But this is Africa! In fact I would go as far as saying it is preferable to buy your presents at one of the regular tourist shops where you may have to pay a bit more, but are left in peace and given time to select your gifts. Nevertheless, we managed to get some presents for those at home, and one or two we bought for ourselves. We were looking forward to our next stop - which was for lunch at Joe's Beer House. This was our own choice, as the guys had offered to prepare lunch on the road, but nobody declined the opportunity for this last get-together. Unfortunately, Lori and Chuck would be unable to join us, as they had to leave early in order to catch their connecting flights home. We all said our goodbyes at the spot we had arrived two weeks earlier, and wished our "across the pond" visitors a safe trip home, and indeed it was a great shame that they were unable to join us at Joe's as I'm sure they'd have really enjoyed it. With Lori and Chuck safely on their way, in a taxi that must have felt incredibly plush and comfortable after two weeks on the truck, we drove the short distance to Joe's Beer House. Now - how you would describe this establishment ?
  I'm really not sure - but I would finally settle on it as being akin to an

 outsized Steptoe's junk yard, when, amidst all the junk, somebody had decided to open a restaurant, and basically created a little space and placed the tables amongst  the junk. This place had a quite unique character, with the dining area surrounded by all manner of memorabilia - empty bottles that had contained all manner of liquids, empty tins, empty cases, empty jars - and some jars that DID contain unidentifiable and questionable contents. Along with this was the junk - and junk it was. Above our table for instance there was a rusty old oil drum and a wooden pallet suspended from the ceiling by some rope - not the sort of ambience you would expect at a nice restaurant, but here it seemed absolutely right. We settled down, ordered a few drinks and

began to make our selections from the wide choice of meals on the menu. Maxwell suggested that we avoid starters, as the meals were "quite substantial."  Nancy ordered a meal of roast chicken, which was delivered on a board. I opted for something local - a "Namibian bush fire." This was a mixture of steaks from ostrich, springbok and oryx, served on a bed of potato straws and topped off with a flaming glass of sambuca - and very nice it was too. I cannot recall what everybody had, but Claire, sitting opposite decided on the "lighter bite" menu, and ordered a simple burger. Simple burger - but not as we know it!! You certainly wouldn't get one of these at McDonald's. Everybody enjoyed their meals, enjoyed a couple of drinks, and indeed after the quiet end to the preceding evening it seemed a very enjoyable and appropriate way to finish the two weeks. In contrast, on

  the next table was the group from the Namibian lodge trip. In comparison to the laughter on our table, our close neighbours' assembly was more like a wake. At the conclusion of the meal we split the bill equally between us, whilst the calculators came out next door, to ensure that nobody paid for anything they themselves hadn't consumed! Max was always critical of the atmosphere of the lodge trips in comparison to the "around the fire" togetherness of the campers. I do feel however that given the same group we would have had just as much fun had the positions been reversed. Before we left I took the opportunity of taking a good look around the restaurant and I can honestly say that you could spend an hour just looking at the various bits and pieces within. Our next stop was the airport. For all of us, a long trip home, albeit that the two Claires, Jan and Brenda were first of all taking

a couple of days in Cape Town, enabling them to take a direct flight home rather than changing at Frankfurt. We could only reflect then on the two weeks. We had a great crew - Maxwell - What can we say about Maxwell? He is a native of Zimbabwe, an experienced guide who lectures on wildlife management in local universities. He is very well read - reading up to five books a week when he has the time, and loves all sorts of music, particularly jazz and classical. He is a keen rugby fan, both playing and watching, and has only recently recovered from an injury, having sustained a dislocated ankle - which had him climbing the Waterberg Plateau on crutches. I'd always thought that Rugby was a dangerous game, but then again, I couldn't imagine Max playing badminton, whilst I certainly could imagine him performing the All-Blacks' famous "Haka." Max has a unique sense of humour, often coming up with short single one-line quips that had I thought earlier, could have been listed and turned into a small book. He enjoyed conversing with his guests - on all manner of things from music, literature, and rugby to the role of women in Africa, which often provoked prolonged conversation shall we say. One of his favourite phrases at the conclusion of various conversations, and always said in jest ... "you should write a book." He said it so often that merely saying it became quite amusing: somebody would speak about a particular subject, all would become quiet, until Max popped up .... "You should write a book," and it always gave me a chuckle. I felt that Max was a very deep character, but a thoroughly nice guy.

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 At times I would find him staring into the fire apparently deep in thought. I might also add that he was also very handy in the absence of a bottle-opener, and would readily provide the service by using his teeth to take off the caps - and we will I feel sure always remember Max whenever anybody mentions "facilities." This word for all of us will have taken on a new meaning. As for the lads, Gecko and Jonas - they won't mind I'm sure me referring to them as the workhorses of the trip. Between them they did all the driving, cooking, putting up tents, taking down tents, packing away the gear, unpacking the gear - ably assisted by Max - all this at the end of a long day's travelling. They were always smiling and laughing, not only with us but in each other's company, which is always nice to hear. I lost count of the number of cups of tea they made - I'm sure their patience may  have been tested once or twice - asking for hot water from the fire for instance whilst they're in the middle of packing etc. but they were never heard to mutter or complain, apart from the odd "Himba!!" maybe. All in all - a great crew, who couldn't have done any more for us on this trip, and indeed it is the crew, and indeed our fellow travellers who helped to make this trip so memorable.

It was early evening when we boarded our Airbus 340 to head home. As we walked across the tarmac I paused to take this one last photo, and at this, the end of our fifth trip to Africa I began to wonder if this may be the last. There are so many places to go, so many places to see, but as I write these final few lines,  just three weeks after returning I am again feeling the unique pull that is Africa. I don't think I could ever tire of seeing the elephants, the big cats, the crocs the hippos, the wealth of colourful birds, the people, and particularly the children - forever smiling, at times amidst the poverty and the deprivation that one encounters from time to time. That is the magic of Africa - and if you want to know if I DO return - well, you'll just have to keep re-visiting the website. To all our fellow travellers, to Max, Gecko and Jonas we wish you all the best - in your lives and future travels, and on behalf of Nancy and myself, I hope you all enjoy reading about our trip and recounting the journey through this diary, as much as I have whilst writing it.  Best wishes, Bill. October 17th.2008

As a footnote - With this, our fifth African trip behind us, it's something I've been asked many times in the past, and undoubtedly one I will be asked in a future - "What is your favourite?" I would always reply that they had all been so different, it was difficult to give a definitive answer.  But I have since given this a great deal of thought, and have been asking myself if I were given the choice of doing just one of the trips again - which one would it be?  If only we could take a trip incorporating the mountain gorillas of Rwanda, the abundance of big game and big-cats  in the Masai Mara - the crocodiles and hippos of Tanzania, the Okavango Delta,  getting eye-to-eye with elephants on the Zambezi,  Victoria Falls,  then roll them all into one - if only!!   Of course, we all take different memories and experiences from all such trips, but the more I think about it, the more I am swayed to nominate our Botswana Wildlife Safari as the one we would like to repeat given the choice.  The truly wild camping I feel is a great positive - with that touch of excitement as you woke in the morning to inspect the tracks of the animals that had passed through during the night, the roar of the big cats in the near distance as you try to sleep - and the close encounters during the day, the experience of three days on a Zambezi houseboat,  the boat safaris

in the Okavango Delta, complete with grunting hippos just  yards away in the reeds, and not to mention the absolute wealth of birdlife. I feel we have got to know our  fellow-travellers on this Namibian trip, some of whom I know have already experienced Botswana - but to those who haven't,  and if you still  have a bit of a yearning to visit Africa again, Botswana comes highly recommended. You won't be disappointed.  Best wishes,    Bill.

 

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