Eric and I spend the next few days trying to sort out how to get from Windhoek in Namibia to Livingstone in Zambia via the Okavango Delta in Botswana.
Sadly, it’s looking like it’s not going to be easy – it would seem that getting into Namibia is a piece of cake, but getting out of Namibia is not.
For starters, we’ve been told by more than one person that there are no official buses through to Maun, Botswana – Maun is considered “the gateway to the Okavango Delta”.
When we ask about other means of travel, no one is able to give us a straight answer – not the Namibia Tourist Information Office, not our hostel employees, not the various travel agents in town. In fact, all of the responses seem to begin with “I think there might be…”, “it might be possible to…” or “I guess, you could probably…”.
As you can imagine, this isn’t very helpful.
Eventually, we track down a company that does private transport to Botswana, but of course they can’t give us an actual price – just a vague range of between $700-$1200 NAD per person, plus other expenses which might come up but no examples can be given as to what these “other expenses” could be.
I see.
And sadly, the flights from Windhoek to Maun aren’t that much better – the tickets are expensive on their own, but when you add the costs of taking a taxi to the airport which is located almost 50kms outside of town, it’s even more money.
Plus, when we arrive in Botswana we still have to figure out where to stay, how to get into the Delta and Chobe National Park and then how to get across Botswana and over to Zambia.
Ug… sometimes “doing-it-yourself travelling” sucks.
In the end, Eric manages to find a great deal on a 10-day organized tour that will cover everything we want to do, plus a bit more.
Now, neither of us are “tour people”. We prefer travelling at our own pace and enjoying the freedom to stop and smell the roses along the way. And unfortunately with a tour you’re following a pre-set schedule and have to share some close quarters with people you don’t know for an extended period of time.
But seeing as we’ve been pretty much “doing-it-on-our-own” for the past 8 months and we’re a little wiped out from the past 2 weeks of driving, we decide to do it anyway. Our rationale is that this leg of the trip looks like it’s going to be frustrating whether we do it on our own or with a tour, so we might as well be frustrated knowing we have a bed to sleep in at night.
Besides it’ll be nice to meet some new people and to not have to think about logistics for a little bit… what to do, where to sleep, what to eat, etc.
The tour is scheduled to begin on Thursday, so until then all we have to do is enjoy some much needed “down time” at the hostel… reading, watching movies and just staying still.
On Tuesday, Eric and I join our roommates – Barbara from Austria and Sarah from Canada – on a visit to the township of Katutura. The two of them are volunteering at “the Home for Good Hope”, which is sort of a soup kitchen / nursery school for the local children.
Many of the children who visit the centre are too young for school, while others are from families who can’t afford to send them to school, so it’s a place where they get a nutritious meal and some basic schooling and developmental lessons. But more importantly, it’s a place where they get some much-needed love and attention.
We arrive and are immediately thrown into the thick of it… getting 50+ kids to sit still is no easy task. The day starts off with everyone singing songs and clapping hands, after which we serve out lunch, do the dishes and then break into smaller groups to practice drawing and writing.
It’s a beautiful, heart-wrenching, eye-opening and fun experience. Monica, the matriarch of the project, is a wonderful woman who is trying to make a difference in her community and it was a special pleasure to be able to meet her and the children of Katutura.
At one point all the kids sing “Happy Birthday” to me – a little bird named Barbara mentioned it to Monica – and it takes every part of me not to get teary-eyed… if you’ve never had 50 smiling children belt out “Happy Birthday” to you, well then you’re missing out.
Unfortunately, we’re only able to help out the one day. We get confirmation that our tour is “a go” on Tuesday night and Eric and I have to take care of a few last minute errands on Wednesday.
Wednesday also happens to be my birthday, so although we spend the day taking care of business, Eric buys me a cake and we enjoy our final night in the hostel relaxing with some new friends.
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