DATE: October 22, 2007
New Photos:
Switzerland
Mafia Island, Tanzania
Namibia
Botswana
Well I'm on the globe again - the itchy feet came back and I find myself crossing Africa in a ridiculous big red truck full of rock climbers. The trip is called Hot Rock (www.climbhotrock.com) and the truck is called BiRT (the Big Red Truck). Needless to say, it has been an adventure - I have been with the truck for nearly a month now and am settling in to the rhythm of dust and grime and scarce showers. It can be a bit odd sometimes, getting used to being in a group, as I'm used to going solo. It can sometimes feel a bit like Big Brother on the Big Red Truck. I wish I had a decent video camera and an interview chair...
BiRT on Etosha Salt Pan
I joined the group in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia, after a few days on the coast of Tanzania on Mafia Island (see photos). I was given a tour of the truck, noting a distinct musty smell within, told that I was the only girl in the group (aside from the trip leader) which explained the smell, and met the lads. Everyone seemed nice enough, but I was exhausted and retired to my tent fairly early while the others had a big night. They had just come off a week in the desert and were enjoying a bit of civilisation (e.g. beer and girls).
Nothing notable happened in Windhoek other than a good deal of preparatory shopping and a delicious meal at a steakhouse that I couldn't appreciate quite like the other, half-starved members of the group. I should mention the food budget for each traveller is $1 a day, which is for breakfast AND dinner, plus a little extra for condiments. While this amazingly seems to work for the most part, when a steak is at hand, people run for it.
Finally we took off for the coast of Namibia and a town called Swakopmund, which is an adrenaline junkie's paradise. We quad biked on huge sand dunes, sky dived, met a crazy old man who set up a 1.2 km zip line from one mountain to another (which of course we had to try), among other things. Here I also learned that there was somewhat of a pirate theme on the truck, which for those of you who know me, resulted in my awe-inspired jaw to drop... enough to make me run out and buy the gear to make our own pirate flag.
Namibian sand dunes
Sky diving - I'm on the right
The Zip Line - the other end is on the smaller mountain across the valley!
Having exhausted the crazy activities in Swakopmund, we headed inland for a week of climbing at Spitzkoppe, which is a huge granite peak that rises up 700m from the surrounding desert. It was a pretty huge deal for my first climbing in months, let alone outdoor climbing which I hadn't done in over a year. One of the first endevours, of course, was the summit. Another favourite climb was the Rhino Horn, which had an amazing abseil in the sunset. Aside from the hordes of flies, it was a fun climbing spot which reminded me quite a lot of a slabby version of Smith Rock, Oregon.
BiRT and camp
Remi and I at the top of Spitzkoppe - taken by Mike
Abseiling off the Rhino Horn - taken by Remi
Camp in the evening
Next, we headed up the Skeleton Coast (where we actually did see a number of animal skeletons), stopped off at a Ship Wrack (sic) and took a dip in the frigid water. It was a quick visit, we had a big day and a game park called Etosha as our destination. Here we visited a salt flat and went on Safari with BiRT, which is an interesting experience, given its ridiculously loud diesel truck engine and a bunch of loud climbers blasting music in the back. I have a lot of great pictures of animal bums, as they all ran away the moment they sensed us coming.
BiRT on the Skeleton Coast
Zebra bums
Bye bye pretty elephant!
Giraffe watching us
Cameras
Hot Rockers proudly waving the pirate flag, from left: Remi, Sam, Mike, Emma (trip leader), Henry (driver)
Our second safari, in Botswana's Chobe park, was more successful. We took advantage of local 4x4 jeeps and split up into smaller, quieter groups. This way we saw much more game, including: giraffes, elephants, zebra, a rhino, hippos, oryx, springbok, crocodiles, and LIONS, who were a leeeettle closer than some would have liked... especially when they began running toward the 'candy mobiles' as I like to call our jeeps, making eye contact with you as you begin to worry that mayyyybe they are selecting their next meal.
Stop looking at me! G'ah...
Elephants
Hippos