Capital City to Safari

Namibia Part 5

We are very nearly at the end of our time in Namibia. After trawling along all 200Km of Caprivi Strip at a fuel conserving rate of 90Kph we stopped at the Mazambala Island Lodge thinking we were going to camp but ended up giving in to the temptation of 2 single rooms at a very competitive off season rate.

We still have another 80Km before petrol. We have noticed the BMW has low consumption around the 90KPh mark and its 15 litre tank means that we are right on the limit at 280km. The CCM has a bigger tank and returns around 19.5km for every litre giving a range of approx. 350km.

Boring these statistics may be but in a continent where it is not unknown for the fuel stations to have none it is always a good idea to know precisely what range you have left in the tank. For those of you with a practical mind set we do this by the simple tactic of resetting the trip meter to zero at every fuel stop.

If you have never been to Africa before it should be apparent from this blog that so far all of you would have enjoyed many of the places we have visited. Namibia in particular caters well to tourists and it is very unlikely that you would suffer much in the way of culture shock if you caught a flight into Windhoek (capital of Namibia).

The CCM needed a broken bash plate bracket to be welded which required us to stay in Windhoek over the weekend. The Bike and Quad centre run by Loffie did a good job at sorting it and fitting a new tyre.

While waiting, we easily plugged back into normal UK habits, visiting the relatively new large shopping centre with its multi-screen cinema to see the new Terminator movie and eat frozen yoghurt from one of the fashionable outlets. We pushed the UK habits a bit too far though, arriving 5 minutes after the start time to miss some of the adverts – there were none! There followed much stumbling and tripping in the dark as we found our seats, irritating the rest of the audience. Mind you they got their own back as the regular coughing and spluttering betrayed the fact that almost everybody here has a cold – just like home! It is winter – don’t let the 30 degree day temperatures fool you!

In Windhoek our accommodation was the African Kwela Guest House run by the welcoming Dianna and Ian who took us on a tour of the city on Sunday morning knowing that we were at a bit of a loose end. Notwithstanding my earlier comment about no culture shock, it is still difficult for European eyes to look upon the extreme poverty of a large percentage of the population with equanimity. Tin shacks…lots of them!

We also visited the very strange Namibian Independence Museum built by the North Koreans. Its bizarre and haphazard layout did nothing to tell the story so if you are interested read up about it on Wikipedia. You will know far more than us!

North Korean Communist Influence is clear

On Monday afternoon we continued North stopping for the night at Okahandja. I only mention this because the owner of the guest house lent us her car to drive to the local restaurant (we don’t like riding at night). Seriously, can you imagine anyone doing that back home?

Our objective was the Etosha National Park. We rode straight up to the front gate to be refused entry on the basis that we would be eaten by the local inhabitants. But our luck was in as we booked into the Etosha Mukuti Lodge right by the gate at a fantastic all-inclusive rate. This is the bit of our trip that I think none of you would struggle with.

The game drive started at 6am the next day. Images of Lions, Giraffe, various antelope, Elephants, Zebra and the biggest flying bird in the world (weighs 18Kg) all made their way onto my camera. Nearly got the black Rhino but she surprised us all by just being inside the entrance gate a time when my camera was still in its bag!   

  

 

Lion admirers...watch out behind you!

Break dancing elephant style

In addition to fuel consumption the other reason for our riding along at a relatively sedate speed is to avoid the ever increasing numbers of livestock which wander freely across the B8 main road. Cows, donkeys and goats seem to have developed the ability to avoid being hit by the Toyota Hiluxes which charge along at 130Kph, sporting very robust bull bars and usually towing trailers. Motorcycles are very rare and the livestock doesn’t seem to show the same awareness. Of course we would come off much worse in a collision, hence our prudence.

There is evidence of speeding cars getting it wrong. Perhaps the driver falls asleep or they have a tyre blow out but at the speed they travel at there is no time to recover. Something that the driver of the new large and abandoned Mercedes saloon car which had obviously barrel rolled, smashing all its panels and windows, will hopefully still be around to reflect on. 

In any event, for us, it is about the right speed to take in the views. The landscape is gradually getting greener the closer we get to the Angolan border. Straw hut settlements line the main road. Local schools with groups of very young children sitting outside in a disciplined semi-circle around their teacher. Collections of curios and artefacts created by those who live there. I can’t help wondering how they manage the basics, water, waste, etc.

Next up for us is the famous Victoria Falls. I think we are going to be firmly in the grip of Western tourist prices. It’s going to come as a shock!