Damara Living... Twyfelfontein

Leaving the beautiful Etosha Park behind, we ventured onto our next destination Twyfelfontein. Twyfelfontein is a semi desert, savanna, shrubland and the home to the Damara tribe. We stopped at a Damara Living Museum which enabled us to gain an insight into their way of life. The boys were encouraged to try and make fire (allowing them the pick of the women) while the women were taught how to cater for the men including the traditional medcines that are used.

Twyfelfontein is also home to two other sites we visited, the ancient bushman rock carvings and the petrified rock forest. The petrified rock forest was our lunch stop where we were amazed to see how wood had formed into stone and rock. Visiting the ancient carvings took us further into the desert. The bushman predominantly carved pictures of animals and their track; the most carved animal was the antelope. The ancient site also boasted a natural water spring which allowed us to cool down in the blistering Namibian heat.

Our campsite for the night was next to a beautiful dried out river bed. A group of locals came and greeted us with singing and dancing and of course we were all encouraged to join in. One of their songs was an ode to the popular South African drink of Amarula. Coincidently that evening our group had invested in a bottle of Amarula to celebrate the arrival in Twyfelfontein. Click on the link to hear the song and listen to local women talking in Oshiwambo with lots of clicks and pops  http://youtu.be/CkA-vEMB6nQ

After our beautiful sing along we grabbed our Amaraula and blankets and headed to the river bed... (not to mention our torches to watch out for the scorpions). We sat there for a couple of hours under a blanket of stars. This was truely an amazing experience! The sky was full of stars, the milkyway was so clear and the nearest light pollution was miles away. The amount of shooting stars we saw that night was phenominal.

Windhoek and Etosha National Park... Namibia

Another boarder crossing and another country we were visiting in the beautiful continent of Africa... Namibia.

Our first stop on the journey around Namibia was the capital city of Windhoek. We were all in high spirits when we pulled up outside a rather nice looking hotel. A little bit of luxury considering we had been camping for roughly 3 weeks solidly (since Zanzibar). I'm not too sure the hotel staff were of the same opinion as we bombarded the foyer with our massive backpacks and unwashed bodies. It was in Windhoek at Joe's beerhouse where we all experienced our first taste of game meat... Zebra, Ostrich and Kudu, washed down with the House Wine... Jagermeister!

After tasting the game meat it was time to go and observe the animals in their natural habitat at Etosha National Park. On our game drive through the park towards our campsite the number of Giraffe and Antelope throwing themselves in front of the road was incredible.. everywhere you looked you could see the huge neck of a Giraffe poking out. It appeared that the Lions in Etosha also preferred to sleep in the middle of the road rather than under the shade of a tree. I guess when you are the King of the Jungle you can pretty much do as you please.

Etosha National Park is also well known for the Salt Pans that spread to the north of the park. We were warned when we were travelling down through Africa that Namibia had experienced significant amounts of rainfall this year.. affecting all the roads. However, apparently it also affected the Salt Pans! We arrived expecting hard salty ground.. perfect for taking beautiful and artistic infinity photos. Instead we were greeted with soggy, soft, deep muddy ground. The mud rose up around our calves which made it impossible to escape clean... especially as our tour guide decided to reap havoc and start a mud fight.

Each campsite we stayed at had a waterhole where you could sit and watch the sunset whilst watching the wildlife gathering to gaze and drink. One night in particular we witnessed herds of Zebra and Wildebeast come and go, whilst a number of hyennas disguised themselves waiting for an easy kill. The sunsets were truely unbelievable and were always accompanied by the presence of silent lightening.

Whilst travelling through Africa we have learnt to open our ears at night particularly when camping in a National Park and Etosha was no different. From the safety of our tents we could hear the incredible roar of Lions roughly 3km away and the cheeky laughs of Hyennas. A little closer to home we could hear the screams of rabied Jackals as they rushed around our tents... scavaging for food (or in this case stealing Hannah's flip flop from outside her tent and moving it 8 metres away towards the kitchen, covering them in slober).

Beautiful Delta... Botswana

After our eventful start in Botswana we were all looking forward to our stay in the Okovanga Delta. We were taken to the Makoro station to meet our hosts and guides (known locally as Polars), who were going to look after us in the Delta. Our transportation into the Delta were Makoro's, thin, long canoes made from the wood of local trees. The Polar stands at the back using a long wooden pole to push the canoe through the water. As well as steering, the Polars balance the Makoro's which is particularly nerve racking when you feel as though you are going to capsize.

The journey to our designated campsite took us through narrow passages passing tall reeds. The journey was extremely relaxing although some of the Makoro's had a tendancy to leak. This resulted in Hannah having to abandon her Makoro. She travelled in style ontop of a table precariously placed aboard the Makoro carrying the kitchen supplies.

Hannah travelling first class on the kitchen table aboard a Makoro

We arrived at an opening covered by trees on the river bank of the Delta and quickly came to realise that this would be home for the next two days. The campsite was basic with no showers and definitely no running water and electricity. The toilets were non existant and had to be dug on our arrival.

After we had settled into to our new home, the Polars took us to a clearing in the Delta where we could spend the afternoon swimming and playing ball safe from the Hippos and the Crocs. As the evening was drawing closer, the Polas took us for a sunset walk around the open fields of the Delta. We were given a speech on how to handle potentially dangerous encounters with wildlife for example if you are faced with a Lion you should stop still and make yourself look as big as possible. You should under no circumstances turn and run. This was particularly encouraging bearing in mind we had nothing in the way of protection.

After a brief encounter with different species of Antelope and Zebra, we came across the Hippo pool. Needless to say the Hippos weren't best pleased to see us.

The following morning after a nerve racking night wondering which animals may enter our camp, we arose early for our game walk around the Delta. On foot we came across a herd of Elephants, Wildebeast, Zebras, Antelope and various species of birds (including the African Fish Eagle). This was a particuarly exciting experience to encounter such magnificant animals on foot. 

A sample of the wildlife in the Delta!

Much to our delight our tour guide baked a birthday cake for our American friend Lauren on the campfire and we passed the afternoon playing party games with the Polars; swapping traditional games that are played in all of our countries. The Polars also taught us how to drive their Makoro's. This was no mean feat, the strength and agility that is needed to drive to Makoro's is incredible.

As the evening drew to a close, the Polars treated us to singing and dancing around the campfire. A song that we all enjoyed and will remember was "Beautiful Delta". An appreciation song to the beautiful Okovanga Delta, the wildlife, Africa as a whole and the arrival of tourists. As a gesture of thanks we attempted to sing to them but as per usual they put us to shame!

The time came to say goodbye to the Polars, the Okovanga Delta and Botswana but not before they kindly showed us around their village.

A house lived in by the Polars. They use empty beer cans to support the house.