Day Nineteen: (Part One) - Road to Rundu,
Pulled out of Toshari Lodge at 8:30 am, heading for a gas station and a bank for people to fill up at both! Found these services in Outjo, about half an hour away. Then we headed for Otjiwarongo (or,as Noel put it, "Ottawa, the jungle"). (Noel is from Toronto and I lived in Ottawa for 10 years. Easterners will understand the "digs" to each other). :)
No breathtaking scenery on this drive but miles of flat land that was either grassland or dry, white earth with the same dead-looking, sparse, black trees that the elephants love to hide in. We also saw termite hills everywhere that stood between 5 and 7 feet tall! Huge mounds of earth that grew to a massive high point and were the colour of whatever the earth was at in that particular spot (red, white or yellow).
For lunch, Michael had pre-booked a local cattle farm that was on the way and it reminded us of the other oasis we had lunched at the day we thought we were on the moon with the bleak surroundings. The farm was called Gastefarm Ghaub (Ghaub Guest House) and also had been a former Mission, originally established in 1895. It was most recently bought by an Afrikaaner from Windhoek who grew maize on 250 of its hectares and raised beef cattle on the rest. He had also renovated the main building and accompanying structures to be a main lodge and 12 guest houses. The grounds were beautiful with a huge lawn, gardens, a pool and nice walking paths.
We were efficiently served a delicious lunch of steak (of course!) along with roasted potatoes and cooked beets in their own tasty sauce. Lunch also included a salad and dessert along with that. Cost? $15.00/person plus what you had to drink. Beer is usually about $1.50 which is about the same as water and juice.
Back on the road, it was straight highway for miles with small villages every 20 km. or so. A "small village" being 5 - 8 thatched huts surrounded by a woven stick fence as high as the huts. The only indication that we were approaching a village were the signs posting the speed on the side of the road. Instead of the average 100km./hr., the sign would say 80 km./hr. and would be followed by a school sign. Villagers, including children who looked as young as two, walked down the side of the road. Children would be walking to or from school or playing with makeshift soccer balls (rags tied in a ball) or sometimes helping their mothers carrying laundry, water or goods on top of their heads (you do not see men carrying in this way, only women).
To pass the time in our car, Alesa got out her IPad and pulled up cryptic crosswords. I had heard of the game before but never dared try it. Well, after some coaching and Noel impressing us with his "savant-like" answers within seconds, and Lynn and Alesa coming up close behind, I struggled to put my brain in gear and wrap it around these confusing, twisted, jumbled-up brain teasers of mean proportions. Way out of my league, I managed to answer about one in 20 before the rest of them - thereby keeping some self-respect and managing to keep my place in the car!
We finally arrived in the town of Rundu, an actual town with businesses, more development, houses made of metal and concrete and garbage in the streets. It looked like a manufacturing town with a lot of labourers and factories. There were many people walking in the streets to get to wherever they needed to go looking hot, tired and worn out. We drove through this bleak-looking town and then turned off down a sandy, dirt road that took us for miles past hovels, heaps of garbage piled on the side of the road, and the construction of multiple housing that all looked like identical little square cement houses lined up military style - not African style, at all. For me, it was sad to see this kind of "civilization".
Could this desolate, dusty road actually be leading us to a decent bed and meal, we wondered? Leave it to the travel agent. He, himself, had stayed here last May and found the place on the river to be warm and inviting. Indeed, when we finally drove through the gates and saw the main lodge with its dark red bricks, dark wood frame and huge thatched roof like the ones in England, we were relieved. Inside was a large room that housed the reception and restaurant and, off to one side, was a beautiful little bar made from polished slabs of hardwood that gave it a cozy, rustic feeling. Our rooms were very quaint as well with fresh, crisp white sheets and duvets on the beds and protective mosquito netting hung decoratively down around the bed like royalty.
The name of the lodge was Kaisosi and it was on the Ovango River, a natural border between Namibia and Angola. It was hot and humid so the breeze from the river gave us a bit of relief from the cloying heat. Because we had arrived late and were leaving early, I had elected to leave my suitcase in the car. After a quick freshen up after the long, hot drive, Alesa and I headed to the bar for a really cold beer before dinner. It was there we met Frankie (friendly, funny and happy) and Joe-Black (Joe dash Black), a truly engaging and delightful young man of my eldest son's age, who kept us entertained for the rest of the evening. After dinner, a few of us sat out on the deck with the cool night breeze and he regaled us with stories much to our delight!
Until tomorrow.......JT
Pulled out of Toshari Lodge at 8:30 am, heading for a gas station and a bank for people to fill up at both! Found these services in Outjo, about half an hour away. Then we headed for Otjiwarongo (or,as Noel put it, "Ottawa, the jungle"). (Noel is from Toronto and I lived in Ottawa for 10 years. Easterners will understand the "digs" to each other). :)
No breathtaking scenery on this drive but miles of flat land that was either grassland or dry, white earth with the same dead-looking, sparse, black trees that the elephants love to hide in. We also saw termite hills everywhere that stood between 5 and 7 feet tall! Huge mounds of earth that grew to a massive high point and were the colour of whatever the earth was at in that particular spot (red, white or yellow).
For lunch, Michael had pre-booked a local cattle farm that was on the way and it reminded us of the other oasis we had lunched at the day we thought we were on the moon with the bleak surroundings. The farm was called Gastefarm Ghaub (Ghaub Guest House) and also had been a former Mission, originally established in 1895. It was most recently bought by an Afrikaaner from Windhoek who grew maize on 250 of its hectares and raised beef cattle on the rest. He had also renovated the main building and accompanying structures to be a main lodge and 12 guest houses. The grounds were beautiful with a huge lawn, gardens, a pool and nice walking paths.
We were efficiently served a delicious lunch of steak (of course!) along with roasted potatoes and cooked beets in their own tasty sauce. Lunch also included a salad and dessert along with that. Cost? $15.00/person plus what you had to drink. Beer is usually about $1.50 which is about the same as water and juice.
Back on the road, it was straight highway for miles with small villages every 20 km. or so. A "small village" being 5 - 8 thatched huts surrounded by a woven stick fence as high as the huts. The only indication that we were approaching a village were the signs posting the speed on the side of the road. Instead of the average 100km./hr., the sign would say 80 km./hr. and would be followed by a school sign. Villagers, including children who looked as young as two, walked down the side of the road. Children would be walking to or from school or playing with makeshift soccer balls (rags tied in a ball) or sometimes helping their mothers carrying laundry, water or goods on top of their heads (you do not see men carrying in this way, only women).
To pass the time in our car, Alesa got out her IPad and pulled up cryptic crosswords. I had heard of the game before but never dared try it. Well, after some coaching and Noel impressing us with his "savant-like" answers within seconds, and Lynn and Alesa coming up close behind, I struggled to put my brain in gear and wrap it around these confusing, twisted, jumbled-up brain teasers of mean proportions. Way out of my league, I managed to answer about one in 20 before the rest of them - thereby keeping some self-respect and managing to keep my place in the car!
We finally arrived in the town of Rundu, an actual town with businesses, more development, houses made of metal and concrete and garbage in the streets. It looked like a manufacturing town with a lot of labourers and factories. There were many people walking in the streets to get to wherever they needed to go looking hot, tired and worn out. We drove through this bleak-looking town and then turned off down a sandy, dirt road that took us for miles past hovels, heaps of garbage piled on the side of the road, and the construction of multiple housing that all looked like identical little square cement houses lined up military style - not African style, at all. For me, it was sad to see this kind of "civilization".
Could this desolate, dusty road actually be leading us to a decent bed and meal, we wondered? Leave it to the travel agent. He, himself, had stayed here last May and found the place on the river to be warm and inviting. Indeed, when we finally drove through the gates and saw the main lodge with its dark red bricks, dark wood frame and huge thatched roof like the ones in England, we were relieved. Inside was a large room that housed the reception and restaurant and, off to one side, was a beautiful little bar made from polished slabs of hardwood that gave it a cozy, rustic feeling. Our rooms were very quaint as well with fresh, crisp white sheets and duvets on the beds and protective mosquito netting hung decoratively down around the bed like royalty.
The name of the lodge was Kaisosi and it was on the Ovango River, a natural border between Namibia and Angola. It was hot and humid so the breeze from the river gave us a bit of relief from the cloying heat. Because we had arrived late and were leaving early, I had elected to leave my suitcase in the car. After a quick freshen up after the long, hot drive, Alesa and I headed to the bar for a really cold beer before dinner. It was there we met Frankie (friendly, funny and happy) and Joe-Black (Joe dash Black), a truly engaging and delightful young man of my eldest son's age, who kept us entertained for the rest of the evening. After dinner, a few of us sat out on the deck with the cool night breeze and he regaled us with stories much to our delight!
Until tomorrow.......JT
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