Namibian Roadtrip

So after Rob and I left Cara, we hopped on the 15 hour bus journey to Windhoek. Being a veteran of these bus journeys by now, I again got into my sleeping bag and slept just fine for most of the night with a spare seat beside me to stretch out. Poor Rob ended up sitting beside the window after a lady with a baby took the spare seat beside him. Window seats are not good for 15 hours when you're 6'5". We got to Windhoek at 7am and went for a nice big breakfast to cheer up Rob. Then we found a great place to rent vehicles that come with tents attached to the roof. They also supply all the camping equipment such as stoves, plates, cutlery, fridge etc. All we needed was food and we'd be self sufficient for the 8 days of camping and driving we'd planned.

We got lots of food and beers for the week and we were putting them into the car at the supermarket when disaster struck. Rob left his bag beside the car for 10 seconds while we were loading the car, and someone took it. They must have been lightening quick because we were there the whole time. He lost his phone, iPod, camera with 6000 photos on it (all from his trip around the world since early Feb, he had no backups), and most importantly his passport. Thankfully he still had his wallet on him

We had to call the police and they kindly took us to the tourist police station so we could file a report. Since there was no chance of him getting the bag back, it was purely for insurance purposes. Then we paid a visit to the British Embassy which was just around the corner so he could apply for a new passport.

Once that was all sorted we decided we wouldn't let the bastards ruin our trip anymore so we hit the road and made our way to the first campsite we wanted to check out, even though we'd get there in the dark.

Basically we spent the next 8 days looking at the map and figuring out where we'd like to go next. We drove over 2500km in total over the week. We first headed up towards Etosha Safari park where we spent 2 days checking out the wildlife. Then the west and south into Damaraland where both of us had spent time with EHRA as volunteers, before ending up in Swakopmund.

I won't bore you with the details of each day, I'll just point out the highlights.

- Our roof tent was super cool. It flattened down really nicely during the day and it took 2 mins to set up in the evening.
- Rob was obsessed by the fire. Every day he would light it and watch it intently, trying to find exactly the right wood to get it started and keep it going, funny to watch. Whatever floats your boat!
- Etosha was really cool. You can drive around the park yourself and spot the animals. I got to try out my new guiding skills and told Rob all about the animals and birds we saw. I'm surprised he didn't tell me to shut up even though I must have bored him to tears at some points. Thanks Rob! :)


- The views through the Grootberg pass were just stunning, no photos will ever do it justice. I'd definitely go back there and camp around there too. And to think it was something we just stumbled across.


- Often we'd determine what campsite we'd stay at that night depending on whether they had a tv or not so we could watch some world cup games. There was a really cool campsite with homemade cakes on offer but their neighbor 5km down the road had a tv. So long cakes, maybe next time!
- Our biggest arguments were about where to park the car each evening, usually fighting over 2 metres of a difference. Not bad I suppose.
- We found an internet cafe in Outjo, a town with a gas station and no visible shops but it was the fastes internet I've ever had in Africa, actually almost anywhere!

We ended up in Swakopmund and stayed a night with Dave, former EHRA coordinator and good friend, even though he'd just moved into his new apartment. We had a good boozy night out with him, Rachel and Joe and Doreen who had just arrived from NY the day before. Doreen was my drinking partner when I was in Namibia last year for a few months and I was so delighted to catch her before I left.

The following day we drove the car back to Windhoek to drop it off. About an hour into the journey (its one long road that goes through desert-like terrain for 4 hours), a car pulled up beside us and waved us down. We pulled over and saw that the roof tent was hanging off the hinges and about to fall off. Its super heavy and would have caused serious damage if it did fall. Thankfully the guys that waved us down were electricians and had tools to help us take it off completely and store it in the back. Close call! When we dropped the car off the rental people were very apologetic and said it was the make of the tent and it looked like wear and tear. We were just happy they didn't try to blame it on us.

I stayed one more night in Windhoek and said bye to Rob. I was on my way to Jo'burg to see a world cup game and then fly home to Ireland. On Wed morning I got up at 4.30 am to fly to Jo'burg. Tym, a fellow volunteer from Madagascar had a spare ticket to the Germany vs Ghana game. He met me at the airport and we made out way to Soccer City to watch the afternoon games. The stadium was the most modern stadium I've been to, and so clean. The atmosphere was the friendliest I've ever experienced at a sporting event. The whole evening was a blast and I wished I'd stuck around for more games. Thursday I spent my time at the hostel throwing out things not worth the flight back to Ireland that evening.

I was pretty happy that I used everything in my bag that I'd packed, the only thing I didn't use was my mosquito net and that's because in places where I'd need it, there was one provided. My boots were the best thing I brought, as well as my solar charger. That was well used in Madagascar with no electricity. It feels strange now to have more clothes to choose from than just those in my bag.

I thought I'd be really sad with my 4 month journey coming to an end but I actually felt good and relaxed and excited to see family on the flight home. Its a lot easier coming back to Ireland in June than in Dec. I still haven't been able to shed any light on what to do next with life. I'm going to chill with the folks for a little while here in Dublin, catch up with friends and hope that something comes to me. Either that or start playing the lottery!

I'm so happy to have met some wonderful people along the way, some I hope will be friends for a long time to come. It was also lovely to meet existing friends along the way, it was nice to be around people who you know and you don't have to start conversations with 'where are you from, where are you traveling to... etc' :)

So for now, I'm putting my bag away but I'm sure I'll be itching to dust it off in the future and hit the road again. Till then...thanks for reading!

Oh yeah, here are the photos!

Jen
xx