Beautiful Desolation: The Namibia Tour

I have, in fact, returned alive from eight wonderful days in the Namibian desert. There are so many stories to tell, so many experiences to relate, so many sights I have yet to comprehend. The immensity of the place, the vastness really inspires an almost zen sense in you, of being alone amidst creation, and part of it. I think it would be impossible to relate the entire experience to you in one post, and I will probably write more comparing Namibia to South Africa and beyond over the rest of my 10 weeks here. For now, what I can give you is a snapshot. Throughout the tour, I kept a journal of my experiences and thoughts, the sights and sounds. That journal is reproduced, in its entirety, below. I tried to do it in a Bill Simmons-esque, running diary fashion over the eight days, so it takes the form of my thoughts from one moment to the next without a whole lot of conclusion. Be forewarned, this is a VERY long post. It is raw and unedited. You are lucky to be getting the reproduced version, as it is a little hard to read my low-tech chicken scratch, especially when riding along in a VW Microbus on Namibia's gravel roads. Anyway, here is the diary. I hope you enjoy it.

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FRIDAY, 8 SEPTEMBER
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2300 - We arrived in Windhoek this evening to a cloudy desert sky. Just my luck, the one time in my entire life that I go to the desert, it rains. As we pulled into the gate at Hosea Kutako International Airport, so 50km to the west of the capital, the dying sun poked through the clouds as it fought its losing battle against the desert night. We drove out into the desert in a minivan, shepherded into Windhoek by a minibus driver named Corrie, and watched the increasingly reddening orb as it fell beneath the distant mountains and night fell across the vast expanse. We arrived at the Cardboard Box hostel just after nightfall to a brewing happy hour of American emigres and a gaggle of fellow travellers. We met Per, a Swede, who can only be described as "on a mission." Having spent 2 1/2 years in Australia, Per and some other random friends he has met along the way are driving a Land Rover from Cape Town to Sweden. (Google "cruisingcontinents.com" for more information). It makes our National Lampoon's-esque journey look like a walk in the park. He will traverse about every war-torn area in the world - including, but not limited to, Uganda, Sudan, and the Middle East - before returning home to Stockholm. Also, as I mentioned earlier, we ran into a bunch of American college students just getting started on their program at the University of Namibia. Spent a good deal of time talking politics and development with them (and college basketball, as a few of them went to Chapel Hill, and I, of course, am an avowed Duke Blue Devils fan) over more than a few Tafel lagers, the finest Namibia has to offer. Amazingly, I'm looking forward to tomorrow's early wake-up call as I settle in for a night's rest. To explore the vastness of this country will be quite an adventure, I'm sure. To see places and experience things I otherwise never would, nor of which I have never even conceived. The differences, the 180-degree turnabout from anything in my consciousness, that is what makes this moment, this journey so special.

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SATURDAY, 9 SEPTEMBER
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0945 - We are officially off the beaten path. Having met our guide, Andre Blaauw of Foxtrot Tours, this morning at the backpackers, we journeyed south from Windhoek on the route to Sesriem and Sossusvlei. As our red minibus rolled down the B1, we left behind the last vestiges of civilization and began traversing the savannah. Guarded by mountains on each side, the paved road, soon to be a novelty was long and straight only the occasional undulation. We made a brief stop at Rehoboth (I wanted to take a picture in my "Why Not Us?" t-shirt and send it to Red Sox Color Commentator Jerry Remy, but alas, there wasn't time) to pick up supplies (Beer). As I write this entry, we are on the C24 gravel road, having left pavement behind as we wind our way throught the mountains towards Sesriem and our stop for the evening. The vegetation is growing a bit sparser now, and the smell of desert dust fills the air.

1130 - "Road to Nowhere" by the Talking Heads comes over the stereo. A little on the nose, don't you think?

1135 - "I bless the rains down in AAAAAAAAAAAAA-frica..." Yeah, so that happened. Kevin's a pretty awesome DJ.

1215 - We take a journeyman's lunch of roast beef sandwiches amidst the towering Naukluft mountains. These sentries guard the semi-arid savannah we've been driving through all morning from the Namib Desert, which at 85 million years old, is the world's oldest, according to Andre. We're climbing the switchbacks now, on our way into the sand seas, where life itself is endangered by nature on a daily basis.

1520 - We are now settled in at Sesriem Campground. Wiled away the day's heat in the pool, lounging with what sounded like Angolan Portuguese as well as some other Capetonians. With the heat dissipating, we are headed to Elim's Dune for an evening hike. As we enter the Namib-Naukluft Park on the Sossusvlei Road, we can the vegetation, or lack of it, changing rapidly from savannah into desert. We should see an even more marked change at Sossusvlei tomorrow, but Elim's Dune, red and off in the distance, should be a good introduction.

1645 - "CAN'T STOP! CANNOT STOP!!! AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!" That's the sound I make when I run, full bore, down a giant sand dune. I made the hardest 1km (not vertical) of my life all the way to the top, and despite spending about 10 minutes trying not to vomit, the view was astounding. We all sat in wonder and awe as the beautiful desolation lay out before us. Each of us, to a man, asking, "Where are we, and how in hell did we get here?" We all know the answer now: "This is Africa, and by sheer force of will."

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SUNDAY, 10 SEPTEMBER
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0600 - One night of camping down, we set out for Sossusvlei in the pre-dawn Sunday morning calm. Managed to survive the night relatively comfortably and without animal or insect interaction. Moonlight on the dunes creates an ethereal fog, painting the landscape in a grey mist as the night begins its transfer of power to the day.

0640 - Still on the Sossusvlei Road. As we move west, the dawn begins to break over the dunes. The grey pallor of moonlight has given way to a host of hues; reds, pinks, fiery burnt orange and faint blue. The day is at hand now.

0820 - The heat of the day is already gathering as we continue on from Dune 45 to Deadvlei and Sossusvlei. Running (and falling...and getting up and running and falling again) down Dune 45 was quite the experience. I almost wish I had skis and could have carves my way down the virgin, ephemeral surface. As we leapt and - Kevin's word here - "pranced" down the duneside, the incredibly carefree nature of the moment gripped me. It was like being 5 years old at O'Maley School with Kate and Patrick rolling down the hill while our moms walked the track. Though I came up literally covered in red dune sand, and I had absolutely no desire to walk back up and try it again - both marked departures from my youthful adventures - here I was, in Africa, marvelling, both at nature in 360 degrees, and in the hindsight of my own journey here.

1045 - Never has there been a more appropriate name than Deadvlei. The clay bed, surrounded by the tallest dunes in the Namib is quite literally bereft of life. The most eerie sensation was hearing the chirping of birds, signs of life with dead, 900-year old, standing trees. Our own existences questioned in a place where life is not meant to thrive.

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MONDAY, 11 SEPTEMBER
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0730 - We set off for Swakopmund under the glow of yet another beautiful desert dawn. Spent one last fun night at the campground, discussing issues of import. At one point, we began talking about Steve Biko and "Cry Freedom." Andre became interested in our conversation, asking bluntly, "Do you believe everything you see in movies?" We all demeured slightly, knowing Andre's personal history: educated at Stellenbosch - the outpost of Afrikaner nationalist thought, first language of Afrikaans, retired special ops for the South African Defense Forces under the apartheid regime. The conversation moved along haltingly at first, each of us hoping it would be civil. In the end, it was that and also enlightening as Andre gave us a perspective on apartheid that is missed in both U.S. educational circles as well as UCT, the academic bastion of the anti-Apartheid movement. And while I do not agree with his conception of the movement being, in his words, "overblown," I do agree that, in America at least, the issue was largely misunderstood because of misinformation in many circles. Andre spoke of his best friend in the military who was a Black African, and shot dead standing on the line right next to him. Apartheid did breed deep division to be sure, but interestingly, in Andre's words, it also bred a quixotic sense of commonality of being part of a bad situation.

0830 - We are continuing up the C19 towards Solitaire. The grit of the gravel roads begins to settle in my nose and throat. I'm definitely looking forward to our apple tart stop in Solitaire, because as much I am loving this trip and this place and want to take it all in, I'd rather not choke on it!

0930 - Well, I can officially say I went on Spring Break in the Tropics as we pass the sign marking the Tropic of Capricorn. Pretty much, it's just a sign in the middle of the desert with nothing (and I mean, NOTHING) around. Still, a milestone nonetheless.

1415 - "Is that my shin sticking out?!?!?! AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!" Luckily, it wasn't, but, indoor kid that I am, I managed to roll a 4x4 ATV on my left leg while on the dunes between Walvis Bay and Swakopmund. Only superficial damage, but I did needed to be driven back by our guide. Before the accident, we got soem amazing views of the sand seas with the ocean in the background...at 60km/h. My mom's gonna kill me.

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TUESDAY, 12 SEPTEMBER
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1030 - On the road to Hentiesbaai and the Damaraland after a fun night in Swakopmund. In a stunning twist of fate, our fellow interstudy friends who are also travelling in Namibia showed up at the same bar we were at last night. Without email, cell phones or communication of any kind, we somehow knew to find each other at a certain time, in a certain place. Just goes to show, fate will always bring good people together, even in farflung, ex-German colonial outposts. Dinner at Cape to Cairo restaurant was excellent last night as well. I had an excellent kudu steak in mushroom sauce. The choices on the menu showed off the best African cuisine had to offer. We got to share appetizers like fried crocodile, orix in blue cheese sauce and Nigerian-style meatballs. Quite the fete culinaire!

1230 - There are some times Andre stops the minibus and says, "We're here," and we all respond "Uh...we're where exactly?" Just now, we stopped at a "rest area" (read: picnic table in the desert) just short of the Brondberg, Namibia's highest peak. There is literally the mountain and then NOTHING as far as the eye can see. After a quick stop, and toss of the new NERF football we found - miraculously - in Hentiesbaai, we were off again. But, it is becoming increasingly clear that nothing encapsulates the Namibian experience more than the phrase, "We're here."

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WEDNESDAY, 13 SEPTEMBER
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1350 - We are on the Halali Road inside Etosha National Park. We aren't supposed to be able to see any animals in the heat of the day. Of course, that means we have already seen legions of springbok, zebra and orix. Oh yeah, and about 20 elephants. We haven't even gotten to the campsite yet! This, after last night sleeping - or, in my case, not sleeping - in a dry river bed in the Damaraland with elephants all around us to be heard, though not seen. Etosha is flat, barren and hot. And yet, as we have already seen, full of life.

1910 - Writing by the light of the braai tonight in Halali Camp. We are all marvelling - and I know I'm using that word a lot, but still, we are marvelling - at the immense luck we've had today. In the space of 90 minutes, in the heat of the day no less, we saw all the animals I already mentioned, plus giraffes, wildebeest and even MORE of everything else. Andre even admits that what we lucked into today is part of the magic of Etosha. Many hot days like today, you won't see anything with the animals taking shelter from the hot African sun. And yet, here we came, unannounced and drove right into a herd of elephants drinking at a water hole, sunning themselves, then thundering majestically, if haltingly, across the plain. It is sights like this one, of nature in full array, in its element that makes Namibia, wild and untamed, worth every moment.

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THURSDAY, 14 SEPTEMBER
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0952 - Lions. That is all.

1330 - How is it that I've only been here a day and I'm already getting desensitized to animals? We were just sitting at the Namutoni watering hole literally surrounded by impala and zebra and kudu, and after sitting for just a few minutes, we all just looked at each other and said "Well, it's slow here, let's get back on the road." Never before would I have considered such a scene "dead." But, you know, I've now seen lion and elephant up close and personal. That's gonna change my perceptions. We're taking the afternoon and driving through the Great Etosha Pan, the clay bed of an ancient sea, formed ages ago and dead for centuries. It should bring an interesting change from game viewing, a reversion back to the desolation of Deadvlei.

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FRIDAY, 15 SEPTEMBER
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0940 - We have been very lucky so far here in Etosha. But then you have days like today. It's a little warmer and that seems to be keeping the animals out of sight. We did get a treat last night with four rhinoceros at the Halali watering hole, so we have now seen all of Etosha's big boys. Still, despite the lack of animals this morning, the relaxing drive is a fitting close to our visit here.

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SATURDAY, 16 SEPTEMBER
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0900 - As we roll down the (paved, thankfully) road towards Outjo and Windhoek, our voyage is officially at an end. We had one more 'Etosha Magic' moment last night. We thought we would take a leisurely stroll to the watering hole and watch the sunset one last time over the Etoshan expanse. Sure enough, jsut as we were getting ready to leave, 20 elephants descend under the red, dying sun for a quick drink. Just when you think you're having a slow day! I am excited to return to Cape Town, despite still having one paper due Monday afternoon which is conspicuously unfinished. This trip has put a lot in prespective for me. Rest assured, I am still an indoor kid. My thought, upon waking up this morning in our rather cramped tent was, "Ah ha! I survived." I will not necessarily miss that part, nor the fact that I have showered in five days, nor shaven in nine. My left leg is shredded, and my feet are blistered from wearing shoes without socks for eight days. I'm getting pretty tired of the strains of "Rooi Rok Bakkie" and other Afrikaans pop music. Seriously, I honestly cannot believe anyone would like it, but Andre seems to be a pretty big fan. But then I remember dawn at Dune 45, roaming with elephants, wandering through the desert and all the other wonderful parts of the trip (even quad biking...you know, up to the 'almost breaking my leg' part) and realize I wouldn't trade a minute of it for a shave, shower or proper bed.