From game viewing to game eating: Namibia, part 2

From the wilds of Etosha, and camping in a hot tent, Jon and I moved on to visit my UNC roommate, Karie, at her partner (Byron) at the game reserve where he is the hunter-in-chief. Having passed the test of both Ganja the dog and Musket the extra-fat cat, we settled down for hours of delicious coffee, conversation, and homemade bread in their cozy garden. After some gender-segregated afternoon activities (Jon headed off with Byron to feed the resident sable antelopes, while Karie and I took a much-needed girltime walk around the ranch), we all gathered around for an evening braii (BBQ) of tofu sausages for 2; enough meat for 12 (but it was also just for 2); garlic bread, salad, and stuffed squash. Scrumptious!

In the morning, Byron took Jon off in the helicopter to deliver a package to the neighbor – flying over an enormous herd of eland and various other animals (I was not saddened to be left out of the 2-seater craft). Then, all back on the ground, we headed off for a great day of sightseeing in the central north: the petrified forest with the welwitschia plants, a picnic near the sinkhole, Twyfelfontein’s 6,000-year-old rock art, and the rocks of the Organ Pipes. After a whirlwind 36 hours, we went our separate ways at the fork in the road – they headed back to the farm, and we headed off to Brandenberg. Thanks Byron and Karie!

Jon and I headed to Uis for the night, a mining ghost town we expected to be just a place to rest. But, the Brandenberg Rest Camp http://www.brandbergrestcamp.com/ was arguably our favorite place to stay! There, our new friends Bazel, Monti, and Joe introduced us to the Duppa – a snuff device aimed at facilitating the pathway of peachy mint snuff straight to the brain. Having a large man with a hammer ask you to put your nose on a hook next to gray powder is slightly unsettling, but Jon and I both like to “do as they locals do”. After passing the Duppa test, we settled down for some beers with the locals. Our best night! If even in Uis, you must all stay there.

From there, to the dunes and seaside town of Swakopmund! The town itself feels very European (and slightly boring), and we stayed in a lovely place, Alternate Space, full of naked images of the guesthouse’s owner. While there, Jon enjoyed one of his “top 10 meals of all time” at Lighthouse Restaurant – Kabeljou mariscal, fresh caught calamari, and their B1 chocolate cake with its molten caramel center – while I found a Thai-ish restaurant to have some vegetarian dumplings. The highlight of the stop was a desert tour from Tommy Tours – a half-day excursion into the dunes (with 24 other people) to learn more about the critters and sand formations. The guides and drivers were excellent, and we all enjoyed the chameleons, snakes, and lizards of the sand.

In the afternoon, we walked through the depressing graveyard – noting the beautiful German section; the small, but well-kept Jewish section; the trash-laden black section with no trees or headstones; and the mass graves of the Herero people from a 1904 massacre. Although it is easy for tourists to ignore in general, the cemetery was a rude reminder of the legacy of Apartheid in Namibia.

Then, after a provision stock up for pretzels at Traff Café and some groceries at Spar, we headed off for the dunes of Sossusvlei…