Road Trip Stories
I will skip the bits about canyons, and stick to some of the more memorable moments of the road trip.
First, I struggled at perfecting the stick shift driving. Six years of the Mercury Sable (which may be donated to a family who lost their car in the hurricane - I'll miss it, but I'm sure not using it here) didn't help me in this area at all. The only major stalls were when we were exiting the gate at the Skeleton Coast. I stalled twice and then went bucking away down the road. At least at the military check point when they handed me back my driver's license it was a clean start.
Walvis Bay: In the early part of the trip, Walvis Bay was a real highlight. I asked at the security gate if I could tour the port (I believe that it is Namibia's major port) and the asked to see my passport, had me write the number of it down and then Thomas (the Swiss guy I traveled with for the whole 10 days) and I could wander anywhere in the port. It was great. We started with the tanker unloading acid to be transported by train to the mines. Tsumeb, a city in the north, has something like four minerals that are found nowhere else in the world - or maybe nowhere else together in the world. Anyway, I think the trains were taking the acid to Tsumeb.
Then we toured Cold Storage where mackerel were being sent out in trucks with Zambian registries. I think that the fish is caught and then transferred to a transit ship that packages them. The port holds them for a while and then sends them out. I would imagine they do a fair bit of business like this as the cold upwelling current off the coast is very productive.
After Cold Storage we wandered to the conveyor belts that carry copper and salt (thankfully not at the same time) to ships. We met a guy Isaac, who was rust proofing the supports for the conveyor belts while six other guys hammered or supervised. We had a good talk about shipping. As we were leaving, Isaac called to us from the belt some 25 feet above us, "This is Namibia, friends."
Skeleton Coast: The Skeleton Coast, with its menacing skull and cross bones gate was also quite interesting. It was very cold and very windy, and we encountered a sand storm that was a lot like a snow storm. It all blows in one direction, and piles up here and there and if you aren't careful you can fishtail and spin out or get stuck with your tires spinning. As you exit the coast it suddenly returns to being very very hot. There are no trees, not really any bushes or plants. You can see how if a ship wrecked there it would pretty much be curtains for everyone.
Etosha National Park: Actually before Etosha I woke at sunrise and walked a few kilometer by myself and got to see a very large desert elephant as the sun came up. I just sat and observed as he took care of his morning needs. The most interesting thing was the sound when he rubbed his legs together to scratch the back of his right one. It was so dry sounding and loud. Speaking of sounds, the other amazing sounds of the trip to Etosha were those of lions tearing meat off of a zebra they had killed. We were the only ones around and they were a mere 40-50 feet from the road. The zebra was about a day old, but still the three lions gnawed on it and buried their head in is to get some food. Then they would traipse off to the shade of a tree and nap. It was amazing.
Yes there were canyons, Kuiseb and Seserim, and they were quite interesting, but sometimes you have to mix it up. Cheers.
First, I struggled at perfecting the stick shift driving. Six years of the Mercury Sable (which may be donated to a family who lost their car in the hurricane - I'll miss it, but I'm sure not using it here) didn't help me in this area at all. The only major stalls were when we were exiting the gate at the Skeleton Coast. I stalled twice and then went bucking away down the road. At least at the military check point when they handed me back my driver's license it was a clean start.
Walvis Bay: In the early part of the trip, Walvis Bay was a real highlight. I asked at the security gate if I could tour the port (I believe that it is Namibia's major port) and the asked to see my passport, had me write the number of it down and then Thomas (the Swiss guy I traveled with for the whole 10 days) and I could wander anywhere in the port. It was great. We started with the tanker unloading acid to be transported by train to the mines. Tsumeb, a city in the north, has something like four minerals that are found nowhere else in the world - or maybe nowhere else together in the world. Anyway, I think the trains were taking the acid to Tsumeb.
Then we toured Cold Storage where mackerel were being sent out in trucks with Zambian registries. I think that the fish is caught and then transferred to a transit ship that packages them. The port holds them for a while and then sends them out. I would imagine they do a fair bit of business like this as the cold upwelling current off the coast is very productive.
After Cold Storage we wandered to the conveyor belts that carry copper and salt (thankfully not at the same time) to ships. We met a guy Isaac, who was rust proofing the supports for the conveyor belts while six other guys hammered or supervised. We had a good talk about shipping. As we were leaving, Isaac called to us from the belt some 25 feet above us, "This is Namibia, friends."
Skeleton Coast: The Skeleton Coast, with its menacing skull and cross bones gate was also quite interesting. It was very cold and very windy, and we encountered a sand storm that was a lot like a snow storm. It all blows in one direction, and piles up here and there and if you aren't careful you can fishtail and spin out or get stuck with your tires spinning. As you exit the coast it suddenly returns to being very very hot. There are no trees, not really any bushes or plants. You can see how if a ship wrecked there it would pretty much be curtains for everyone.
Etosha National Park: Actually before Etosha I woke at sunrise and walked a few kilometer by myself and got to see a very large desert elephant as the sun came up. I just sat and observed as he took care of his morning needs. The most interesting thing was the sound when he rubbed his legs together to scratch the back of his right one. It was so dry sounding and loud. Speaking of sounds, the other amazing sounds of the trip to Etosha were those of lions tearing meat off of a zebra they had killed. We were the only ones around and they were a mere 40-50 feet from the road. The zebra was about a day old, but still the three lions gnawed on it and buried their head in is to get some food. Then they would traipse off to the shade of a tree and nap. It was amazing.
Yes there were canyons, Kuiseb and Seserim, and they were quite interesting, but sometimes you have to mix it up. Cheers.
posted by Scott Warren at 5:08 PM
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