Day 35
Today I'm in: Windhoek, Namibia
Day 35 started off (as so many days on this trip seem to be...) with a very early wakeup. Since I hadn't really noticed how far north the nThambo camp was from the Nelspruit airport, we had to leave at 5:45am to catch our 10am flight. We had also decided not to take the (more expensive) flight from the (much closer) Hoedspruit airport.
So bleary-eyed we flew first to Johannesburg and then onward to Windhoek, the capital of Namibia, where we would be overnighting before making our way into the Namib Desert the following day. Coming into land in Windhoek was a little surreal - the airport is about 30 miles from the city, and there was nothing except scrubland and low mountains visible in all directions. No city at all. Namibia is one of the most sparsely-populated countries in the world and my first impression definitely bore that out.
After a long ride into town through similarly featureless scrub we arrived in Windhoek and discovered there is actually a city here. But on a sleepy Sunday afternoon it's not much of a city. Most of the shops were closed, as were a good number of the restaurants, and there weren't many people on the streets. Namibia was administered as a province of South Africa for most of the 20th century (the country didn't become independent until 1990) so Windhoek looks and feels very much like a South African city. All of the same chain stores and shops that I'd seen in Cape Town and Johannesburg were in evidence.
Interestingly, after independence the city fathers decided to rename a number of the streets after famous revolutionary leaders of the 20th century. Thus it was that we found ourselves at the intersection of Fidel Castro Street and Robert Mugabe Avenue - probably not the most distinguished crossroads in the world.
Before being given to South Africa after World War I, Namibia was a German colony, and there's still a bit of German evidence in town. The Christuskirche is the city's main cathedral, most people speak a bit of German and Germans are definitely the largest contingent among the tourists we saw while walking around. Windhoek is generally safe during the day, but in keeping with its South African flavor, the electric fences and barbed wire are very visible, and after dinner we elected to take a cab back to our hotel.
We're headed off into the desert this morning - once again, I'm not sure whether we'll have internet connectivity, so it may be a few days before I check in again.
Today I'm in: Windhoek, Namibia
Day 35 started off (as so many days on this trip seem to be...) with a very early wakeup. Since I hadn't really noticed how far north the nThambo camp was from the Nelspruit airport, we had to leave at 5:45am to catch our 10am flight. We had also decided not to take the (more expensive) flight from the (much closer) Hoedspruit airport.
So bleary-eyed we flew first to Johannesburg and then onward to Windhoek, the capital of Namibia, where we would be overnighting before making our way into the Namib Desert the following day. Coming into land in Windhoek was a little surreal - the airport is about 30 miles from the city, and there was nothing except scrubland and low mountains visible in all directions. No city at all. Namibia is one of the most sparsely-populated countries in the world and my first impression definitely bore that out.
After a long ride into town through similarly featureless scrub we arrived in Windhoek and discovered there is actually a city here. But on a sleepy Sunday afternoon it's not much of a city. Most of the shops were closed, as were a good number of the restaurants, and there weren't many people on the streets. Namibia was administered as a province of South Africa for most of the 20th century (the country didn't become independent until 1990) so Windhoek looks and feels very much like a South African city. All of the same chain stores and shops that I'd seen in Cape Town and Johannesburg were in evidence.
Interestingly, after independence the city fathers decided to rename a number of the streets after famous revolutionary leaders of the 20th century. Thus it was that we found ourselves at the intersection of Fidel Castro Street and Robert Mugabe Avenue - probably not the most distinguished crossroads in the world. 
Before being given to South Africa after World War I, Namibia was a German colony, and there's still a bit of German evidence in town. The Christuskirche is the city's main cathedral, most people speak a bit of German and Germans are definitely the largest contingent among the tourists we saw while walking around. Windhoek is generally safe during the day, but in keeping with its South African flavor, the electric fences and barbed wire are very visible, and after dinner we elected to take a cab back to our hotel.We're headed off into the desert this morning - once again, I'm not sure whether we'll have internet connectivity, so it may be a few days before I check in again.
YES! Can't wait to hear how you like the Namib! Hi to Aaron!
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