New Experiences And Contradictions
It’s been a long time since I last posted anything worthwhile in here. A short post a few weeks ago just to try to get back into the swing of things, but other than that, nothing.
Nothing for over six months.
And of course there is a reason. There is always a reason.
It's one thing to have something to write about, although I have to admit that sometimes it can be a challenge to find the right words to sit alongside an image that I want to share. But it's something completely different when I manage to convince myself that there is no point in trying to write anything and no point in sharing any photographs.
It can happen.
But, and here is the good news I hope, that silence is about to end.
Because, and this is where the drum roll would ideally be inserted if I had one, I actually have something that I feel like I want to write about.
Something beautiful, meaningful, certainly challenging and something I am unlikely ever to experience again.
We took a holiday.
But not just any holiday.
It was the first time we had been overseas for a couple of years. Not unusual in a world of ever rising costs.
It was also the first time that we had been on a plane in about six or seven years. Again, that can happen.
So it probably won’t come as much of a surprise to know that this was a holiday of a lifetime.
We went to Africa.
To Namibia.
A country I knew almost nothing about before our trip.
A neighbour of South Africa, Angola, Zambia and Botswana. Formerly a colony of Germany and then under the control of South Africa, which introduced the horrific apartheid system to Namibia until the country was partly removed from their control in the late sixties. Gaining complete independence only in 1990, it remains one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world. It has a population of just over three million people living in an area of 318,772 square miles, making it the 34th largest country but with a population only the size of Wales.
I am tempted to write and share every last detail, every single step of this wonderful experience. Every moment, every taxi ride, plane flight, hotel visit and beautiful view. But I’ve decided not to. Because it would be ridiculously long, of course, but also really, really boring. I mean, who honestly wants to spend hours going through someone’s holiday photos?
I thought not.
So, a few highlights will just have to do and maybe, hopefully, I will be able to do our week and a bit in Africa justice.
Things That I Loved.
- Staying in remote, beautiful places with virtually no traffic, people and noise.
- The stunning Namib Desert. Our flights across vast areas of sand and rock allowed us sights that were straight out of TV nature documentaries and some of our trips, especially to Sossusvlei and Deadvlei, were moments of pure beauty and magic. And to cap this part of our trip, we stayed at the most tranquil and remote place I have probably ever visited, the Hoodia Desert Lodge.
- The absolutely incredible night sky in the desert. I had been warned that I would not believe what I saw and this was completely true.. The sky was just FULL of light.
- Etosha national park and the amazing wild life that we experienced there, even during one of the wettest periods Namibia has experienced in over 10 years. To complete three game drives and actually see these beautiful animals in their natural habitat was difficult to get my head around at times. I could equate most of these beautiful creatures only with visits to a local zoo. I also found it impossible to fully comprehend the vastness of the Etosha Pan, a salt pan so massive that it can be seen from space.
- An elephant game drive, outside of the national park, through local villages, along dried up river beds and then, finally, spotting a group of maybe 7 or 8 with a young calf. Once again it was an almost unexpectedly magical experience to see wild elephants naturalised to desert conditions so closely and for such a period of time. It was also a highlight to stop and meet some of the villagers at De Riet, a small and isolated place that shares its streets and water supplies with these wild elephants.
- Being guided by an expert, Franco, for the second half of the trip. Learning about his life living in Namibia and hearing just some of his vast knowledge of the country, history and wildlife was fascinating. Also, having dinner with him and his wife on our last evening in Windhoek was a lovely way to conclude our experience and connect with genuine, local people.
- Actually enjoying some of the flights that we took in very small aircraft. We used tiny, private landing strips in the middle of nowhere, something that before our trip I felt could be a challenge. We flew over vast, unpopulated areas that were impossible to reach by land and used the sort of facilities that I would have struggled to believe if I had not seen them with my own eyes - a departure lounge with a canvas roof and no walls, toilets with only three walls to ensure stunning views even whilst in use, pilots meeting and greeting passengers, checking tickets and loading luggage themselves. And actually, allegedly, even allowing a passenger to sit alongside and take the controls for a while. Just incredible!
- Eating things I had never tried before and will absolutely never try again, including Oryx lasagne and Sprinkbok kebhab.
- A drive from airstrip to lodge in an open sided, tiered vehicle, at what felt like Formula One speed, along game tracks, dried river beds and gravel roads with dust clouds to marvel at, with all of the passengers literally hanging on for their own, slightly overlooked, safety!
- Seeing some of the dried up rivers come to life after a tropical storm. We went out early one morning (make that every morning!) and came across beautiful rivers where there had been none the previous evening. Seeing kids playing in these rivers and numerous vehicles that had stopped just to watch the water flowing demonstrated how rare this was. And in many parts of the country gravel tracks were routed through or even along some of these river beds so when the waters were flowing it made driving even more of an adventure!
- Staying in a wonderful lodge (although all the places we visited were just fantastic) at Camp Kipwe in Damaraland, half way up a mountain with views over a savannah that looked as if it was straight out of Jurassic Park. Especially memorable when we watched a hot, sticky afternoon gradually turn into a spectacular African thunderstorm and experienced sunsets from the bar at the top of the mountain..
- An early morning visit to see the rock engravings at Twyfelfontein, a World Heritage site in Damaraland. No health and safety issues in Namibia thank you very much. As long as you could put one foot in front of the other then you were assumed to be fit and able enough to climb over boulders and rocks and follow the rather sprightly guide along the trail. Just as it should be!
- A wildlife lodge just outside of the national park, Etosha Oberland Lodge, that epitomised everything I had imagined a safari lodge should look like - an open sided lounge and dining room right next to floodlit waterholes where you could watch and hear the local animals as you relaxed, even at night.
Things That I Loved A Little Less And Some That Actually Made Me Feel Uncomfortable.
Yes, I know, I know. A wonderful adventure should not need a section like this, but I want to be completely honest about my experience. I guess I can probably sum up these feelings in a couple of relatively general points
- Being served by friendly, polite and enthusiastic staff in beautiful and expensive lodges, finding out that there is no minimum wage and also being advised that some were probably just getting board and lodging in exchange for their work. This made me uncomfortable and, in these circumstances, I felt like I was just another wealthy, white tourist taking advantage of the poor locals. This was not a good feeling and against everything I stand for normally.
- And, in a similar vein, I found that staying in places that felt opulent, luxurious and way outside of what I might normally experience left me feeling that no matter how much I enjoyed it, I really didn’t belong. This clearly says more about me than the accommodation .
So, does this take the edge off what was a fantastic experience?
No, not at all.
We all feel uncomfortable at times when outside of our respective comfort zones and we have to decide how best to deal with that when it happens. It also does not invalidate the numerous exciting and wonderful experiences in our adventure, so many that it is impossible to note them all here. Which is surely something to be celebrated..
Travel genuinely does open and broaden the mind, this much is clear. Africa, and Namibia in particular, has now become a real place in my mind, not just a name on a map or a location in a wildlife documentary. It was vibrant, exciting, full of fascinating places and people and the almost inevitable contradictions that a place like Africa will surely bring. In some ways it felt just as I had hoped it might yet in others completely and utterly unlike anything I could have imagined.
It has allowed me to see that poverty and exploitation can take place anywhere, especially perhaps in Africa which has a history rich in both. It also challenged my personal values and encouraged me to be honest in how I evaluate and share my experiences with others. It has enabled me to see that it is fine to share honest emotions and call out what feels wrong whilst still enjoying these new experiences.
And for those reasons alone it was a magical and memorable adventure.
Note: I have created a separate post here for all of the wildlife photos.
