Namibia Travelogue

Namibia is a country I have longed to visit since seeing my first picture of the dunes at Sossusvlei. Every postcard or article about Namibia seems to show these magnificent red dunes that rise up hundreds of feet. And while Etosha National Park is perhaps the most visited site in the country but Sossusvlei is the most photographed. There is game all over Africa and other parts of the world but only one place has these increasable dunes. I had actually always thought they were part of the Kalahari Desert but found out last year visiting the Deception Valley Lodge on the Botswana side of the Kalahari that they have nothing to do with the Kalahari and they are not in Botswana! So having been foiled last year, this year I was not going to make that mistake. Having said that, the Deception Valley Lodge and the surrounding desert is well worth a visit on its' own, especially if you find the famous desert lions and to get a chance to meet the local San people. Just don't go like a complete idiot looking for red sand dunes!!

Arriving into Windhoek was a pleasure, immigration and customs sped me though and the taxi driver my hotel had organized was waiting for me. If you can plan on arriving on the 5:15 Air Namibia flight, at least in the end of April, try and do so, the sunset coming in from the airport was just spectacular.

I spent the first night at the Villa Verdi, which is a very lovely boutique hotel ten minutes walk from the center of town. They are not clients of ROL as they don't really fit into any of our icons but they also own the Mowana Mountain Lodge which is featured under Safari / Eco and which is located in the Domoroland region famous for the desert elephants and Twyfelfontein rock carvings and paintings. Based on my stay at Villa Verdi and everything I have heard, I am sure Mowana is a very special place.

But after 20 hours of travel, I just wanted a shower and an early dinner. I had to be up quite early the next morning to rent my car and head down to the dunes, which is about a 5-6 hour drive if you don't stop and don't get lost. Neither of which was likely to be the case. So it was off to the Hotel Furstenhof quite nearby for an early dinner and bed.

I was up early and walked into town. I found an ATM to get out some money and went over the Hertz office to get my car. Rarely have I been to a rental car office that was so helpful and went out of their way to make everything go smoothly. Soon I was headed on my way to Wolwedans Dune Lodge in the Namib Rand National Park: Home, or so I thought, to the famous Sossusvlei dunes (before this is over I was beginning to feel like I was in search of the Holy Grail). I managed to stop only for gas but did get lost despite excellent directions and careful planning. It seems my map, recently updated, didn't quite show the road I needed to be on.

When I did finally arrive we looked at last years map and it was quite correct, so it is a bit of a mystery how the "updated" version got it wrong. That and some missing signs caused me to make small detour but the drive was so pretty my only real concern was arriving in time for the 3PM afternoon drive to the dunes.

While Stephan, the owner of Wolwedans, had e-mailed instructions indicating that it was about a 6 hour "leisurely" drive, knowing South Africans and assuming Namibians were not that much different, a six hour leisurely drive meant six hours driving as if this was the Namibia rally with no stops. This assessment proved to be quite accurate. But I did make it by 2:40 only to be told that the afternoon drive really only leaves a 4:15 they just like you to be there 3 to get settled in! I would have really loved the extra hour. Driving at 60+ miles per hours (100MK) on gravel roads is not exactly a "leisurely" pace unless you are from southern Africa!

I also found out the famous dunes are not here. But that we would go the next day on an all day drive which would include them. I was supposed to take the balloon ride that goes over the dunes but was advised that this would require 90 minutes drive leaving at 4:30 in the morning and is very wind dependant. They cannot guarantee to fly over the dunes assuming they take off at all as they go where the wind takes them. I gather it is often canceled, as the winds here, as I was soon to find out, can be ferocious.

I put off the balloon to the third day when I was leaving and while the same 90 minutes drive at 4:30AM was involved, at least that was the direction I was headed towards the next lodge.

Finally we headed off for our afternoon drive and sundowner. We didn't actually go more the 15 or 20 minutes from the lodge but the scenery was really spectacular and the light was just perfect. The main difference to where I was and the dunes I had expected to see was that here the dunes and vegetation. But they were basically the same reddish brown that I was expecting. Apparently we were only about 60 miles from Sossusvlie but the wind and water here allowed for plants to grow and some game to be found. We drove by several herds of Springbok, a small antelope that look like an Impala, and several groups of Ostrich and Oryx/Gemsbok, perhaps the most beautiful of all the antelope family.

After a very civilized gin and tonic we drove back to the lodge, showered and met again for cocktails at 7 followed by dinner at 7:30. I was traveling alone but joined an American family that had arrived the day before. The meal was a really lovely four-course affair with some excellent South African wine: ultimately the best food I was to have in Namibia.

That night the winds picked up and most of us thought our cabins would be blown away. The flaps were banging and it sound like the whole place would collapse. I actually thought the sound of the wind was soothing but the banging kept most of us up all night. It seems the lesson is to keep the flaps up so they can't bang.

At 6:30 they put a hot thermos outside your door, coffee/tea and biscuits are waiting for you when you get back to the room after dinner: you just need to add the hot water in the morning. Then breakfast is at 7:30 and at 8:30 you head out for an all day drive in the Namib Rand Park.

My American friends were leaving and I now joined a local Namibian guide and his four guests who were actually friends from Austria. The staff kept refereeing to them as the Germans, which did not sit well with them, but I think they finally gave up and accepted that as long as they spoke German, they would be considered "Germans".

But it turns out I still was not going to see my dunes as they were too far to drive to through the park so I made the decision that regardless of the balloon trip which may or may not happen tomorrow, I would drive to Soussevelie to see the dunes. Hertz had given me a very sophisticated 4-wheel drive SUV so I decided this was how I would spend the day. As I had not asked for a 4-wheel drive, I took this to be my fate. As it turned out, the family I was with now on the all day trip was going there as well and their guide, Hans, gave me all the details on where to go and what to see.

We spent a really great day; the scenery at Wolwedans is just something very special. Normally this is not called a game drive, as there are not that many animals living in the desert and the few that do are not so easy to see. But while I cannot say we were tripping over game, we did see several heard of Springbok, many groups of Ostrich and Oryx. Two sittings of Bat Eared Fox and African Wild Cat, two klipspringers on some rocks, desert hare and a family of squirrels that obliged us by standing up on their rear legs for pictures. Throw in a few birds, some lizards and insects and it was more game than some "game" drives I have done in other national parks. But it is the scenery you are here for; the animals are the icing on the cake.

We stopped for lunch at about noon where they have something called the Hard Rock Café, which is a picnic spot set inside some boulders. They have running water and even a toilet. After a great lunch of salads, cold cuts and fruit we are then given our own lounge chairs with cushions to take a nap or read for an hour or so before heading back.

On the way back we stopped at the Wolwedans Tented Camp, which is about 10K's further from the main reception than the Dune Lodge. The Tented Camp obviously is tents rather than cabins but they are hardly camping. Each one has a king size bed (or two twins) and proper toilet and shower facilities similar to what we have in the lodge. They are just in a separate cabin about 15 feet at the other end of the deck. There are six of these ensuite tents here and the setting was really very special looking over the dunes. What is so magical here is the constant changing scenery as you drive and the different shads of red as the sun moves through the sky. You don't even have to move from you cabin or tent to see the landscape change.

Finally we made it back to Dune Lodge where a gin & tonic was waiting for us and watched the sunset before heading into dinner which was another gourmet affair: 4 courses in the desert and Wolwedans amazing wine list! But I was now told the balloon ride the next morning, if it went, was full. In the end this may have worked out for the best. The Austrians with whom I had become quite friendly as during the day were going in the morning to Soussevlei. Their guide, Hans, had a long experience taking groups around Namibia and had great stories to tell. Luckily for me, they were happy to have me tag along with them

So the next morning we drove to Seserim, the park gate and headquarters, and then proceeded to drive about 64 KM (40 miles) to Sossusvlei: this is one of the most beautiful drives you will ever take with the red sand dunes on either side enveloping you like a post card closing in; This road was actually tarred a couple of years ago but was already badly deteriorated. Luckily Hans know where all the potholes were so I swerved with him. After about 60 KM's (40 Miles), which takes about one hour, there is the 2-wheel drive parking lot. From here you take a land rover type shuttle the last 4-5 KM's to the end. As I had a 4 wheel drive, I offered to take Hans and group with me. As my only off road experience is driving on the beach in a jeep in the Hamptons of Long Island, I was not prepared for this incredible soft sand. Needless to say we got stuck and Hans had to get us out: he says this is part of the Sossusvlei experience! He really was too kind!

But no amount of trouble would be too much to arrive at our destination. For me this is one of nature's greatest sites. The red color dunes are something out of post cards. The desert at Wolvedans was certainly beautiful but this is one of the ten wonders of the world. And we were alone! There wasn't another sole when we arrived at about 2:30 PM. A bit on the early side but we had a picnic lunch and at about 3:30 started to walk up one of the dunes. Needless to say, without Hans this would not have happened for me. I had seen pictures of people doing this but assumed was by special permission for National Geographic. I have to admit the look up the crest of the dune was somewhat foreboding and I had visions of the Gorilla trek in Uganda last year. I also didn't really understand how you walked up the crest of this thing. But following Hans we started out, single file and in little over 40 minutes made it to the top. I can't imagine what happens if you fall, I guess you just roll down a few hundred feet of dune. Has estimated the top at 150 M or about 475 ft. and this was one of the smaller ones: the largest is about 350 M!

Of course having arrived at the top and upon looking around and ask how exactly do we get back down: to try and navigate the way we came going down looked difficult to say the least. Hans just pointed down the sheer face of the dune. Once it sunk in he wasn't kidding, I was wishing I were back in Uganda coming down the volcano after leaving the Gorillas. I understand walking down a forest, not a 475'sand dune!

I think the others were equally curious about this but having known Hans for a long time perhaps knew to trust him. So the next thing I know, Hans is running down the sheer face of this dune: I can't even really describe it other than to imagine taking giant strides, almost jumping, down the side of a dune at the beach. Only this one went on and on and on. I stayed behind to video (right!) but eventually had to try it. Other than to say you run down hill as fast as you can taking giant strides and sort of jumping each time, I really don't know how to describe it.

But I can only say that it turned out to be the most fun I have ever had. We stopped a couple of times to regroup and started again. I could have done this all day. Your shoes do get a bit full of sand and towards the end it weights you down but it sure does get the adrenalin going. I think of it as bungee jumping but without leaving the ground! Anyway, safely down we had some coffee and headed back to the lot and a quick hike over to Deadvlei the 2nd most famous site. This is a dry pan that still has acacia trees that are hundreds of years old: preserved by the dry heat. We couldn't linger though as we had to be out of the park by about 5:30 as the gate closed and it is dark at 6 and we both had and about hour drive to where we were staying that night.

We said fair well at the main gate where Hans helped me inflate my tires (we had let out a lot of air on the sand) and went off to our respective lodges. I headed north to the NamibNauflut Lodge which was just under an hour, luckily. Driving on gravel roads in the dark with game crossing the road is a bit nerve racking.

But after a well deserved shower and a lovely dinner on the lodge terrace, now looking over the Nauklut mountains (which I was not really to see until the morning) I felt I really had experience one of the great days of my life. To me the Sossuslvei dunes were the main point of the trip and yet so many people come and miss them. The American group who I had dinner with the first night didn't make it over there and they were so close!

But the next morning I was off to return to the Windhoek area to a Spa/Game lodge called GochGanas. I could not really imagine a game reserve 29 KM (20 miles) from town but I needed a day to catch up on emails and write all this down. I arrived mid-afternoon after about a 41/2 drive and was pleasantly surprised by the park I had to drive through to get to the lodge. It was really beautiful though I didn't see any game.

The lodge itself only opened in January this year and so is brand new. The rooms are right of some design magazine and the whole setting overlooking the 6000 hectares (about15, 000 acres) they own is beautiful. I promptly signed up for the afternoon game drive, which left in an hour, and with my guide, no one else was coming, we drove around the reserve for about 21/2 hours. This may not be Sabi Sands but we did see a heard of at least 10 giraffe, lots of wildebeest, springbok, orax, eland, red hartebeest, dickers, some magnificent mail kudus and three white rhino's. They have leopard and cheetah but we didn't see them. Altogether a very nice drive and a pleasant surprise.

I went up for dinner to find there was only one other guest at the lodge. So we had drink around a huge bonfire and then an excellent meal. The real theme here is health. So not only is the food all natural they offer dozens of spa treatments, health remedies, yoga as well as a small gym, sauna and indoor and outdoor swimming pools. GochGanas is a superb place to end a trip to Namibia or just go for a soothing retreat. I had a relaxing day just catching up on work and the 138 emails that had accumulated in three days and now I am ready for the next part of the trip.

I ended up staying on a few days in Windhoek to attend a trade show before starting a five-day trip up to the Caprivi Strip. Caprivi is a sliver of land that extends out from Namibia along the Angolan, Zambian and Botswana border all the way to Kassene, about an hour from Victoria Falls.

From Windhoek the trip was now being organized (if I may use the word loosely) by the Namibian Tourist Office. They were sponsoring a small trade show so I decided to attend and get a chance to see the capital. Windhoek doesn't have much to see but it is an exceptionally clean city with a lot of curio shops as well as some very nice jewelry stores. In addition to the obvious gemstones that you can by there are some very beautiful pieces made by some of the local jewelers out of gold but with a decidedly Namibian design. There are also dozens of curio shops both indoor and outdoor as well as the Namibian Craft Center where you can see products only made in Namibia by the locals.

Easily a day can be spent looking around and shopping. At night the restaurant choice is limited but one night I had dinner at a great Italian restaurant, Sardinia, owned by a transplanted Italian it seemed to be the happening place when I was there. Good pasta, wine and attractive people, what else is there!

The next night dinner organized by the NTB at a restaurant next to the hotel, Gateman's. Set on the second floor of a building on the main street overlooking the city park, it is a lovely, elegant restaurant with a German theme (like so much of Namibia). While the service was not very exciting, the setting and view were lovely and the food was quite good. We had a large table inside, as it was a bit cold to sit on the terrace in the evening. Here we met our fellow traveling companions for our five-day trips. My group was going to the north to the Caprivi Strip and the other was going to the coast. I met two of my traveling companions for this trip, Susanne who worked for Air Namibia in Rome and Ulrike who did PR for NTB in Germany. There was one other girl coming but she didn't make the dinner. We headed back early as we had a 5:45 pick up to be at the airport for a 7:00AM departure to Katipo Mollie, the main town of the Caprivi Strip.

We met our 4th travel partner at the hotel and then picked up Meke who worked for NTB and who was going to accompany us on the trip: No doubt to make sure there was more confusion than normal! After arriving at the airport and confirming with Giovanni, our driver, that he would make sure we had hotel rooms when we returned, (the hotel didn't seem to be expecting us), we said good by and went to check in for the flight.

We had not been given any tickets by NTB (that would have been too simple). Meki suddenly realizes that she has left her bag in the car with her phone and our tickets. So she goes running out but was too late. So we managed to get Air Namibia to let us use the phone to call Giovanni and tell him to come back. Meki came back and said that she had called the home of Giovanni as his cell phone didn't answer and was told by his wife that he had forgotten his cell phone at home. But Meki assured us there was no problem, as soon as Giovanni got home, his wife would send him back. That seemed to satisfy everyone until I asked what happened if Giovanni decided to go home? Luckily in the end he showed up with a few minutes to spare and we made the flight. With NTB things like this seem to always happen but by some miracle everything works out in the end.

The flight was in a small plane seating 8 people and took about 21/2 hours. The girls were concerned there was no toilet but we made it in tack and raced for the toilets!

Val, the owner of Kalizo Lodge where we were going our first night, greeted us. Driving through Katima Mililo I could see why this is a place I had not heard about before. There is actually one of Namibia's three golf courses there but it was under water as we drove by. It seems that the rains this year had been especially heavy and all the rivers had flooded and as the golf course sits right on the banks of the river, it was now one giant water hazard! Kalizo had been under water a few weeks earlier. Because of this situation the final stretch of road to the lodge was washed out so we drove about 20 minutes or so and then took Val's boat another 40 minutes downstream to the lodge. Kalizo sits right on the Zambezi River about 250 KM from Victoria Falls. The lodge is owned and managed by Val and her husband, Deni and is known for having some great tiger fishing and bird watching. (Neither activity of much interest to our group!) Kalizo is a bit downscale and was suffering a bit from the earlier floods from which it had not really allowed all the rooms to dry out or be repaired. It seemed that NTB had not really checked this out and while my room was fine, I gather the girls were somewhat disappointed.

After a light lunch and some free time, we headed off on a fishing trip. Only our Italian friend, Susanne, had fished before but the other girls were willing to try it. I have always thought fishing was on a par with watching grass grow but went along in the hopes of seeing some river life such as hippos, crocs or even elephants. But due to the high water levels we only saw birds. True to form Suzanne actually caught two tiger fish, the larger one was about 4 KG's and they decided to barbeque it for dinner: Having previously been told by Val and Deni that Tiger fish was not good for eating, this was not very reassuring. Apparently the fish is full of small bones and cannot be filet as a normal fish. The others tried in vain but caught nothing so after a few civilized gin and tonics we eventually came back to the lodge.

In the end the Tiger fish wasn't so bad, we had it as an appetizer with some chutney sauce. An early morning Mokuru ride was organized for the girls, as they had not done this before, I passed as I had done this the year before in Botswana and didn't really find it very exciting. Mokuru's are the local canoes usually carved out of the wood of a sausage tree and they are quite fragile in terms of balance. (In most places they have been replaced by fiberglass ones but here they still used the original wooden ones) Every lodge offers this, water permitting, and it is pleasant enough but usually uneventful. You don't really want to go near anything bigger than a frog as it could turn you over: so chasing hippos or crock's was not recommended.

Anyway, after the girls had a brief ride to experience it and then breakfast we got back in our flat deck boat for the 40 minute ride to our vehicle and then the hour plus drive to the pick up point for our next destination, Susuwe Island Lodge. We were met by two of the owners Alain and Campbell who happened to be there more of less by chance. Campbell, who lives in New Zealand, had popped over to make sure the lodge had not washed away in the floods: He had just finished inspecting their other property on the Chobe River, Implalila, and rendezvoused with us at the pick up point where Alain was waiting. Alain, who with his wife run the operations out of JoBerg, had come to replace the camp manager who was on his two-week time off. As everyone works seven days a week at these lodges, the usual routine is to work six weeks and then have two weeks off.

So we left our mini bus and piled into an open range rover safari vehicle. After an hour or so drive through the Bwabwata National Park, we arrived at where we had to take another boat for about a minute's ride. Susuwe Island Lodge is on an island about 30 yards off shore.

Here we walked into another world of luxury. Kalizo was more or less a mid range property for die-hard fisherman but Susuwe was right up there with the most luxurious places I have stayed in Africa. But it is designed so well that everything feels natural and like it belongs there. Susanna and Ulrike had not really seen anything like this and were in heaven. Apparently their cabins at Kalizo had not been really fixed up from the floods and they didn't even want to take a shower so they were really in heaven. But I have to admit, as conditioned as I am to staying in some of Africa's most luxurious lodges (all in the name of business, of course) I really felt that Susuwe was a special place.

Everything is built out of the natural woods around existing trees that are hundreds of years old. We were right on the water so our cabins were open to the possibility of anything coming up to our decks and drinking out of our plunge pools. And thick as the brush was because of all the rain this year, we still had views out across vast bush/forest area opposite. I was obvious that hippo's must often come out around here at night to munch on the grass.

We had lunch on the main deck, which is also the reception area off of which extends a two-story observation tower built up and around a huge tree. From the top you can see for miles. Then after an hour of so we regrouped for the afternoon game drive. We had to take the one minute boat ride to where our land rover was and off we went through darkest Africa with Alain driving and Campbell sitting in the trackers seat. I have to admit it was the first time a lodge owner acted as ranger/guide and certainly the first time an owner sat on the front jump seat as a tracker! The tracker normally is a local who has grown up in the area and knows the game and their habits as well as can read their tracks. He sits on a small seat that sticks out from the front of the vehicle, usually jumping in quickly if he spots lion or leopard, which might jump up and get him. So seeing one of the owners there was a bit unusual to say the least.

Because of the incredibly thick brush we didn't get to see as much as we would have liked but there were some herds of Impala, a few Kudu, a huge family of Baboons, lots of birds and lots of elephants. We came across several sittings and at one point had to actually back up and turn around as the bull looking us over gave the impression that we were on his road and we had better get off of it. Alain wisely agreed with this assessment and so we turned back only to find our selves in the middle of the rest of the heard, babies and all. But we both remained calm and had a great time just watching them.

As it was turning to dusk we decided to head off to have our sundowners. Alain found a spot down by the river, in the middle of the baboons, opposite a few hippos that he thought made perfect sense. He and Campbell then proceeded to lay our tables with snacks and drinks, everything proceeding smoothly until we realized someone had forgotten the Gin!! Before going we were all asked what we wanted and most of us decided on Gin and Tonic. I am not really a big G&T drinker but somehow on safari this seems like the British thing to do. But unfortunately we didn't have any gin and so we switched to white wine: not exactly a major hardship!

As it started to get darker and darker we noticed that the elephants were now also coming down to the river and were now about 100 meters away. So we had hippos in the water, baboons all around us (I might say that these baboons were extremely well behaved and polite) and elephants approaching. And that was just what we could see. Who knew what was hidden in the thick bushes?

Finally Alain decided it was getting dark and that we should give the elephants a chance to approach the river without fear of tourists. Somehow I don't think it was the elephants that were getting nervous!

So we packed everything up and headed off now in the dark. Not too far away we spotted a leopard but he ran away so quickly it was just a glance before he disappeared into the bush. Eventually we made it back to the lodge without much activity but no doubt everyone agreed we had a real quilt time with the elephants.

After a really lovely dinner and some great South African wine we all retired and were soon asleep.

The next morning we were up and off on our boat trip around the Kwando River. Again because of all the rain the water level was so high that the game could not come down so we were surrounded by tall reads as if in some biblical fable. Any minute I expected to see a baby in a straw basket come by. So we saw a reedbuck, a very small crock and some very large water monitors and, of course, hippos. Lots of hippos and we just hung out with them for a long time. A second group was not as welcoming and one actually started to come after us. So we quickly sped away and eventually returned back to the lodge where after a brief rest period we were having brunch. They had set the table high up on the viewing platform so we had an endless view across the Kwando River.

Then it was off to our first real rest period, three whole hours before we had to meet again for cakes and tea and our afternoon game drive which turned out to be a bit calm: thank God for the sundowners!! The Caprivi just doesn't have the same quantities of game as the Botswana side and with all the tall grass and overflowing water holes, it is a bit difficult finding the game.

The next day we headed off for our last night to another lodge on the Kwando River called Lianshulu. Actually Lianshulu is on the opposite bank of the river in Mudumu National Park facing into Botswana. Again we took an afternoon cruise which produced lots of hippos but not much else and then next morning a short boat ride where we found two mating hippos, quite a site, and then a game drive that concluded with a bush breakfast. Lianshulu is a really beautiful lodge and it was just unfortunate that the rains had caused so much flooding that it was hard to find the game. But under normal circumstance, I can imagine the game should be pretty good. The setting is magical right on the river and the rooms are spaced out along the river offering a great deal of privacy.

Then it was back to the airport for our flight to Windhoek for a final night before heading back to JoBerg and NY. Namibia is a really special place and next time I want to visit Mowana Mountain Lodge in the Domoroland region and the Etosha National Park: one of Africa's great game reserves.