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July 02, 2007
Its Nice in Namibia
I am currently in Swakopmund, which is about half way up the country of Namibia. Its on the coast; actually its on the Skeleton Coast, so named for all the shipwrecks there have been, and still continue to be along this dangerous shore of southern Africa. We are having a 2-day break here, to get a few things done, and to look around the amazing sand dunes. For some that means catching a brief look whilst sky diving and quad biking, but for me thats a little too hectic to get a good idea of the countryside and a sense of the beautiful surroundings, so I am planning a little horse riding later on this afternoon.
Carved barrels at the Stellenbosch Vineyards
Hows the new Kumuka truck going?, you are probably all wondering... Its good. In fact, its very good. We have a really nice group of people: 17 in total. There are 2 Brits, 4 Irish, 1 American, 2 New Zealanders, and the rest are Aussies: 8 of them. The age range is from about 20 to 54, so there's a good range of personalities, and we all seem to be getting on together very well. These things are always a matter of chance, so its nice when you get a group who get on well together. There is no cook (Yippee!). The 'crew' consist of an Australian driver named Sam, and an Irish 'tour leader' named Martina, who organises everything and everyone in a very competent manner.
Group photo in front of the Kumuka truck
The truck has a number of differences between others I've been on, some good and some bad. There's no roof-seats, and the windows are poorly designed such that when they are open, they slide down over the lower section so you end up looking through double glass. We have our own day-lockers under the seats, which is good, but the catches are so small they can't be locked! There is plenty of baggage-space, and the truck has good visiblity. The passenger compartment is separated from the drivers compartment, so in the back its a lot quieter than a Dragoman truck. There is an amplifier for music, but you can't turn down any of the loud speakers.
The Fish River Canyon
The route has been well thought out, with some long driving days mixed in with plenty to see and do. I really enjoyed looking around the huge Fish River Canyon, and the BIG dunes to the south of here. We also got to spend some time in the desert with one of the local bushmen, and learned a lot about desert living and desert survival. I fed a squirrel - hey its not 'big game' but it made my day!
Climbing dune 45
After Swakopmund we will be heading along the Skeleton Coast to the Cape Cross seal colony, and then to Etosha National Park for a lot of game viewing. After that its across the border to Botswana, and another look (for me) at the Okavango Delta. This truck goes in via Maun, which Hannah the Dragoman rep maintained was too touristy, so it will be interesting to compare the two and see what the truth turns out to be.
Cape Cross fur-seal colony
After that its straight down the Caprivi Strip - that's the little thin purple bit on my Africa map, across the top of Botswana - and back into Zimbabwe, or rather back into Victoria Falls, which tries all it can to pretend it is not really part of that country! I'll be there for a few days before flying out, and hope to see the Victoria Falls themselves again, as there should be a lot less spray obscuring the falls than there was on my last visit earlier on in the year.
Oh, by the way - I did check for letters at the Swakopmund Post Office, on Garnison Street, but none were there. If YOU sent me a letter, please let me know. If it gets returned to you, don't be surprised - Namibia seems fairly organised.
Posted by travellingtim at July 2, 2007 02:55 PM