Category Archives: Africa

Exploring the lovely town of Swakopmund, Namibia

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My second day in Swakopmund, Namibia started with a walk to the beach.

It was gorgeous!  The weather on the trip had been what I expected…40-50 degrees Fahrenheit at night, 80’s during the day and sunny!

I indulged in a decadent breakfast of cappuccino, homemade waffle, peaches and ice cream at an outdoor café.  I was transported to Europe!

After a little shopping…an inexpensive ring and a book, I experienced one of the best massages I’ve ever had.  She used hot stones  (which I’ve had before).  I dozed off…which I’ve never done during a massage.  Although I tipped her, she was most pleased with an inexpensive ring that I gave to her.

I made my way back to the hotel and had trail mix for lunch followed by a three-hour nap.  That evening I had dinner at Letty’s Oyster Bar at the end of the pier with two of the ladies on my tour.  The seafood was excellent!

They walked me back to my hotel, which was on the way to theirs.  I had asked the desk clerk the day before if it was safe to walk around by myself, because I noticed most places were gated and had barbed wire or electric fencing.  She advised me not to walk alone at night.

It was a lovely day and I enjoyed exploring the lovely town of Swakopmund!

Day Six of my 35 Day G Adventures African Overland Truck Experience

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After arriving in the beautiful town of Swakopmund in Namibia at 11am on day 6 of my 35 day G Adventures African Overland Truck experience, I took a taxi about 4 blocks to a separate hotel from the rest of the group.  Our accommodation for two evenings was to be in a dormitory style co-ed room with 7 of us (including some loud snorers), and there were no other single rooms available, so for $50 a night, I thought it was a great deal.  My room had a skylight and three beds.

After checking in, I went for a walk around the town.

I was surprised at how clean, upscale and new everything looked.  It was not overly crowded, but the few tourists I saw seemed to be mostly European.  Most of the shops had bars on the doors/windows and there was some barbed wire here and there.

I found a salon and had my artificial nails removed for the first time in years.  They weren’t holding up well with all of the camping.  That evening, I met the group for dinner at a restaurant called Napoletans and feasted on Greek pizza!

One of the positives of traveling in Africa by Overland Truck is the ability to see so many different places along the way!  This isn’t the Africa most Americans envision!

Deadvlei Salt Pan, Namibia, Africa

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On day 5 of my 35 day G Adventures African Overland Truck experience, that you can read about here, we hiked up Dune 45.  From there, we drove a short distance to the Deadvlei Salt Pan.  You’ve probably seen the National Geographic photos of the dead trees.   Initially, as I approached it, I wasn’t that impressed…

but once amidst the trees, I was energized and excited.  It is a photographer’s dream.  The contrasting colors of the burnt orange sand, biscuit cracked earth, dead brown trees and cobalt blue skies are so dramatic.

We drove to our campsite, which was at someone’s farm.  It is called Skaarswater Farm, which means scarce water.  It was a lovely site.

That evening we had steak, salad and bread cooked over the fire for dinner!  Visiting Dune 45 and Deadvlei Salt Pan in Namibia is amazing!!

Typical Day on an African Overland Truck Adventure

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My G Adventures Overland Truck group woke early (5:30am) on day 3. We had 45 minutes to go to the bathroom, wash up, dress, pack and take our tents down, before breakfast. So being organized is really important. We would typically be on the road by 7am. Many days we would make a sandwich at breakfast to take on the truck if we had a long driving day.

We drove 9 hours to the Namib desert. Every two hours we would stop for a bathroom break and sometimes, if we were in a town, we could pick up water, snacks and go the ATM. Bathroom breaks were usually on the side of the road…girls to the left, boys to the right…behind bushes, trees, tall grass, etc.

Later in the afternoon, before arriving to the desert, we stopped at Sescriem Canyon.

We camped here…

After setting up my tent and retrieving my suitcase, I would set out what I wanted to wear the next day, put my headlamp on, spray myself with Peaceful Sleep (mosquito repellant that works great and is half as expensive as deet), and place my medications, toiletries, etc. next to my sleeping bag.  We were split into groups for chores–cooking/washing dishes/stock coolbox/packing/clean-up campsite.  If I was on the cooking team, usually around 5:30pm it was time to help by chopping things up. The washing team duty was my least favorite job.

We would help each other remember to take our Malaria medication. Most people were taking Malarone.  The only common side effect that most people are having is odd dreams. Some of my dreams were that a man approached me and another girl on the trip and he was a bad man, so I bit his arm and tore some flesh off.  Another dream had me throwing spaghetti at my husband.  In one of my dreams, I had a baby and it could talk and told me I needed to take him to the hospital because he was going blind.

We would have a campfire every night. Some of us would have a drink or two, talk and then it was time to get ready for bed.  If you don’t mind taking a cold shower in the dark occasionally, bugs, and camping, then an African Overland Truck experience is the perfect way to see Africa!

Gariep River, S. Africa

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After driving 9 hours on Day one of my G Adventures Africa Overland Truck journey, we set up camp at  Gariep River (Orange River) on the border of S. Africa and Namibia.  It was already dark, so the next morning it was a treat to wake up to this view!

 

I would’ve shown you the campsite…but the wifi at Lake Malawi was very slow, so I can’t!  Maybe later!

This is the bar that we didn’t use since we only had a few hours that morning before we packed up our tents and drove on to cross the boarder into Namibia, towards our destination of Fish River Canyon.

Africa Overland Truck Experience with G Adventures

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Driving from Cape Town through S. Africa — Namibia — Botswana — Zambia — Malawi — Tanzania is A LOT of driving.  G Adventures‘ 35 day Overland Truck trip has you in the truck for more than 140 hours…which is more than three full work weeks.

On the road in Namibia

So…to pass the time we came up with lots of games to play.  I brought three beach balls to give to children, so we had a blast hitting it around the truck.  Here’s Noreen (from Ireland).  We played “Bee Bee, Bumble Bee, I see something you don’t see”.  I made funny faces!  We played rock, paper, scissors.  I’d place a coin in my hand and have people guess which hand it was in.  Or I’d think of a number and see who came closest.  We played the telephone game once, but Michael (from Ohio) purposely twisted it so it was completely different!  Here’s Michael…

We played Charades, card games, toss the coin and guess heads or tails, name as many countries as you can remember on each continent, stand up and try not to fall while traveling over bumpy roads, see what weird tricks we can do…like move one eye and keep the other one straight, double jointed tricks, etc.  After running out of things, I came up with the game of placing an object on the table in the back of the truck and we’d guess how long it would take to bounce/fall off the table.

We did silhouette animals…

I finished an audio book on my I-Pod.  I also bought a book called “The Last Rhinos” that was newly released and finished that.  I just bought a book by Paul Theroux (sp?) called “Dark Star Safari”.  It’s fun reading stories about the continent you’re on!  Sometimes the roads are too bumpy to read a book though.  We sleep, talk, eat, or do nothing!

 We traveled by some amazing landscapes in Namibia…

Most of Namibia is desert land.  Some of it reminded me of New Mexico!

It’s amazing to me how much variety you find even in the desert…with colors, textures, etc.

Namibia is a beautiful country and although taking an overland truck through Africa is at times difficult…it is worth it!

Stellenbosch & Franschhoek Wine Tour in Cape Town

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My last day in Cape Town was spent taking a wine tour of three wineries located in the Stellenbosch & Franschhoek regions.  It was the only rainy day of my four days in Cape Town so I couldn’t complain!  I don’t remember the name of the first winery….but isn’t it beautiful?

There was a small group of about 11 of us on the tour.  We tried a variety of wines to include Pinotage, which is a red wine blend of Pinot Noir and Hermitage.  Chardonnay is my wine of choice, but I really enjoyed the Pinotage.  The South African Rand (their money) is around 7 Rand to $1 U.S.  Wine was quite affordable…usually around $5-$8 a bottle for a nice wine.

A break in the rain afforded this nice view of the area surrounding one of the wineries!

Cheers or “Gesondheid” — pronounced Ge-sund-hate in Africaans!

My camera has a drawing function…I was a little fidgety!

I know two of the wineries were called Rickety Bridges and Laborie.  They were all beautiful!

We stopped in the quaint town of Stellenbosch…

This piece of art was quite unique.  It seemed to be made out of a mixture of dirt, rock, straw and a few other substances.

I had a very nice day tasting wine, meeting new people, and seeing the landscape in Stellenbosch and Franschhoek!

Red Bus City Tour of Cape Town

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My four days in Cape Town were just enough time to do the four events I had hoped to see/do.

The first day I hiked up Table Mountain…which I wrote about here.  The second day I took an organized tour of the peninsula of Cape Town, which you can read about here and here.  The third day I took the Red Bus City Tour.  If I remember correctly, it was about $20, but you could hop on and off at different sites around the City.  Before boarding, I took a walk around the Waterfront area of Cape Town.

I only got off the bus once…at St. George’s Cathedral.  I love to take photos of churches and go inside.  This Cathedral is South Africa’s oldest.

There was a small park nearby and I took a few more photos before walking to the next stop.  I love to people watch!  It was fun watching these men taking photos of the pigeons.

I saw this young man and as I was preparing to take his photo, he glanced over at me.  After requesting to take his photo, he got a broad smile and shook his head yes.  I explained I’d prefer a side view…more of a pensive look, so he obliged me.

My fourth day was spent taking a winery tour…so I’ll see you there next!

Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens

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As part of my Cape Town Peninsula Tour, we stopped at the lovely Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens.  We had a little less than an hour to tour it, so I broke away from the organized group and tried to cover as much ground as I could!  Although it was a cloudy and at times misty day, the gardens were gorgeous!

I highly recommend seeing the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens if time permits!  Next we’ll take a Red City Bus Tour!!

Cape Town Peninsula Tour

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While in Cape Town, S. Africa I went on a day tour of the peninsula of Cape Town.  It covered most of the sites to see while in town.

The weather was beautiful that day and the coastline is spectacular!

The above photo is of Boulder Beach.  There is a colony of penguins located there and I just had to take the following photo of a couple in love!

This range of mountains is called the Twelve Apostles.  There are more than  twelve…so there are a few theories as to why they’re called the Twelve Apostles.

It was quite windy at The Cape of Good Hope, which is the most southern tip on the west coast of Africa.

You can’t help but to fall in love with Cape Town!  It is gorgeous!!  I’d like to thank all of you for your kind comments and wish I had time to respond.  I’ll be writing a post to explain the strenuous time schedule.  I miss talking with you!

Couchsurfing Cape Town

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If you’ve never heard of Couchsurfing before… based on my first experience… it’s a wonderful way to learn about a new place.  I stayed with a couple named Odette and Neal in Cape Town, Africa and they were so hospitable!

Neal and Odette

They picked me up at the airport and I even had my own bedroom in their lovely home!

Odette and Neal’s place

They enlisted their neighbor…Keith…to take me hiking to the top of Table Mountain—Amazing!

Indiavestner Trail–Table Mountain, Cape Town

Taking Cable Car down from top of Table Mountain

I ate wonderful home cooked meals with them and they even took me shopping!  I took them out to dine at a sushi restaurant as a token for their kindness.

A fellow blogger, Rory Alexander, met up with us while we were dining.  He has three blogs and I would link to them, but my link isn’t working correctly right now.  He’s an unbelievable photographer!

I’m definitely a fan of Couchsurfing now!

Greetings from Africa

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Hello friends!  I was going to wait until after I returned from Africa to begin posting, because I knew there wouldn’t be much time, but I wanted to touch base with all of you!  Let me begin by saying…Africa is amazing!!  So much has happened in the 10 days I’ve been here, so I will give a quick summary.

My traveling companions are from all over the world.  Sixteen men and women..single and married…from Ireland, Australia, Germany, Canada, Hong Kong, S. Korea, Denmark and one man located within 45 minutes from where I live in Ohio!

I am currently in Swakamund, Namibia in a guest house within four blocks of the beach.  Until now, we’ve been camping and putting up our tents each day.  I am the only solo camper, but I’ve learned to put the tent up myself within 5-7 minutes.

Home away from home

We’ve already had two mishaps with the overland truck.  The first morning as the three guides were preparing to load our luggage, someone drove by and tore the doors off of the truck in Cape Town.  We waited two hours for another vehicle to arrive.  The replacement isn’t quite as nice as the original, but we’re going with the flow.

A few days ago our truck broke down in the desert.  It took them almost an hour to fix it.  But…when you’re visiting spots like this….you embrace it!

Dune 45 rising over 1100 feet or 350 meters high at a 45 degree angle – Sossusvlei Desert in Namibia

We left our campsite the other morning at 5:00am to drive the 15 minutes to Dune 45, also known as “Big Daddy”.  I was too scared to hike to the top.  It is much higher than it looks!  Next, we drove a short distance to the Deadvlei Salt Pan in the desert.  As you can see, it’s amazing!!

Deadvlei Salt Pan

I’ve seen all types of animals along the road while driving.  We’re heading towards Etosha National Park next.  My wifi and cell phone service is sporadic, so I’m not sure when I’ll post next.  As I said before, I’ll be posting some pre-prepared posts that don’t relate to Africa in between if there is no time to post!  Hope everyone is well!!

Au revoir–Totsiens–Goodbye

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I was going to say Bon Voyage…but that’s what you’re supposed to say to me!  Good Journey!  There are hundreds of languages in Africa, but I chose one of the South African versions of Goodbye–Totsiens.  Also, french is spoken in some African countries–so, Au revoir!

My girlfriends, my son and his girlfriend are visiting tonight…before I leave tomorrow.  I wanted to show you my traveling gear (wrinkle-free travel suit), so…here I am!

I have some posts prepared to entertain you while I’m gone on this trip…and hope I have access to internet at least weekly!  Don’t forget about me!! xoxoxo