The American Invasion: Part 2

So I split this post into two parts because I knew if I posted it all the same day, most of you would skim through the words because it would have been excessively long for one post. Here is the second part of our journey.

Arrive Daniel and Elyse:

*Daniel is my brother and Elyse is his wife

We met up with Daniel and Elyse in Cape Town after our ridiculously long bus ride, and stayed there just long enough to grab some lunch before we hit the road again. To give you an overview of the trip: We started in Cape Town, drove up the eastern coast, flew out of Johannesburg, and had and awesome time along the way. Also, there is a video at the end, so be sure you click the link to watch it after you have read everything!

Robertson

Cheers!

There are literally hundreds of vineyards around the Cape Town area and it is known for having some of the best wine in the world, so wine tasting is obviously a pretty big attraction for anyone coming to visit. We stayed our first night in a small town called Robertson, mainly because it was on the way to our next destination. However, we ended up going by a vineyard (which was not planned) to taste some of their wine and were met with an unexpected surprise - all wine tastings in Robertson are 100% free (which I believe you have to pay everywhere else to try wine) and you can basically have as much as you want. To give an example, one of the waitresses at a vineyard just brought us several full bottles of wine from their sample list and left them on our table. When we left, she asked, “Wait, is that all?” Relax parents, we were responsible. Responsiblish. 

New Years Eve

We spent New Years Eve at one of the coolest beaches I have ever seen in a town called Sedgefield. That night was quite a spectacle (sorry, no pictures though). There were hundreds of people on the beach, most of whom were setting off fireworks literally right above our heads. You know those Chinese Lanterns that have a candle at the base and float up into the sky? Well, hundreds of those were flying out over the ocean for several hours. There were a few “fire twirlers” that had flaming balls on the end of their spinning strings while they were dancing around like crazy people. Lights, fire, and explosions were everywhere around us it seemed. It was a great time and something we would be very unlikely to see back in the U.S.

Kloofing

In a town called Wilderness, the four of us spent the day kloofing. Kloofing you ask? What the heck is that? Well, typically whilst one kloofs, you hike/swim along the banks of a river through a gorge or deep ravine and spend the day swimming and jumping off cliffs down into the water. It is the dream day for an adrenaline junky.  Some of the jumps we went off of were pretty intense, with the highest of the day being about 35 feet. I would talk more about this, but instead - just watch the video at the end! Thanks to Daniel’s GoPro camera, we were able to get some great action video throughout the trip.

Me, jumping off into the dark water

The whole group posing for a picture during kloofing.

The whole group, right before we went swimming at the base of a waterfall.

Safari Time

Daniel and Elyse, of course, wanted to go on a safari while in Africa (who wouldn’t?) so we spent an entire day in two different game parks, both conveniently located right next to each other. The first one we went into was called Addo Elephant Park, and for good reason too - I have never seen so many elephants! Within five minutes of being in the park, we could of practically reached out and touched the herds of elephants that were next to the dirt road. We saw herds numbering around 100 elephants at the same waterhole, just drinking and rolling around in the mud.

Some of the many elephants we saw at Addo Elephant Park.

After Addo, we went into the private game reserve right next door called Schotia for a 6 hour guided safari, followed with dinner and drinks. We saw two white rhinos (white rhinos are the second biggest land mammal behind elephants) and we were lucky enough to see a female lion with a fresh kill from about 20 feet away. Watching a lion eat is not as pleasant as I thought it would be.... snapping tendons is not really a nice sound (a short 2 second clip is in the video)

A full grown, male lion. He was huge.

The female lion we saw, digging in deep for a hearty bite from a dead Blesbock.

Side note: Poaching

Namibia and South Africa have some of the best conservation programs in the world, and are doing a great job overall. However, despite their efforts, poaching is still a huge problem throughout Africa. Here are some facts: It is estimated that 50 years ago, there were 200,000 lions in Namibia. Do you know how many there are now? About 800. In 2012, South Africa lost an average of two rhinos per day due to poaching. Lions are hunted for their bones and rhinos are hunted, obviously, for their horns. But do you know who is supplying the demand for lion bones and rhino horns? The Chinese. Who would have thought? It is a wildly held belief in China (and has been for thousands of years) that rhino horns can cure anything from the flu to hangovers to cancer, while the science says they have absolutely no health benefits at all. Rhino horns are made of the exact same thing as our finger nails and will grow back if you shave them off. But, that is not the belief in China and the wealthy Chinese are willing to pay up to $65,000 per kg of rhino horn. They are worth more than their weight in gold. With lion bones, they make some weird sex potion that is also completely unsubstantiated by science. Weird. Either way, there is big time money in poaching and it has gotten much worse in recent years due to the booming Chinese economy. There are talks of having tightly regulated legal horn trade to try to curve the rhino poaching and eventually kill the black market trade. I guess time will tell, but something needs to happen fast.

Two white rhinos who were poached about one year ago. Luckily, they just cut off the horns and didn't kill them

Hogsback 

This bathtub probably has the best view in the world.

Hogsback is said to be the fantastical area that J. R. R. Tolkien used to visit as a child, which eventually inspired him to write the acclaimed book The Hobbit. Whether or not that is true, I have no idea. But what I do know is that when we went on our 5 hour hike in the forrest around Hogsback, it felt like we were in a fairy tail. Waterfalls, streams, bright green moss, and noisy monkeys were everywhere around us. We went for a swim in a couple of the swimming holes and were able to eat fresh blackberries, picked straight from the bushes along the way.

The backpackers that we stayed at was called Away With The Fairies (funny name, I know) and they claim to have the world’s scariest treehouse. Let me tell you, it definitely lives up to the claim. It was about 50 feet up in a tree and had a sketchy series of ladders and an even sketchier “house” at the top. To give you an idea of the sketchiness, Lindsey refused to climb up it and Elyse wouldn’t stand up once we were on the top even though the view was spectacular. One day, that thing is coming down. So yes, I would agree that it is probably the world’s scariest treehouse.

One of the many waterfalls we saw while hiking.

Coffee Bay

This was my favorite destination on the trip. Coffee Bay is located on The Wild Coast of South Africa and is certainly deserving of its name. It is said to be a hikers’ paradise with incredible views of endless coastline, jagged cliffs, and sheltered bays. There are also scattered seaside villages with traditional huts and all the domesticated animals  you can think of grazing right up next to the beach and on the edge of cliffs. It literally was wild as wild can be. We met this one crazy German guy at our backpackers that said, “When I first came here, I only checked in for one night, but I somehow ended up staying for six years.” I would never stay that long, but I could certainly see the draw to the place.

Some of the many sheep we saw scattered across the hills on the Wild Coast.

The view of our hiking trail along the coast

We went on a full day hike along the coast and through several villages to a place known as The Hole in the Wall. It is a secluded bay that is almost completely surrounded by high cliffs, except that one of the cliffs has a big hole (more like a cave really) at the base leading out to the ocean, where the waves from the outside were constantly crashing through. Lindsey and I swam out to it, but kept a safe distance away  from the rocks and the pounding waves. 

The whole group before we started our full day hike.

Lindsey and Elyse... flexing?

Daniel and I spent a few hours boogie boarding and surfing in the ocean by our backpackers. Before we started, the surf instructor said, “Yeah so, today is pretty much the worst conditions you can possibly have for surfing. The wind is howling, the waves are breaking early, and the current is relentless. But, you will probably still have fun.”  To me, surfing that day was more frustrating than fun since we were constantly fighting the current and our boards kept trying to fly away like kites in the wind, but I am still glad we did it.

Daniel and I fighting the wind to keep our boards from flying away.

I was practicing my signature move, called falling.

Scuba Diving

The last part of our adventure with Daniel and Elyse was in the town of Ukomaas, where we went scuba diving on a reef called the  Aliwal Shoal. The Aliwal Shoal is rated as one of the best 10 dive locations in the world. The area is known for the thousands of ragged tooth sharks that hang around the reef and feed during their annual migration. Unfortunately for us, the sharks had already migrated through so we didn’t see any on our dives. However, the dives were still awesome. I have only been on a few dives before, and these two were far better. There was colorful and abundant sea life on the reef all around us, ranging from giant tortoises to tiny orange clownfish and their anemones. The current was so strong that our dive group got separated a few times in a matter of seconds - It happens when you are looking down, watching the fish and then you look up to make sure you are still with the group and find yourself all alone. It can happen really fast and is a little scary when you find ourself on the outside of the group.

Elyse, looking at the camera on the way down.

We said goodbye to Daniel and Elyse right before they flew out of Johannesburg airport, and Lindsey and I followed the next day. To you guys - we had an absolute blast, went on some awesome hikes, and we love and will miss you both a lot. Be safe and have fun in your new house up in Oklahoma. We will come for a visit when we get back!

VIDEO - MUST WATCH!!!

To watch a video of our trip, click here to take you to youtube, or click the play button below.

Back in the Village

Alas, after a month of nonstop traveling, we returned back to the “village chillage” of Mayara. School just started back up, and Lindsey and I are going to try to make the most of our last 9 months in Namibia. We are pumped to get this year started and will hopefully get a lot of productive things done this term. While teaching is still the main reason that we are here, both of us are going to try to put more emphasis on doing things/projects outside of the classroom this year. I will give you more info about that as things happen! As always, thanks everyone for your prayers and until next time..

Peace,

Tim

The American Invasion

December and January were both absolutely crazy for Lindsey and I. Crazy fun, but also crazy busy. Both sets of our parents, plus Lindsey’s brother and sister, came to Namibia for an all out Namibian excursion. Then, before our parents were even out of the country, Lindsey and I hopped on a bus for a 21 hour drive down to Cape Town to meet my brother and his wife. When we finally arrived back in our village, we realized that we never slept in the same place for more than two nights in nearly 35 days! Even right now as I am writing this I am thinking - should I really be typing right now? Or should I go take a nap? Well, to put your suspense to rest, I decided to take a nap. Now, here are the highlights.

Arrive the parents:

Both of our families flew into Namibia on the same flight and we met them at a hotel in downtown Windhoek. We hadn’t seen each other in a year and a half, so it was certainly good to be able to talk face to face. 

Sossusvlei

The first leg of our journey was to Sossusvlei - the home of the biggest sand dunes in the world. Lindsey and I went there in December of 2012 as well, but it was definitely worth visiting again. In my opinion, Sossusvlei is the coolest place in all of Namibia. Our first morning we woke up at 4:00 AM (and hence begun a pattern of erratic sleep that continued for the entire break) to try to catch the sunrise on top of Big Daddy. Big Daddy is the tallest sand dune in the world, coming in at about 1065 feet. Also, Big Daddy is the actual name of the dune, so don’t think I am just being weird and calling it that ha!

The view of some dunes as the sun was coming up.

Lindsey and I at the top of Big Daddy

 Our entire group made it up to the top of the dune (high five everyone!), and we spent around an hour up there eating breakfast and taking pictures. If you are thinking that climbing a 1065 foot dune sounds easy..... well, you should just come to Namibia and try it. 

The rest of the group making their way up.

The temperature in Sossusvlei is always really cool in the morning, but by around 10 AM, you better be near your car. Within about 30 minutes, the temperature went from being refreshingly cool to scorching hot. We spent the rest of our day by the pool in our lodge as we watched the heat rise off the sizzling red dunes in the distance.

Some dead trees on Dead Vlei at the base of Bid Daddy. 

Swakopmund

I have talked about Swakopmund several times in this blog before, so hopefully you are at least a little familiar with the name. Swakopmund is an incredibly nice, little German town that is wedged in between the dessert and the coast, and almost the entire population is white. What makes this town so weird/unique/awesome is that it is in Namibia - a third world/developing country in Africa. It doesn’t really “fit in” with the typical African town you know?

Just trying to get some solid head shots. I call this one magnum. It is far superior to blue steel.

Myself, Jim, John, and Kaitlyn all went four wheeling in the sand dunes just outside the city for a full 3 hour excursion. It was honestly one of the most fun “extreme” activities I have ever done. I knew it was going to be fun, but I never thought it would be that fun. It was like being on a roller coaster that you are completely in charge of - both delightful and terrifying at the same time. Afterwards, we all went out to eat at a German restaurant and enjoyed some good ‘ole wiener schnitzels and boots of beer.

Jim enjoying a boot. Look how happy he is.

Cape Cross Seal Reserve

The Cape Cross Seal Reserve is a giant seal colony about 2 hours north of Swakopmund. It also happens to be calving season here, so there were tons of baby seals waddling around. This seal colony was something really cool to see once, but I would never want to go again. Why is that you ask? Thousands and thousands of seals living in a pretty concentrated area makes up for one awful smell. No joke, it was the worst smell I have ever been around in my life. We were there for maybe 10 minutes before we all jumped back in the car to get away from the nasty stench. So as I said, it was worth seeing once, but not again.

A wrecked ship off the coast that we saw on the way to the seal reserve. 

Some of the many smelly seals.

Desert Elephants

The rare desert elephant.

For our first safari of the whole trip, we headed out in search of the “rare and illusive” desert elephants, as our guide put it. We drove out into this mountainous desert area around Khorixas (if any of you care to look up where the town is) and found several groups of elephants near a small, lush riverbed floor. Desert elephants are classified as their own species because they have several small adaptions to help them better survive in areas with such little rain.  They look exactly the same as a normal African elephant, however, they don’t become quite as big when they are fully grown. We got within about 10 feet of a handful of elephants, which was the closest I had ever been by far. So for our first safari as a group, I would say it was a really nice one. 

Etosha

Etosha is Namibia’s largest game park and boasts to be one of the best game viewing venues in the world. Lindsey and I also went there in August towards the end of the dry season, where all of the animals were forced to drink at the few remaining waterholes. Now, our family came in December, which is the peak of the rainy season. They say rainy season is a bad time to come since it usually causes animals to scatter as they can find water anywhere. They don’t come to the waterholes and it is hard to see through all the dense bush next to the road. 

A lion crossing the dirt road right behind us in Etosha.

When we went on our first safari, Lindsey and I kept saying, “Now guys, don’t be disappointed if we don’t see a lot. Just don’t get your hopes up.” I was expecting to hardly see anything. And what happens? Within five minutes of being in the park - bam, a lion drinking from a puddle in the middle of the road. Then, like 20 minutes later, more lions. Then several herds of giraffes, zebras, and everything else you can imagine. Then, as we were leaving the park, yet again more lions laying down in the road trying to soak up the remaining heat of the sun as it went down. The rain certainly didn’t stop our game viewing adventures, but it sure did make the temperature outside amazing. 

The entire group out on the Etosha Pan.

Up to the Kavango

Christmas night, right after dinner.

After a lot of driving, we finally made it up north to the Kavango Region (where Lindsey and I live) on Christmas Day. We stayed in an awesome lodge that has a giant deck overlooking the Kavango River, where it is impossible to go 15 minutes without hearing a hippo grunt rumbling somewhere in the distance. That evening, we went on a sunset cruise across the river searching for hippos and crocs. I bet our family never expected to be so close to the most dangerous animal in Africa on Christmas. The terribly annoying song I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas now has a new meaning. 

The Village Invasion

The next day, our entire family came to visit our village. I am not sure about this so don’t quote me, but I bet there have never been so many white people in Mayara at the same time. We got to show them our huts, our school, and gave them a tour of our village. So finally, after a year and a half, our parents were able to actually see how we live. Lindsey and I taught them the basic greetings in Thimbukushu - things like hello and how are you?, which they got to put into action when we were walking around. We also taught Jim to say “Hello, where is the beer?” - which is, “Moro, kupi bira?” That made a lot of people laugh.

Lindsey and Kaitlyn smiling for a picture in our sleeping hut.

Lindsey drawing pictures in the dirt with our host mom's daughter.

My family standing in the doorway to our homestead.

All the villagers were really happy to see and meet our family, and everything went surprisingly smooth. I was afraid that we might get bombarded by people asking for money if a big group of 8 white people were walking around with a few big cameras around their necks. However, not a single person asked for anything. Everyone was so excited to meet our family, shake their hands, and have a picture taken with them.  

Africat

Africat is a huge private game reserve that specializes in big cat conservation - mainly cheetahs and leopards. I had never seen a wild leopard before, and it was the last of The Big Five that I still hadn’t seen. (The Big Five includes elephants, rhinos, water buffalo, lions, and leopards) Our first morning there we woke up before the sunrise so our guide could take us leopard tracking before it got too hot. Within about an hour we found a leopard with a cub that was around 8 months old (I think) and watched as the cub continually pounced on its mom. It was actually pretty funny, and they seemed to have the same mannerisms as a house cat. Of course, leopards are no house cats. We also saw some cheetahs, a pack of wild dogs (wild dogs are endangered, and also REALLY ugly), and a couple of lions from a distance.

A full grown male leopard eating his breakfast.

A lazy group of wild dogs that we found soon after they ate.

This one is for you Maria (Lindsey’s mom): So our guide told us about an interesting tradition in Namibia and then demonstrated for us as follows. He picked up a handful of dried gemsbock poo, put one small, scrumptious pellet in his mouth, swished it around a little bit for lubrication, and then spit it as far as he could. He said it is common to do at weddings and big events - kind of like a watermelon seed spitting contest is for us, except in this contest you spit poo. At first I thought he was trying to play a prank on us, but then he threw the sucker in his mouth and spit. We dove in as well and competed for the gold. Maria won. She is officially the best poo spitter. Now the whole world knows. Congratulations!

Interesting Cat Facts for those interested in interesting facts: According to our guide, if a cheetah charges you, all you have to do is stand your ground and you will be fine 100% of the time - it is always a mock charge as humans are too big of prey for cheetahs, so they don’t attack us. With lions, you can also stand your ground and you will “most likely” be ok. Lions will charge you in an act of aggression but hardly ever attack you unless you turn and run. So the key thing to remember is - whatever you do, don’t run. Now, with a leopard, if it charges you.... you’re dead. They don’t back down against other animals and are extremely aggressive. They are also the most powerful cat when you compare its strength relative to its size. It is significantly stronger than even a lion (although a lion would easily kill a leopard because they are 2-3 times bigger). A leopard can carry prey up to three times its own weight up a tree to eat it, which is nearly 600 pounds for a full grown male. That is one powerful cat.

The Last Supper - KFC

Surprisingly enough, the last meal with our parents was KFC. They flew out on a Sunday, so KFC was literally our only option (everything in Namibia is closed on Sundays except KFC apparently). Anyway, to our families - Thanks SO much for coming to visit and treating Lindsey and I to some of the best lodges in Namibia and all eight safaris. We had such a blast and I don’t think I have ever eaten better food. We both love you all and don’t worry, we will come home.... eventually :)

And then....