Hi there everyone. We’re doing great. Just got back into Windhoek, to catch our flight to Jo-burg and on to Nairobi tomorrow. We’ll do some shopping today, have a nice dinner, spend the night in the Nott’s flat here (they’ve got a place here and a place in Omaruru), then head out early for the airport.
We’ve spent the last several days traversing the far north of the country, West to East. We crossed Etosha National Park, where there is a HUGE salty pan that is usually dry, but is now very wet after the best rains in 35 years. The park was fun. We slept two nights as we traveled. One camp was by a waterhole, with lots of animals, elephants, rhinos, etc. etc. One big male started woofing during the night and came into camp, about 50 yards from where we were staying. He called his girlfriend in and they went out for a takeaway of young zebra, which we saw the jackals finishing off the next morning. We saw a million giraffe, and a fun group of mongoose packing up and traveling together. The birding is great here too.
After Etosha, we traveled to the far eastern part of the Northern border, near Botswana, Angola, Zimbabwe and Zaire borders. We spent two nights on the banks of the Okavango River, with a new friend who is a community development worker named Fidi. Fidi and Karen are co-workers…they work with game and plants and people who live in this area, namely Bushmen. Tyler and I slept on a raised platform near the river to listen to elephants, hippos, buffalo as they passed. Fidi/Frederick, who became a believer just a couple years ago. It was really fun; I think we were an encouragement to him. We saw many elephant and had a leopard come very close…he was calling loudly, but ditched it as he got close and saw us. We’ve seen quite a few snakes…Tyler more than me. His eyes are probably better…or maybe he attracts them. He came way too close to a puff adder, but saw it before stepping on it. He also got stung by a little scorpion as he was rolling up his bedroll. On the toe. He had three toes tingle and fall asleep…I think the one stung is still kind of numb, but he said it didn’t hurt too bad…kind of like a wasp sting. Fidi’s house is kind of like where you imagine Robinson Crusoe living…. totally open, doors, bathroom, everything. Grass roof, table under the sky, birds and critters eating right along with people.
Well, more on that later. We are well. We’ve enjoyed this month in Namibia so very much and give many thanks to our hosts, Trevor and especially Karen Nott, and to you all for thinking of us. Next stop, Kenya. Tyler and I hope to meet up with Andy, Kristen, and John tomorrow. They’ll do some work in the slums this week whileI fly a little plane to Lodwar to teach a course to Turkana leaders on Acts, then meet up with all the family the following week. Then we all head to Maasai/Loita together for a few weeks with old friends, a Maasai leaders’ course, then I’ll lead a spiritual retreat for missionaries on the coast. Wow!
We miss and love you all. Peace and love,
Tim
