Day 12….Etosha National Park….continued In my last blog I somehow forgot to mention that we also visited the Etosha Pan on Day 12. The pan is a large salt plain, forming part of the Kalahari Basin. It is a hollow in the ground in which water may collect or in which a deposit of salt remains after water has evaporated. It had recently rained so there were a few puddles with a surprise in them….Terrapins. Apparently when its dry, the terrapin bury themselves in the mud and stay there until the rain. The can stay buried for up to 2 years. It seemed such a mad thing to see in the desert.
Day 13….. Etosha to Windhoek Another early start and a longish drive to the capital of Namibia, Windhoek. We saw loads of wild animals on route, which is why I think the drive took so long, because we had to keep stopping to look at them and take pictures. When we got to Windhoek we were given a walking tour of some of the main sights and a history lesson about Namibia. The guide was just a young woman who was so interesting and engaging. Listening to her talk, makes you realise that with the young people being educated and active in promoting change, there is real hope for the future.
North Korea has invested a lot in Namibia in exchange for uranium!!!
The worse part of day 13 was that we were losing 2 members of our gang. Marion and Wietze had to finish their tour to return to work in Holland. Marion and me had a few tears. She is an ITU nurse and we had great chats about health care etc. Holland is pretty much having the same nursing shortages as we are in the UK. We had a great meal at Joes Beer House to say goodbye.
Day 14……Windhoek to Ghanzi (Botswana) We had a mini lie-in today, because our trunk needed a few repairs doing before we could set off. It still was 9am when we had to be ready to leave. The truck wasn’t ready at 9am though and we had to hang around a bit. The weather was also a bit overcast. We seemed to have a long day in the truck, which included another boarder crossing into Botswana. (Have I mentioned before, that I love a boarder crossing)
For whatever reason, by the time we got to our accommodation that evening, I was in a bit of a bad mood, (hopefully only I knew that fact), which is a shame, because the lodgings were really nice. After dinner there was a San Tribal Dance, display, but I excused myself and took me and the bad mood off to bed early….it was just what we needed.
Day 15….. Ghanzi to Okavango Delta. Feeling better the next morning, I joined the group and we had a SanPeople guided walk, learning how they live, their culture and how they survive in the harsh conditions. Really interesting walk.
After a shortish drive we get to Maun, which was quite a busy little town where lots of tourists gather to go into the Okavango Delta. We stopped and had lunch and pretty much had a free afternoon to enjoy the pool at our accommodation. And the most exciting part of today, was that it was Pat and David’s 60th Wedding anniversary. The hotel laid out a lovely table for us all and we celebrated with lots of bottles of bubbly. Such a wonderful couple and such a privilege to have met them and be part of their special day.
And finally….if you want to start a fire and can’t get your hands on any zebra poop, vegan poop will probably do ?? (not my joke, stolen).