We visited the Spitzkoppe mountain west of Windhoek over the past weekend. I have visited before but it was my first chance to spend the night. The camp site and bungalows are run by the Namibia Community Based Tourism Assistance Trust (NACOBTA) which supports communities in their efforts to develop and operate tourism enterprises profitably as well as sustainably.

We arrived early on Saturday pitched camp for the night and took a long hike. Here is our campsite nestled in between two mountains.


We climbed up this smaller mountain which gave us beautiful views all around the area.




I tried to get people in the pictures as often as possible to give evidence to the scale of these rocks.


Sometimes it seemed the mountains were one gigantic piece of rock. I can only imagine how deep underground they go. Check out my friend Marc with his tripod perched on the rock.


Lizards






An ant highway!!! These ants had dug their own road in the ground by travelling constantly on the same path.


Big momma ant here.


The rock bridge.




Nearing sunset the moon began to rise.




We had to drive around the mountain to get a good view of the sunset. The next Toyota Condor advertisement.


The mountain bathed in sunset light.










We woke at 5am to get to see the sunrise. It was my first sunrise in a long time. We climbed the mountain in the dark and even saw a shooting star which left an amazing trail across the sky.

The sun starts to make it's first appearance of the day.


First shots using morning light. Although it was bright the camera was not ready yet to capture the light off the mountain.


Twenty minutes later we were in full view. The light in the morning is just right to catch the shadows on the mountain without haze. Learning lots from my friends who are professional photographers.




Starting to get a bit more hazy and washed out here. But could not resist this little rock pool.




A friendly bird gives me a great opportunity to capture her picture.




This is a Dassie which can be found all over Africa. They are quite cute and curious.


A group of Dassie's. Apparently they run in packs of 50+.




Climbed up to a place called "Bushman's Paradise" where we found ancient rock paintings on the mountain.




At "Bushman's Paradise". You can see the scale by noting the little guy on top pulling some Indian Jone's moves. Underneath the rock face were the paintings and presumably the home for the ancient people.

We made this dish a few weeks back. I have always been somewhat afraid of making lasagna as it seems such a daunting task! This recipe made it fairly easy thought and had excellent results. I'm afraid I do not remember where I got it, so all credit to the original author.

Roman-Style Ground Beef and Pork Lasagna
From: Nico, Val-Belair, Quebec, Canada
Comments: Excellent little recipe for lasagna lovers.
Servings: 10

Sauce

* 1/4 cup [60 mL] olive oil
* 1 onion, minced
* 1 clove of garlic, minced
* 1 can [28 ounces / 796 mL] Italian tomatoes
* 1 tablespoon [15 mL] fresh parsley, minced
* 1/2 teaspoon [2.5 mL] basil
* 1 can [6 ounces / 170 mL] tomato paste
* 1 tablespoon [15 mL] sugar
* Salt and pepper to taste

Meat Preparation

* 1/2 pound [227 g] ground beef
* 1/2 pound [227 g] ground pork (we used all beef)
* 2 tablespoons [30 mL] fresh parlsey, chopped
* 1/2 teaspoon [.5 mL] oregano
* 2 eggs, slightly beaten
* 3 tablespoons [45 mL] Parmesan cheese, shredded
* Salt and pepper to taste

Pasta

* 1 pound [454 g] lasagna noodles
* 6 cups [1.5 L] boiling water
* 3 tablespoons [45 mL] salt
* 1 tablespoon [15 mL] olive oil

Cheeses

* 1 pound [454 g] cottage cheese
* 2 tablespoons [30 mL] warm water
* 1 small Mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
* 1/2 cup [125 mL] Parmesan cheese, shredded [fresh for true amateurs]


Sauce

* Brown onions and garlic in olive oil.
* Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes.

Meat Preparation

* Mix all ingredients together, and incorporate to sauce mixture.
* Simmer for 40 minutes, loosely covered.

Pasta

* Bring water to a boil with oil and salt, add noodles one at a time and boil over high heat, covered, for 30 minutes.
* Drain well.

To Assemble

* Grease a large dish and place 6 or 7 tablespoons [90 to 105 mL] sauce at bottom, cover with a layer of noodles, a layer of Mozzarella cheese slices and a layer of cottage cheese beaten with warm water.
* Cover the cottage cheese with about 1/4 of the sauce.
* Repeat until all ingredients are used up.
* Sprinkle with shredded Parmesan cheese.
* Cook in oven at 350°F [180°C] for 30 to 40 minutes.

Labels: Recipes

We traveled from Rundu at the Angolan border down to Windhoek on our final day of the trip. Nothing much happened on route. It's a long drive and took us nearly 8 hours to complete. All in all a fantastic trip.

Trip Stats:
Distance covered: Roughly 3,500 kilometres. Not much considering that Juan has put roughly 90,000 km's behind him in Namibia since arriving two years ago. That is an astronomical amount of travel considering the circumference of the earth at the equator is 40,076 km. Could he have driven around the world twice?? I need to recheck his odometer.

Countries visited: Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, maybe Zambia. We were in no mans land waiting for the ferry to Zambia and had crossed out of Botswana before we made the decision to turn back.

Victoria Falls was the farthest point from Windhoek we reached. With roughly 1500 kilometre's behind us we had to turn around and come back. After passing through Chobe once again we returned into Namibia and the Caprivi Strip. I can't begin to explain how different the Caprivi is to other areas in Namibia. Having been fortunate to travel West to the coast, across and out East through Botswana, down through the South to South Africa and now through the Northern reaches this year I can honestly reaffirm that Namibia is a widely diverse and incredible country.

We made our stop at Namushasha Lodge which was just south of Kongola in the middle of the strip. As we drove in we had to pull over as a plane was preparing to take off from the gravel road we drove in on. Ok, this is a bit strange. As it turns out Namushasha lodge was overrun with amateur pilots for the long weekend. So we saw quite a few interesting planes taking off and flying around the skies. They were not too noisy and did not disturb our peace. When checking in we were told that one of the planes had crash landed that morning. The staff were having a good laugh about this....casual!!!

We arrived slightly late in the day so had time to set up camp and watch the sunset. We also had a lovely dinner at the lodge and sat out after dinner playing dominoes on the deck.


Clouds reflecting off the still river water with a fallen tree providing an interesting dynamic.


This was the living situation for the 5 nights of our trip. This was the last night I spent in the tent. Aside from the adventures I had in previous nights, I had an overall wonderful experience sleeping in the tent. I had a couple of foam mattresses to cushion my bed and my sleeping bag was warm enough for all the elements. Juan's car has a tent that opens from the roof which is a great convenience for an avid camper like him. You just park the car pop the roof and lay the sleeping bag. It even has a mattress built in!!!


Woke up early and took a walk down to the runway that was located near the campsite. Also spotted this lovely Baobab tree.


The site also has a village which seeks to educated tourists on traditional living on the Caprivi.






Sitting out on the deck after breakfast was a real treat. We were perched alongside a river with tall trees swaying in the breeze. I have to say it really took me back to cottage country in Canada. Even had the Muskoka chairs to compliment the deck. Can anyone confirm if these are a Canadian invention/design?




My fantastic traveling companions Juan and Maria. Maria is reading about snakes in the South African region...just in case!


It was a beautiful restful morning. We sat out for a few hours watching the birds and enjoying the silence. I loved it.


;)

It may have been a blessing that we did not stay the night in Zimbabwe. We had hiked the entire ridge of Victoria Falls during our stay and the greatest pleasantry would have been to see the sunset and rise over the falls. However we would have had to pay to get back into the park and it was not cheap (20USD or 150Pula/SAR).

As we crossed out of Zimbabwe towards Botswana we encountered lots more elephants on the road. It really is a beautiful unspoiled wilderness. We returned to the Chobe Safari Lodge to spend the night. We skipped the lavish dinner and had an improv meal of beans, tomato, canned tuna, vegetables and salt. I was starting to get used to this meal! We ate it at a little Bayou Bar which was built atop the marsh along the River Chobe. Bugs were everywhere!

We bed down on the campsite. I awoke about four hours after sleeping which would have made it about 1am. I could hear all kinds of very foreign noises in the vicinity. Was that a lions growl? Did I just hear a hippo grunt? I really had lost my bearings and woke up feeling as if I was in the middle of a game park with no protection from the great outdoors besides the thin walls of my tent. Trust me I was really freaked out...I also had to pee, so things were not looking good. I felt my tent rustle just a bit as if a lion was brushing past. I tell you my heart was racing. Then I heard "Die vleis is lekker" (The meat is great in Afrikaans) which brought me back down to earth. Our neighbors at the next campsite made the noise which indicated there was no danger outside. Boy was I relieved and so I made the journey to the toilet. Immediately as I opened the tent door I could see that I was not in the middle of the savanna. It is not entirely impossible that what I heard was not a lion and hippo however. What a night!

We arranged a boat trip on the Chobe River in the morning. Little was I to know that this would be one of the best trips I have ever taken. We started from this luxury lodge just down from our campsite. I believe it was called the Chobe River Lodge.


Looking out over the river at dawn.


We traveled in a boat similar to this one.


First crocodile sighting was a bit 'petite'. However with each croc we saw after this, they were larger.


Getting bigger.


Banks of the river Chobe


...and bigger... See how close we came to the crocs? Our guide was really good about getting us right up front. However I think this might have been a little intrusive for the animals.


Water Monitor Lizard which is a relative of the amazing Komodo dragon lizard.


Bigger still. These are amazing creatures. This one would be capable of taking down a man.


Insert food here. The crocodile opens its mouth to maintain its internal body temperature.


There was a huge assortment of birds in the park as well.


A massive group of hippos.


Great treat to see the hippo rise out of the water. I am not sure which one of his buddies he was standing on. Note the baby hippo in the lower left.


Prize shot!!!! This is the most dangerous African animal, that's right kids even more deadly than the lion. These beasts are extremely territorial, unpredictable and can bite through you with one chop.


Water monitor lizard again. Sunbathing.


Mammal and reptile together.


This elephant was off by itself and grazing in the marsh land of the river.


We got real close to this one. As close as I have ever been, nearly 10 ft. Just after I took this picture I was hit with a piece of mud that he through at the boat. You can see she is picking up the mud now. I screamed out "oh gosh she hit me!" Heart racing again. Just a warning from this gentle giant.


Oh Lord! All the elephants came out for a drink at the same time. Large, small, you name it. This is an amazing sight.




Big mama crocodile. This is nearly four metre's long.


Elephant bath time. No rubber ducky but there is a bird there somewhere.






Truly the best game drive I have ever experienced. The river Chobe is an experience unlike any other.

It was a tough decision to make the journey into Zimbabwe to see Victoria Falls. We were in an area which made getting into Zambia very difficult and judging from the day before, by experience, we were not too motivated. We talked to a variety of tour guides and all said that they were taking tourists through Zimbabwe to Victoria Falls daily without any problems.

Consider the situation as it is, there is currently no government in Zimbabwe, all is contested, all is disputed and really it is not a place that one should go at this time. Anyone, anywhere in the world, can tell you that Zimbabwe is an uncertain place at least.

However, when traveling local advice is the best advice, and with the consensus from the tourist operators being that it was ok to travel in to see the Falls we made the trip. As we talked about making the trip I was uneasy, as we saw that there was no other way to get to the Falls in our short trip, I had no choice but to be brave.

At the Kazangula, Botswana --> Zimbabwe border post. All went well.


I was informed that the Visa charge for the Canadian was more than double that of the European (65USD). Upon asking why this was the case I was told that the Canadian authorities charge the same high rate for Zimbabweans to enter Canada. Fair enough.


At the border we encountered a "Third Party Insurance" agent who would not let us through unless we could prove that we had coverage in this country. If not we would have to buy road insurance from this young gentleman. Luckily we were covered.

As we crossed into Zimbabwe we were presented with the beautiful and unspoiled wilderness. We spotted buffalo on our trip. The African buffalo is like the great north American buffalo which is now extinct. It can reach nearly a ton in mass.

The Victoria Falls Hotel. We checked the rates although we were looking for a campsite. The US dollar rate was quite high at $286 for a standard twin room. When we saw the Zimbabwean rates we were floored. Nearly 20 billion dollars for the same room!!!


The gardens at the hotel were wonderfully manicured.


Victoria Falls. I personally liked the view from the Zimbabwean side much more than the Zambian view. Of course this came with other challenges. You can view the Zambian pictures here to make your own judgment.






















Livingston statue, also available at the Zambian side.




Well behaved monkeys at the falls cross their legs when observed.




Strange fruit growing in the rain forest.




Brilliant Baobab tree.


We tried to stay, we wanted to stay. However the climate in Zimbabwe was just not accommodating for a night sleep. We brought gas and food with us just in case, however we had underestimated changing money. We had few US dollars which really seem to go far here. We also were unable to get money changed or visit a bank as they were unavailable or too busy respectively. I actually witnessed a man going shopping with an armload of cash as I published in an earlier post. In an attempt to change money on the street I received a condemning look and comment from a prominent local that we should not be changing money on the street. As it turned out it was to be a scam anyhow. We were keen and left.

I stopped into a bar to see if I could purchase a local beer. I asked how much for a beer, the response was "Ten Million dollars" ....!!!! The bar man then told me the US dollar rate but informed me that I could not take beer to go. He suggested a take away around the corner. I made my way there. There was a great deal of confusion here as well. In Zimbabwe you can not buy a beer without returning an empty bottle. This is part of the recycling plan. Since I had no empties, I proceeded to inquire. A local gent came to my rescue, another scam it seemed but actually in the end this guy facilitated the trade. I ended up getting two beers for five US dollars. In the end he asked for a service fee but I had nothing to give him. Still feel bad about this.





We decided to head back into Botswana and with that our trip to Zimbabwe was over. As we drove back we encountered elephants all over the Zambezi National Park which was a real treat.

On the second day we made early tracks for Botswana in hopes of crossing through and reaching the Victoria Falls. On my last visit to Vic Falls I went through Katima Mulilo which is a fairly easy crossing of the bridge. This time we went South into Botswana so that we could go through the Chobe game park which is world renowned for its wildlife. On the way we went through many villages on the Caprivi which always incite a variety of feelings within me. I hope to be able to speak more on this later.

A couple pictures from the Border at Ngoma, Namibia and Chobe, Botswana.


The great Baobab tree with a small enclave for exploring.


We never made it across to Victoria Falls in Zambia, also Livingston. After a full days travel we arrived at the border in the town of Kasane in Botswana. What we found there was quite interesting. The border was lined with trucks which were for some reason not allowed to cross in to Zambia. My guess is some sort of strike was preventing their safe passage. So after driving about a kilometre worth of trucks parked on the roadside we reached the border and lined up for passage.

Interestingly enough, as we lined up to get stamped out of Botswana we watched as groups of tourists drove up to the border, were introduced to the front of the line, stamped and crossed into Zambia so that they could catch the sunset at the falls. Now we were lined up with the rest of the people who wanted to cross as well. Our line was held up significantly as the tourists were given priority passage. This caused a bit of a stir as you might imagine. People waiting to get back home and see their families were held up on account of the tourists wanting to make the sunset. It was very interesting to see that many were exporting goods to Zambia, including blankets, flour and food. I had always thought that the strong Botswana dollar would mean goods would be flowing the other way.

After an aggravating line up, as the crowd got antsy and started budding and pushing, we made it to the waiting area for the ferry. I was also unaware that there was no bridge here. Once we reached the ferry are we saw a large group of people waiting to board. We were immediately confronted by a few young Zambian entrepreneurs who promised priority on the ferry who would then act as "runner" on the other side. We would need permits and authentication for our vehicles and passports which would take hours unless we employed them. We negotiated with them for a while but gradually started to realize that we would not make it into Zambia this evening. The sun was setting and we had not even made it to the other side.

As we watched the ferry travel sideways across the great river (the current was moving quickly towards Victoria Falls) we made an executive decision to abort the mission to Zambia.

It was an amazing and eye opening experience as we tried to migrate into Zambia. All was not lost for the day, as we had an interesting look at crossing borders in Africa. Fortunate as we are we were able to take lodge at the Chobe Safari Lodge for the evening and have an unforgettable experience at the river Chobe.

The Chobe Safari Lodge








Moonlight cruises on the river.


Amazing sunset over the Chobe river.

We set off early on Thursday morning to reach our goal on the Caprivi Strip for the evening. After 8 hours or so driving north into Namibia we reached the Ngepi Camp which is situated near Popa Falls on the Kavango river. We took the boat cruise almost as soon as we arrived and set off down the river in search of Hippo's, crocodiles, and possibly elephants.

Ngepi Camp has fantastic little chalets overlooking the river. For this trip we were camping so luxury accommodation was out of the question. It was to be my first of five nights in a tent.


The "pool" was actually just a fenced in square in the river. What this means is crocs and hippos could be swimming right next to you. Amazing!!! I did not dare take this plunge.


Reeds on the river bank hide the many wild creatures that call the river home.


First hippo sighting. Pretty amazing to see this awesome animal up close. It is said that the hippo is the most dangerous African animal. They are extremely territorial and can easily bite you in half.


Sunset over the Kavango.


From our campsite on the river banks. Throughout the night I was woken; for one I was still getting used to tent living, additionally I could hear the hippo's talking all night long. They make a low grunting noise. Regarldless of this I was up at 6 am and ready for the next leg of our trip.

For dinner we improvised since we missed the dinner from the lodge. It was a mix of canned tuna, olives, vegetables and a balsamic dressing. Very hearty.


Just before departing in the morning I got this picture of the riverside warnings. Around the pool no less.