TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums Africa Stories of Africa..

Hi Carol,
Ohh yes, I would love to tell you about Africa. The problem is, where do I start.... <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Doh.gif" alt="" />

I used to take, mostly British travellers all over Namibia when I was living there. It all started out when my kids left home and one of my friends in Cape Town, South Africa which is where I come from, asked me to show a friend of hers' 18 yr old daughter the sights while she did a stop-over in Windhoek, Namibia's capital, on her way to Cape Town. I told her I would take her anywhere she wanted to go. So, for the next week, we went all over the place. I used my private car and she paid the petrol and the accomodation wherever we stayed and I showed her everything I could. It actually started a kind of business for me and over the years, I became a personal guide to many British tourists. It was nice, because they didn't have to go through a travel agent and I got known by word of mouth. People just phoned me at my home and told me what they wanted. I told them what it would cost - basically all they had to do was pay the petrol, my accomodation and they had to feed me... The joy in it was that I got to get out and about and I got to go to all my favourite places quite often at their expense, without it costing them a fortune or me a penny. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Joy.gif" alt="" /> If anything happened to my car on the road, they paid for the repairs, but I only ever had that happen once when I got a flat tyre and they covered the cost. I didn't charge them for using the car, just the petrol. But man, I got treated like a queen and I found out that if you don't charge people for your services, you actually make more money, as they are so grateful for the personal touch that they lavish you with all kinds of things. One couple gave me 5,000.00 GBP and told me to go and have fun. That was A LOT of money for me to play with with the ridiculous exchange rate at the time.

Is that a good story for a start?
It's late and I have to go to bed.
Good night.
Liz <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/thanks.gif" alt="" />

Thanks for a lovely story! Hope you don't mind, I am making this a separate thread, as it deserves it's on thread.. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Smile.gif" alt="" />

Hi Carol,
I wrote a long story to post here and I lost it. Is there a time limit when writing these stories on this site before the site shuts you down?

I was annoyed as I had alot to say and it just went "poof".
I don't have time to write it again right now. LOL <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/cloud.gif" alt="" />
Liz

Kitty--there is a kind of a 'glitch' in the system sometimes, if you take over a few minutes to write your post. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/sorry.gif" alt="" /> My suggestion is that you write your story offline in a word processing program and then copy and paste it into TTOL.

Hey there Carol,
I got you there.

I might have time to write it again now. I will just do it in my outlook express, save it, then copy and paste it into the site. Ahhhhhhh well, you live and learn. The thing is, I should have known, or at the very least guessed about that glitch as many sites do that ........ UUUUUUUURRRRRGHHHHHHH!! Sometimes I want to pull my hair out...*giggle*

Before I go, I have to tell you that I liked you calling me "Kitty". I took that nick from the Africat Foundation. At first I right out used "Africat", but people thought I was male, so I changed the "cat" to "kitty". Also, my Mom's name was Margaret and she was known as either "Peggy", or by very close friends as "Kitty" So, that particular nick serves a purpose. I don't mind which name you choose to address me by...either Liz or Kitty. :-)

Let me try to get writing quickly.
See you.
Kitty

<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/typing.gif" alt="" />
Hi again Carol,
Ok, let's see here if I can remember all I wrote. When I write, I will interject some of my sentences by showing you how to pronounce some of the strange names I will share with you, so that you know, more or less how the names sound.

When I used to take the tourists around Namibia, there were times that I had to leave some of the work to travel agents because I only had a little Ford Laser, (no big fancy car to chug down all the petrol) and to get to some of the places you need an SUV (we call them 4 X 4s in South Africa and Namibia and they were usually Jeeps fully equipped with "bullbars"). More about them later. Although I have a good knowledge of all my travels, I am sure some of the travellers will be able to tell me some things about that country for that very reason. I just couldn't take the sedan into the more rugged areas.

For instance, travelling north in Namibia, I could, basically, really only go as far as the Etosha (sometimes spelled Etoscha) Game Reserve. I could also get into the area known as Ovamboland, which is the extreme north of the country inhabited by almost 80% of the population, which is the Ovambo Tribe. These people are warlike, and since independence from South Africa in 1990, they have been known to harass tourists, (some have been killed) especially in the Caprivi Strip area. I had a pastor of a church there, in the "capital" of Ovamboland, Oshakati, his name is Peter Kalangula, who would sometimes take the rather risky chance of taking tourists into Angola. But they put a stop to that when two American tourists "bulldusted" the poor border officials (probably bribed them) on BOTH sides of the border, to let them cross into Angola. Of course, the war in that country has left millions of landmines all over the place and these two twits, probably thinking they were invincible, went further into the country than they were told to. Well, they rode over a landmine and were both killed. That same day, myself and a party of missionaries were visiting Pastor Peter Kalangula and he got us through the border in their mini-bus (you would call that a "caravan"), and we had heard about these two guys just minutes before at the border, and I can't tell you how badly I was scared out of my wits sitting in the back of that vehicle as we drove, half on and half off what was left of the tar road for about 10 kilometres into Angola. I think what had happened to the two Americans was, they had gotten miles mixed up with kilometres and they just went too deep into the country. With this in mind, I am going to put out some dire warnings to tourists who try to go it alone by hiring a car and getting a map and doing it all "au naturale", so to speak. While it may seem like fun, and in some cases is the only way some tourists can travel because of financial concerns, you have to remember that Africa today is NOT the Africa of the colonial era anymore and it is extremely dangerous to go it alone if you don't know what you are doing. Any part of Africa ABOVE Namibia, Botswana, to a greater degree these days Zimbabwe, and to a lesser degree Zambia, is taking a monumental risk travelling on your own. Today, President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe is busy making life extremely difficult and risky for white people doing ANYTHING in his country. He has incited his own people to riot, loot and kill anything with a white skin. I am really sorry to have to say this in a public forum, but I HAVE to let you know that these days, going to Zimbabwe, you have a 50/50 chance of coming out of it alive if you try to go it alone. You have a better chance of enjoying the exquisite sights of that country by going through a travel agent now and having, preferably a "certified" (meaning trusted) native man in your party, especially if the travel agency is run by whites. And even MORE so if they are white South Africans.

OK, now, having said all that, travelling Africa in the safe areas is a lot of fun. You will see things that you only see on either Discovery Channel or on the National Geographic channel. Seeing wildlife up close and personal is thrilling beyond compare and in many areas, the animals are so used to us peeping toms, that they will readily put on a show for you.

There are, of course other dangers that tourists come up against while on the road. In Namibia, specifically, you HAVE to watch out for the warthog when travelling by car. These things respect NO boundaries. Are readily able to dig their way, and do, under any fence that might be separating the roads from the wild lands, and have been responsible for many an accident, some fatal, on the roads of Namibia.. The warthog is EXACTLY the same colour as the winter vegetation (winter is the best time to visit if you want to see wildlife), and they lurk on the sides of the roads in this vegetation just waiting for unsuspecting drivers to come screaming by. Then they just step out into the road, and when you open your eyes, the undercarriage of your vehicle is two miles away from where the cab lands. (Slight exaggeration, but you catch my drift) These things are Sherman tanks in disguise, trust me, I have seen many of them on my travels. But, I knew what to look out for and how to spot them, so while I had some close calls, I was always able to avoid contact. Also, because the distances in Namibia are so vast between towns, many tourists, and even the locals, I'm sad to say, put "the pedal to the gravel" as we say it in that country, and they just travel too fast trying to get to their destination. The monotony of the vegetation on the roads and the long distances just cause a kind of "hypnotism" to occur in travellers and they forget to be on the lookout. Stop your car every hour. I can't stress this enough. Get out of the car and walk around, stretch your legs. Just stay out of the car for about 5 minutes after NO MORE than maximum 2 hours of driving. You will feel safer and be safer just following a few simple rules. One thing you might consider doing, if travelling alone....in fact, for me to say this, I would say that it is MANDATORY. Travel in a Jeep or other suitable SUV, 4 X 4, whatever, which is equipped with full bullbars on the front of the vehicle. I have only ever seen bullbars once on a vehicle here in America, but basically these are steel bars wrapped around the front of the vehicle. You can drive into an elephant at night with those things on and only suffer minor damage to the vehicle and yourself. But still, be careful out there, as bullbars won't protect you if you have to swerve for a warthog. Rather, you will find yourself and your vehicle on your heads.

Other places where I had to hand tourists over to travel agents, again because I didn't have the necessary 4 X 4 vehicle, is a place called Sossusvlei, which is in the heart of the desert in central Namibia. Sometimes, I had to make arrangement with my visitors as to when I could come and meet them at a place I could safely go to, once they had been to their desired place to visit. Strangely enough, I myself have never been to, or seen Sussusvlei. However, I could easily get to Dune 7, which is supposed to be the second highest sand dune in the world, Sossusvlei, purportedly being the highest. It's just outside of Walvis Bay, a small fishing town on the coast of Namibia. It's the strangest sight you have ever seen as you travel from Swakopmund to Walvis Bay along the coast, as you have the sea on your right, then the tar road, then suddenly just sand dunes for miles on your left. You can hire one of these 4 wheeled "dune buggies" and go for a ride up and down the sand dunes. However, the cherry on the cake is getting to Dune 7, admiring the sheer height and size of the thing, then climbing it right up to the top. Man, when you get to the top of that dune, you feel like you have conquered Mount Everest. I did it easily, usually loaded down with my escorts' cameras hanging from my neck and protected underneath my T-shirt, or whatever I was wearing. I never let my people carry their own cameras, as they would, usually, just collapse into the sand, first quarter of the way up, then half way up, then three quarters up, then, finally THE SUMMIT....YEAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!! I developed a knack of climbing that dune by slowly pulling myself up like a monkey would and stopping every 20 or so steps up for about 10 seconds. Oh, I tried to teach my impatient, invincible tourists how to do it, but they always knew better....*giggle*, and some of them really came a cropper and failed to reach the top. I had many a laugh at the expense of my tourists climbing that dune...I tell you that. LOL <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Rofl.gif" alt="" />

Well, actually, this post went a totally different way to the one that went "poof" on me this morning. I had more to say about the actual country in that piece of information. But I thought it prudent to let you know that you CAN travel parts of Africa without spending all that money. Travel agents come in handy at times, but they charge a fortune and some of them are just down right unconscionable in their efforts to get their hands of the tourists. There is a right time of the year to travel Namibia and a wrong time, depending on what you want to see. In my next post, I will tell you more about that kind of thing.

I really hope I have been of some help to you all by my meanderings a ramblings. Life is there to be lived, so live it. Just make sure you know who your Anchor is in this life.
Thanks to you all.
Kitty. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/snore.gif" alt="" />

Kitty--Thanks again for the stories! Keep em coming!!!

<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/typing.gif" alt="" />
Hi Carol,
I don't have much time to write today. It's Saturday and my hubby and I have a lot to do around the house. However, I would like to talk about the Cheetah (the word is "cheetah", both singular and plural), as Namibia has the largest population of this carnivore in the world.

What I would like to do is send you to a couple of websites so that you can browse them and read what is being said. There are two major Cheetah conservation farms in Namibia THAT I KNOW OF. There could be more now, as I left Namibia to go back to South Africa in 1997. One is run by an American, Laurie Marker and the other is run by husband and wife team, Wayne and Lisa Hanssen. Wayne is a Namibian born and bred and Lisa, his wife, is a Capetonian, from Cape Town, South Africa.

Their websites listed respectively are as follows:
http://www.wildnet.org/cheetah.htm and http://www.cheetah.org
http://www.africat.org

One site I would want you to look at too, just for a bit of information is the following site:
http://www.namibweb.com/africat.htm This particular site tells more of Lisa Hanssen's involvement with the big cats of Southern Africa.

<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/cat.gif" alt="" />

Here's a paradox I would like to put forward to you when deciding which one of these farms you would want to visit if you don't have time to visit both. It is my experience that visitors other than Americans, don't mind which of these two conservation farms they go to. I have never been to Laurie Marker's farm, so I cannot comment fairly on what she does. However, one thing she mentions on her website is, and I quote:"Although cheetahs (sic) pose no threat to human life, they are often seen as a threat to livestock". Ok, there is a lot of truth in what she says, but to say the Cheetah poses NO threat to human life is irresponsible. She lives in Namibia now and has done, and is doing, wonderful work in that country for many years, but the newspapers in Namibia, certainly when I was there, told a few stories of humans being attacked and sometimes killed by these big cats. First of all, many tourists who are travelling alone or in a party of two or three in a rented vehicle, have been known to visit cheetah "infested" areas. (I need to elaborate on the word "infested" as Cheetah are territorial and they, specifically the males, have vast territories, which they will defend to the death) Tourists are wonderful things in that once they are in Africa and on the road, and they have gotten over the shock of the absolute cosmopolitan and metropolitan nature of "darkest Africa", are lulled into a false sense of security. Off they go with their cameras, or in some cases guns in the hunting season, and the adrenaline rush makes them reckless. Here is the truth about cheetah as I have experienced them and how you, the tourist had better understand them for your own safety, OR ELSE!!!
<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Crazy.gif" alt="" />

While the Cheetah is that fastest land animal, (It can reach speeds of up to 70 kilometres and hour when chasing a possible kill), it can only maintain that speed for a very short while before it has to give up and take a very long rest before it can attempt to make another shot at prey. Because of this, again as I know them, Cheetah can become opportunistic hunters and are even known to eat carrion. Humans are slow...I mean REEEAAALLLYYY slow compared to the magnificent Cheetah. If you are out in the wild and not in a protected area such as one of these game farms, you are as much prey to this animal as is any other animal in the area. Also, you are nice and big and oh so easy to catch. Be careful. Don't go out photographing or hunting without (again I must stress this), a CERTIFIED, meaning TRUSTED native at your side. If you find yourself at one of the numerous game farms in Namibia and the owner of that farm allows you to do either of those activities on your own, I urge you to take this as a warning that the owner of this particular farm is just after your money and doesn't care very much about your safety. LEAVE!!!

<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/thumbsdown.gif" alt="" />

Ok, getting back to the two Cheetah conservation farms. Because Laurie Marker is an American, some Americans either DO want to go there because they are out of their home country and are intrigued that one of their countrymen is doing such fantastic work in Africa, or they DON'T want to go there because they want the total African experience. This is not to say that Laurie doesn't offer you that, as I'm sure she does, and more. This is sad, as Laurie is, I'm told, a fantastic, warm, knowledgeable and extremely experienced person in her field of work. I think Americans should go to her farm and experience her work, for no other reason than to go and encourage her and to let her know that she is known in America. I really wish I had taken some of my tourists to her place, but the way I travelled, just made Africat the best choice for me and the people I had with me. Upon asking most of my tourists which farm they would prefer to go to, bar none said they would rather go to the farm run by the Namibian owners. Their reasons were varied, but the main one was that they didn't want to go to a farm run by a "westerner".......broadly put.....

<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Sad.gif" alt="" />

With the Africat Foundation, on the other hand, you have the ultimate in Wayne Hanssen in that this man is a walking encyclopaedia regarding ANYTHING African. Remember that Wayne is Namibian born and bred and he was raised on that farm. His knowledge does not just extend to things Namibian. He is an expert on the Bushman of the Kalahari Desert and he offers an early morning walk for those who want to know about these things. The last time I visited Okonjima (this is the name of the farm and it means "place of the baboons), Wayne was starting to teach others working with Africat how to do the Bushman trail as he and Lisa were absolutely swamped with work. So, to be quite honest, I really don't know if he himself is still doing these walks. Nonetheless, this man has the ultimate in sense of humour and I'm sure he will have caused it to rub off on whomever he has taught. He has a "pet" baboon named Elvis. Elvis and Wayne are something to see together. Because Elvis is male, he and Wayne often have to have "territorial fights" in order to keep the "pecking order", so to speak, between them. Of course, Elvis is no match for Wayne and one time when I was on that farm, I heard a huge commotion going on somewhere at the back of the lodge and there was just screaming and shouting and banging and all, like two people were having a big fight. Well, Elvis and Wayne WERE having a fight. Elvis had AGAIN tried to challenge Wayne's authority and had come off second best. *sigh* Some baboons never learn that we humans, or should I say THAT particular human was the Boss, with a capital "B". Elvis joins you for breakfast, lunch and supper and he drinks beer as well as any man can. Of course he is never allowed amongst the visitors without Wayne being there and if you are female, don't even think of petting Elvis, as Wayne, with a twinkle in his eye might just let you, but Elvis will retaliate. To Elvis, you are part of Wayne's tribe and females are considered "underlings" in the pack. Of course Wayne would never let Elvis hurt anyone. He's far too fast for that "monkey" LOL. But Wayne will drawl at you, if you are female, "I wouldn't do that if I were you". But the way he says it causes some over enthusiastic tourists to go ahead anyway and try to pet Elvis and I have seen Wayne have a good laugh at the expense of the visitors on occasion at Elvis's response to the cheeky females of the human race..

<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Rofl.gif" alt="" />

His wife, Lisa, is the one that works with the big cats. In fact, back then the farm was family run and the girls worked with the cats. They don't only have Cheetah on the farm. They have Leopard, Lion and other smaller wild cats too. They once had a Lion called Matata (I hope that spelling is correct) they had raised from a cub. But as I continued to visit their farm, Matata grew into an ENORMOUS animal. I am not sure if he is still with them. Lion have a relatively short lifespan and even in captivity they don't live more than 10 years...surely...and it is 9 years since I last visited there. But Lisa is something to see with those cats. They have some tame Cheetah (three when I was last there) that they bring out every afternoon, and with Lisa or Wayne's sister, (I forget her name now) in attendance, you can touch them and pet them and take as many pictures as you like up close and personal. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/cat.gif" alt="" />

need to talk more of the Africat experience as it always became the highlight of my tourist's time with me in Namibia. But I don't have time right now to write much more, so I will be back to tell you more, maybe on Monday. In the meantime, go have a look at the websites I have provided and draw your own conclusions. Write to Laurie Marker, even if you have never met her and tell her you have heard of her work. I'm sure she would love the correspondence. You can adopt Cheetah or any other wild cat at Africat, and I'm not sure, but I think you can at Laurie's place as well, so look into that too on their website. I would also like to tell you a bit more about Lisa, as she is a woman of courage and integrity and she is also gorgeous to look at. Many male visitors oggled her a lot of the time. However, the classic blonde beauty is Wayne's sister. I need to remember her name, but can't right now. Not only is she beautiful, but like Lisa, she is strong of body, mind and personality. Both those women are a delight to talk to. And ladies, you who are travelling with your husbands, you don't need to worry about them trying to make a pass at the two girls. They are both women of wonderful integrity. Wayne's sister, when I was last there, was not yet married, but she might be now....I don't know.

So much to tell and so little time......... I hope you are enjoying the stories. Some of what I am saying to you might sound a bit scary, but I do need to let you know that you need to be careful in some areas. So many people are just armchair travellers because they just can't afford the exhorbitant prices the travel agents charge. So, I am going to encourage you to try it alone. Do your homework. The roads are very good in Namibia, as are the amenities. Even the gravel (dirt) roads are in good shape. The infrastructure of the country is pretty sound and you can go it alone if you have the courage and the wherewithall to do it. Also, you will save a fortune, you won't be tied down to schedules and you will have a lot of fun.

<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/wave.gif" alt="" />

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. If I don't know the answer, I will find it out for you and post it here.
Have a good weekend
Kitty. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/thanks.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" />

Kitty--thanks for the fascinating reading on cheetah! Somehow I missed this post over the weekend, as we were very busy doing things around the house also! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Smile.gif" alt="" />