It had been a long trip to Africa flying from Melbourne, Australia via Sydney and Johannesburg, and at one point crossing the edge of Antarctica. As the South African Airways plane started its final descent into Windhoek, the capital of Namibia, I knew that at last I was about to journey through a part of the world that I had always dreamed about. My journey would take me through Namibia in the southwest of Africa then to neighbouring Botswana and on to Zimbabwe to see Victoria Falls.
Namibia is a fairly new nation, having been under the
control of South Africa from 1920 to 1989, and prior to that it was a German
colony. I spent the first few days in Windhoek where I joined a small group
tour run by Intrepid and met my nine travelling companions. Windhoek is a
moderate sized city with German and South African influences evident in many
places. An interesting visit was made to Joe’s Beerhouse, a landmark restaurant
with a most unusual array of objects hanging from the roof and lining the
walls. A wide variety of the native wildlife is found on the menu as well as
more conventional dishes.
We travelled several hundred kilometres from Windhoek in our
specially designed vehicle to the desert region of Damaraland in North West
Namibia. We stayed at in the Huab Valley in a superbly located lodge designed
to blend in with the surrounding environment. In this area we saw ancient rock
paintings and engravings dating back several thousand years as well as
petrified forests amidst a spectacular landscape.
We were told that there were some small populations of
elephants living in the desert areas and that we might be able to find some
during our stay. We set out in a vehicle adapted for desert travel, and after a
few hours found signs of recent elephant activity. Finally we spotted some
elephants. We had come across a group of about twenty five elephants heading for
a watering hole. Since arriving in the desert many years ago these elephants
have adapted to their environment by having a smaller body, longer legs and
larger feet than other elephants.
Our next stop was Etosha National Park in Northern Namibia. This
park covers an area of over 22,000 kilometres. The area is arid and includes a
huge salt pan which fills with water during the brief wet season. As the area
dries out large numbers of animals are attracted to the remaining waterholes.
During our two days here we saw many animals including elephants, giraffe,
rhinoceros, lions, zebra, wildebeest, hyena and several types of antelope as
well as many bird species including ostrich.
After Etosha we travelled north to Rundu on the Angola
border. In the north of Namibia we saw many small villages with traditional round
houses and thatched rooves and the vegetation became more profuse. A sunset cruise on the Kavango River gave us
our first close up views of hippopotamus and crocodiles. After a night at a
riverside lodge we had an early start. We crossed the border into Botswana and
headed for the Okavango delta.
The Okavango delta is located in the desert and formed from
the Okavango River. It has no outlet so the water from the river spreads out
into thousands of small streams to form an amazing unspoilt wetland wilderness
covering 16,000 square kilometres. The delta contains a huge range of fauna and
rich flora. We were conveyed along delta tributaries by speedboat to our
houseboat where we spent the next two days. We explored the area by various
means including dugout canoes propelled by men using long poles.
After leaving the delta we headed back to Namibia to spend
the next few days in the area known as the Caprivi Strip. The Caprivi is
surrounded by four rivers, the Chobe, Kwando, Linyanti and the Zambezi. There
are forests and large wetlands areas along these rivers attracting many birds
and animals. Travelling on land and along rivers we spotted plenty of wildlife.
Crocodiles were seen in many places on the river banks and we came across some
large groups of hippos. During our time in this area we visited a village and were
able to interact with the villagers. We went to a school where about sixty
small children were being educated by two of the mothers.
From the Caprivi Strip we returned to Botswana and headed
for Kasane on the Chobe River. An afternoon and evening cruise on the Chobe
River was one of the highlights of the trip – a huge array of wildlife and
magnificent sunsets. We had one of the most memorable experiences here when we
saw a small family of elephants crossing the Chobe River using their trunks as
snorkels.
The trip was nearing its end as we crossed the border into
Zimbabwe. The immigration official at the border post looked at my Australian
passport, looked at me and then with a big smile said “G’day mate!” - a nice welcome to Zimbabwe. We travelled a
short distance to the town of Victoria Falls where we checked in to a lovely
old colonial hotel. We arrived at the Falls at lunch time and had plenty of
time to explore the area after lunch. The falls are a mile wide and fall over
100 metres into a narrow gorge below. This was a spectacular way to finish the
trip.
Overall the trip was thoroughly enjoyable. Another dream fulfilled!
