camp’s huts were spread out in one line, one-by-one, with five on each side of the common/dining area. One main pathway led to each of the cottages, with the entrances to the cottages being on the opposite side. On the trail leading around my cottage/room to the entrance, the guide had spotted some leopard footprints. He claimed that these were fresh, meaning they were made after I had gotten back from the game drive. As mentioned, I was only inside my room for 45 minutes. In the meantime, a leopard had walked right alongside the building and into the bushes! The animal was already gone however.
We had dinner, then a bit of a chat. It was soon bedtime already, as the “alarm clock” would ring very early. I did set my own alarm on my cellphone, but staff members would usually wake you up anyway by calling out your name from behind the room. Given that the windows were just mosquito nets, they didn’t need to enter, you would definitely hear them.
Wednesday, June 6th
Getting up in the morning wasn’t easy, as the “open” windows meant that a lot of cold air had gotten into the room. My hands were almost freezing at breakfast. Getting into the open cars for the game drives didn’t help temperature-wise. As we drove along, a lot of cold air was obviously blowing in your face. I have mentioned this already, but just as a reminder, it was locally winter. Given that Botswana and Namibia are in the Southern Hemisphere, their winter is the same time as summer north of the Equator. I was wearing nothing more than a t-shirt and a pullover, but fortunately there were blankets in the car. Some of the Americans had brought along thick jackets, beanies and gloves. On the morning game drive, we saw a flock of ostrich and dozens of oryx antelope.
Two male oryx play-fighting.
There were also a few of Africa’s heaviest flying bird, the kori bustard.
At one point we also spotted some squirrel, that were anxiously watching a nearby goshawk, one of their main predators.
The goshawk in the top of a tree.
After a few hours the sun had started to heat everything up, which made it more comfortable to sit in the car. We returned to the camp for lunch, followed by a three-hour long siesta break. I tried to sleep, but didn’t get as much sleep as I wanted. On my way to high tea, I spotted elephant tracks on the main pathway just in front of my room.
After the tea, we went on an afternoon game drive. We didn’t spot as much wildlife as on other drives. We did however see plenty of giraffes, including two males that were fighting.
Perhaps it was just a play-fight, the guides were not sure. What they did was so-called “necking”.
Giraffes have tiny horns on the back of their heads, but they can hit quite hard with them. Obviously giraffes have long necks, so they have to bend down quite far to strike the other one in the back of their neck, or anywhere on their body for that matter. It’s not completely without danger for the giraffes. It obviously hurts to get hit, but the attacker can also damage their neck by doing this. In between necking, they were also just pushing each other around. It was one young male and a significantly older and larger one, so there was quite a disadvantage.
We stopped at sunset for sundowner drinks and snacks. As it started getting dark, we saw a bat-eared fox, which gets its name from its unsually large ears.
We had a dinner in the common area with every one of the guests and staff members, then we each went to bed.
Thursday, June 7th
Thursday morning we could sleep in slightly longer than normal. We were not going on a game drive, rather a so-called bushman walk. It is an exploration of the surrounding nature on foot, as the name suggests. It was led by P.K., one of the lodge’s wildlife trackers/guides who is a San member. The San, also known as the Bushmen, are one of the indigenous tribes of the Kalahari Desert, having survived its harsh conditions for tens of thousands of years. Knowledge of the desert’s plants, how to hunt animals, start a fire and find water in the desert was traditionally passed on to each generation.
The San are no longer one of the dominant tribes in neither Botswana nor Namibia. Other tribes, some of which have migrated into the area thousands or just hundreds years ago, have outnumbered them. Other tribes generally consider the San somewhat primitive. Nowadays, most of the San people have adopted modern luxuries. Few of them still live a very traditional lifestyle in the desert.
P.K. was incredibly knowledgeable about local plants’ traditional use and how to spot them. Several of the plants were used for medicine purposes.
Parts of a bush plant used to treat some illnesses the traditional way.
In order to find water, the guides had a relatively simple, yet genious technique. They looked for a so-called “tuber”, a swollen part of a plant which was often hidden under the soil, with no more than a few leaves above ground. These specific leaves were however what gave it away.
The tuber after it had been dug up. Next point: finding or cutting a sharp branch, with which the inside of the tuber could be scraped off.
The scraped-off material looked a little like sawdust. However, it contained a relatively large quantity of a milky liquid, which you could extract and drink by simply squeezing it together. Of course, you couldn’t fill up your 8 glasses per day with this. It would be enough to survive though, as it was very nutritious. The San have also used the same liquid as soap to wash their bodies. It does also somewhat protect skin from the rays of the sun.
Next, we tried making fire by friction with nothing more than two sticks. The sticks had to originate from certain types of trees to be effective. You would cut a hole into one stick, and then sharpen the end of the other stick. By placing the sharp end into the hole and rotating it in place, you would create enough friction to heat up the wood right inside the hole.
That is, if you got the technique right. The top stick, with the sharp end, had to be kept in place for a few minutes while being turned. This isn’t seen on the video above, I skipped to the interesting part. If it slipped out prematurely, all the heat inside the hole of the bottom stick would dissipate. We all tried ourselves after watching the guides, but none of us were successful.
We returned to camp for lunch. I chatted a bit with the American family that I had spent time with during the activites. They were staying longer at the camp. Not long after lunch, it was time for me to fly back to Maun.
The flight time at around 1 PM was a bit later than I desired. I needed to pick up my rental 4×4, from the hotel in Maun I spent a night at before flying around Botswana, and then drive to a lodge in D’Kar, in western Botswana. This would mean at least another three hours of driving. The plane was even slightly delayed. I walked back to the Maun Airport Hotel to pick up my large bag from the reception. Fortunately the car seemed to be in good condition. I did need to reinflate one tire, but that was it.
Got some fuel in Maun and drove towards the Dqae Qare San Lodge. This was the place in D’Kar where I would be sleeping for one night. Owned by San people, I had tried to previously to inquire about some traditional activities that they offer guests. I especially wanted to witness a traditional dance. However, I wasn’t sure when I would arrive at the lodge, so I couldn’t definitively book it in advance. I arrived shortly past 6 PM, when it had already turned dark. At check-in I asked about the traditional dance, and the lodge staff began discussing internally, in their native language. It turned out they needed to get people from a village 35km away, and the dance was after dinner.
Given that the dinner was literally being cooked as this discussion went on, I just gave up on the idea, even though they kept pondering if it would be feasible. Unfortunately it seemed that all the other guests were either middle-aged/retired Germans or South Africans who couldn’t care less about the local culture or traditions, which is quite sad. So no activities were booked for that night that I could simply join in on. For one person they were able to provide a storytelling session on short notice, and I settled for that. This would also take place immediately after dinner, next to a bonfire.
It was two stories told by an elderly gentleman in Khoisan, a traditional language that includes click-sounds made with the tongue. The stories were then translated into English by another staff member.
The video doesn’t show their faces and the picture is blurry thanks to the light, apologies.
It was two stories about dogs & jackals, and then one about why the jackal has a black back. The idea being that ashes were used by mother nature to treat its back from sunburns, back in the beginning of time.
As I would be returning the rental car in Windhoek the following day, I started cleaning some of it already. I repacked my bags, then I went to bed.
Friday, June 8th
Got up early, and finished what I deemed reasonable for cleaning the inside of the car before breakfast. Essentially the goal was to clean the car enough that I wouldn’t lose some of the deposit. Most of the road towards Windhoek was paved anyway, except for the dirt access road to the Dqae Qare San Lodge. Drove off towards the border, stopping in Ghanzi, Botswana for fuel. This was the last major town I would see for hours. The border crossings on both sides were very quick and hassle-free. Just filling out one or two forms and getting my passport stamped.
About to leave the Botswanan border complex.
The Botswanan border guards who were sitting at the exit from their border facility asked some strange questions about the rental car. Which year it was built, what the price of the car was and so on. As I answered it was a rental, they then wanted to know how much I was paying as the daily rate for the rental agreement. Remember, I was leaving Botswana. I guess it’s highly suspicious that I was about to enter Namibia with a car that has Namibian license plates…
I stopped on the Namibian side, just past the border post for lunch and some fuel. Again, this wasn’t exactly necessary, but it’s just a good rule of thumb to fill up the tank every now and then, whenever you see a gas station. After a few hours of driving on the long B6 paved highway between the border and Windhoek, I made a stop in the city of Gobabis, for more fuel and to get a car wash.
This city of just less than 10,000 people is the largest city on the three-hour drive between the border and Windhoek. Given that I was returning the car to the airport, it was more convenient to stop here for a car wash. Driving into Windhoek and back east to the airport would have added at least one hour to the trip.
Car washes in Africa aren’t the automated kind.
I continued towards Windhoek Airport full throttle. Being back in Namibia, speed limits were once again pretty much suggestions. Sure, most locals adhered to them, but every now and then you’d see someone speeding past. The speed cameras are, as I have mentioned in previous posts, solar powered. You can see the tall, bright yellow pole, on top of which the solar panels are mounted, from at least a kilometre away.
Given that the B6 is straight and flat, with little traffic, it’s pretty conducive for higher speeds. It’s not like I was driving like a madman anyway. I wasn’t driving any faster than I would in Germany on the Autobahn.
Stopped at a gas station just by the airport to fill up, and cleaned the windshield and the front of the car, as well as the tent. It might seem to you that by now I had cleaned the car many times. Driving down the highways in Africa you are going to get a lot of dead bugs on the windshield, regardless. There were some on the headlights too. I cleaned the car enough to prepare it for the handover to the rental car company. Fortunately the car was accepted as clean, and they even disregarded the punctured, but patched up tire (not covered by insurance).
After having dropped off the car, I stopped by the airport terminal to use the restroom and an ATM, then took a taxi to my B&B. Unfortunately it was too late to visit any museums. Having already done my walking sightseeing on Day 1, I just rested in my room until it was time to eat. Went to Joe’s Beerhouse, a famous Windhoek restaurant, for a dinner consisting of game meat.
From left to right on the spear: Springbok, oryx, zebra, and kudu. They offer various dishes consisting of meat from many of the different animals you’d see on the safari trips, with the exception of the endangered and protected species of course. I stayed for a while at the restaurant, to chat about travel with a Canadian couple seated next to me.
I got a taxi back to the B&B, and it was quite odd. The taxi driver needed help to drive through the downtown area. I don’t mean just help finding my destination, he literally didn’t know how to navigate downtown Windhoek. Independence Avenue is the main north/south street in the city. He drove away from it much too early, then turned in the wrong direction. Fortunately I had an idea of which streets we should take, as I had been driving around the city with the rental car myself.
Saturday, June 9th
Slept in until 07:15 (see, slept in!). Much better than getting up at 6 AM or earlier for game drives or ahead of long stretches of driving, as I had been doing almost non-stop for weeks. Had breakfast, and chatted with a German traveler staying at the B&B. I checked out, then went to the Namibian Crafts Centre to buy souvenirs.
The Namibian Crafts Centre is one big market full of different individual vendors, selling handmade clothing, accessories, souvenirs, paintings, pictures and such. Very cool place to just wander around, even if you’re not buying anything.
Returned to Guesthouse Tamboti, the B&B, to place these souvenirs inside my bags, and drop off my jacket, as it was getting hot. I walked back downtown to get to the Namibian Independence Museum.
It’s quite an interesting museum, because it has been partially funded by North Korea. Its stories are presented in a manner that isn’t unlike what you would see in Pyongyang. More than a few dioramas, and large murals were the main presentation methods throughout.
I had lunch on the museum’s 4th floor.
Taking in the panorama views before walking back to Tamboti to pick up my luggage. I asked the owners for a taxi to the airport. It was time to leave Windhoek for good. The taxi driver needed to stop for petrol on the way. I felt that he drove at a pretty leisurely slow speed. However, it was still in time for my flight to Johannesburg with South African Airways.
I had a short connection in Jo’burg, but with an on-time arrival it was no issue. I picked up some sandwiches for dinner and ate them before boarding. This despite knowing I would be getting food on the plane, but I usually get something to eat anyway. Those meal trays can be quite small. The flight back from Johannesburg was quite exciting for me, as it would be operated by a Boeing 747-8i. Not only that, but it was the exact plane used to carry the German World Cup champions home from Brazil in 2014.
Flew home via Frankfurt on Lufthansa, and we departed exactly an hour late due to a medical emergency at the gate. One sick passenger was removed, and furthermore his bags had to be unloaded. Fortunately I had paid for an upgrade into Premium Economy on the long overnight flight. I did that the day before the flight. It was a lot cheaper than booking it to begin with. Airlines often offer cheap upgrades within 48 or 24 hours of the flight, if there are available seats in a higher class. A better seat with more pitch and legroom meant that I got more sleep, than I would have in regular Economy.
Sunday, June 10th
We landed in Frankfurt about 30 minutes late. However, my connecting flight was in two-and-a-half hours, so that was no issue. There were other passengers with much tighter connections. I got some breakfast in the airport and had time to relax, which was nice. My last flight was with SWISS to Zurich.
We boarded on time and were on schedule when some “administrative problems” surfaced. After that we were told 10 pieces of luggage had been loaded by mistake. The whole thing took at least 50 minutes to sort out. This was all while the auxiliary power unit’s air intake was broken. The aircraft doors had to remain open to get some air into an uncomfortably hot cabin.