We arranged through the hotel for a car and driver to take us around the highlights of the Cape Peninsula. It was about the same cost as the three of us booking an excursion with a tour company, but this way we’d have full flexibility.
Our driver, Roger, suggested an early start at 8:15 to beat the crowds. It’s about an hour drive to the park gates, where we paid our entrance fees and continued on towards Cape Point.
Everyone stops at Cape Point to walk up to the lighthouse (there’s also a funicular but it was out of service today). Due to early hour, we had it mostly to ourselves. There’s nice views of the ocean and Cape of Good Hope. We could also see the boardwalk from Cape Point to Cape of Good Hope, which was our next activity.
It takes about 45 minutes to walk one way. Roger drove to the other side to pick us up. We saw some elands along the way. The boardwalk is in rough shape - some boards were broken in half, and most felt like a heavy step could snap them. But we survived.
We had lunch reservations at Two Oceans, which overlooks False Bay. Supposedly it’s where you can see the Atlantic Ocean and Southern Ocean meet, but in reality it’s just all blue water. (We had the same experience in Dominica trying to see where the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic meet). The lunch was pretty good, given that you’re really here for the views.
Next on the itinerary was Boulders Beach, home of a colony of African penguins. Unfortunately access was blocked because of overcrowding (too many tourists today!), so we had to skip it.
We cut across the peninsula back to the west side to drive along Chapman’ s Peak, a spectacular drive.
Roger then tried to find something else to fill the time (as we’d missed the penguins). We stopped for a coffee, and then drove through the popular beach communities around Camps Bay and Clifton. It was jam-packed today, and we crawled in traffic for about 90 minutes. I would have preferred to have skipped all of it and just got home early but oh well.
We pushed out our dinner reservations to 8pm cause we were still full from lunch . We ate at Manna Epicure, a French restaurant with snobby waitstaff and good food. Walked back home along the hip and busy Kloof St.
Thursday, January 02, 2025
Wednesday, January 01, 2025
Cape Town, South Africa
Happy New Year! As is our tradition, we booked something for Jan 1 morning that is otherwise very busy. This year it was the cableway up to the top of Table Mountain.
It took a while to get an Uber from the hotel, I guess most drivers were working late last night. We had pre-booked FastTrack tickets for the 10am-10:30 window. We managed to get on the next cable car after arriving (capacity is about 65 people). According to the internet, usually there’s a 2-3 car backlog, about 30 minutes, even for the FastTrack. Our Jan 1 morning strategy paid off again!
We had perfect weather: low wind, about 22C, and not a cloud in the sky. We did a little circuit around the top, about half on the boardwalk and half on the rocky path. There’s pretty orange flowers growing alongside the path, which Marissa initially mistook for flags marking the trail, lol.
We spent about 90 minutes at the top, including lots of stops for pictures, and stopping in at the gift shop.
We caught the next car going down as well. It’s a four minute ride, and the car spins about a one full revolution along the way, so everyone gets a view out the front.
We took another Uber to Bo-Kaap, near the waterfront. (All the Uber rides here are about 8 CAD, it’s a compact city). Bo-Kaap is known for its brightly painted houses & cobblestone streets. It’s a multicultural neighbourhood, about half Muslim. It’s very picturesque.
Had a tasty döner at one of the few places open (Jan 1 is a public holiday). Dropped into an art gallery for photo inspiration, walked around and took more pics.
We then made our way to the boutique shops and cafes along Bree St / Loop St / Long St. Unfortunately almost everything was closed here too. Jan 1 is a tricky day on vacations, but at least we saw Table Mountain and the street scenes in Bo-Kaap.
We walked the rest of the way back to the hotel, about 30 minutes. It’s way more pedestrian-friendly in Cape Town vs Johannesburg, and as safe as any big city in the central areas of town.
We relaxed back at the hotel, still full from our döners at lunch. We had dinner reservations at Carne on Kloof at 7pm, which was okay. I think most restaurants had trouble staffing Jan 1.
It took a while to get an Uber from the hotel, I guess most drivers were working late last night. We had pre-booked FastTrack tickets for the 10am-10:30 window. We managed to get on the next cable car after arriving (capacity is about 65 people). According to the internet, usually there’s a 2-3 car backlog, about 30 minutes, even for the FastTrack. Our Jan 1 morning strategy paid off again!
We had perfect weather: low wind, about 22C, and not a cloud in the sky. We did a little circuit around the top, about half on the boardwalk and half on the rocky path. There’s pretty orange flowers growing alongside the path, which Marissa initially mistook for flags marking the trail, lol.
We spent about 90 minutes at the top, including lots of stops for pictures, and stopping in at the gift shop.
We caught the next car going down as well. It’s a four minute ride, and the car spins about a one full revolution along the way, so everyone gets a view out the front.
We took another Uber to Bo-Kaap, near the waterfront. (All the Uber rides here are about 8 CAD, it’s a compact city). Bo-Kaap is known for its brightly painted houses & cobblestone streets. It’s a multicultural neighbourhood, about half Muslim. It’s very picturesque.
Had a tasty döner at one of the few places open (Jan 1 is a public holiday). Dropped into an art gallery for photo inspiration, walked around and took more pics.
We then made our way to the boutique shops and cafes along Bree St / Loop St / Long St. Unfortunately almost everything was closed here too. Jan 1 is a tricky day on vacations, but at least we saw Table Mountain and the street scenes in Bo-Kaap.
We walked the rest of the way back to the hotel, about 30 minutes. It’s way more pedestrian-friendly in Cape Town vs Johannesburg, and as safe as any big city in the central areas of town.
We relaxed back at the hotel, still full from our döners at lunch. We had dinner reservations at Carne on Kloof at 7pm, which was okay. I think most restaurants had trouble staffing Jan 1.
Tuesday, December 31, 2024
Cape Town, South Africa
We drove from Windhoek to the airport at dawn. The car rental return with Europcar was quick and easy. We drove 2,637km over the past two weeks, averaging about 300km per driving day. That’s more than I imagined, and further than we drove on the South Island in NZ. Most of it was over gravel roads too. Our Toyota Fortuner held up pretty well over all the bumps, and I was was suitably impressed with our Peak Design car mount.
Check-in with Airlink was also quick and easy. We had some time to kill cause everything had been so quick, so grabbed a cappuccino and croissant before dumping our water and going through security and immigration.
Windhoek’s international airport is pretty small - there were only eight gates, and about ten departures today. Checked out the souvenir shops and used up our remaining Namibian dollars.
The flight to Cape Town took under two hours. Airlink served a decent meal again - they’re a really good regional airline. Not sure what I will do with my Skybucks frequent flyer points though.
The immigration line up at Cape Town was huge - it looked like all the big jets from Europe arrived just before us. We took bets, Heather won with a guess of 1h15 that was almost bang-on. (I had guessed 2h, and Marissa 1h30). The immigration officer was very friendly once we actually got to the front of the line, maybe cause we’re commonwealth.
As expected, our luggage was waiting for us (I had checked the AirTags so we knew it had made it here). Customs waved us through and then we searched for our driver. The poor guy had been waiting the whole time, holding up the sign with our names for the past 90 minutes as passengers slowly streamed out. Marissa quickly got a SIM card, and then we were off.
Got a whirlwind tour of Cape Town on the drive into the hotel. We’re staying at Derwent Boutique Hotel in the Tamboerskloof neighbourhood of Cape Town, walking distance to all the restaurants along Kloof St.
Relaxed the rest of the afternoon, and then met up for the NYE mini-celebration at 5pm for the hotel guests. Chatted with the owners, who are Canadian. At 6pm we left for dinner at the Black Sheep, we had the early seating and had to be done by 8pm. The food and service were excellent, with an amazing view of Table Mountain as a bonus. (All the restaurants we are dining at in Cape Town are recommendations from the hotel owners).
We stayed up until midnight to celebrate the New Year for the first time in years. We had a nice view of the fireworks over the V&A Waterfront from our deck. The air had cooled to about 18C, very comfortable for sleeping.
Check-in with Airlink was also quick and easy. We had some time to kill cause everything had been so quick, so grabbed a cappuccino and croissant before dumping our water and going through security and immigration.
Windhoek’s international airport is pretty small - there were only eight gates, and about ten departures today. Checked out the souvenir shops and used up our remaining Namibian dollars.
The flight to Cape Town took under two hours. Airlink served a decent meal again - they’re a really good regional airline. Not sure what I will do with my Skybucks frequent flyer points though.
The immigration line up at Cape Town was huge - it looked like all the big jets from Europe arrived just before us. We took bets, Heather won with a guess of 1h15 that was almost bang-on. (I had guessed 2h, and Marissa 1h30). The immigration officer was very friendly once we actually got to the front of the line, maybe cause we’re commonwealth.
As expected, our luggage was waiting for us (I had checked the AirTags so we knew it had made it here). Customs waved us through and then we searched for our driver. The poor guy had been waiting the whole time, holding up the sign with our names for the past 90 minutes as passengers slowly streamed out. Marissa quickly got a SIM card, and then we were off.
Got a whirlwind tour of Cape Town on the drive into the hotel. We’re staying at Derwent Boutique Hotel in the Tamboerskloof neighbourhood of Cape Town, walking distance to all the restaurants along Kloof St.
Relaxed the rest of the afternoon, and then met up for the NYE mini-celebration at 5pm for the hotel guests. Chatted with the owners, who are Canadian. At 6pm we left for dinner at the Black Sheep, we had the early seating and had to be done by 8pm. The food and service were excellent, with an amazing view of Table Mountain as a bonus. (All the restaurants we are dining at in Cape Town are recommendations from the hotel owners).
We stayed up until midnight to celebrate the New Year for the first time in years. We had a nice view of the fireworks over the V&A Waterfront from our deck. The air had cooled to about 18C, very comfortable for sleeping.
Monday, December 30, 2024
Windhoek, Namibia
We ended the safari part of our trip today. Marissa got up early for the morning game drive. Heather and I had a leisurely breakfast, watching the wildlife grazing in the savannah.
We were on the road by 10am, on the B1 back to Windhoek. There was nice scenery but boring to drive, just a straight road and no other cars.
Marissa had learned about the different types of fences on one of her educational excursions. At the time she thought it was knowledge she’d never use, but now we found it really interesting because we could identify private reserves vs farms or other land uses. A lot of the land approaching Windhoek was private reserves.
The guidebook said there was a good curio place just outside Otjiwarongo but we didn’t see anything. The A1 started shortly after, a divided highway with two lanes in each direction, speed limit 120km/h and devoid of other vehicles. Seemed like a lot of infrastructure for us.
We reached our hotel, the Olive Grove, around 1pm. Checked in, had some lunch, and then went into town for some souvenir shopping. Unfortunately the main curio shop, Namibia Craft Centre, was closed over the holidays. There were a handful of stalls outside.
Back at the hotel, we reconfigured our packs for airplane mode, had a nice dinner and settled up our hotel so we could just leave in the morning. The weather was really comfortable for dinner, about 24C and low humidity.
We were on the road by 10am, on the B1 back to Windhoek. There was nice scenery but boring to drive, just a straight road and no other cars.
Marissa had learned about the different types of fences on one of her educational excursions. At the time she thought it was knowledge she’d never use, but now we found it really interesting because we could identify private reserves vs farms or other land uses. A lot of the land approaching Windhoek was private reserves.
The guidebook said there was a good curio place just outside Otjiwarongo but we didn’t see anything. The A1 started shortly after, a divided highway with two lanes in each direction, speed limit 120km/h and devoid of other vehicles. Seemed like a lot of infrastructure for us.
We reached our hotel, the Olive Grove, around 1pm. Checked in, had some lunch, and then went into town for some souvenir shopping. Unfortunately the main curio shop, Namibia Craft Centre, was closed over the holidays. There were a handful of stalls outside.
Back at the hotel, we reconfigured our packs for airplane mode, had a nice dinner and settled up our hotel so we could just leave in the morning. The weather was really comfortable for dinner, about 24C and low humidity.
Sunday, December 29, 2024
Okonjima Nature Reserve, Namibia
It was nice and cool for our morning safari, about 18C and overcast. Marissa had joined the excursion to see the cheetah rehabilitation centre; Heather and I went on a nature drive. It was just the two of us plus our guide, Mathew.
Mathew was really knowledgeable about the local wildlife and fauna. We learnt quite a bit, even though we’ve been going on lots of game drives the past week or so. We saw a number of species we hadn’t yet seen on this trip, including dik-diks, duikers, and warthogs. We also saw a family of bat-eared foxes, and a canary, which I’ve not previously seen in the wild.
We returned to the lodge around 9:30am, and had a large breakfast (probably better classified as a brunch given the time and the amount we ate).
The safari schedule here at Okonjima Bush Camp is more what we were accustomed to - breakfast after the morning safari, a long break over the afternoon, and then an evening safari. It’s much more relaxing than the six hour excursions we had earlier on the trip.
The afternoon safari was tracking leopards, which are collared here. We started with spotting a non-collared one, which was a bonus! Our guide then used an antenna to locate two other leopards. Unfortunately they were sleeping in dense underbrush and not photographable. (I took some anyways).
The collared leopards are all named by the researchers. Our guide said that one of the leopard’s name was Luka, and we all wondered the same thing, if it lived on the 2nd floor.
We ended the game drive with a collared leopard who was resting after eating. It wasn’t interested in us and was habitualized to the vehicle, but we still got a little close to it for our comfort and the leopards imo.
Anyways we got back to the lodge a little after 8pm. We were still full from our brunch and then lunch, so it was a small dinner.
Mathew was really knowledgeable about the local wildlife and fauna. We learnt quite a bit, even though we’ve been going on lots of game drives the past week or so. We saw a number of species we hadn’t yet seen on this trip, including dik-diks, duikers, and warthogs. We also saw a family of bat-eared foxes, and a canary, which I’ve not previously seen in the wild.
We returned to the lodge around 9:30am, and had a large breakfast (probably better classified as a brunch given the time and the amount we ate).
The safari schedule here at Okonjima Bush Camp is more what we were accustomed to - breakfast after the morning safari, a long break over the afternoon, and then an evening safari. It’s much more relaxing than the six hour excursions we had earlier on the trip.
The afternoon safari was tracking leopards, which are collared here. We started with spotting a non-collared one, which was a bonus! Our guide then used an antenna to locate two other leopards. Unfortunately they were sleeping in dense underbrush and not photographable. (I took some anyways).
The collared leopards are all named by the researchers. Our guide said that one of the leopard’s name was Luka, and we all wondered the same thing, if it lived on the 2nd floor.
We ended the game drive with a collared leopard who was resting after eating. It wasn’t interested in us and was habitualized to the vehicle, but we still got a little close to it for our comfort and the leopards imo.
Anyways we got back to the lodge a little after 8pm. We were still full from our brunch and then lunch, so it was a small dinner.
Saturday, December 28, 2024
Okonjima Nature Reserve, Namibia
We’ve seen a lot of cool stuff this trip, but today we saw something that was out of this world! We checked out of the Mushara Outpost and headed east on the C38. It’s paved roads the rest of the road trip, yay!
We had a detour past Grootfontein to see the Hoba Meteorite, the largest intact meteorite on earth. It’s estimated at 60 tonnes, and remains where it landed. It skipped into the ground, so there’s no crater. Up until 1987, it just sat in a farmer’s field, when it was donated by the farmer to the state. Combined with Namibia’s independence in 1990, it has become a proper tourist attraction, with security to prevent vandalism and the like. We paid our admission (about 20 CAD), had a short 10 minute guided tour, took our pics and touched the meteorite. It’s probably the only time I’ll touch something not from earth.
We stopped for a break in Otavi. Had some really good chips (french fries), topped up the gas tank, and carried on to Okonjima Bush Camp, our final safari lodge of the trip. The landscape had changed back to dry desert and shrubs. We had just gotten used to the humidity around Etosha!
The chalets at Okonjima Bush Camp are spaced about 100m apart and all have private views of the savannah. There’s no a/c, but unlike the pizza ovens we slept in at Rostock Ritz, these actually worked at cooling down the inside.
We were too late for the afternoon game drive so just relaxed in our chalets. We had dinner after sunset, enjoying the lack of big moths we encountered in the (wet) Etosha area. We had an early start for safari tomorrow morning so went to bed early.
We had a detour past Grootfontein to see the Hoba Meteorite, the largest intact meteorite on earth. It’s estimated at 60 tonnes, and remains where it landed. It skipped into the ground, so there’s no crater. Up until 1987, it just sat in a farmer’s field, when it was donated by the farmer to the state. Combined with Namibia’s independence in 1990, it has become a proper tourist attraction, with security to prevent vandalism and the like. We paid our admission (about 20 CAD), had a short 10 minute guided tour, took our pics and touched the meteorite. It’s probably the only time I’ll touch something not from earth.
We stopped for a break in Otavi. Had some really good chips (french fries), topped up the gas tank, and carried on to Okonjima Bush Camp, our final safari lodge of the trip. The landscape had changed back to dry desert and shrubs. We had just gotten used to the humidity around Etosha!
The chalets at Okonjima Bush Camp are spaced about 100m apart and all have private views of the savannah. There’s no a/c, but unlike the pizza ovens we slept in at Rostock Ritz, these actually worked at cooling down the inside.
We were too late for the afternoon game drive so just relaxed in our chalets. We had dinner after sunset, enjoying the lack of big moths we encountered in the (wet) Etosha area. We had an early start for safari tomorrow morning so went to bed early.
Friday, December 27, 2024
Etosha, Namibia
Today was big cat day! We were hoping to see the big cats today in Etosha NP: lions, cheetahs, and leopards.
We had an excellent breakfast as we watched dawn break and listened to the birds and other creatures wake up the day.
At 6:30am we met our guide (we never caught her name) and were off, just the three of us in the back.
We retraced our route from yesterday for the first hour, until we cut off from the C38 in the park. Along the way in we saw a Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl, a type of owl. Either our guide spotted it, or more likely knew its favourite spot; both boded well for the safari :)
We saw a clan of spotted hyenas, including a very young one. Watched them play around for a few minutes. Our guide was in contact over the radio with her colleagues to find out where game had been spotted. They used a numbered code to identify animals, by size. We were most interested in the 3s (lion), 4s (leopard) and 5s (cheetah).
We got word of some 5s beside some road. Our guide checked with us if we were okay with doing 60km/h (the speed limit, although in an open air safari vehicle on dirt roads, it was dusty), and then took off like a bat out of hell, at 80km/h. She was quite the character, we really liked her as a guide.
We saw the two cheetahs at a distance, not really worth a pic yet. Our guide said they might come towards the road, so we waited. She had a tea in the meantime. Then her radio called out about a 4, in action, and she quickly turned, said ‘Hold my tea’ and we took off at 80km/h again.
It was a leopard stalking a baby zebra! I think every guided safari in the park was at the location, at least a dozen vehicles (one disadvantage of national parks vs private reserves). Marissa wasn’t comfortable with watching a kill, so we took some pics and then went back to the cheetahs.
The cheetahs had since made their way to the road! And were drinking from a small puddle at the side of the road. We took lots of pics. Our guide got on the radio excitedly to her colleagues ‘5 on the road! You must push!’ (meaning go fast). We found her hilarious.
Drove around some more, and saw another pair of cheetahs, and then a leopard in a tree! Our guide was very surprised at the volume of cats - normally these are very difficult to spot in rainy season.
We returned back to the lodge around noon, a very enjoyable game drive thanks to our guide.
The afternoon game drive was at 3pm, which didn’t leave much down time. Instead, Heather and I opted out, and were planning to do some birdwatching on the property. Marissa went on the drive, joined by some other random guests. The guide saved her the full front row though :)
Our bird watching didn’t pan out as it absolutely poured rain all afternoon. We actually enjoyed relaxing in our tent with the rain coming down, so it all worked out :)
We chatted with some of the other guests in the main lodge. Everyone had done the same circuit (it’s really just a choice of clockwise or counterclockwise) and in fact we had mostly stayed at the same places (also not a surprise, as there’s not many options at each price point).
Marissa arrived after her game drive and we sat down for dinner. It was at a communal table, so we chatted some more with the other guests. Marissa had seen a lion, We had grilled beef with a pepper sauce, it was the yummiest yet. The kitchen here at Mushara Outpost is excellent.
We had an excellent breakfast as we watched dawn break and listened to the birds and other creatures wake up the day.
At 6:30am we met our guide (we never caught her name) and were off, just the three of us in the back.
We retraced our route from yesterday for the first hour, until we cut off from the C38 in the park. Along the way in we saw a Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl, a type of owl. Either our guide spotted it, or more likely knew its favourite spot; both boded well for the safari :)
We saw a clan of spotted hyenas, including a very young one. Watched them play around for a few minutes. Our guide was in contact over the radio with her colleagues to find out where game had been spotted. They used a numbered code to identify animals, by size. We were most interested in the 3s (lion), 4s (leopard) and 5s (cheetah).
We got word of some 5s beside some road. Our guide checked with us if we were okay with doing 60km/h (the speed limit, although in an open air safari vehicle on dirt roads, it was dusty), and then took off like a bat out of hell, at 80km/h. She was quite the character, we really liked her as a guide.
We saw the two cheetahs at a distance, not really worth a pic yet. Our guide said they might come towards the road, so we waited. She had a tea in the meantime. Then her radio called out about a 4, in action, and she quickly turned, said ‘Hold my tea’ and we took off at 80km/h again.
It was a leopard stalking a baby zebra! I think every guided safari in the park was at the location, at least a dozen vehicles (one disadvantage of national parks vs private reserves). Marissa wasn’t comfortable with watching a kill, so we took some pics and then went back to the cheetahs.
The cheetahs had since made their way to the road! And were drinking from a small puddle at the side of the road. We took lots of pics. Our guide got on the radio excitedly to her colleagues ‘5 on the road! You must push!’ (meaning go fast). We found her hilarious.
Drove around some more, and saw another pair of cheetahs, and then a leopard in a tree! Our guide was very surprised at the volume of cats - normally these are very difficult to spot in rainy season.
We returned back to the lodge around noon, a very enjoyable game drive thanks to our guide.
The afternoon game drive was at 3pm, which didn’t leave much down time. Instead, Heather and I opted out, and were planning to do some birdwatching on the property. Marissa went on the drive, joined by some other random guests. The guide saved her the full front row though :)
Our bird watching didn’t pan out as it absolutely poured rain all afternoon. We actually enjoyed relaxing in our tent with the rain coming down, so it all worked out :)
We chatted with some of the other guests in the main lodge. Everyone had done the same circuit (it’s really just a choice of clockwise or counterclockwise) and in fact we had mostly stayed at the same places (also not a surprise, as there’s not many options at each price point).
Marissa arrived after her game drive and we sat down for dinner. It was at a communal table, so we chatted some more with the other guests. Marissa had seen a lion, We had grilled beef with a pepper sauce, it was the yummiest yet. The kitchen here at Mushara Outpost is excellent.
Thursday, December 26, 2024
Etosha, Namibia
Another day, another safari lodge. Today we drove through Etosha to our next lodge, Mushara Outpost, at the east end of the national park.
We packed up at Safarihoek and said our goodbyes to the staff. The staff here are great, one of our favourites.
We started on yet more bumpy gravel roads. After a couple hours, reached a gas stop just before the southern gate of Etosha NP at Okaukuejo. It was a nice stop, with very clean bathrooms and a decent curio shop. Got some more cash from an ATM, this time without the lineups or cultural exchange.
We arrived at the park border where there was a checkpoint. Marissa had her passport on her (ours were packed in our suitcases), so she completed our paperwork to enter the park. We’ve been changing lodges every 2nd day and it’s hard to remember where we’re coming from or going to - which unfortunately were some of questions Marissa had to answer. We had to look up on our phones. At least we knew we didn’t have any firearms or drones (or plastic bags).
A couple km later at the park gate, we showed our completed paperwork, paid our park fees (150 NAD per person, 50 NAD for the vehicle, about $40 CAD total) and drove in.
We have a couple game drives in Etosha tomorrow with a guide, so just drove straight through today. We did see quite a variety of animals, including zebras, ostriches, blue wildebeest, eland, springbok and oryx. Pretty good for us amateurs!
The roads were bumpy gravel, with a max speed of 60km in the park. It was slow going. We originally had plans to stop for lunch at a camp in the park, but that would have added about 45 minutes of driving time, so instead just headed for our lodge. We could see rain falling from storms all around us, but somehow our route avoided all of them.
Showed our paperwork again at the eastern gate at Namutoni. Our lodge, Mushara Outpost, was another 10km down the C38. We passed by a couple dazzle of black-faced impalas, a vulnerable species, for which we stopped to take some pics.
We arrived at our lodge, but weren’t sure if we were at the right spot, as there was no signage. We thought it was maybe a private house. So jumped back in the vehicle and followed the arrows. We then realized the arrows pointed to the exit; and so we looped around, parked, and emptied out of the car again, trying unsuccessfully to act cool like nothing happened.
Anyways we were in the right spot :) had our welcome drink (rooibos iced tea), and settled into our rooms. It’s another different setting - each chalet is nestled in the woods, like a fancy cottage. The main lodge reminded us of going to a friend-of-a-friend’s cottage, with leather couches, large antiques and artwork.
The food here at Mushara Outpost is excellent, the best we’ve had on the trip. We were swarmed again by the big moths that come out after it rains. (We had them at Safarihoek as well). Had a tense walk back to our cottage in the dark, hoping that lions didn’t get us. (Lions did in fact walk through the grounds later in the night).
We packed up at Safarihoek and said our goodbyes to the staff. The staff here are great, one of our favourites.
We started on yet more bumpy gravel roads. After a couple hours, reached a gas stop just before the southern gate of Etosha NP at Okaukuejo. It was a nice stop, with very clean bathrooms and a decent curio shop. Got some more cash from an ATM, this time without the lineups or cultural exchange.
We arrived at the park border where there was a checkpoint. Marissa had her passport on her (ours were packed in our suitcases), so she completed our paperwork to enter the park. We’ve been changing lodges every 2nd day and it’s hard to remember where we’re coming from or going to - which unfortunately were some of questions Marissa had to answer. We had to look up on our phones. At least we knew we didn’t have any firearms or drones (or plastic bags).
A couple km later at the park gate, we showed our completed paperwork, paid our park fees (150 NAD per person, 50 NAD for the vehicle, about $40 CAD total) and drove in.
We have a couple game drives in Etosha tomorrow with a guide, so just drove straight through today. We did see quite a variety of animals, including zebras, ostriches, blue wildebeest, eland, springbok and oryx. Pretty good for us amateurs!
The roads were bumpy gravel, with a max speed of 60km in the park. It was slow going. We originally had plans to stop for lunch at a camp in the park, but that would have added about 45 minutes of driving time, so instead just headed for our lodge. We could see rain falling from storms all around us, but somehow our route avoided all of them.
Showed our paperwork again at the eastern gate at Namutoni. Our lodge, Mushara Outpost, was another 10km down the C38. We passed by a couple dazzle of black-faced impalas, a vulnerable species, for which we stopped to take some pics.
We arrived at our lodge, but weren’t sure if we were at the right spot, as there was no signage. We thought it was maybe a private house. So jumped back in the vehicle and followed the arrows. We then realized the arrows pointed to the exit; and so we looped around, parked, and emptied out of the car again, trying unsuccessfully to act cool like nothing happened.
Anyways we were in the right spot :) had our welcome drink (rooibos iced tea), and settled into our rooms. It’s another different setting - each chalet is nestled in the woods, like a fancy cottage. The main lodge reminded us of going to a friend-of-a-friend’s cottage, with leather couches, large antiques and artwork.
The food here at Mushara Outpost is excellent, the best we’ve had on the trip. We were swarmed again by the big moths that come out after it rains. (We had them at Safarihoek as well). Had a tense walk back to our cottage in the dark, hoping that lions didn’t get us. (Lions did in fact walk through the grounds later in the night).
Wednesday, December 25, 2024
Etosha Heights, Namibia
Merry Christmas! We were awakened by a passing rainstorm around 5am. We had to get up soon anyways so just stayed up and watched the rain over the plains.
It was still drizzling when we headed to the main lodge for breakfast, so we got to break out our new travel umbrellas we bought for the trip. We were the only guests so just left them to dry in the lodge when we went on safari.
We boarded the safari vehicle and headed out. We heard a lion rumbling in the distance. Drove through the reserve slowly, looking for animal tracks. I actually spotted a large bull elephant in the hills, munching away on branches as thick as my arm.
On the safari we saw lots of giraffes, some including an Angolan giraffe with very different markings than what we’ve seen previously. We also saw lots of bird species, and a turtle.
We returned to the lodge for lunch, and then had a few hours to relax before the afternoon activities. It was the first extended down time we’ve had and I used it to catch up on my blog and pics. We usually build in more down time to relax; however the excursions and safaris have lasted much longer than I expected. We’re still glad we saw what we have, even though it’s been jam packed. Woe is us :)
I skipped out on the afternoon safari so I could hang out at the photography hide. The three of us were driven down to the hide at 4:30pm (there’s predators about, so it’s not safe to walk), and then Heather and Marissa were picked up at 5:30pm for their safari.
I really enjoyed watching the animals from the hide (and got some cool pics too!) The hide windows are at ground level, and the perspective from that angle is great. Got some pics of giraffes drinking which I hadn’t seen before.
It’s easy to get focused on an animal through the lens and miss out on other activity around the watering hole. I almost missed a confusion of guinea fowl right in front of me. I only noticed when they started chatting with each other. I’ve always had trouble getting a good pic of one - they tend to run off at first sight of humans and like poor lighting conditions. Here I was able to get some in focus, with some bokeh to boot.
Also in the hide was Olwen Evans, the photographer who designed the hide for Safarihoek Lodge. She gave me a couple wildlife photography tips, for example that smaller birds love the puddles in the roads after a rain shower, and that low light pics usually look better in b/w.
Later we had our Christmas dinner in the lodge, including a roasted turkey. The staff provided a little entertainment, singing some traditional songs. I really like how Safarihoek promotes the local culture. Yesterday our server had provided click language translations for the menu options. We tried to learn thank-you, and sort of got it, minus the clicks. We really enjoyed our time at this lodge.
It was still drizzling when we headed to the main lodge for breakfast, so we got to break out our new travel umbrellas we bought for the trip. We were the only guests so just left them to dry in the lodge when we went on safari.
We boarded the safari vehicle and headed out. We heard a lion rumbling in the distance. Drove through the reserve slowly, looking for animal tracks. I actually spotted a large bull elephant in the hills, munching away on branches as thick as my arm.
On the safari we saw lots of giraffes, some including an Angolan giraffe with very different markings than what we’ve seen previously. We also saw lots of bird species, and a turtle.
We returned to the lodge for lunch, and then had a few hours to relax before the afternoon activities. It was the first extended down time we’ve had and I used it to catch up on my blog and pics. We usually build in more down time to relax; however the excursions and safaris have lasted much longer than I expected. We’re still glad we saw what we have, even though it’s been jam packed. Woe is us :)
I skipped out on the afternoon safari so I could hang out at the photography hide. The three of us were driven down to the hide at 4:30pm (there’s predators about, so it’s not safe to walk), and then Heather and Marissa were picked up at 5:30pm for their safari.
I really enjoyed watching the animals from the hide (and got some cool pics too!) The hide windows are at ground level, and the perspective from that angle is great. Got some pics of giraffes drinking which I hadn’t seen before.
It’s easy to get focused on an animal through the lens and miss out on other activity around the watering hole. I almost missed a confusion of guinea fowl right in front of me. I only noticed when they started chatting with each other. I’ve always had trouble getting a good pic of one - they tend to run off at first sight of humans and like poor lighting conditions. Here I was able to get some in focus, with some bokeh to boot.
Also in the hide was Olwen Evans, the photographer who designed the hide for Safarihoek Lodge. She gave me a couple wildlife photography tips, for example that smaller birds love the puddles in the roads after a rain shower, and that low light pics usually look better in b/w.
Later we had our Christmas dinner in the lodge, including a roasted turkey. The staff provided a little entertainment, singing some traditional songs. I really like how Safarihoek promotes the local culture. Yesterday our server had provided click language translations for the menu options. We tried to learn thank-you, and sort of got it, minus the clicks. We really enjoyed our time at this lodge.
Tuesday, December 24, 2024
Etosha Heights, Namibia
We had breakfast, packed up while enjoying the view from the room, and were on the road by 10am. We stopped at a couple large boulders near the entrance to Mowani Mountain Lodge for some pics for Marissa.
We enjoyed about 10km of pavement before we turned off onto gravel roads yet again. The route from Damaraland to Etosha Heights is not a common one, and this was reflected in the lack of upkeep of the road.
We stopped at the 2nd gas station in Khorixas, to fuel up and get cash from the ATM. The Mowani folks had said this was the less-busier gas station; they also told us how to pronounce the name of the town which I’ve since forgotten.
There were about 10 people in line for the ATM. Heather and Marissa waited in line while I got gas. The ATM line took over half an hour, as some folks seemed unfamiliar with using one, and others had trouble getting cash. Christmas Eve is a popular time to get cash, as most everything shuts down at noon for a couple days.
Heather and Marissa had a good time chatting with the other folks in line, one of the few interactions we’ve had with locals.
The ATM looked like it might be broken or out of cash by the time they got to the front. They gave it a try, and immediately got their cash. They made a beeline for the car (I had the engine running) in case they did in fact empty out the ATM, leaving a long line of cash-less people behind.
The directions became conflicted between ExpertAfrica, our physical map and Google Maps. The road conditions weren’t quite as bad as the way into Mowani, but certainly couldn’t be called good.
We passed through six gates where we had to manually open and close, I guess to protect farm animals. They each had a sign mak toe asb which Marissa Google translated as Afrikaans meaning close the gate please and not something bad like ‘road closed due to flooding’ or ‘keep out’.
We finally saw a sign for our next lodge, Safarihoek, and knew we were on the right track. Followed the signs to the private reserve main gate, where we signed in with a guard, and then a few km to the lodge itself.
We had the whole place to ourselves, as we were the only guests tonight. The view from the lodge and our rooms is a vast plain all the way at to the horizon. Quite the contrast from our previous lodge!
We had a mini-lunch (it was 3pm and we didn’t want to ruin our dinner). We had plans to head to the photography hide for the sundowner, but a large herd of elephants (20+ including some babies) had walked by earlier, so instead we had a small safari to track them down.
We saw them just before the border with Etosha! It was quite cool to watch them walk by, protecting the little ones. Our guide, Mamsi, said they were less than one month old. We had a fake charge by one of the males, we kept calm and they just went on their way.
We got to the hide just in time for a sundowner. Chatted with Olwen, the in-house photographer who helped design the photography hide.
Dinner was outside on the deck. There were dozens of large moths flying about, which happens every time there’s a big downpour. We ate quickly and went to bed. There was a fireplace in the main lodge, so maybe a chance for Santa to visit.
We enjoyed about 10km of pavement before we turned off onto gravel roads yet again. The route from Damaraland to Etosha Heights is not a common one, and this was reflected in the lack of upkeep of the road.
We stopped at the 2nd gas station in Khorixas, to fuel up and get cash from the ATM. The Mowani folks had said this was the less-busier gas station; they also told us how to pronounce the name of the town which I’ve since forgotten.
There were about 10 people in line for the ATM. Heather and Marissa waited in line while I got gas. The ATM line took over half an hour, as some folks seemed unfamiliar with using one, and others had trouble getting cash. Christmas Eve is a popular time to get cash, as most everything shuts down at noon for a couple days.
Heather and Marissa had a good time chatting with the other folks in line, one of the few interactions we’ve had with locals.
The ATM looked like it might be broken or out of cash by the time they got to the front. They gave it a try, and immediately got their cash. They made a beeline for the car (I had the engine running) in case they did in fact empty out the ATM, leaving a long line of cash-less people behind.
The directions became conflicted between ExpertAfrica, our physical map and Google Maps. The road conditions weren’t quite as bad as the way into Mowani, but certainly couldn’t be called good.
We passed through six gates where we had to manually open and close, I guess to protect farm animals. They each had a sign mak toe asb which Marissa Google translated as Afrikaans meaning close the gate please and not something bad like ‘road closed due to flooding’ or ‘keep out’.
We finally saw a sign for our next lodge, Safarihoek, and knew we were on the right track. Followed the signs to the private reserve main gate, where we signed in with a guard, and then a few km to the lodge itself.
We had the whole place to ourselves, as we were the only guests tonight. The view from the lodge and our rooms is a vast plain all the way at to the horizon. Quite the contrast from our previous lodge!
We had a mini-lunch (it was 3pm and we didn’t want to ruin our dinner). We had plans to head to the photography hide for the sundowner, but a large herd of elephants (20+ including some babies) had walked by earlier, so instead we had a small safari to track them down.
We saw them just before the border with Etosha! It was quite cool to watch them walk by, protecting the little ones. Our guide, Mamsi, said they were less than one month old. We had a fake charge by one of the males, we kept calm and they just went on their way.
We got to the hide just in time for a sundowner. Chatted with Olwen, the in-house photographer who helped design the photography hide.
Dinner was outside on the deck. There were dozens of large moths flying about, which happens every time there’s a big downpour. We ate quickly and went to bed. There was a fireplace in the main lodge, so maybe a chance for Santa to visit.
Monday, December 23, 2024
Damarland, Namibia
We had a normal safari-time start to the day - up at 5:30am, breakfast at 6am, and then out on safari by 6:30am.
We wore our puffy jackets to start the day, it was about 18C, and in an open-air safari vehicle. We were hoping to see the desert-adapted elephants, in the Torra Conservancy.
We crossed them off our list within an hour, as we saw a herd of five elephants. They have larger feet for the sand, and longer trunks. We watched them at a watering hole for a few minutes, then continued on further into the conservancy. We spent the next few hours tracking down elephants, giraffes and other wildlife.
We were back for lunch, had a brief hour-long break and then were back on the road at 3pm, to see the ancient rock engravings in Twyfelfontein, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
We had mistakenly thought these were rock paintings in caves, but in fact they’re engraved, and exposed to the weather. There’s thousands of engravings scattered around the area.
Twyfelfontein is the colonial name, the official name is ǀUi-ǁAis which means jumping waterhole in the clicking language of Nama/Damara. Our guide spoke Nama/Damara, which is the first time I’ve heard the use of click consonants in real life.
Our guide took us on the 45 minute circuit. The highlight is an engraving of multiple animals including a lion.
We were back at Mowani Mountain Camp around 5:30pm. We decided just to relax in our rooms until dinner, as the view was the same as the sundowner spot. We haven’t had much down time this trip, what with these lengthy excursions, so I was falling behind in my blog and pics.
Dinner was excellent yet again. It was busier at the lodge; they said they were fully booked from here through New Year’s. And so ended another full day of vacation :)
We wore our puffy jackets to start the day, it was about 18C, and in an open-air safari vehicle. We were hoping to see the desert-adapted elephants, in the Torra Conservancy.
We crossed them off our list within an hour, as we saw a herd of five elephants. They have larger feet for the sand, and longer trunks. We watched them at a watering hole for a few minutes, then continued on further into the conservancy. We spent the next few hours tracking down elephants, giraffes and other wildlife.
We were back for lunch, had a brief hour-long break and then were back on the road at 3pm, to see the ancient rock engravings in Twyfelfontein, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
We had mistakenly thought these were rock paintings in caves, but in fact they’re engraved, and exposed to the weather. There’s thousands of engravings scattered around the area.
Twyfelfontein is the colonial name, the official name is ǀUi-ǁAis which means jumping waterhole in the clicking language of Nama/Damara. Our guide spoke Nama/Damara, which is the first time I’ve heard the use of click consonants in real life.
Our guide took us on the 45 minute circuit. The highlight is an engraving of multiple animals including a lion.
We were back at Mowani Mountain Camp around 5:30pm. We decided just to relax in our rooms until dinner, as the view was the same as the sundowner spot. We haven’t had much down time this trip, what with these lengthy excursions, so I was falling behind in my blog and pics.
Dinner was excellent yet again. It was busier at the lodge; they said they were fully booked from here through New Year’s. And so ended another full day of vacation :)
Sunday, December 22, 2024
Damaraland, Namibia
We had a really nice breakfast at the Strand Hotel, one of the more extensive buffets we’ve had this trip. Watched the beach activity come to life with beach volleyball players, surfers and other water sports. It was only 18C but I guess it’s all relative.
Packed up the car and headed north on the C34. We made a quick stop to see the Zeila Shipwreck, a few metres off shore. We then turned inland around Henties Bay, our last look at the ocean until Cape Town.
The temperature slowly climbed as we drove east on the C35. By the time we got to Uis in Damaraland, where we stopped for lunch, it was over 30C.
Uis is a cute little town. We had relaxing lunch at the Cactus and Coffee Teagarden, including a home-made iced tea. They had some nice souvenirs too; both Marissa and Heather bought some curios.
Filled up on gas, and then continued along the C35. The road condition was the worst we’ve had this trip, sandy/gravelly and very bumpy. The scenery however was spectacular, with giant rectangular boulders the size of houses and piles of other large boulders.
The road switched back to pavement and it felt amazing. After a few km we reached the turn off to Mowani Mountain Camp, our lodge for the next two nights.
The lodge and rooms are built in and around the boulders. It’s one of the more scenic entrances to a lodge we’ve seen. As usual, the staff were waiting for us at the entrance with cool towels and a refreshing drink.
Our room was nestled between two giant boulders, overlooking the plains below and the rocky hills in the distance. It even had a/c :)
After our really hot stay at Rostock Ritz, we had looked at which other places didn’t have a/c, this was one of them. On the drive up we were dreading another couple hot nights. But the design of these lodges created a natural draft that cooled the place down even without a/c. Anyways it was quite a relief to us.
Relaxed and washed up, and then met up for a sundowner. This was the same view as from our room :) although with a Rock Shandy, the local non-alcoholic drink of choice (soda water, lemonade and bitters, technically not 100% non-alcoholic but close enough).
After the sunset we had an excellent dinner under the stars.
Packed up the car and headed north on the C34. We made a quick stop to see the Zeila Shipwreck, a few metres off shore. We then turned inland around Henties Bay, our last look at the ocean until Cape Town.
The temperature slowly climbed as we drove east on the C35. By the time we got to Uis in Damaraland, where we stopped for lunch, it was over 30C.
Uis is a cute little town. We had relaxing lunch at the Cactus and Coffee Teagarden, including a home-made iced tea. They had some nice souvenirs too; both Marissa and Heather bought some curios.
Filled up on gas, and then continued along the C35. The road condition was the worst we’ve had this trip, sandy/gravelly and very bumpy. The scenery however was spectacular, with giant rectangular boulders the size of houses and piles of other large boulders.
The road switched back to pavement and it felt amazing. After a few km we reached the turn off to Mowani Mountain Camp, our lodge for the next two nights.
The lodge and rooms are built in and around the boulders. It’s one of the more scenic entrances to a lodge we’ve seen. As usual, the staff were waiting for us at the entrance with cool towels and a refreshing drink.
Our room was nestled between two giant boulders, overlooking the plains below and the rocky hills in the distance. It even had a/c :)
After our really hot stay at Rostock Ritz, we had looked at which other places didn’t have a/c, this was one of them. On the drive up we were dreading another couple hot nights. But the design of these lodges created a natural draft that cooled the place down even without a/c. Anyways it was quite a relief to us.
Relaxed and washed up, and then met up for a sundowner. This was the same view as from our room :) although with a Rock Shandy, the local non-alcoholic drink of choice (soda water, lemonade and bitters, technically not 100% non-alcoholic but close enough).
After the sunset we had an excellent dinner under the stars.
Saturday, December 21, 2024
Swakopmund, Namibia
I was up early before the sun rose. Decided to stay up with the hopes of seeing a meerkat from our front balcony. The temperature was pleasant outside when I first got up but it was discernibly rising. By 7am it was already too hot in the sun. Didn’t see any meerkat.
Anyways we had breakfast, packed up and headed to Swakopmund. The hotel folks had suggested we check out the pink flamingoes along the way in Walvis Bay, with some vague directions. The guide book, Google maps and hotel all had different suggestions on exactly where to find them.
The drive was really scenic through the Kuiseb Canyon. About 30km outside Walvis Bay, the highway became a divided highway with two lanes each direction (and only us on the road).
First we tried going down the exit to Dune 7, a tall sand dune that visitors can climb. Supposedly there were flamingos nearby, but we didn’t see any.
Closer to town, Marissa navigated to get us to a ‘flamingo viewpoint’, according to her phone. Sure enough, there was a parking lot, boardwalk and hundreds of flamingos! Gave a tip to the car watcher (20 NAD) and got out of the car to get pics. It was then that the temperature change hit us. It was only 19C with a mist blowing in from the ocean, almost a 20C swing from Rostock. Brrr.
Our flamingo watching didn’t last long. Back in the car, turned the dial to heat, and continued onto Swakopmund. We took the more scenic B2 rather than the new highway a little inland.
Got to the Strand Hotel, the place to stay in Swakopmund. Marissa went in to reception to sort out parking etc. They seemed to be expecting us, which seemed odd. Then we remembered that our last hotel had asked us to deliver a bag left behind by other guests, who were also staying at the Strand. As I had mentioned, the place to stay :)
We cleaned up and headed down for lunch. It was nice to be back in an urban setting, although it’s not like we’ve been roughing it by any stretch.
At 3pm we headed to the lobby to meet the Sossusfly folks. We had booked an excursion to fly over the dunes, south to Sossusvlei and then over some ship wrecks on the way back. Heather and I had always wanted to do a flying safari along the Skeleton Coast, and this was a good way to get the same view.
We picked up another couple tourists who were doing a different flight. Got to the airport, security let us through the gate and we drove on the tarmac right beside the plane. I thought it was really cool, like a private jet experience :)
It was just the three of us in a little prop plane that seated five plus the pilot. She gave us the safety blurb and then we were off!
It was cool to retrace a bit of our path over the last couple days, this time from the air. The sand dunes are fractal and it’s hard to get scale, so just enjoyed the view. It was warm in the plane (I had thought it would be cooler at an altitude), almost hot.
Sossusvlei looked very different from the air, but we did recognize it. Flew back up along the coast. The ship wrecks were interesting, although hard to get pics in the slight turbulence. The large sand dunes dropping into the ocean were cool too. Reaching Swakopmund, we flew over stands of flamingos (another collective noun I had to look up). This was the highlight of the flight imo. I just took lots of pics and hoped some were in focus (only one turned out). The last sight was of the salt pans, also cool to see, before we landed back at Swakopmund Municipal Aerodome. Overall it was a great experience, and we didn’t feel airsick at all :)
We were dropped off at our hotel around 6pm. We barely had enough time to sort through our pics before heading down to dinner. I thought I had built in down time on this trip, but apparently not! It was a rather full day, another transit day that did not feel like it.
Anyways we had breakfast, packed up and headed to Swakopmund. The hotel folks had suggested we check out the pink flamingoes along the way in Walvis Bay, with some vague directions. The guide book, Google maps and hotel all had different suggestions on exactly where to find them.
The drive was really scenic through the Kuiseb Canyon. About 30km outside Walvis Bay, the highway became a divided highway with two lanes each direction (and only us on the road).
First we tried going down the exit to Dune 7, a tall sand dune that visitors can climb. Supposedly there were flamingos nearby, but we didn’t see any.
Closer to town, Marissa navigated to get us to a ‘flamingo viewpoint’, according to her phone. Sure enough, there was a parking lot, boardwalk and hundreds of flamingos! Gave a tip to the car watcher (20 NAD) and got out of the car to get pics. It was then that the temperature change hit us. It was only 19C with a mist blowing in from the ocean, almost a 20C swing from Rostock. Brrr.
Our flamingo watching didn’t last long. Back in the car, turned the dial to heat, and continued onto Swakopmund. We took the more scenic B2 rather than the new highway a little inland.
Got to the Strand Hotel, the place to stay in Swakopmund. Marissa went in to reception to sort out parking etc. They seemed to be expecting us, which seemed odd. Then we remembered that our last hotel had asked us to deliver a bag left behind by other guests, who were also staying at the Strand. As I had mentioned, the place to stay :)
We cleaned up and headed down for lunch. It was nice to be back in an urban setting, although it’s not like we’ve been roughing it by any stretch.
At 3pm we headed to the lobby to meet the Sossusfly folks. We had booked an excursion to fly over the dunes, south to Sossusvlei and then over some ship wrecks on the way back. Heather and I had always wanted to do a flying safari along the Skeleton Coast, and this was a good way to get the same view.
We picked up another couple tourists who were doing a different flight. Got to the airport, security let us through the gate and we drove on the tarmac right beside the plane. I thought it was really cool, like a private jet experience :)
It was just the three of us in a little prop plane that seated five plus the pilot. She gave us the safety blurb and then we were off!
It was cool to retrace a bit of our path over the last couple days, this time from the air. The sand dunes are fractal and it’s hard to get scale, so just enjoyed the view. It was warm in the plane (I had thought it would be cooler at an altitude), almost hot.
Sossusvlei looked very different from the air, but we did recognize it. Flew back up along the coast. The ship wrecks were interesting, although hard to get pics in the slight turbulence. The large sand dunes dropping into the ocean were cool too. Reaching Swakopmund, we flew over stands of flamingos (another collective noun I had to look up). This was the highlight of the flight imo. I just took lots of pics and hoped some were in focus (only one turned out). The last sight was of the salt pans, also cool to see, before we landed back at Swakopmund Municipal Aerodome. Overall it was a great experience, and we didn’t feel airsick at all :)
We were dropped off at our hotel around 6pm. We barely had enough time to sort through our pics before heading down to dinner. I thought I had built in down time on this trip, but apparently not! It was a rather full day, another transit day that did not feel like it.
Friday, December 20, 2024
Rostock, Namibia
We all woke up refreshed at Hoodia Desert Lodge, our first good sleep of the trip :) Today was our shortest drive, only two hours to Rostock Ritz.
It was a pretty drive through the Naukluft Mountains. We passed by the Tropic of Capricorn but missed the sign, and weren’t interested enough to make a u-turn for a pic.
We had a pit stop in Solitaire to fill up on gas. It’s a hopping little junction town. They had a little gift shop that we browsed. Marissa bought, wrote and mailed some post cards.
We arrived at Rostock Ritz about 2pm, checked in and had our lunch. It was 38C but in the shade and a breeze it was bearable. However our igloo-style rooms were really hot. They were built with stone walls to supposedly keep out the heat but instead the stones were getting heated and so the whole room was hot. Marissa said it was like we were in a pizza oven.
We tried to nap in the afternoon but it was too hot. I used the time (the first down time we’ve had on this trip) to finally catch up on my blog. Unfortunately I couldn’t post cause the hotel’s internet access was really spotty.
We had dinner back at the main lodge. It was okay, the first so-so meal we’ve had. At least the view was cool.
It took a while to fall asleep in the heat. Overall the place definitely felt like a transit stop.
It was a pretty drive through the Naukluft Mountains. We passed by the Tropic of Capricorn but missed the sign, and weren’t interested enough to make a u-turn for a pic.
We had a pit stop in Solitaire to fill up on gas. It’s a hopping little junction town. They had a little gift shop that we browsed. Marissa bought, wrote and mailed some post cards.
We arrived at Rostock Ritz about 2pm, checked in and had our lunch. It was 38C but in the shade and a breeze it was bearable. However our igloo-style rooms were really hot. They were built with stone walls to supposedly keep out the heat but instead the stones were getting heated and so the whole room was hot. Marissa said it was like we were in a pizza oven.
We tried to nap in the afternoon but it was too hot. I used the time (the first down time we’ve had on this trip) to finally catch up on my blog. Unfortunately I couldn’t post cause the hotel’s internet access was really spotty.
We had dinner back at the main lodge. It was okay, the first so-so meal we’ve had. At least the view was cool.
It took a while to fall asleep in the heat. Overall the place definitely felt like a transit stop.
Thursday, December 19, 2024
Namib Desert, Namibia
Today was our big day to see the famous dunes and dead trees in Sossusvlei and Deadvlei!
We had breakfast at 5am and were on the road by 5:30am. It’s about a 25 minute drive from Hoodia to the park gates at Sossusvlei. Once inside, it’s a 61km drive to Sossusvlei itself; and then a few km along the dry sandy river bed of the Sossus to finally get to Deadvlei. The last bit requires an experienced driver; our guide/driver Enis (sp?) had been doing this for 15 years and he said he had seen many tourists stuck.
There’s activities along the way to Deadvlei like climbing Dune 45 that some tourists stop to do in the cool early morning, but we were most interested in Deadvlei and so booted it there.
There’s lots of dunes along the paved 61km drive, and with the sun just rising, looked amazing. I took a lot of drive-by pics at 70km/hr.
Along the sandy part, just before we arrived at Deadvlei, we passed by an oryx, perfectly posed beside the road, with some particularly nice-looking dunes in the background. The contrast of the red dunes, blue sky, green desert plants, and black-and-white oryx was really cool. We asked Enis to stop and took a few pics and then carried on. Later we looked at the pics and it was our favourite, almost like an AI generated pic.
From the parking lot it’s a 1.1km walk in the sand to Deadvlei. There were some tourists on their way back already (there are a couple lodges inside the park, they can get to Deadvlei for sunrise). Aside from them, we were the first of the 6am entry folks to arrive. We could see lots of tourists spilling out of their vehicles behind us, so we picked up the pace.
And then we were there! It’s quite amazing. I was also amazed that we had the place to ourselves, at least for a few minutes, so that I could get tourist-less pics. Our guide said that in busy season, there’s up to 6,000 people per day that visit.
I took hundreds of pics. The sun was still low enough to have great lighting. There were more trees than I had realized. Enis explained that the trees used to be sustained by the occasional heavy rains that would flood the Sossus. About 900 years ago, sand dunes cut off the Sossus. The occasional rains were just enough to turn the surface clay at Deadvlei into a solid surface, choking off the trees. Because the desert is relatively lifeless, there’s nothing to decompose the trees.
We stayed at Deadvlei for over 90 minutes, and then carried on with the excursion. Saw some more dunes, and made our way to Elim for a picnic lunch. Enis set up a carpet, table with table cloth, even a hand washing station! It was just like in a travel brochure. While he was setting up, a couple male oryx had a little turf battle, butting heads and locking horns. The older oryx won but was bloodied a little. This all happened about 100m from us, but Enis said we weren’t in any danger.
After lunch we had a quick stop at ?? Canyon and then headed back to the lodge. We were beat from the early start and the heat.
We all napped over the afternoon, and then had another tasty dinner. I think we were finally over our jet lag cause we had our first solid sleep on the trip.
We had breakfast at 5am and were on the road by 5:30am. It’s about a 25 minute drive from Hoodia to the park gates at Sossusvlei. Once inside, it’s a 61km drive to Sossusvlei itself; and then a few km along the dry sandy river bed of the Sossus to finally get to Deadvlei. The last bit requires an experienced driver; our guide/driver Enis (sp?) had been doing this for 15 years and he said he had seen many tourists stuck.
There’s activities along the way to Deadvlei like climbing Dune 45 that some tourists stop to do in the cool early morning, but we were most interested in Deadvlei and so booted it there.
There’s lots of dunes along the paved 61km drive, and with the sun just rising, looked amazing. I took a lot of drive-by pics at 70km/hr.
Along the sandy part, just before we arrived at Deadvlei, we passed by an oryx, perfectly posed beside the road, with some particularly nice-looking dunes in the background. The contrast of the red dunes, blue sky, green desert plants, and black-and-white oryx was really cool. We asked Enis to stop and took a few pics and then carried on. Later we looked at the pics and it was our favourite, almost like an AI generated pic.
From the parking lot it’s a 1.1km walk in the sand to Deadvlei. There were some tourists on their way back already (there are a couple lodges inside the park, they can get to Deadvlei for sunrise). Aside from them, we were the first of the 6am entry folks to arrive. We could see lots of tourists spilling out of their vehicles behind us, so we picked up the pace.
And then we were there! It’s quite amazing. I was also amazed that we had the place to ourselves, at least for a few minutes, so that I could get tourist-less pics. Our guide said that in busy season, there’s up to 6,000 people per day that visit.
I took hundreds of pics. The sun was still low enough to have great lighting. There were more trees than I had realized. Enis explained that the trees used to be sustained by the occasional heavy rains that would flood the Sossus. About 900 years ago, sand dunes cut off the Sossus. The occasional rains were just enough to turn the surface clay at Deadvlei into a solid surface, choking off the trees. Because the desert is relatively lifeless, there’s nothing to decompose the trees.
We stayed at Deadvlei for over 90 minutes, and then carried on with the excursion. Saw some more dunes, and made our way to Elim for a picnic lunch. Enis set up a carpet, table with table cloth, even a hand washing station! It was just like in a travel brochure. While he was setting up, a couple male oryx had a little turf battle, butting heads and locking horns. The older oryx won but was bloodied a little. This all happened about 100m from us, but Enis said we weren’t in any danger.
After lunch we had a quick stop at ?? Canyon and then headed back to the lodge. We were beat from the early start and the heat.
We all napped over the afternoon, and then had another tasty dinner. I think we were finally over our jet lag cause we had our first solid sleep on the trip.
Wednesday, December 18, 2024
Namib Desert, Namibia
It wasn’t until today that we felt like we were on a road trip, having figured out how to stream music from our phones to the car; which side the fuel side was; and found various cubby holes in the car to store stuff.
Before the trip, I had researched and bought a fancy phone holder for the car, by Peak Design. I had thought I broke it the first day having loosened it too much, but a quick google search showed me how to fix it. But then it turns out the car had Apple CarPlay so it wasn’t needed. However, we couldn’t connect both my phone for maps and Marissa’s phone for music, so we needed it after all. It’s the best car phone holder I’ve tried, we’ve gone over some bumpy roads and it’s held its position, and only fallen off twice on really big bumps.
We’ve been learning how to pronounce things: bagatelle is Italian-like with the trailing e pronounced, vlei is a cross between ‘vlay/flay’ and means river, Swakopmund is phonetic and means ‘mouth of the Swakop’
It took about five hours to drive from Bagatelle to our lodge near Sossusvlei, including a quick stop in Maltahohe.
Hoodia Desert Lodge is in a beautiful setting, beside the Tsauchab River, which was dry at this time of year. It’s low season and there was just one other couple at the lodge (tomorrow it’s just us).
Dinner was excellent. We had an early start tomorrow (4:20am!) to get to the dunes so went to bed right after dinner.
Before the trip, I had researched and bought a fancy phone holder for the car, by Peak Design. I had thought I broke it the first day having loosened it too much, but a quick google search showed me how to fix it. But then it turns out the car had Apple CarPlay so it wasn’t needed. However, we couldn’t connect both my phone for maps and Marissa’s phone for music, so we needed it after all. It’s the best car phone holder I’ve tried, we’ve gone over some bumpy roads and it’s held its position, and only fallen off twice on really big bumps.
We’ve been learning how to pronounce things: bagatelle is Italian-like with the trailing e pronounced, vlei is a cross between ‘vlay/flay’ and means river, Swakopmund is phonetic and means ‘mouth of the Swakop’
It took about five hours to drive from Bagatelle to our lodge near Sossusvlei, including a quick stop in Maltahohe.
Hoodia Desert Lodge is in a beautiful setting, beside the Tsauchab River, which was dry at this time of year. It’s low season and there was just one other couple at the lodge (tomorrow it’s just us).
Dinner was excellent. We had an early start tomorrow (4:20am!) to get to the dunes so went to bed right after dinner.
Tuesday, December 17, 2024
Kalahari Desert, Namibia
We finally started the safari road trip today! First we had a little errand to run, buying an extra camera battery for Marissa. She had called a camera shop the day before to confirm they had her battery type. And then we were off!
It was three hours to Bagatelle on the B1, a nice paved highway, speed limit 120km. We passed through a police checkpoint just outside Windhoek. We had everything in order with our car and license and they just waved us on. About 20 minutes from Bagatelle we turned onto C20, a dirt road, and probably the end of paved roads for us for the next two weeks.
We checked in at Bagatelle and arranged our excursions. For some reason I had pictured this as a transit stop on our way to Sossusvlei, but there’s quite a lot to do here.
We got a golf cart ride to our rooms, got cleaned up, and went back down to the main lodge for the afternoon nature drive. (Marissa went on a different excursion to see the cheetah feeding.)
We really enjoyed the nature drive. We saw springbok, oryx, wildebeest, giraffes, white rhinos, and bat-eared foxes. We also saw a cory bustard flying, the heaviest flying animal currently living, according to Wikipedia. It was much more than I expected.
We didn’t have time to shower before dinner, but did return to our rooms to quickly wash up. Luckily we did so, as there was a spectacular sunset from our deck.
Dinner was excellent, with some of the best grilled game we’ve had (kudu).
We were pretty tired, a combination of jetlag, lack of sleep from the flights over, and a full day. The wind was kicking up the sand so it wasn’t possible to star gaze, so we just went to bed.
It was three hours to Bagatelle on the B1, a nice paved highway, speed limit 120km. We passed through a police checkpoint just outside Windhoek. We had everything in order with our car and license and they just waved us on. About 20 minutes from Bagatelle we turned onto C20, a dirt road, and probably the end of paved roads for us for the next two weeks.
We checked in at Bagatelle and arranged our excursions. For some reason I had pictured this as a transit stop on our way to Sossusvlei, but there’s quite a lot to do here.
We got a golf cart ride to our rooms, got cleaned up, and went back down to the main lodge for the afternoon nature drive. (Marissa went on a different excursion to see the cheetah feeding.)
We really enjoyed the nature drive. We saw springbok, oryx, wildebeest, giraffes, white rhinos, and bat-eared foxes. We also saw a cory bustard flying, the heaviest flying animal currently living, according to Wikipedia. It was much more than I expected.
We didn’t have time to shower before dinner, but did return to our rooms to quickly wash up. Luckily we did so, as there was a spectacular sunset from our deck.
Dinner was excellent, with some of the best grilled game we’ve had (kudu).
We were pretty tired, a combination of jetlag, lack of sleep from the flights over, and a full day. The wind was kicking up the sand so it wasn’t possible to star gaze, so we just went to bed.
Monday, December 16, 2024
Windhoek, Namibia
I was up early-ish at 7:30am as EuropeCar was dropping off our SUV at our hotel this morning. They were super efficient with the process. It’s a relatively new Toyota Fortuner, with 4WD to handle the sand.
Breakfast at the hotel was excellent (they make a pretty decent eggs benedict, although any place in NZ still takes the prize).
Relaxed back in our room, sorting out our plans for the day, and more rearranging of our packs from airplane mode to travel mode.
Because we already had the vehicle, we drove into town for our sightseeing. It gave me a chance to become familiar with driving it, and also we could stop at a grocery store to stock up on water.
The front desk folks were helpful in suggesting parking (right at the Christuskirche) and how much to tip the parking attendants (20 NAD, about 1.60 CAD).
Traffic was really light getting into the centre, about seven minutes from our hotel. Driving on the left was not a problem, as this makes 9 out of 11 countries where we rented a car and they drive on the left.
First up was Independence Museum. Namibia only became a country in 1990, which I didn’t know until we started researching this trip. The museum documented in murals Namibia’s history from colonial times through to independence. It was very well done.
On the 4th floor was a restaurant with 360° views of the city, including the classic pic of Christuskirche. The food was good, but you’re not here for the food :)
Drove back to the hotel, and timed it perfectly with Marissa arriving from the airport. Had a quick beer (non-alcoholic for us, we were having trouble staying hydrated in the heat) on the rooftop bar at the hotel.
Later we had dinner at the Butcher Block again, chatted away, and then called it a night.
Breakfast at the hotel was excellent (they make a pretty decent eggs benedict, although any place in NZ still takes the prize).
Relaxed back in our room, sorting out our plans for the day, and more rearranging of our packs from airplane mode to travel mode.
Because we already had the vehicle, we drove into town for our sightseeing. It gave me a chance to become familiar with driving it, and also we could stop at a grocery store to stock up on water.
The front desk folks were helpful in suggesting parking (right at the Christuskirche) and how much to tip the parking attendants (20 NAD, about 1.60 CAD).
Traffic was really light getting into the centre, about seven minutes from our hotel. Driving on the left was not a problem, as this makes 9 out of 11 countries where we rented a car and they drive on the left.
First up was Independence Museum. Namibia only became a country in 1990, which I didn’t know until we started researching this trip. The museum documented in murals Namibia’s history from colonial times through to independence. It was very well done.
On the 4th floor was a restaurant with 360° views of the city, including the classic pic of Christuskirche. The food was good, but you’re not here for the food :)
Drove back to the hotel, and timed it perfectly with Marissa arriving from the airport. Had a quick beer (non-alcoholic for us, we were having trouble staying hydrated in the heat) on the rooftop bar at the hotel.
Later we had dinner at the Butcher Block again, chatted away, and then called it a night.
Sunday, December 15, 2024
Windhoek, Namibia
We arrived at our hotel in Windhoek at 6:30pm, three flights and 41.5 hours after we left home. I wasn’t looking my best after back-to-back overnight flights.
Our transfer through Johannesburg was pretty easy. They’ve really cleaned up on the bribing since our last trip through there ten years ago. The immigration folks even looked for space on a non-blank page in my passport, of which I’m running short. Namibia has an entry requirement of three blank pages, and South Africa requires two consecutive blank pages for some types of visas. These rules aren’t strictly enforced, but I’d rather not leave it to the discretion of the border official.
We had a five-hour layover in Johannesburg. It took less than an hour to get our luggage, clear immigration and customs, transfer to the domestic terminal (just a floor up), check-in for our Airlink flight to Windhoek, and get some cash from an ATM. South African rand and Namibian dollars are pretty much equivalent, and can be used interchangeably in Namibia.
We arrived around 5:30pm in Windhoek, and quickly got through immigration and got our luggage. There was a bit of line through customs as they scan everything.
We were met by an ExpertAfrica rep who connected us with our driver and we were off! Country number 104 for me and 64 for Heather :)
The airport is about 30 minutes outside the city, and it’s not until the last five minutes that it’s urban. We’ll see lots more of similar landscape over the next couple weeks. Our driver even pointed out a family of baboons and a warthog along the way in. There was also swarms of grasshoppers which I’m hoping aren’t going to be messing up our windshield every day.
We checked in, cleaned up and then went for dinner at the Butcher Block across the street. We sat outside in really comfortable weather (22C) and enjoyed our dinner. A nice start to Namibia!
Our transfer through Johannesburg was pretty easy. They’ve really cleaned up on the bribing since our last trip through there ten years ago. The immigration folks even looked for space on a non-blank page in my passport, of which I’m running short. Namibia has an entry requirement of three blank pages, and South Africa requires two consecutive blank pages for some types of visas. These rules aren’t strictly enforced, but I’d rather not leave it to the discretion of the border official.
We had a five-hour layover in Johannesburg. It took less than an hour to get our luggage, clear immigration and customs, transfer to the domestic terminal (just a floor up), check-in for our Airlink flight to Windhoek, and get some cash from an ATM. South African rand and Namibian dollars are pretty much equivalent, and can be used interchangeably in Namibia.
We arrived around 5:30pm in Windhoek, and quickly got through immigration and got our luggage. There was a bit of line through customs as they scan everything.
We were met by an ExpertAfrica rep who connected us with our driver and we were off! Country number 104 for me and 64 for Heather :)
The airport is about 30 minutes outside the city, and it’s not until the last five minutes that it’s urban. We’ll see lots more of similar landscape over the next couple weeks. Our driver even pointed out a family of baboons and a warthog along the way in. There was also swarms of grasshoppers which I’m hoping aren’t going to be messing up our windshield every day.
We checked in, cleaned up and then went for dinner at the Butcher Block across the street. We sat outside in really comfortable weather (22C) and enjoyed our dinner. A nice start to Namibia!
Saturday, December 14, 2024
London, UK
Nothing like starting off a vacation with a day trip to London between two overnight flights!
We left Toronto late Friday night. We had dinner in the airport at Pearson so we could maximize sleep time on the flight to Heathrow.
Airlines have really raised the bar on safety videos. The British Airways one is the best yet. They even break the 4th wall!
Immigration at LHR was fully automated. Took the Heathrow Express train to Paddington (23 minutes), and then had a whirlwind tour of nearby sites.
It was probably the best weather we could have hoped for in London in December. Sunny (!) and about 7C.
Walked through Hyde Park towards the National History Museum. It’s timed entry (I had booked tickets for 2pm) and by donation. We spent a few minutes looking at some old bones, and then carried on. It was a Saturday and the museum was packed (or maybe it’s always like this), plus we intend to see it properly on a future trip to London. Today was just something to do to keep awake :) The blue whale skeleton, Stegosaurus skeleton, and other dinosaur fossils were pretty impressive.
Next we were off to Buckingham Palace to see the King. We cased the joint, taking pics of his residence, scoping out security and movement of the guards. We didn’t have much time as we had a plane to catch, so even if King Charles had invited us in for a spot of tea we would have had to decline.
Walked back to Paddington Station and caught the express train back to LHR. Another overnight flight and full transit day to get Windhoek awaits.
We left Toronto late Friday night. We had dinner in the airport at Pearson so we could maximize sleep time on the flight to Heathrow.
Airlines have really raised the bar on safety videos. The British Airways one is the best yet. They even break the 4th wall!
Immigration at LHR was fully automated. Took the Heathrow Express train to Paddington (23 minutes), and then had a whirlwind tour of nearby sites.
It was probably the best weather we could have hoped for in London in December. Sunny (!) and about 7C.
Walked through Hyde Park towards the National History Museum. It’s timed entry (I had booked tickets for 2pm) and by donation. We spent a few minutes looking at some old bones, and then carried on. It was a Saturday and the museum was packed (or maybe it’s always like this), plus we intend to see it properly on a future trip to London. Today was just something to do to keep awake :) The blue whale skeleton, Stegosaurus skeleton, and other dinosaur fossils were pretty impressive.
Next we were off to Buckingham Palace to see the King. We cased the joint, taking pics of his residence, scoping out security and movement of the guards. We didn’t have much time as we had a plane to catch, so even if King Charles had invited us in for a spot of tea we would have had to decline.
Walked back to Paddington Station and caught the express train back to LHR. Another overnight flight and full transit day to get Windhoek awaits.
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