We have had some adventurous holidays over years. Now I say this with tongue in cheek. My husband is the adventurer, I’m not! Some holidays have been more challenging than others. I’m going to share a day in Namibia that I genuinely thought would be my last.
It was our 25th wedding anniversary. We decided to spend two weeks in Namibia on a glamping holiday. I booked the holiday from a company in South Africa. I checked all the accommodation to ensure that glamping took priority. We wouldn’t be staying in standard tents. Some nights we’d be in chalets and others looked like canvas structures fully fitted with electricity, four poster beds, en suite bathrooms and outside balconies with views over waterholes. Hopefully there’d be minimal adventure, just a fun packed holiday.
We landed in Windhoek late one evening. We had booked a hired car so went to collect it at the airport. Namibia has a lot of dirt roads, only a few are tarred. We were not travelling in a convoy as suggested but going solo. We needed a decent, reliable four wheeled drive car. We were given a two wheeled drive truck which did not inspire confidence in either of us. There was no replacement. That truck or nothing. That first night we stayed in a five star hotel behind high walls and security fences. Sirens kept us awake all night as did the meal. Even though I stressed gluten-free it wasn’t so the holiday didn’t start off well. In discomfort we set off after breakfast the next morning heading for our first stop, still in civilisation. We arrived in Swakopmund, a once German protectorate. There I had one of my best meals ever! Crayfish Thermidor! Two and a half crayfish coated in a delicious cheese sauce, gluten free. Absolutely delicious!
A couple of days later we headed into the desert in our truck, no satnav, and me in charge of directions. Even offering me a compass would have been a waste of time! Suffering from car sickness didn’t help. Occasionally glancing down at a map, hoping it was the right way up gave the odds of us arriving at our destination at best one hundred to one! We were travelling alone, as mentioned earlier, but we did have a safety net. All our destinations had my phone number and we’d agreed that they would make contact if we hadn’t arrived by night fall. We later discovered that finding a signal was like trying to find a needle in a haystack!
Over the next two weeks we saw some fantastic sights and had a luxurious glamping experience. Every night I checked under beds, in bathrooms and toilets for snakes. It had been known for snakes to get into the drain and come up through the toilet bowl. I still never use a toilet in the dark. One of my South African legacies.
We arrived at our final destination, a nature reserve owned by a member of parliament and really out in the sticks. On our first night my husband and I lay down on the ground outside our chalet and stared up at the most amazing sky. The Milky Way, in all its splendour, sparkled down at us. Photos didn’t do it justice.
So, our penultimate day in Namibia dawned, greeting us with a brilliant blue sky and temperates forecast to soar. My husband looked forward to a final trek into the bushveld. The holiday so far had been relatively easy going and he needed some excitement. The manager warned us to stick to the track and to be back within a couple of hours. It was going to get very hot. We needed to keep hydrated and watch out for zebras wildebeest and any wild animals we’d come into contact with. I sincerely hoped that would be none! It was September and the mating season. The males were very protective of their herds and could become dangerous. And then, of course, there were the snakes and lions. I remember questioning the safely of this walk at the time.
We set off, my husband in high spirits and me in silent trepidation. We had a compass but no map, just verbal directions. And no satnav. My husband had his rucksack with pockets on either side which held our water bottles. We turned right out of our chalet, walked down the dirt road then turned left at the bottom of a hill. We followed a path up the hill, veered left again then, still following the same path, carried on along a marked track. Dead, long, yellow grass, rocky inclines and occasional dark, spiked thorn trees dominated the landscape. Silhouetted against the brilliant blue sky, a yellow ball hung motionless. It was as if time was standing still. I hardly dared breathe. It was so quiet. Too quiet. The lull before the storm?
We continued on our way and gradually the path became less clear. Soon we had to choose which path to take because there were a few. Out came the compass and we headed in what we thought was the right direction. On we walked. The heat became oppressive, almost unbearable. We stopped for a water break. I don’t sweat but had passed the ‘glow’ stage. We eventually reached a dirt road and I tried to relax. Roads are good because you can avoid snakes and vehicles travel on them. Perhaps we could hitch a ride back to camp.
In the distance we saw what looked like wildebees crossing the road. It seemed as if they were headed towards us. Suddenly, about a hundred yards away, they all stopped and faced us. It looked so weird seeing a long row of huge black antelope silently staring at us. I froze. My husband grabbed his camera and started taking photographs. Still the wildebees didn’t move. I began to panic.
‘They’re going to charge’, I whispered. ‘They’ll kill us.’
‘Nonsense,’ came his reply. ‘They’re just being curious. I’ve taken some fantastic photographs. I’m going to change the lens to get a wider view then I can get them all in. ‘
With that my husband knelt down in the road and started rummaging in his rucksack. I spotted a small thorn bush and gingerly moved across the road and crouched behind it.
‘They’re not going to kill and eat you,’ my husband said. ‘They’re herbivores.’
‘They’ll trample and kill us and then the hyenas, vultures and other scavengers will eat us! Or we’ll be eaten alive by lions as we lie here seriously injured!’
I’m not sure how long I crouched behind the bush while my husband took photos but it seemed hours. My legs and feet were numb and I couldn’t move even if I had to. Finally the huge animals must have become bored and, as one, turned, crossed the road and vanished into the bushes.
I fell back onto the prickly grass and stones and lay for a while in the baking sun before feeling returned to my lower extremities. I fetched my now boiling bottle of water, had a sip and we moved forward in silence.
A good while later, following the road, we came across a few houses with high fences and dogs guarding the perimeters. They barked or snarled as greeting so trying to get help from anyone living in one of the houses wasn’t going to happen. If it wasn’t for the dogs making such a noise I would have sworn that they were all empty.
A bit further down the road we heard what sounded like horses galloping towards us. A few yards ahead we saw the first zebra crossing the road, followed by many more. One stayed behind while the others vanished into the thick undergrowth. Being so close, the zebra looked huge, very powerful and, with black eyes focussed on us, very threatening. I could hear him panting and waited for him to begin pawing the ground.
‘That’ll be the male protecting his herd,’ I could barely whisper’. ‘He’ll attack us as we walk past.’
‘Nonsense, just ignore him and he’ll go away,’
‘No’, I whispered back. ‘Let’s just stand still and wait for him to go away’. I wasn’t going anywhere!
As I’m still here telling this tale, the zebra did move off and we finally arrived back at camp, about six hours later, exhausted but very grateful to have survived. The manager said he was about to send out a search party as the last couple who got lost had to be rushed to hospital with heat exhaustion and severe dehydration. He was so relieved to see us that he gave us free ice cold bottles of delicious sparkling water.
I really enjoyed our holiday in Namibia, more in retrospect than at the time. Watching animals in the wild is extraordinary, but only when I’m sitting in a car with windows closed, doors locked and the engine running to make a quick getaway. That’s the only way to go on a safari! 👠
Jenny Burrell 