Etosha: January 30-31

The whole trip we had been hearing about Etosha and the immense number of animals that live there, but it wasn’t until we arrived and began our game drives that I realized how true this really is. Until we got to Etosha we would see zebras far in the distance and would stop the bus, all pile on top of each other at the windows to try and use the big zoom on our cameras, and get so excited because we spotted this beautiful animal in the wild. Once we got to Etosha however, we wouldn’t have considered stopping for zebras that far away because we knew right around the next bend in the road they might be 15 feet off the road. I stayed in constant awe of the fact that we were seeing these animals in their natural habitat. They were untouched by humans and were completely living off of the land. Even if you drive all of the possible roads in Etosha you still only cover 7% of the total land. This means that the number of animals we saw is just a small portion of what actually exists.

I never understood the importance of a water hole until this trip. I always knew animals needed to get water and that some like the rhino needed to be even closer to it, but I didn’t realize how scarce it is. Water holes are like a restaurant in the center of a town where you go to see all of your friends (and enemies). Three water holes were a big hit for us. The first had about 12 elephants, 5 of which were babies, a bunch of zebra and some giraffe. It is amazing how these animals live in harmony, but if we had introduced a lion into the scene everything would have changed. Next we saw a bunch of giraffes down by the water and it is so funny to see them drink. They look like they’re about to topple over because they have to spread their legs out so much to reach their long necks down. Again there were zebra and some springboks too!

The last water hole where we saw a lot of activity was a 2 minute walk from where our tents were set up. Because it was so close we were able to see the action going on there after the sun went down and before the sun came up. Our first night in Etosha we saw our first and only lions. We could hear them for probably two hours before they actually showed up at the water hole. Of course while they were there no other animals were around. Three male lions had come to drink. In the same night we saw zebras and rhinos at the water hole. The following night we saw a whole bunch of giraffes.

During our game drives and at the water holes we were lucky enough to see: the blue wildebeest, springbok, oryx, elephant, giraffe, kudu, kori bustard, ostrich, zebra, African stork, black-faced impala, rhino, warthog, lion, steenbok, flamingo, guinea fowl, flapped neck chameleon, secretary bird, boomslang or black mamba, lappet faced vulture and many more animals!

Ongongo Falls: January 27-29

On our drive from Spitzkoppe to Ongongo Falls we really began to see animals. We had seen some zebras and some giraffes in the previous days, but we got to see one of the Big 5 on this drive, an elephant named Sebastian. We began seeing the animals up closer and I never thought that I would think “oh that’s another giraffe, keep driving.” Little did we know that once we got to Etosha animals would be everywhere and very close to our bus. We spent three nights at Ongongo Falls and we delved into the cultures surrounding us, but to me visiting the elementary school and meeting the Himba women impressed me the most.

I hope to be a teacher when I grow up so I have a great interest and sensitivity to education in other parts of the world. Warmquelle Primary School is very different in comparison with the elementary school that I attended. Perhaps the most unique difference is that there are students who live there at the school. I know plenty of people who have gone to boarding school as high schoolers, but that is completely different from students leaving their parents to live at a school as young as age 7. They really do not have any other options though because they live too far away to make a daily commute. About 360 of the 420 students are boarders and they live in hostels with women who live on site to take care of them. They must learn to be more disciplined and independent at a much younger age than children in the United States. Some go home on the weekends, traveling by donkey cart, but many children stay there all the time because their families live too far away. Another difference is that every child in my school had a desk and chairs, but the headmaster there said that they are lacking about 70 desks and chairs. It would make the learning environment so much more difficult in these conditions. Also, these children eat mealie pap very frequently, which is a white mush similar to grits. When I ate lunch or snacks at school we had much more of a variety than grits every single day. The children eat with their hands and do not always have a drink. They don’t bring a packed lunch from home with cookies from their mom. It is just a completely different environment at this school. Despite all of the differences, it is so obvious that it is a thriving learning environment. I was very impressed by the headmaster. He was well dressed, spoke good English, and was very passionate about the learning experiences and well being of his students.

Because we had about half of the money left over from the Charity Challenge we decided that the school would be the best place to give the rest of the money to. As in the case with the Nama family we were concerned with how the money was going to be used and whether the students would actually benefit from it. The headmaster told us that they are always in need of pens and paper and so we tried our best to get that for them. We went to the only nearby little store and bought some BIC pens. It cost $55 US to buy 150 pens. This is unbelievable and there is no doubt as to why they don’t have enough pens. They are so expensive relative to everything else in their stores. Bread can be baked easily so it is much cheaper where as the pens have to be imported and thus are much more expensive. So we gave them those pens and gave the rest of the money to the headmaster in cash and hopefully he will put that money to good use. Again, this just makes me realize how lucky I am to be able to have new pens and paper whenever I need them.

We also visited the Himba and the Herero people of this area. The Himba people live together in homesteads and live lives very similar to those of their ancestors. They wear very little clothing and cover themselves in a mixture of animal fats, herbs, and mud. They twist their hair and cover it with this mud mixture making it very heavy. They used to attach hair from the goat tail to the bottom of their twists, but now use artificial hair. The women wear goat ears on their head to signify that they are married which I thought was a very unique tradition. We got into an interesting conversation with these women about age. They were all between the ages of 21 and 35 and each had many young children. I think that they were surprised to find out that we were all around 20 as well and weren’t married and didn’t have any children. It is hard for me to understand why these people choose to live the way they do. I ask myself, why don’t they want to be westernized and have modern clothes and technology? I could not imagine living without full coverage clothes and shoes and having electricity and running water. I haven’t quite figured it out, but this is the way their families have lived for so long and they are content with continuing on the tradition. One thing that was obvious is how much these women love their children. There were probably eight or more little boys running around and they were all so helpful to their mothers and the mothers seemed so happy to be surrounded by the little ones. I could not picture a culture that was more different than the culture I live in. A culture like this would not be able to survive in the United States. At the very least they would be arrested for indecent exposure!

We also visited the Herero people which are closely linked to the Himba. Instead of goat ears on their heads, these women wore traditional Victorian long dresses. In the mid-1800s when the Europeans came to colonize Africa, the Herero women started to change their dress to reflect these people. They also adopted a headdress that is supposed to resemble the horns of a cow. These two cultures are very unique and are most prevalent in Namibia.

Between the school, the Himba women, and the Herero women, our nights spent at Ongongo Falls revealed many aspects of the daily lives of rural Namibians. We left Ongongo Falls to head for Etosha, the final highlight of the trip with all of the animals!

Spitzkoppe: January 26

After spending two nights in the bush at the Kuisab River and meeting the Topnar people we headed to Spitzkoppe. Yet again Spitzkoppe was a new landscape and absolutely beautiful. It was very open and climbing the rocks there gave a great view of the open landscape in surrounding areas. It was also my first night sleeping outside!!

Because the rock mountains of Spitzkoppe are erected in the middle of a very flat and dry plain they can be seen from miles and miles away. So as we were driving to our campsite Burger pointed them out. Little did I know that we would be camping right at the base of the rocks. Although Spitzkoppe is not the highest mountain in Namibia it is the most famous. It is over 700 million years old and is known for its views of the sunrises and sunsets. Over our three weeks in Africa we saw beautiful sunsets and millions of stars every night, but the night we spent at Spitzkoppe is one of the most memorable.

Once we arrived at the camp and got situated we all climbed up a rock to have a better view of our surroundings. All of the boys and a couple girls put their sleeping bags up there and didn’t even set up a tent, but sleeping up there on a rock that large seemed a little too risky for me. Amy and I settled for a smaller rock that seemed perfect for us to sleep under the stars. We even named it “pride rock” just like in the Lion King. Sleeping and climbing on these rocks was so different than the past few nights and it was a welcomed change. The weather was even a little bit cooler!

The sunset was amazing to say the least. One thing I noticed in general about African sunsets and sunrises is the amount of colors in the sky. Maybe there are some places in the United States where every evening the sky is lit up with bright pinks and oranges and blues, but no where that I have ever been. The way the sun disappeared behind the rocks allowed for a shadow to be created between the rocks. After the sun went down all of the stars started to appear. The lack of light from humans allows the stars to be much more obvious and they created a depth in the sky that proves there is not just one layer of stars as it often appears in the United States. As Amy and I were lying on our rock to fall asleep I just kept looking up and was in awe of the magnitude of stars.

Sleeping outside at Spitzkoppe was a unique experience that I wish I could have experienced more. Most of the other campsites, in my opinion, were too close to wild animals (like jackals) or had too many bugs and my tent just seemed more comfortable, although some people felt differently. It was invigorating to breathe in the fresh air and not worry about any pollution. It was not too hot and a pleasant nights sleep! The next day we were off to Ongongo Falls for three nights.

Sesriem: January 22-23

We arrived at Sesriem campsite and were surrounded by a much different landscape than the past three nights that we had spent beside rivers. We were not near any natural running water and there were many less green trees. Another big difference is how nice this campsite was. I can assure you I have never been happier to see flushing toilets and big showers. It was a much-needed break after bush camping for 3 nights.

My first day started off very early when I woke up at 4:00 am. We had to get up well before sunrise in order to allow us time to drive to and hike up ‘Dune 47’ in time to see the sun come up over the huge red sand dunes. Once we arrived the dune looked even bigger than I imagined. It looks like a big hill made purely of sand; no rocks, no trees, and no footsteps. It seemed so untouched, just like snow before someone walks in it. But soon there were lots of footsteps on a specific ridge of the dune as all of us wanted to make it as high as possible. Some scurried up all the way to the top while others of us struggled a little more and settled about half way up which was plenty high for me. We all sat on the ridge with the wind blowing and I never thought I’d be so glad that I had on a long sleeved shirt in the desert!

On my last Interim trip to Egypt we climbed Mt. Sinai very early in the morning in order to see the sunrise as well. It was interesting to compare these two sunrises that I climbed to see just a year a part. Both times I was partially on my hands and knees and both times I was seeing the sunrise in a completely different way than before. Mt. Sinai was very rocky and Dune 47 was just the opposite with no rocks. I doubt that wind had a very big impact on the creation and movement of Mt. Sinai while the wind has a daily impact on the sand dunes of Sesriem.

After climbing down from our spot where we sat to see the sunrise we had some breakfast and then headed into Sossusvlei. We all hopped into 4WD trucks to drive through the sand because I doubt the bus would have made it. We walked around and up and over the dunes and Burger helped us explore and learn about some of the animals and plants that are actually capable of living and thriving in this harsh environment. We saw the shovel-nosed lizard who can dig under the sand in order to protect himself from the extreme heat. Burger warned us about the blister beetle who excretes a highly poisonous substance that burns the skin. We also learned about the oryx who can go his life without drinking. Burger also pointed out a spot in the sand that was dried oryx urine and the fact that it was still there proves the lack of water and excess of waste in their urine. We also saw the nara plant which is very common in the dunes landscape. It is a very thorny plant without leaves and it produces a fruit that has enabled the existence of many species of animals throughout the years.

Although I never would have thought of how rich this landscape is with plants and animals, I learned that life really is abundant in the extremely harsh environments. The dunes go on for miles and miles and you feel that the sand is endlessly surrounding you. Sossusvlei is a memorable place that is different from anywhere I have ever been or seen.

Fish River: January 20-21

We left the Orange River to head for the Fish River. Our experiences at this campsite with the Nama family and at the Nama school are unforgettable and definitely highlights of the trip. At the Fish River we were again without running water and had to bathe in the river, but it was all part of the adventure! Also, this campsite was probably the hottest of the entire trip- 110+ during the day in the sun!! We were all so happy to have the river to swim in and it’s hard to believe that that river is not even there sometimes due to the lack of rainfall.

On our full day at the camp some people chose to hike a volcano in the early morning, but 9 of us chose to stay back and have a lazy morning. The previous day on my way down to bathe in the Orange River I lost my footing and cut my big toe pretty badly and had a very bruised toenail so I thought it was best for me to not go on an intense hike. But it was a great morning because we slept in some and had a nice swim in the river without many people around. Later that afternoon, around 4 when it was finally starting to cool down a little bit, after all of the others got back, we set out to visit the Nama family.

We first met Jackson, a 17 year old boy who spoke good English because he had studied it in school. Jackson failed grade 10 last year and by law, he was not allowed to attend school anymore unless he started to pay and clearly this Nama family and many others do not have the extra money to pay for continued schooling. Then we met a woman, man, and 2 younger children. The woman, India, was relatively young and wore a pretty pink dress, but had very old and worn out shoes. She had the beautiful almond shaped eyes and high cheekbones that are characteristics of the Nama people. She was not actually Jackson’s mother but because Jackson’s mother had passed away, India was serving in her place. The man was named Old Frans and he was much older than India; we learned that he had to be older than 65. The two other children were Elena, 10 months, and Nelson, 2 years. They were so cute and it was obvious that even though they were not biologically Jackson’s siblings he loved them so much. There are also two more children in this family who are Jackson’s biological siblings. They are 15 and 16 and are still in school. They board at their school and live in a hostel during the week and each Friday, Jackson takes the donkey cart to the school to pick them up for the weekend. He said that he misses them during the week and is always excited for the weekends. We visited them on a Thursday so he was going to pick them up the following day!

What is unfathomable to me is that this family lives off of $400 Namibian per month, which is about $57 US. I cannot believe that they are living off of basically nothing and have a family of 7 to support. If Old Frans was not older than 65 and did not receive money from the government, they would have a monthly income of nothing. They told us that they used to have 30 goats and in Namibia goats are essentially the same thing as a bank account in the United States and each goat can be worth between $400-$600 Namibian, but that all of their goats had been stolen. I was expecting them to say that their goats had been stolen just a few months ago, but it has been 5 years since they were taken meaning they have basically been living on nothing since well before either of the young children were born. Our group had such an immediate connection with this family realizing how raw their suffering is and that they were not lying to us or trying to make their lives sound worse than they are. Although the Nama family was struggling however, they did not seem too sad or depressed. I guess they just tried to pick up the pieces and move on to live with what they had which seemed to be a loving family. Burger invited the family to come eat dinner with us that night which was a treat for us and them! We had a typical meal for us of chicken, pasta, and squash, but to them it was a feast and they thoroughly enjoyed it. It made me realize that I need to be more grateful for the things I take for granted, like a hot meal, because there are so many people in the world who do not have that.

Not only did we have dinner with the family, but we also gave them a gift. Thanks to the Charity Challenge and the money given by Wofford faculty we were able to help this family out in the best way we saw possible. We realized that if they had new goats then that would be a start to a brighter future. Although we wanted to give them actual goats so that we knew what the money was spent on, it was impossible for us to have goats in our possession before it was time to leave so we ended up giving the family about $200 US which would be enough for about 3 goats. They were all so happy with this gift but Jackson was the most excited because he will be the one to take primary care of the goats to raise them and to breed them to hopefully build a big herd again.

The next day we took some of our leftovers to the Nama family and Old Frans who had not shown too much emotion the day before had a smile all the way across his face. It was obvious that he had woken up and realized that they truly were going to be able to have a better life. Then we drove to a Nama school in a nearby town. It was recess so there were kids everywhere in their blue school uniforms. They were so excited that we were there to take their pictures. They loved posing for us and then looking at the picture on our digital cameras. This was our first of two school visits. Then we set out driving again to the sand dunes!

Orange River: January 19

After spending the night on the beach we headed into Namibia with a full day of driving. We ended up at our first night of bush camping along the Orange River. We had no running water, no toilets, and no showers. It was my first experience bathing in a river and my first time having to walk down to the river with my headlamp as my only light to wash my dishes. The landscape was very different on the river than it was on the ocean and there was not the same fog that we had experienced the previous morning.

The 22 students were divided into three teams, the Red team, White team, and Blue team. I was a part of the Red team with Nancy, Sally, Martha Anne, Andy, Gus and Patrick. We were the first team to be on duty so we were on duty at Strandfontein and at the Orange River. Burger kept reminding us that we had to learn to work together and that definitely proved true. Some jobs were easier for the boys, like starting the fire and carrying the heavy pots, while the girls were more interested in the cooking! At the Orange River we had minced meat with corn and green beans, a tomato sauce and pasta. It was very different cooking all of that over an open fire rather than in an oven at home but it just made us appreciate the fact that we do not have to build our own fire at a daily basis at home. After being on duty for two days we had a break for the next four days while the other groups were on duty.

On our drive we passed by a quiver tree (aloe dichotoma). We learned about this plant during our presentations at Wofford so it was interesting to actually see it in its natural habitat. It was standing pretty much in the middle of nowhere and had no other plants or trees nearby. Although it is called a tree it is actually an aloe plant and it is a succulent. It has a thick trunk where it stores water and a very hard bark. The branches are covered in a white powder that reflects the sun. The San people use the branches of this tree to hollow out and make quivers to hold their arrows. In the particular tree that we looked at there was a weaver nest. By being up in the tree, the birds are protected from jackals and other animals that might prey on the young.

Strandfontein: January 18

On our first day of driving to our campsite on the Atlantic Ocean we stopped for lunch by a beach full of mussel shells. I have never seen as many same type of shell on a beach in my entire life. These shells of mussels had clearly been brought in by the tide and were everywhere. We went down to the water and were able to look at all of the thriving biodiversity and biomass in the water. On the same beach different people in our group found many bones that were identified as fur seal skulls, ribs, and other various parts of the body.

After lunch we headed to Bird Island near Lambert’s Bay. This houses a large breeding ground for Cape Gannets. It is also home to Cape Seagulls and Jackass Penguins. There must have been more than a thousand Cape Gannets all living together. They are primarily white birds with black on their tails and yellowish heads with bright blue eyes. The eyes are so unique and really stand out. There is a building in the middle of all these birds where you are able to climb a set of stairs in order to view the birds and their behavior from inside a building. Bird Island is one of only a few breeding locations for this type of bird.

Although we were not fortunate enough to see the Jackass penguins, who got their name from the noises they make, we learned about much of the history and lifestyles. Bird Island used to house many more of these penguins than it does in current days and in the last 100 years there has been a dramatic decrease in their population, almost a 90% decrease. Jackass penguins used to live and nest in huge mounds of guano, which is bird droppings that were sometimes many meters tall, but throughout the 1900s this guano was taken to be used as rich fertilizer. This had a huge negative impact on these penguins and their population greatly decreased especially since some of their eggs were in this guano. Oil pollution has also negatively affected the lives of the penguins.

After leaving Bird Island we headed to our first campsite along the Atlantic Ocean. Looking back it was barely even camping; we had warm showers, running water, cool weather, and no sand. It was our last night in South Africa and the last night near civilization for a long time.

Cape Town: January 15-17

Our time spent in Cape Town was far different from the rest of our trip. It is a city on the water with many foreigners, plenty of busy restaurants, and popular tourist attractions. Don’t get me wrong it was absolutely gorgeous and is a place I hope to return to at some point in my life. The most popular attraction where we spent a lot of time, the beautiful Victoria and Alfred Waterfront is in between Robben Island and Table Mountain; two other popular places we visited. It has lots of great restaurants where we dined multiple times and even a doctor’s office that I had the great fortune of visiting.

Looking back on our time spent in Cape Town versus our time in Namibia, we experienced two very different cultures. One main difference I noticed was the availability and sophistication of health care. Starting off our trip I was having extreme pain in my chest which I assumed was heart burn and was just taking over the counter medicine for, but having intensified pain and knowing that we were about to be in the middle of no where in isolated areas for 2 and a half weeks, I decided I needed to go to the doctor before we left Cape Town. I went to see Dr. Bisset who had his office right there in the one of the complexes on the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront. He was a very nice man and completely knowledgeable of the medicines in the United States. Not once did I feel that he was incompetent or that his diagnosis was wrong. It turns out that because I did not take my initial Doxycycline pill that I was taking for malaria prevention with lots of water it had burned my esophagus and caused that intense burning pain. So he said that I had developed esophagitus and prescribed me with 3 medicines and said that I would be healed and back to eating normal food within a week and it turned out that everything he did worked and soon I was feeling better! Through this experience I learned that in Cape Town, because of the number of tourists and the demand for doctors with knowledge of Western medicines, good health care is readily available. In contrast, when we were in Sesriem where Dr. Davis got his kidney stones, it was much more difficult to get him medical care. He had to go on a plane and in a car just to arrive at the hospital in Windhoek. All of the native people of Namibia and of other rural African countries are not able to get the care of a doctor every time they need it and as Burger told us they use aspirin to cure everything instead of actual prescription medicine. Also, these native people do not have the financial means to cover medical bills. All in all, I have realized how fortunate we, as Americans, are to have sophisticated medical care available to us on a regular basis.

During our stay in Cape Town we also visited Robben Island. Before I left for Africa I saw the movie Invictus about the South African rugby team and Nelson Mandela inspiring and encouraging them to win. It made me become more aware of who Nelson Mandela really was and what he did for South Africa. In the movie the main character visits Nelson Mandela’s cell on Robben Island, the same place we went to on our tour. An ex-prisoner led our tour of the jail and told us his personal story of why he became a political prisoner on Robben Island. He had been arrested in 1976 when he was a student. One of the things that stuck with me the most after our visit was how recent all of the issues of apartheid are and how prisoners were held on Robben Island during my lifetime. I will never forget the sacrifices that so many people made for their freedom and a quote on all of the buses on the island is “The journey’s never long when freedom is the destination.”

That same day we went on a drive down to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. We rode a funicular up to a lighthouse at Cape Point, which is where the Agulhas Current of the Indian Ocean and the Benguela Current of the Atlantic Ocean meet. There is such a dramatic coastline along this area. Then we drove a short ways down to the Cape of Good Hope, which is the most South-Western point of the African continent although some people incorrectly believe that it is the absolute most Southern point of Africa. It was awe inspiring to be somewhere that I have heard of for many years in school- I couldn’t believe I was actually there. I had thoughts like this throughout the whole trip.

The next day we had a free day where we were able to explore Cape Town on our own. A group of 5 of us set out on the Red Bus Tour and adventured all throughout the city. We really got a feel for everything that Cape Town had to offer. We even had a chance to go to Camps Bay Beach and have a lazy afternoon hanging out with many South Africans. This is one of my favorite days from the whole trip because by being on our own and having to figure the city out by ourselves, we delved into the culture and leaned a lot. I thoroughly enjoyed our time in Cape Town and realize how many cultural contrasts there are in different parts of South Africa and Namibia.