Acacia Africa Overland Truck Tour BEGINS!

I know that I suddenly went silent on you, dearest four people who are probably reading this blog. For that, I apologize. It was not my intention, but it was a necessity.

I believe that I last left off at Table Mountain back in Cape Town. Well, that morning I did make it up to the breathtaking views and changeable weather at the summit of Table Mountain with Claire and Alex, although not without some setbacks. Claire and Alex wanted to take the cable car up, but they were nice enough to also pick up a German guest at my hostel who wanted to hike up. So, we drove up to the base of the mountain, found a parking space, wished Katharina a pleasant and happy hike, and commenced waiting in line FOREVER. It seems we had all forgotten that it was the last Friday of the holiday weekend and, with the nice weather, that everyone in Cape Town would have the same idea we had to come to the mountain that day. We waited 2 hours and 45 minutes to ride the cable car up, and Katharina beat us up there by about an hour . . . on foot. Regardless, the views were incredible, as per usual and it was totally worth the wait. Including the extra hour in line to take the cable car back down the mountain!

The view from Table Mountain. Amirite?

After the Table Mountain excursion took far longer than expected, I parted ways with Alex and Claire and took to the city center. I just had the afternoon left in Cape Town before a pre-departure meeting for my 25-day overland truck tour that was to begin early the next morning, so I passed the time wandering around Long Street, Green Square Market, and District 6. I made it back to my hostel for the meeting in plenty of time and I got settled in and started chatting with the other folks who were gathering. As fate would have it, I sat between the only two other North Americans who, coincidentally, were both from Calgary, Canada. Otherwise, we soon learned that, while everyone was going to be on the tour for different lengths of time, we would all be together until Livingstone, Zambia, which was a ways away.

There are 23 of us in total, very nearly a full truck, and our size has earned us the largest and coolest truck in the fleet, White Nile as she's called, which includes enormous lockers, a freezer for our dinners, and compartments for all of our equipment and supplies. As well as the US and Canada, we have representation from Germany, Finland, England, Ireland, South Africa, and an enormous Australian contingent including folks from Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne. The group has been great so far and seems to be up for anything! The tour is for 18- to 39-year-olds, but we are mostly on the younger end of that spectrum, making for an often raucously fun time! It’s kind of fun to be a member of that group of people you hate sitting next to in a restaurant or movie theater!

Our tour group at the Tropic of Capricorn with our home for the month in the background.

Our guides are also tremendous and I feel so lucky to have them at the helm! Our tour guide, Kelly, is from the UK, but has lived in Australia and Africa for many years, four of which have been working for Acacia Africa, the overland truck tour company. She’s laid-back, efficient, full of ideas and solutions, and overall just a really cool chick. Mark is our driver/mechanic and is from South Africa. He is just brimming with information about the flora and fauna, as well as the cultural and historical context of our stops and each country. He’s also got a pretty terrific beard, which obviously coincides with his awesomeness. My favorite Mark quote so far was when he and Kelly were telling us about Red Romans, an insect that kills scorpions, but also has a tendency to scurry about near and on humans, if given the chance. He was telling us that often people think the Red Roman is chasing them, but in reality they are chasing their shadow because they can’t stand direct light. However, if a creepy crawly thing is perpetually barreling toward you and won’t stop, it can feel pretty terrifying. After explaining all of this in a fairly nonchalant way, he concluded with, “How fucked up is that shit?” Couldn’t have said it better myself, Mark.

Now, I know that you’re all clamoring to hear about absolutely every little detail of my last week, but I haven’t the time or patience to detail our entire trip, so I’ll hit the highlights for ya:

• A tour of Langa, Cape Town’s oldest township, as well as a surprise lunch at Mzoli’s (can you say “meat coma?”);
• A stay in a lovely vineyard, including a delicious dinner and a wine tasting (as well as an overly-amorous one-year-old Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy who took quite the shine to one of our Aussie boys);
• On our first night we also learned to unpack the truck and set up our tents! Then, of course, the following morning how to do the reverse.
• A border crossing from South Africa into Namibia;
• Sighting two Red Romans (one of which did, in fact, scuttle up my leg) and one scorpion;
• An incredibly pleasant, quiet, and scenic canoe trip along the Orange River (where there are no crocs or hippos to worry about);
• Several long drives over gravel roads that are nearly invisible in the desert landscape), including one 600-kilometer (or ~375-mile) day;
• A hike along the rim of the world’s second largest canyon, Fish River Canyon, topped off by a cold glass of champagne while watching the sun set and the full moon rise;
• Only one very minor mechanical difficulty with the truck (so far);
• Springbok and Oryx walking and grazing through our camp for the night;
• A pre-dawn climb up an 80 meter sand dune to watch the sunrise from the top, then a run down the steep side back to the truck for breakfast;
• A wander through the petrified acacia forest at the base of the desert’s largest dune, “Big Daddy;”
• Crossing the Tropic of Capricorn;
• Many afternoons enjoying the campsite’s pool, a cold drink, and each other’s company (including a sand volleyball game with a local team of Namibians);
• A tour of the Mondesa township outside of Swakopmund, Namibia, including lunch, and a performance by an a capella group who arranges their own music;
• And, to top it all off, a skydive over the Namib desert where the dunes meet the Atlantic Ocean over the town of Swakopmund!!!

Our Acacia Africa tour group at the wine tasting on our first night!

One of many Chaco photos, this one from Fish River Canyon in Namibia.

At about 3/4 of the way to the top of Dune 45 as the sun was rising.

Now, on that last point, I shall elaborate. I had no intention of doing another skydive on this trip for two main reasons: 1) I’ve done a skydive before and it was great, so no need to spend the money to do it again, and 2) I didn’t know there was an option on this trip to do one. Welp, there is an option to do one on this trip and Kelly and Mark were on about how much fun it is to get the whole tour out there to hang out and watch people going up and coming down, and while you’re there, why not just jump yourself? I started to get pretty excited by the idea, so I knew it was on. Being my second jump, I felt incredibly relaxed this time and the caliber of the company running them only helped me to relax more. They were professional, caring, and fun-loving guys, making for a fantastic experience. We had a few who were pretty nervous and others who were just chomping at the bit to get going, but everyone had an incredible time. Of our 23 people, 15 ended up jumping, including one gal who decided to go topless for a small discount and a fellow who, while completely wasted the night before, agreed to jump naked for 100 Namibian dollars (the equivalent of less than USD$10). Apparently this group will do quite a lot for quite a little! In the meantime, we all hung out at the drop zone, chatting, drinking beer or cider (some to cool off, some to calm their nerves and eventually to celebrate their safe return), and cheering on the jumpers as they sailed back down to earth. It was a really incredible day and I have loads of photos and a great video as proof of it all (yes, including the less-than-clothed jumpers).

My skydive with Dries over Swakopmund, Namibia!

This evening I will be taking a horseback ride through the desert and along the coast, then we continue north into Namibia and toward Etosha National Park. From there, we should start seeing more and more animals and I’m really looking forward to that! We have one more night in our real beds here in our Swakopmund hostel, then it’s back to camping. In fact, the next two nights will be in bush camps without running water or electricity, so it’s about to get interesting (and smelly)!

I’ve really enjoyed my time on this first visit to Namibia. And, as always happens in a new country, my list of things to see and do here has grown exponentially and will require another trip in the future. I may be able to post again in the next week or so, but otherwise, I’m on tour until we hit Johannesburg, South Africa on the 27^th . Keep an eye out before then, but if you don’t hear from me, assume I’m having a blast. It’s actually been incredibly easy to relax and unplug on this tour so far and I’m enjoying the freedom while I can.

I hope that 2015 has been kind to everyone so far. Sending you love and a dry, desert heat from Namibia!