Overlanding fun

What a great morning! Started off at the early hour of 5:30am, the norm on our overlander. Etosha National Park, Namibia looks like a desolate land with a couple of sand flats and watering holes. Yet, I saw my first black rhino. I thought I may have come to Africa and missed the rhino. He, just an uneducated assumption, was huge and very skidish, but his appearance put an instant smile on my face. From here on out said rhino will be named George. Other new spotings include the wildebeast, dik dik (the smallest antelope ever with the worst name), spotted hyena, oryx, new breed of zebra, name unknown to me, black back jackel, springbok, and ostrich. So a fabulous game drive. After that, I took a sleep. Once the heat hits and the warm sun touches this now bronzed skin, narcalepsy kicks in and I am physically unable to maintain consciousness. Good thing all the good stuff was in the morning. Also, lets not forget the lioness who was enjoying a nice wildebeast meal. I have never had such a savage urge to see something get violently attacked and eaten. Didn't see the attack but her entire head inside the wildabeast with a bloody red face was pretty cool. I cannot say we haven't missed all wild attacks, we did see a jackel pinch off a couple of birds at a watering hole. Not exactly the kill I am waiting for with growing inpatience and anticipation. Now, we are drinking a morning beer at a pool and ditching the last hour of the game drive. Elephants, zebras, and giraffes have lost a little luster. No longer does a child like excitement role over me when they appear. Although, giraffes do look like they are walking in high heels. Dainty creatures.

So much has happenend since we started this overlander portion of the trip a little over a week ago. It is so fast paced that I haven't had any down time to write and digest. It has been a different experience from the first half of the trip. Very fast paced, little alone time or interaction with the locals, but a good time with a lot of fun people. Being the token Americans is very entertaining to all. We call something one thing, i.e. cooler and the rest of the bus has another name i.e. esky. It makes for some fun conversations. On the tour there are 4 Kiwis, 4 Irish boys, all called simply Irish, a load of Aussies, a couple of Brits, and three Zimbawbeans. A nice mix of people.

I cannot leave out the Okavango Delta in Northwestern Botswana. It makes the top three list, as I decide what the other two are I will let you know. The Okavango is the world's only inland delta. We were poled through thick reeds in a traditional makoro. Todd and I got a very tradional one meaning it was low to the water, about 3 inches, made of wood and very leaky. I was proud to have a female poler. She may have taken the path of greatestresistance through the reeds and it felt very unstable, and we had to stop and bail the makoro at least three times, but she was an old local woman and that simply made me happy. She used a huge skinny pole to push us through the reeds. The water was so clear. We were so close to the water you couldn't even see the small islands of land. After about 2 hours, We set up camp at a small opening on a huge island. Oh, I forgot to had a huge point. Once we hit Botswana I experienced true African heat. Absolutely hot all day long. Things dry in minutes and shade provides only mental comfort because physically you still manage to sweat like a whore in church. Our only relief in the Delta was a watering hole, scoped out by our polers and determined to be free of hippos and crocodiles. We all took our turn fumbling through the reeds in the unstable makoros to finally take a dip in the cool water. The water was so refreshing. I loved treading water, it was only about 7 feet deep in the very center, in a small hole surrounded by reeds with no modern noices in the background and all of the makoros floating about. Waterin hole was definitely the way to describe this refreshing pool of goodness. After a couple hundred excursions to the watering hole we started to get creative. Meaning, we rubbed ourselves in the muddy sand from the bottom. Our faces all covered in mud as we rubbed 2 months of grime off of us. People pay big money for such precious mud and yet, all we had to do was dive to the bottom and grab a handfull. Excellent!

We did a couple of game walks in the Delta. Again, more zebras, giraffes, and impala, but nothing else. I know the Delta is huge but I couldn't gain any perspective of where we were. Luckily, Todd and I had decided that a flight over the Delta was a must. In a 5 person little Cessna plance we took off for a 45min flight over the Delta. Wow, Wow, Awesome!!! Money well spent. Even in the plane you could see that there were vast strips of land without any animals. Simply vast desolate areas broken up by unbelievably clear strips of water. We could see the sandy bottoms of the channels and hippos trying to escape the mid-day sun in complete submersion. Herds of elephants migrating through the water and about 13 giraffes enjoying Acacia leaves, herds of buffalo a hundred plus in number, wildebeast moving from one grassy patch to another, and I cannot forget the sunbathing crocs or countless species of antelopes. Our pilot was excellent and a bit crazy. At one point we were skimming the water, not exactly the 500ft height limit we were supposed to maintain. He dropped the plane about 150ft after skimming the water and before a huge turn. I thought I was going to rip out the chair in front of me I was holding on so tightly. But...I loved it! It made roller coasters look like ant hills. My mouth was wide with awe the whole time. Other then that, I have no idea how to describe the whole experience.

From the Delta we headed to our current location in Etosha National Park. Namibia is hotter then Botswana which I did not think was possible. The clothing is so different in Namibia from everywhere else we have been. The dresses look like precolonial western frocks with poofy sleeves, high necks, full coverage. No chinje's here. This is old British territory. A part of me is struggling with this portion of our trip. We started in Zanzibar and made our way southwest. I know I should embrace the movement toward "modernization" that I have seen during this move west, but it doesn't seem as authentic African as other portions. When we finally arrived in Lusaka, Zambia we saw strip malls, street lights and well paved roads. Definitely a plus, but so different. No longer everyone in traditional outfits. It is hard to describe these emotions without feeling guitly for their progress. Zimbawbe was the exception to this experience. My interest in this country has been peaked and I want to go back. Never before have grown men asked me for the shirt on my back. "Maybe you have something exta in your bag, please check for my children." Not, "give me money" which has been the common mantra but propositions for spare food and clothing. The rate of the Zim dollar to the US dollar changed from 330 to 1 when we arrived on Friday to over 500 by the time we left on Sunday. They were selling billion dollar bills for souvenirs. I find myself falling for this continent. It is so complex. Race issues like we don't even know in the states, tribe vs. tribe, or in the case of South Africa white vs. black vs. tribes. Each country has something to offer, but all leave me with more wonder, questions, and the desire to see more.

Two weeks left on our overlander and then off to the farm in S. Africa. It is hard to believe we have been here for almost 2 months. The time is slipping by so quickly. Todd and I find ourselves looking at eachother with big smiles and lamenting the fact that 'this is our life.' What a great decision we made!