A paved road connected Namutoni to the park exit. For the remainder of the trip, all of the main roads were paved. We drove southeast toward the B8 highway, stopping in Tsumeb to visit a handicraft store. The store clerk had stepped out for coffee. When she returned to let us in, she explained that the entire town had lost power. We browsed for a bit and Brittany bought some items. I liked a bracelet, but it was too big.
At about the halfway point going north on B8, Namibia seemed to undergo a transformation. Along the sides of the road were small fenced properties filled with huts. Children walked and ran along the streets. One spot had tables lined up with items for sale to those driving by. We began to see people waving or smiling at us, especially the children.
Our stop for the night was at the Taranga Safari Lodge, meant to break up the long drive to Caprivi. We had a beautiful, but unheated luxury tent to sleep in. We went on a late evening boat ride along the Okavango River, where we saw crocodiles, hippos, and birds. One of the workers asked where we were going next, and I told them the name of our upcoming lodge in Caprivi. She responded that locals do not consider that are to be Caprivi. For Caprivi, we would have to go farther east. I chose Caprivi for its different animals and more green landscape. The area that she was referring to, was 5 more hours of driving, that would then need to be retraced. I decided on west Caprivi as a compromise.
We drove east on B8, staying at a lodge just southeast of Divundu, the Shametu River Lodge. This Lodge was the most luxurious of the trip, and by now we were thoroughly exhausted. The lodge had a restaurant, spa, a large luxury tent with heating, and a nice gift shop.
The first night we took another sundown boat ride, which ended at the Popa Falls. Despite the name, it was no waterfall.
We stayed in and relaxed the next morning, went for a massage at noon, followed by a 2:00 game drive. The guide suggested Buffalo Park, which may or may not belong to the Bwabwata National Park. We were joined by a couple from Germany.
The guide had been on this route for decades, and his experience showed. Before our drive, he warned us about the elephants, explaining that they were not as friendly as those in Etosha. The reasoning was that they have come from war torn Angola, and the environment there had shaped their behavior. He drove us toward the water and cut the engines as we approached a family of hippos. Around the corner we saw one lion. He, like many of the guides, referred to warthogs as "Pumba."
There were two other vehicles nearby and I think he wanted us to get the chance to spot animals first, so we left toward the next area first. We drove near the water, where we saw a family of warthogs, and many elephants in the distance. The elephants turned and walked toward us, and then took a bath.
Not long afterward, our path was impeded by another group of elephants. We waited for a good ten minutes, hoping that they would move on. I saw that the driver was getting ready to make a dash for it. I was too slow at pulling my phone out to catch it on video. We drove past one elephant, which roared at us, and began to follow. Another elephant in front of us ran out of the way. The German man caught the side view of this and the roaring on his Gopro(or equivalent) video camera, which he was kind enough to share.
Shortly after, we came across a large herd of sable, followed by two large herds of buffalo, and some velvet monkeys. Then, we stopped in a picnic area for drinks. All of the evening tours in Namibia seemed to be overly concerned with everyone having drinks. This makes sense for the summer, but felt like an unnecessary timewaster for winter. I let the guide know that I was going to use the bathroom behind a nearby tree. He said he would come with me. I assured him that I was quite capable of performing this task by myself, which got a laugh out of everyone. He advised me on the safest spot to use.
On the way back we saw more sable and many herds of buffalo. The other passengers were excited because the buffalo were the last animals on their trip wishlist to see. I was personally more excited to see hippos. That night, after dinner, we sat around the fire with them and chatted until they shut off the lights and the fire died.
The following day was dedicated to rest. We looked around for birds, checked out the farming area of the resort, played some board games, and got ice cream for lunch. I bought some neat looking shoes at the shop. Then, we began the three day drive toward the airport.
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| This cat followed us back to the room one night and was waiting for us outside our door the next morning. |
Brittany was interested in stopping by one of the road stands that sold wooden items. I was wary of being rushed by the locals, so I stayed in the car. After a while I was bored, so I got out and walked over. She bought some bowls and then went back to the first stand she walked past and bought something there so that they would not feel left out. A spoon had caught my eye. We walked to the car, but then I got back out and bought it.
Roy's Rest Camp was our location for the night, which had a fantastic and creative style. I ordered coffee, which was served as a french press. This was the best coffee of the trip. We chatted at the bar with the workers. They told us to be sure to come back after 6:00, to see the bush babies. They put apples on the tree, to attract them. The name bush baby is irritating to me, so I looked up the real name, galago.
It was dark by the time they came for the apples. I set up my tripod near the campfire and did my best to capture them. They are super tiny and incredibly fast and agile. We saw them jump back and forth to eat the apple and also caught them walking along the wires around the camp. The whole experience was just wonderful, and a highlight of the trip for me.
The next day we had a short drive to Otjiwa Safari Lodge. I had wanted to stay at the adjacent Okonjima Nature Reserve, but it was fully booked already. They had leopards there. Otjiwa was on its own large reserve, with extremely socialized deerlikes walking right next to the main building. We ended up on a private drive to see rhinos. What made this drive different and special, was that once we spotted the rhinos, we got out of the vehicle to walk near them. The guide kicked the dirt with his staff to gauge the wind direction, and brought us to a safe position. We saw two more sets of rhinos, but they were close enough that the guide didn't bring us out. I wish we had been able to walk to more rhinos.
As we approached the craft shop, I began to parallel park. A man on the street told us to move one space over for no apparent reason. We walked up to the shops and a young man told us to move our car into the lot(which had a narrow entrance farther up the road that we hadn't reached) because it was free and the road outside wasn't safe. I followed his advise and moved the car.
Outside the entrance were shelves with animals repurposed from cans and other trash. I picked up a warthog and went inside to pay. Brittany followed quickly, informing me that the man alerted her that the front was its own shop. I hadn't realized that it was a series of connected smaller shops rather than one large store. I went back, paid for it, and then entered the building. A store caught my interest, located in between floors. I ended up buying a large and bulky wired mesh springbok. Brittany bought herself a dress and fabric from a shop on the third floor. She also bought a bracelet from another mini shop. She walked away with the impression that the woman purposely didn't give change, and when she did, gave less than she was due. When she began to wear it, it kept falling off.
The lodge was connected to a dirt road, off the road to the airport. It was extremely smooth for a dirt road, and gave beautiful views of the green lands and mountains on all sides. When we arrived at the gate, two men let us in. One took a picture of my driver's license and the other wasn't particular nice. He gave incorrect directions to the lodge. Luckily, I ignored him and followed the signs.
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| Our individual chalet. |
They had a "cheetah experience," with captive cheetahs. It was fully booked, so we chose the sunset game drive. They left late, leaving us with less time with sunlight. They packed blankets into the vehicle as the driver came in. This should have been my clue to go and grab my jacket.
We drove back to the gate, crossed the street, and went through another gate to arrive at the lodge's game land. We drove for quite some time without seeing anything. The driver began driving us up a steep and rocky hill, to reach the other side of a small mountain. I'm not sure if this was his first time taking the path, but it didn't work. Halfway up, the vehicle stalled and we rolled backwards. He tried again to go up, with the same result. He slowly had us go back down in reverse. Then, we turned around, and had to retrace the path for twenty minutes, before reaching a new path. We wasted a solid thirty minutes.
The sun had mostly set when we reached the edge of their property. He brought us to where the lions spent much of their time. We drove back to a watering hole to do the whole drinks thing. The guide hoped a leopard would show up. It did not. By now, it was dark and very cold. The blankets did not help much. Every other sundown drive had us back to the lodge by 8:00, so I hadn't anticipated needing warmer clothes.
He drove back slowly. At another waterhole, we found a rhino and its baby. We returned to the lodge at 9:00. I grabbed my jacket and stood by the fire in the dining room. When we sat down for dinner, we were informed that they had not received the request for a vegan meal. The waiter went into the kitchen and came back and suggested cauliflower as an entree. I requested to see the chef. I suggested noodles and vegetables to the chef. We both ate the same meal.
The next day we did a late checkout and drove back to Windhoek to return the car. After maneuvering a tiny parking lot, I opened the back door to pull out our luggage. Brittany's bag came crashing down, which broke the glass on a taillight. The odometer indicated that we drove about 4,150 kilometers.
The airport was hot and uncomfortable. Luckily our flight was not delayed. On our trip from Frankfurt to Chicago, a stewardess made an announcement that the pilot was "very concerned" that someone on the plane was using a router which could interfere with their communication systems. We never heard a follow up announcement.
This was the wire mesh springbok packaged by the vendor and then safely back at home:
