2 July, Saturday Katima to Mamili
I’ve shed a layer of emotions since entering Namibia and am left
with a glowing skin devoid of stress, anxiety, fear and concern. I left Germany
with some of these emotions already imbedded and others have joined without us
realizing – simply as a result of the lifestyle that came with traveling for so
long, so far through different seasons and countries. No more border-crossings
which is huge for me; no new languages, no foreign cultures, no more
‘fish-out-of-the-water’ feelings: we’ve arrived in a place where I have a sense
of belonging; where there are more things familiar that unfamiliar; where I feel
part of; where I share culture, traditions and languages with others different
from me, but strangely similar…
We stock up: meat = Namibia = meat and Hugo is a happy boy:
boerewors, lamb chops, steak – not even expensive. We are on our way to Mamili
Game Reserve and it is ‘Memory Lane’ for Willie and me. We have wonderful
memories of 4x4 trips with some of our best friends, Handré, Marianne and their
daughters, from Western Cape when we traveled in this area 25 years ago. I am
amazed with Willie as he remembers roads and places as if we’ve done it a week ago.
Mamili is true wetland – the only in Namibia, and we have to
cross through a river to enter the park. The car swims through like a fish. We
stop at the ranger’s office and he tells us that most of the park is flooded
with all the rain they had the last 2 years, but we are welcome to go as far as
we can; we can camp anywhere we want to, because we are the only visitors in the park!
Andrej and Hugo sit on the roof as we drive through the park.
Although there are signs of elephants and hippos everywhere, we don’t see them,
but lots of deer, warthogs and birds. We find a beautiful spot to pitch camp and
watch in awe as the sun sets in burning colours of red and orange. As soon as
the sun disappears hippos noisily surface at first suspicious about the human
activity in their territory, but not too long and we hear them chomping away on
the reeds and grass in and outside the water.
The guys make a huge fire and we enjoy our carnivorous meal
rounded off with ‘braaibroodjies’ – toasted cheese, tomato and onion
sandwiches. We drift away to dream land with the chomping sound of grazing
hippos and feeding elephants ripping off leaves and breaking branches from the
trees behind our camp.
Click Play for Photos:
I’ve shed a layer of emotions since entering Namibia and am left
with a glowing skin devoid of stress, anxiety, fear and concern. I left Germany
with some of these emotions already imbedded and others have joined without us
realizing – simply as a result of the lifestyle that came with traveling for so
long, so far through different seasons and countries. No more border-crossings
which is huge for me; no new languages, no foreign cultures, no more
‘fish-out-of-the-water’ feelings: we’ve arrived in a place where I have a sense
of belonging; where there are more things familiar that unfamiliar; where I feel
part of; where I share culture, traditions and languages with others different
from me, but strangely similar…
We stock up: meat = Namibia = meat and Hugo is a happy boy:
boerewors, lamb chops, steak – not even expensive. We are on our way to Mamili
Game Reserve and it is ‘Memory Lane’ for Willie and me. We have wonderful
memories of 4x4 trips with some of our best friends, Handré, Marianne and their
daughters, from Western Cape when we traveled in this area 25 years ago. I am
amazed with Willie as he remembers roads and places as if we’ve done it a week ago.
Mamili is true wetland – the only in Namibia, and we have to
cross through a river to enter the park. The car swims through like a fish. We
stop at the ranger’s office and he tells us that most of the park is flooded
with all the rain they had the last 2 years, but we are welcome to go as far as
we can; we can camp anywhere we want to, because we are the only visitors in the park!
Andrej and Hugo sit on the roof as we drive through the park.
Although there are signs of elephants and hippos everywhere, we don’t see them,
but lots of deer, warthogs and birds. We find a beautiful spot to pitch camp and
watch in awe as the sun sets in burning colours of red and orange. As soon as
the sun disappears hippos noisily surface at first suspicious about the human
activity in their territory, but not too long and we hear them chomping away on
the reeds and grass in and outside the water.
The guys make a huge fire and we enjoy our carnivorous meal
rounded off with ‘braaibroodjies’ – toasted cheese, tomato and onion
sandwiches. We drift away to dream land with the chomping sound of grazing
hippos and feeding elephants ripping off leaves and breaking branches from the
trees behind our camp.
Click Play for Photos:
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