So since my last post I have made it into Zambia and walked across the largest waterfall in the world -Victoria Falls. But this came at some problems.
As I have said I have been traveling by way of taxis and hitchhiking, the problem came at the fact that after my last post I tryed to spend time around Tsumeb - I dont know why but I enjoy the atmosphere of most mining towns like Tsumeb- and once I realized that it was time to move it was kinda late. I went and got a taxi from Tsumeb to Grootfontein (60 km journey) and then had to wait there for about an hour till the taxi for Rundu (not my final destination, but the next main town going out to North West Namibia, about 250km from Grootfontein) arrived and left. Then in Rundu not too many people were going towards Divundu (my final destination in the Caprivi Strip - the odd tail of Namibia) so we had to wait for a while and left fairly late in the Afternoon. While on the leg of this 200 km journey, I watched the sunset, as a bad premonition for going to a small African town with no prior reservations or even knowledge of lodging. When I arrived in Divundu it was around 9 or 10 at night and things were Quiet. I eventually walked to the nearest lodge, but found it was about 3 times my budget, so I was forced to keep on keeping on, hanging out at the Shell Station for it was the only vestage of civilization there, I eventually learned about a Youth center about 6 km away, and then a bit later found a couple of bloaks heading in that direction, so they dropped me off deep in the Bush at a place where nobody had been awake, but where there was a fine little dormitory overlooking the Okavango river, it was really nice, especially once I realized the guys giving me the ride weren't taking me out into the woods to rape and/or kill me.
The next morning I awoke with a desire to go to one of the local game parks before hitching out to Zambia. So i found a ride after about an hour of waiting and took it to the entrance to the park, where I was left to see if anyone going into the park was taking passengers. That was a little hectic, but soon the first car to arrive was a couple of Germans who were more than willing to take me up for free drive me around, and even give me several beers in the park. While there we saw, a few elephants, buffalo, zebras, giraffes, springboks, kudu, and other antelope as well as hearing a hippo or two, but not seeing them for the river grass was too tall. Then the Germans it turned out were heading in the same direction as me and gave me a lift out across the Caprivi Strip to 100 km from my hopeful crossing point into Zambia. Unfortuanately it was again late afternoon, and once I did get a ride I only had 16 minutes till the border closed and 100 km to travel, so I got to stay in a run down backpackers in Katima and spent the night watching Zambian and Nambian news, and talking with a kid from San Fransisco, it was good.
The following day I went and crossed the border, finding out that my visa, which I had applied for from a place in Zambia, only arrived that day, and hence I would had to pay the day before, lucky me. I crossed the border with the help of a white Zambian, George "the white guy of Seseche." I was soon on a bud to Livingstone, the expensvie tourist capital of the country. Where I have been for the last two days, walking around town with a couple of locals, touring the Victoria Falls, with the unbelievable experience of crossing the top of the falls wading thru the Zambezi, and swimming right on the edge of the giant gorge- amazing. Everything despite som problems has worked out to be great experiences, and if I ever did try to do anything I think that it would definately come out worse.
Right now I am about to jump a ride to Botswana, where I shall travel, with little sightseeing, before going back to South Africa. I hope that my luck with 'Whatev" holds true for the next days because I need to hitch rides across a desert where cars come by only every couple of hours- that should be fun. Well, enjoy yourself, cause I know I shall be.
Friday, January 12, 2007
Monday, January 8, 2007
It all started on Dune 7
I am now in Northern Namibia, a mining town called Tsumeb (for you geologist types it has crazy types of minerals, for me I have not noticed). I at the moment have been hitch hiking across this great desert country. I arrived 3 days ago down, after 30 hrs of bus transport from the South coast of South Africa thru Cape Town and into Namibia at a very touristy town Swakopmund- an old German port- and hiked out and up a big set of dunes it was something else to be on top and surrounded by 100 ft dunes with nothing but desert to see. While on top of Dune 7 I met some Canuck teachers from Cairo who were at the end of their own safari, and from them I arranged a trip the next morning back into the heart of Namibia away from all the Adventure tourism.
The next morning I awoke at 5:30 before the sun was up, and luckily caught the Canadians on their way out of town, soon after I was dropped by the side of the road, and the start of another road leading north. I was worried hitching would be hard and I would be stranded in the desert for the rest of the day. One minute later I was in a taxi heading north. By noon, I was here in Tsumeb, but it was saturday and the entire town closed down at noon, so I made arrangements for a safari on Monday, and then headed back off to hitch out to the very north of the country just ~50 miles south of Angola, which I eventually reached at sundown to stay at a community based museum. I slept in one of the traditional huts they had on display. And the next morning attended a Church service in Okwabano, the local language that I do not understand at all, held at the site of the first mission church in Northern namibia, I was asked to address the congregation as they do not usually have White people attend. People were confused why I was there, as was I to a certain extent, but it was interesting. Soon I packed up and was back on the road.
On the main road I hoped to hitch a ride back south to Tsumeb inorder to make my Safari, but b/c it is the end of the holiday season every car was full of people returning to life in the SOuthern cities from their homesteads in the north. It took me about an hour before a bakkie (small pickup truck) was willing/able to pick me up. I road the 260 kms back to Tsumeb on the back of this truck with 5-6 Namibians, it was fun except for the short stint of rain. But i arrived back in Tsumeb, with an afternoon ahead of me. I found a hostel, and then went off to wander the town, ending up playing cricket with a random group of townies, on the main park (UN Park) who later smoked weed in the middle of the park, that was interesting. We then wandered town, and I headed back to my lodge for dinner. After dinner I sat out with the owner and her friends and eventually joined them to drive out through the local township (poor black squatting community) for them to buy some contraband, and then went off to smoke a hooka at one guys house it was nice, very quite here in the night but still hot with desert heat.
This morning(monday) I awoke to find out my safari has been canceled, and so now I am hoping to head off to see the Largest meterorite on the earth and then make my way out to Namibia and Victoria Falls, hopefully catching a sight of hippos and buffalo in the Okavanga River on the way. Im just trying to live my life like whatev, and it is good.
The next morning I awoke at 5:30 before the sun was up, and luckily caught the Canadians on their way out of town, soon after I was dropped by the side of the road, and the start of another road leading north. I was worried hitching would be hard and I would be stranded in the desert for the rest of the day. One minute later I was in a taxi heading north. By noon, I was here in Tsumeb, but it was saturday and the entire town closed down at noon, so I made arrangements for a safari on Monday, and then headed back off to hitch out to the very north of the country just ~50 miles south of Angola, which I eventually reached at sundown to stay at a community based museum. I slept in one of the traditional huts they had on display. And the next morning attended a Church service in Okwabano, the local language that I do not understand at all, held at the site of the first mission church in Northern namibia, I was asked to address the congregation as they do not usually have White people attend. People were confused why I was there, as was I to a certain extent, but it was interesting. Soon I packed up and was back on the road.
On the main road I hoped to hitch a ride back south to Tsumeb inorder to make my Safari, but b/c it is the end of the holiday season every car was full of people returning to life in the SOuthern cities from their homesteads in the north. It took me about an hour before a bakkie (small pickup truck) was willing/able to pick me up. I road the 260 kms back to Tsumeb on the back of this truck with 5-6 Namibians, it was fun except for the short stint of rain. But i arrived back in Tsumeb, with an afternoon ahead of me. I found a hostel, and then went off to wander the town, ending up playing cricket with a random group of townies, on the main park (UN Park) who later smoked weed in the middle of the park, that was interesting. We then wandered town, and I headed back to my lodge for dinner. After dinner I sat out with the owner and her friends and eventually joined them to drive out through the local township (poor black squatting community) for them to buy some contraband, and then went off to smoke a hooka at one guys house it was nice, very quite here in the night but still hot with desert heat.
This morning(monday) I awoke to find out my safari has been canceled, and so now I am hoping to head off to see the Largest meterorite on the earth and then make my way out to Namibia and Victoria Falls, hopefully catching a sight of hippos and buffalo in the Okavanga River on the way. Im just trying to live my life like whatev, and it is good.
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