Feb 3: Northward into Namibia

Up at 4:45 AM...I wanted an early start to make sure that I got my tent down and packed in time. Breaking camp proved easy for our entire group and we packed Janis and were ready for breakfast by 5:30 AM. Breakfast was cereal and bread/jam and tea/coffee.

 

Where We Are Going



Sunrise over the Cederburg Mountains

The day looked promising with clear skies and a beautiful sunrise.We head north towards the Namibian border with a full day of travel ahead of us. We stop occasionally to replenish water and goodies. We are suppose to camp in South Africa but rains have flooded the camp that we were to use. We continue to the Namibian border; exit South Africa and enter Namibia.

The winds are blowing hard, sun shining and sand blowing.



Namibian Flag

 Namibia is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It has a large German presence due to colonization which began in the 1800s. The country's capital is Windhoek and its major geographic attractions being its rugged Atlantic Coast line, Namib and Kalahari deserts and Ethosa Pan all of which we will be visiting.
We camp at the Felix Uni campsite located in Namibia on the bank of the Orange River, the longest river in South Africa. The camp is very nice with a pool, neat bar, showers and great accommodations...don't remember camping like this. Set-up tents and head for the bar for a beer; we were on the road for 8 hours. Yo-Yo and Micke prepare dinner.

Tent City - We Did It

Ben & Sietske - Professionals

Cheers, Prost, Nazdrovia

Young Studs at Watering Hole

The rains have been horrific in Western Africa, flowing into the Orange river which has exceeded its banks..see pictures of damage to the camps beautiful cabin huts. Dinner consists of chicken, rice and salad; salads are great with tasty tomatoes. We sit around, chat and get to know each other better. Clean-up and head to bed. Each of us has a nice foam mattress which makes the ground a lot softer...nite, nite...

Washed-Out Accommodations

Raging Orange River



Feb 2: Depart Cape Town ---> Citrusdal (Cederburg Mountain Region)

Map of our planned route.



Collecting Alex's Money Alex







Boarding "Janis"



Ken Baldwin drives me into Cape Town's Green Market Square located in the central part of the city. I unload my packs, say goodbye to Ken and enter Nomad's Cape Town's HQ. I met our guides...Morrison (driver and head guide), Yolanda (Yo-Yo) cook and Milche (German Translator). I pay my $295 local fee, we board our bus and head out of town in our safari truck. There are 12 persons in our group representing  South Korea (4), Japan (1),  Switzerland(3), Holland (2), Wales (1) and USA (1) countries. More about my traveling companions as the trip progresses. As I begin this trip, I feel like Charles Marlow, the main character, in Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" exploring the unknowns of Africa.

We leave Cape Town heading north and stop for a "photo op" at an area called Table View which provides us with a beautiful picture of Cape Town's Table Mountain. Nearby is a small shopping mall where Yo-Yo and Milche purchase food for the next few days and we purchase water and other small essentials suggested by Morrison.



View of Cape Town's Table Top



Packing Food for the Trip

From there we continue our journey north to the Cederberg mountain range with its reddish sandstone rock formations laced with bands of shale. The group seems to be personable and I think that this should be a great trip.

We stopped for about an hour at the "a!khwa ttu" San Cultural Center located about an hour north of Cape Town. We learn about the San people, their culture, their click language (!) and how they were able to live in the desert.

Making Shell Jewelry



Explaining San People Travels



    

We continue our journey and the surroundings remind me of Wyoming with its large desert/shrub areas and rising buttes. WeAfter a long ride on Janis, we arrive at 5 PM at the Rondeberg Resort which offers cabin and tent site accomodations ....the showers and bathroom facilities give us a feeling of home. Since this is our first night tent camping, Morrison demonstrates how the tent is raised, taken down and stored......now it is our turn and with a little encouragement from Morrison....we struggle through the process...not too hard. 

Morrison Instructs



Morrison- "Now Do It"

After a lake swim, hot shower we have dinner (pork chop, potato, corn, salad). Around our campfire Morrison spends about an hour explaining how we will operate, rules for getting along, how cooperation is essential....meaning we help each other and assist with clean-up. Morrison appears to be a take-charge guy and a good leader, time will tell. Our daily schedule..up at 5 AM, break down tents and stow all gear in Janis, breakfast at 6 AM, clean-up, police camp site, depart at 7 AM. Should be a fun trip.

A Refreshing Swim

Evening Briefing

February 1 -Explore the Cape Area by Car

The Baldwins acted as my tour guide as we traveled around the Cape area. Driving is a little confusing...if you look at a map of the area, you see a number of large hills and large bay inlets which you must drive around or over. First we started with a visit to a number of beach areas along the Indian Ocean...reminded me of the the Delaware beaches including all of the tourist traps and food eateries...the winds were blowing and the surf was extremely rough. See the picture of the trees permanently bent by the winds. We drove around an area called "False Bay" on the Indian Ocean side....beautiful beaches which are inviting but you must be careful. 

                    

During the time when swimmers are present, there are shark spotters located along the hillside looking for "great whites". These sharks are so large that I'm told that it is easy to spot their shadows as they patrol the coast looking for dinner. If a shark is sighted, a loud alarm horn is sounded, and information communicated to the lifeguards. We passed a point that jutted into the bay where a 73-year woman was swimming last year and unfortunately, she was taken by a "great white". The only thing that they found was her red bathing cap.

As we progressed south towards the Cape of Good Hope, the winds and surf became rougher. The coast line looks more like Nova Scotia's Cape Brenton with tall cliffs and pounding surf. Along the way we
encountered a number of baboon families laying in the middle of the road grooming themselves. We did not go to the southernmost point, Cape of Good Hope, because it was overcast; maybe when I return in mid- March. Had a nice lunch along with a nice glass of white wine.

We turned north and drove along the Atlantic Ocean. At first the waters looked like Caribbean turquoise colors and eventually became more foreboding. The Atlantic is approximately 10 degrees colder than the Indian Ocean resulting in the waters' roughness, an increased availability of marine life and the attraction of predators.

                                                
                                                        

Drove back to the Baldwin's beautiful B &B. Completed my packing for the next 4 + days and am excitingly waiting for the adventure to begin tomorrow.  don't know when I will have access to the Internet again so until then......Tom

Jan 31 - 1st Day in Cape Town

I slept well. After an enjoyable breakfast, Ken and I drove to a major shopping center so that I might purchase some final items for my journey. My first objective was to make sure that my ATM card worked and it did. Since my backpack zipper was broken, I purchased a new backpack that would hold my cameras, kindle, compass, first aid kit, bottled water and other sundry items. I used my CapitalOne credit card and it worked...good. Next to the pharmacy to buy a few items and used my Navy FCU credit card...it worked...good. Before traveling overseas, always contact your banks and/or credit unions to make them aware of your travel plans and which ATM/credit cards you will be using. I purchased an international cell phone when I traveled through SE Asia last year. I purchased the South African SIM card for R15 (~$2) plus R50 minutes. This will offer me back-up communications in the event of an emergency and allow me to keep it touch with the Cape Town Baldwins. My contract with SKYPE only covers calls to the USA; outside of the USA calling area calls are more expensive.

Back home for lunch and sat down to use the computer. I was able to access my BLOG, make an entry and download some pictures.....it works...good. Next test was to use SKYPE to call the USA..talked to my son, PJ.....SKYPE worked...good.  Since there is a 7 hour time difference between Southern Africa and the USA, I have to make sure that I don't call too early.

The Baldwins, myself and friend of theirs from Durban, Maori, went to a fabulous restaurant last night. The fish and wines are excellent and the prices much less than the USA.  After a couple of glasses of wine, my head and body were ready for bed...I need to get my internal clock in synch with Southern Africa time. Tomorrow we are scheduled to take a ride around the Cape area.

I Learn a Geography Lesson and Arrive Safely in Cape Town

The flight from Dulles to Johannesburg was a direct flight with a stop in Dakar, Senegal. The distance and flying time to Senegal was 3,800 miles/7.5 hours. Now the geography lesson...the distance and flying time from Senegal to Jo'Burg was 4,200 miles/8.5 hours; flying time from Dulles to LA, California takes under 5 hours. Looking at a map, you can then begin to appreciate the enormity of Africa...you can fit the US, Western Europe, India, China, Argentina plus the British Isles into an area the size of Africa.

 A minor incident occurred in the Jo'Burg airport...as I was walking to board my flight to Cape Town, a gentleman informed me that my backpack flap was open. At first, I thought that someone had attempted to pick-pocket my backpack but what happened was that the zipper split, releasing the flap. My cameras and kindle were about to fall out of my backpack....thank goodness a major incident was avoided. I was fortunate to be upgraded to first-class on the 2 hr flight to Cape Town ---china service and a glass for the wine. The host for my stay in Cape Town, Ken Baldwin, picked me up at the airport ....I am staying at the Baldwin's  B &B located at the foot of Table Mountain. It is an absolutely beautiful B &B with four properties where you can either rent a single room, double room or a separate home; each is en suite with kitchen facilities. After a short hello to Ken's wife, Jackie, and a glass of wine, it was time for bed....zzzzzzz.

If your thinking of a trip to the Cape Town area see http://www.capetown-southafrica.co.za/Oaktree.php...

Jan 29 - 30: Depart for and Arrive at Cape Town, South Africa (SA)

About this BLOG....Last year when I created a BLOG for my SE Asia trip, I found it difficult typing the text using aged PCs and software that I encountered in most Internet cafes. What I have done for my Southern Africa BLOG is to pre-enter a draft entry for each of the locations I will be visiting. I extracted  text from from the itinerary that was sent to me and incorporated  the text into the BLOG draft. As I proceed though my trip, I will update the text, attach many pictures and post the entry. I also attempted to include in each entry an Internet link to the lodge/guest house/campsite where we will be that night...you can evaluate how much I am "roughing it" in the wilds of Africa.

Ann Marie and I will have lunch at Baja Fresh before heading for the airport. I will depart Washington's Dulles airport at 5:40 PM today and fly non-stop to Senegal for a on-hour layover before continuing on to Johannesburg arriving at 5:30 PM on January 30. After a short layover, my flight to Cape Town departs Jo'Burg at 7:20 PM and arrives at 9:30 PM. A friend will meet in Cape Town and I will stay at his family's B & B for a few days.

See you in Cape Town, South Africa!!!!

Preparation

I will be departing for South Africa in two days. I have spent the past 2 months preparing for this trip which is the longest one in duration that I will have taken. Traveling is not just about being prepared for the trip but making sure that what you leave back home will operate until your return. Key actions that I took:

1. Visited the Fairfax County Health Clinic in early November for a consult on travel to Africa. The clinic provides useful information - sanitation, mosquito repellents, cautions regarding food/water consumption, and immunization issues. My shots are up-to-date and I received a prescription for malaria pills which I will begin taking 2 days before the trip begins, during the entire trip and for 4 weeks after the trip ends.
2. Explored via the Internet each country that I will be visiting ..........learned about the geography, people, culture, foods, things to see, etc.
3. Prepared a document outlining financial, insurance, location of critical documents and other pertinent personal information in the event Ann Marie, my wife, needs access to this critical information.
4. Prepared emergency contact information in the event my family needs to get a hold of me.
5. Developed a financial scenario to pay my bills during my absence.
6. Purchased a digital SLR camera so that I might take pictures of the "Big 5" from afar; cape buffalo, elephant, leopard, lion and rhino....a "point and click camera" just won't do!
7. Purchased a small AMAZON kindle on to which I loaded 10 electronic books to read ...this eliminated the need for carrying heavy paper-back books.
8. "Unsubscribe" from Internet solicitation and newsletters that I receive; notify my "email friends" of my absence and request a halt to all emails until my return.....my "email cup" would overflow!!
9. Notified my ATM and credit card companies of my travel plans....if they are unaware of my travel plans; there is a good chance that my ATM/credit card transactions would be denied. Made a list of all card numbers and related emergency contact info in the event I lose a card.
10. Set-up a SKYPE Internet telephone account so that I could call home from Internet cafes as I traveled throughout Southern Africa. I loaded family and friend phone numbers and the customer service numbers for my credit card and ATM accounts.
11. Money, money, money...how much to take, denominations, where to carry it....decisions, decisions!! I decided to take $800 in varying denominations.
12. Establish a travel email account (I use Hotmail) so that I can communicate with family and friends individually...this BLOG serves as my primary vehicle of keeping my family/friends advised of my travels....facebook is another vehicle.
13. My travel company sent me a pre-departure document which provided general information on clothing requirements, health considerations, travel and accommodation expectations, visas, currency and emergency contact information.
14. Selected my clothing for the trip  and sprayed them with Premelin to ward off mosquitoes (malaria) and other insects (tse-tse fly)....besides clothing and sleeping bag; packed necessary medicines, personal items, camera, kindle, international telephone...total weight not to exceed 40 pounds.
15. Pack, pack, pack...from chaos to a single back pack weighing no more than 30 pounds...I did it.