An Oryx Holiday - Part 2 - Kunene River Lodge

Here's post #2, written by my parents....(see the previous post for Part 1)

We stayed here for 3 nights. We arrived at 5:30 just in time to order dinner. Diane drank 2 double gin and tonics and a glass of reed wine because of the drive there. We traveled on a D road which means it was very rocky, bumpy, windy, narrow, and hilly. It was a wonder our undercarriage didn't fall off. We were on this road for 11/2 hours to cover about 25 kilometers. That night when Diane got up to go to the bathroom she saw a cockroach and a 2 inch spider. It freaked her out. She sprayed the spider with supplied Raid, enclosed herself in the mosquito netting, took a sleeping pill and finally fell asleep.

On the first full day we went canoeing and Johanna and Crystal went white water rafting. They began their whitewater adventure by jumping 7 meters from a rock into rapids. TheIr guide was Florian, a 27 year old German who had beautiful blue eyes. As you can imagine, the girls had a fabulous time! The afternoon was hot and we all laid around trying to get on the internet or napping. John took a dip in the pool. At 4:00 Florian took us and ten other people on a sundowner cruise. Scenery was beautiful as were the rapids we approached but didn't go in them.

standing on Angola!

the sun setting on the Kunene River

On the third day we visited a Himba family. It consisted of a grandmother, grandfather, granddaughter, 2 boys, and set of twins. There are about 55,000 Himbas in northern Namibia. The 2 boys attend school and the girl stays home to help with the chores...not because she's a girl but because she is the oldest. When children turn 12 they get their bottom teeth knocked out with a stone and a stick-something they are not looking forward to. The people cover their bodies and hair with otjize- a red paste made from goat fat and a red stone that is ground up. This acts as a sunblock and moisturer. It prevents hair growth so men have no need to shave. The grandmother we saw had no wrinkles. They eat a diet of mahangu (a type of flour) and goat milk. They only eat meat at special occasions.

Johanna getting her face painted by the Himba woman

For the rest of the day, we rested....

Breakfast everyday, was always eggs, bacon or sausage and beans with a slice of tomato. Or granola, yogurt, cut up fruit, cheese and toast. Dinners were your choice of steak, chicken, or pork. Small salad, fries, and dessert was the Kunene special...