Breakfast was simple and good. There was a variety of Namibian cheeses that were really diverse and good, including a delicate cheddar and a creamy Camembert. It was windy so I ate indoors, then took a stroll around the grounds, packed up and checked out by 10.
I drove North to Okahando, where I stopped to top off the tank and pick up groceries at the Spar. It is a small town with a chintzy African curio stand just off the highway, some modern restaurants for the tourists, a police station, shops, and houses. I parked my car in a dusty lot next to the super market and there is a young man guarding the cars who we tip a couple of Namibian dollars. I doubt he's necessary but maybe it helps the tourists feel safer. The supermarket is cool inside and full of normal stuff. I buy lots of apples, water, some beef for BBQ, and a few other things. I was disappointed that the options were so western as I was looking forward to springbok or oryx fillets.
I decided to eat apples for lunch and make time in the car to my next destination, Ojtwarongo, which is 160km North. The car does best below 100km/hour as the steering wheel shakes a bit above that. I'm not in a hurry anyway and enjoy taking my time and letting faster cars pass. The roads are good, just like in South Africa. Everything is well marked, and there are not pot holes.
The space around you is crazy big. The only sign of civilization are electricity poles and cell phone towers. I had signal the whole way, and 3G in many spots. I brought a GPS but so far haven't needed it. I guess I could turn off and drive down a sandy road but it would be nearly impossible to get lost because there are so few roads and everything is wide open.
You see a lot of trucks, several black police SUV's, quite a lot of Mercedes and BMW's, some cows, a few vultures, and sometimes a falcon or a hawk. Very little roadkill, and the terrain has almost no variation. Lots of trees with thorns on them, termite mounds, distant hills, clouds, and blue sky. Sometimes, there are dry river beds and some fields. I saw three giraffe on the side of the road, but they ran off as I stopped to take a photo.
Every 5 to 10km, there is a rest stop with a white and blue stone table beneath a Marulu tree. I stopped at a few of these to get out and stretch, eat an apple, and relax.
Its very hot in the afternoon, and you get a sun tan just sitting in the car. I ran into some Germans at one of the rest stops. They spoke a little english and we chatted for a while about Namibia. March is normally the rainy season and animal viewing is not so good since the water holes are flush and the animals have many options. But this year, there has only been 300mm of rain and the animals have very view water options so the viewing is excellent. Also, few tourists are here so Etosha should be amazing.
Sadly, the most animals I saw on this trip were these cows, who provided a Reubenesque group pose in front of a giant termite mound.
The terrain widened out as I drove closer to Ojtwarongo and I stopped many times to admire the landscape. There were many vistas earlier in the day that looked like New Mexico or Southern California. But not these.
This is Africa!
No comments:
Post a Comment