Sitting at the airport (finally), waiting to board for Windhoek (which is pronounced 'Vindhook' for we dumb Aussies).
What a morning! Woke up at 2am thinking it was time to spring out of bed and face the day. I had to force myself to stay in bed and try to sleep again. it took about an hour but I must have managed it because I had the most bizar dream (which I won't bore you with here).
The breakfast was divine! A buffet with all the goodies. I ate and ate I was so hungry. My stomach started growling at 2 this morning after all.
The airport adventure was almost as bad as last night. These people must make it their life's mission to be as unhelful and difficult as possible. The flight boards told me to go to Terminal A, and when I got there, they said to got to Terminal B. These two points were a long way from one another, and with a 10 minute walk with a lot of carry-on baggage, and heavy at that, it wasn't much fun.
I'm finally booked on a flight to Windhoek, but I have serious doubts as to whether my bag is going to find me, or me it. You see, last night while trying to find it, they said they would bring it up to the carousels, but then I didn't get it. They are just not efficient enought to get this right. Talk about a world away from Hong Kong!!
Well, I arrived in Windoek and to my utter amazement, there was my bag! Seriously? How did they manage that? Never mind, they had something else to trip me up with.
Filling out the forms to enter Namibia. What is the address you will be staying at? I don't know! I'm being picked up by a lovely lady and we plan to stay in a number of places over the next 4 weeks. I didn't know the addresses! Seems that wasn't good enough for the Customs Clerk. No, go away until you know where you will be staying. Great, no phone, I'm standing in a building not much better than a tin shed, desert as far as the eye can see, stuck in Namibian customs, I can't leave and the Clerk refuses to help. Excellent.
As the last of the flight is about to pass through the gates and leave me all on my own, I quickly pull on a woman's arm just before she leaves. "Please, tell me the address where you are staying". No, she wouldn't. Ok, I'll try this... Grootfontein Hotel, Grootfontein. Stepped up to the Clerk, and sure enough, he accepts that. By this time I was sweating badly and so close to tears. I walked through the gates and there was Ellen and Leonie to pick me up. If I had have known them I would have broken down in tears of relief right there and then, but I managed to hold it together.
We jumped in Ellen's car, which was brand new, and we headed out of Windhoek, North toward a small town called Otavi. On the drive I saw Baboons, Warthogs, Guinea Fowl, 2 Orix, a Cudu, a baby Deer and an Eagle. The landscape is dry and studded with squat thorn trees. As we left Windoek I noticed larger trees bearing pods, which Ellen explained were harvested for cattle food but were considered to be non-indigenous and thus bad for the environment. I begged to differ. They were nitrogen-fixing trees that provided food and were thriving in an otherwise barren landscape. They should be encouraged wherever possible!
What a morning! Woke up at 2am thinking it was time to spring out of bed and face the day. I had to force myself to stay in bed and try to sleep again. it took about an hour but I must have managed it because I had the most bizar dream (which I won't bore you with here).
The breakfast was divine! A buffet with all the goodies. I ate and ate I was so hungry. My stomach started growling at 2 this morning after all.
The airport adventure was almost as bad as last night. These people must make it their life's mission to be as unhelful and difficult as possible. The flight boards told me to go to Terminal A, and when I got there, they said to got to Terminal B. These two points were a long way from one another, and with a 10 minute walk with a lot of carry-on baggage, and heavy at that, it wasn't much fun.
I'm finally booked on a flight to Windhoek, but I have serious doubts as to whether my bag is going to find me, or me it. You see, last night while trying to find it, they said they would bring it up to the carousels, but then I didn't get it. They are just not efficient enought to get this right. Talk about a world away from Hong Kong!!
Well, I arrived in Windoek and to my utter amazement, there was my bag! Seriously? How did they manage that? Never mind, they had something else to trip me up with.
Filling out the forms to enter Namibia. What is the address you will be staying at? I don't know! I'm being picked up by a lovely lady and we plan to stay in a number of places over the next 4 weeks. I didn't know the addresses! Seems that wasn't good enough for the Customs Clerk. No, go away until you know where you will be staying. Great, no phone, I'm standing in a building not much better than a tin shed, desert as far as the eye can see, stuck in Namibian customs, I can't leave and the Clerk refuses to help. Excellent.
As the last of the flight is about to pass through the gates and leave me all on my own, I quickly pull on a woman's arm just before she leaves. "Please, tell me the address where you are staying". No, she wouldn't. Ok, I'll try this... Grootfontein Hotel, Grootfontein. Stepped up to the Clerk, and sure enough, he accepts that. By this time I was sweating badly and so close to tears. I walked through the gates and there was Ellen and Leonie to pick me up. If I had have known them I would have broken down in tears of relief right there and then, but I managed to hold it together.
We jumped in Ellen's car, which was brand new, and we headed out of Windhoek, North toward a small town called Otavi. On the drive I saw Baboons, Warthogs, Guinea Fowl, 2 Orix, a Cudu, a baby Deer and an Eagle. The landscape is dry and studded with squat thorn trees. As we left Windoek I noticed larger trees bearing pods, which Ellen explained were harvested for cattle food but were considered to be non-indigenous and thus bad for the environment. I begged to differ. They were nitrogen-fixing trees that provided food and were thriving in an otherwise barren landscape. They should be encouraged wherever possible!
We arrived late afternoon at a hotel-type place in the middle of nowhere. It was actually really nice; built in a traditional style.
Ellen and Leonie had met with the Managers recently and made bookings. They showed me to my room which was really lovely. I showered and went for a little walk. I was very tired, and met up with Ellen and Leonie in the dining room. They were also tired and we just wanted to have dinner and go to bed early. Unfortuntely, the Manager wasn't expecting this, and had planned to cook a slow cooked lamb and mashed potato for dinner. Nothing was going to deter him I'm afraid, so thinking for some reason that he needed to entertain us, he spent his time (rather than preparing our meal), talking to us. We finally ate around 9:30pm and we all just crawled back to our rooms. I put up my mosquito net and slept very well until about 4am.
Ellen and Leonie had met with the Managers recently and made bookings. They showed me to my room which was really lovely. I showered and went for a little walk. I was very tired, and met up with Ellen and Leonie in the dining room. They were also tired and we just wanted to have dinner and go to bed early. Unfortuntely, the Manager wasn't expecting this, and had planned to cook a slow cooked lamb and mashed potato for dinner. Nothing was going to deter him I'm afraid, so thinking for some reason that he needed to entertain us, he spent his time (rather than preparing our meal), talking to us. We finally ate around 9:30pm and we all just crawled back to our rooms. I put up my mosquito net and slept very well until about 4am.
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