Walvis Bay, Namibia

February 1^st, 2025

We woke up early for our final game drive. I know we have another 4 weeks in Africa, but it felt like this is our last day here.

Our mission today was to find lions and elephants. We found neither, but it was still a wonderful drive.

We knew where the lions were, but due to the condition of the roads we were unable to get close to them. We saw a herd of wildebeest in the distance, so drove over there to get a better look.

We found them and watched them for a while. It was such a peaceful scene. I could have been there all day.

We also did some great bird watching.

And saw a very cute jackal resting in the shade.

The giraffes were also hiding

But they did come out in the open after a while.

We stopped by the hide for our midmorning snack, but yet again it was deserted.

It was not what you would call a spectacular game drive, and we have certainly had those in the past few days, but it was the perfect way to say goodbye to Onguma and reluctantly head to the airstrip.

We said goodbye to Victor and our trusty safari vehicle which never once got a puncture or got stuck in the mud

And boarded our little plane for the 2 hour flight to Walvis Bay.

Soon after we were in the air the green of Etosha was replaced by featureless desert. There was nothing down there but sand.

Later the terrain became more interesting, and we could see the features of the fascinating landscape. Yes it looked very dry, but it was also so beautiful.

I just wished that there wasn’t so much turbulence, and that the plane wouldn’t bob up and down so much.

Brian saw us fly over an open cast uranium mine – not a pretty sight.

Finally we arrived in Walvis Bay

And embarked on the long walk back to the terminal.

Back on the ship we were greeted by a towel creature and 2 water bottles. We are not usually in love with towel creatures, but who can resist an elephant in the room.

We went out on deck and saw that they were busy refuelling the ship. This is good, we have 6 sea days ahead of us before we get to Benin. It’s like doing a Transatlantic.

In the afternoon we were treated to a wonderful concert by the Mascato Youth Choir. I think I enjoyed their performance even more than the Ndlovu Youth Choir. The only instrument accompanying them was one drum. They sang Namibian traditional songs, in beautiful harmony. It was an exceptional concert, so of course I had to buy their CD so I can remember this wonderful concert when I am back home on a rainy day.

We watched the sunset from our balcony and had high hopes of a green flash, but it was not to be. Still, it was very pretty.

Then the final event of a truly wonderful day was a performance by the string quartet, Bowjangles. However, this is no ordinary string quartet. Have you ever seen the cellist dancing with her cello? How about doing a can can? All while playing perfectly.

They were such fun to watch, not only are they all very talented musicians, they are very funny entertainers. It felt like we were in the middle of a Monty Python skit at times.

I mean how often do you get to throw nerf balls at the heads of the musicians?

It was absolutely my favorite show!

I do miss being in the game reserve and sleeping in a tent, moths and all, but I must say, it is great to be back on board!