May 25, 2018

Greetings friends and family!

We have just returned from a fantastic three-week trip within a trip within a trip that included Toronto, Cape Town, and a large cross section of Namibia.

The adventure began in Toronto, where Matt and I then met our two companions, Keriann and Travis. We then flew to Cape Town and spent several days learning about the regional history (both cultural and natural). Highlights included a hike along Table Mountain, which boasted plentiful birds and great views, Cape Point National Park, which boasted plentiful baboons, elands, ostrich, and again, great views, and a private discussion with Lionel Davis, who spent time with Nelson Mandela in prison. Cape Town is truly a lovely place, but I don’t think I’d want to live there. There’s still an underlying current of fear and distrust, and nearly every home has bars on the windows and is surrounded by a big wall (frequently with electric fencing on top). I like living in a place where that doesn’t exist. But would I go back for a visit? Absolutely.

After spending a couple of days in Cape Town acclimatizing to the new time zone, we flew North to Windhoek, Namibia. We obtained our vehicle (a Land Cruiser fully equipped with everything needed for a camping expedition, including two tents on top), and enough food for a few days, and then we set out on the road. All in all, we logged just shy of 3000 km on the road. To the right is a map of our route (we went counterclockwise).

We passed through jaw-dropping and awe-inspiring country, comparable to the Himalaya of western India. Our first stop was Sessriem, which sits at the edge of the Namib desert and its powerful dune field. We slept in the tents on top of our truck, surrounded by the branches of a large acacia tree. Then we rose before dawn and drove into the dune field to be able to witness sunrise over Sossusvlei, which is one of the most unusual and stunning places I have ever been. Vlei are shallow ephemeral lakes that turn into salt pans. When they are active, they support life, including trees. But eventually they dry up, the trees die, and their eerie trunks remain standing for quite some time.

We wound up seeing the sun rise over the dunes before we arrived at Sossusvlei. It was incredibly beautiful. Each dune was its own exquisite artistic masterpiece of bright orange and dark shadow. The road to Sossusvlei is loose sand, and many people get stuck. But Travis navigated the vehicle like an expert and we arrived without issue. We climbed up a large dune, followed the ridge crest until it peaked, and then ran down the other side towards Deadvlei, which is the most famous pan in the Sossusvlei region. Running down a dune is a really strange experience. It’s like running in slow motion and can’t be rushed. And this dune was really big, so running down it actually took awhile. I’m glad I was persuaded to try it. The backside of the dune was quite steep and I was convinced that I would trip and then roll down the dune. Now I know better.

We walked across Deadvlei just as the sun crested the dune. This is, without a doubt, one of the most amazing places I have ever been. The shadow created by the dune combined with the red sand, the white pan and the blue sky was almost too much for my eyes and brain to comprehend. And we had a nearly full moon looking down at us, which added to the ambiance. The floor of the pan is, in itself, an artistic masterpiece. Large mud cracks resemble tiles, and the surface is hard and smooth. The ghostly skeletons of the trees that once thrived at the lake complete the experience. I am so glad that we had an opportunity to experience this place first hand. It’s hard to use words to explain how I felt when I was there. It will stay with me for the rest of my life. And I’m really happy we went as early as we did because we missed the crowds.

We spent a second night at the edge of the dune field, and watched the sun set over the desert from a dune that was close to camp. The sky is so big in Namibia, and it’s incredibly clear. Travis pointed out that there aren’t jet trails like we see in our skies elsewhere. I hadn’t realized how much of a difference that makes.

From Sessriem/ Sossusvlei, we headed west to Swakopmund, which is a coastal town on the Atlantic Ocean. This was another completely surreal experience. We drove through miles and miles of absolutely nothing. Flat, dusty land adorned with small rocks as far as the eye can see. No other vehicles. It was very humbling. And then, quite abruptly, we arrived at the coast. The desert literally meets the sea in western Namibia. People use snow fences to keep the sand from traveling into their yards and taking over their houses.

Swakopmund is a quaint place. It has a German history, and therefore German architecture, which seemed quite incongruous. We appreciated sleeping in a bed and eating out for a couple of nights (great food!). During the day, we joined a boat tour that took us off the coast. The ultimate goal was to look for dolphins, and we did wind up finding several Benguela dolphins, which played in the wake of our bow, but that was only a small fraction of the experience. They have a different relationship with wildlife in Namibia than we tend to have in the US. Immediately after boarding our boat, we were joined by great white pelicans and sea lions, both of which were quite intimidating. The lions came and went off the boat (anybody that got too aggressive was shooed away with a mop). I liked being surrounded by the wildlife but it also made me a little nervous. There were little kids on the boat that could easily have been eaten by a pelican or a sea lion! The sea lions have taken over a spit of sand that extends out into the bay. There sure were a lot of them! We learned that they are actually a problem. They don’t have a natural predator in the region (all of the big sharks are further South), and their populations are skyrocketing. The population is regularly culled, and we learned all about the great products that are made from their parts (ranging from hand bags to lipstick). We also passed by groups of very large ships that were either awaiting repair or simply waiting for the oil market to improve. Apparently, Namibia’s waters are much safer than other countries further to the North, so a lot of boats come to Namibia’s coast. The region is also well-known for their oysters. I was surprised to learn how much work goes into oyster farming (I had been under the impression that it was a rather passive and low-key activity).

After a day by the sea, it was time to return to the desert. We headed inland towards the granitic batholiths, known as Kleine and Groote Spitzkoppe, which harbor some old bushman rock art. The rocks towered above the surrounding landscape and loomed up from the horizon as soon as we left the coast. We also visited Tweifelfontein, which is known for its prolific rock carvings.

The animals, people, and footprints are readily recognizable and it is kind of magical to envision the people who passed through the region following water or game, sat in the shade, and created these images some 2,000-6,000 years ago. Unfortunately, a number of images have been destroyed, but those that remain are protected and deeply respected by the local people. We also visited Namibia’s petrified forest, which rivals, and I would say surpasses, that in Arizona. Entire trees from the Late Paleozoic are preserved in the soft sediment, and the region is littered with small blocks of petrified wood. Removing any piece is illegal (one can spend up to three months in jail!), which means the majority of the pieces won’t be pilfered.

And we went on a rhino tracking adventure for a day. This entailed driving for several hours in an open land cruiser across rough terrain, and periodically stopping to look for recent evidence of rhinos. Once we found some recent prints, our three trackers headed off over a hill to follow the trail. We then waited for them to find a rhino. Once he was located, we marched off on foot to see him in person. Our guide told us that we needed to be very serious and alert, since one never knows how a rhino will behave. We wound up observing our tracked black rhino from ca. 100 feet away. We were downwind from him, and he couldn’t see us, but he could definitely hear us despite our efforts to be quiet. I’m very impressed that the trackers were able to locate this rhino!

We spent the last few days of the trip at Etosha National Park. Travis had predicted we would see a lot of wildlife and wow was he correct! Matt kept a sightings tally for the various species; zebra, wildebeest, and springbok were “too many to count” within the first five minutes; impala and oryx tallied over 100 each, and giraffe and hartebeest came in at close to 70 individuals. We also saw several large elephants (most of them were actively dominating water holes), a family of warthogs, who were endearingly chewing on giraffe bones, several jackals, a hyena, and a family of black rhinos on our last evening. And that's just the mammals. We saw a lot of tremendous birds too, including over 100 ostriches, beautiful violet-breasted rollers, giant kori bustards, marabou storks and secretary birds, helmeted guinea fowl, and a diversity of raptors (my favorite was the chanting goshawk). Due to the prolific wildlife, one does not get out of one’s vehicle at Etosha, except at designated spots surrounded by large fences. This seems like a good policy. I liked envisioning a lion or a hyena or leopard waiting just out of site in the deep grass or in the shadows under a bush.

At night, we cooked dinner in a dutch oven, searched for scorpions with a black light (they glow an unearthly bright green!), and camped under an unreal array of stars. I didn’t see my favorite constellation (The Southern Crown) but I did see a lot of other constellations, and for the first time ever I feel quite confident in my ability to identify Gemini.

We ended the journey with a night in Windhoek. It felt very extravagant to eat dinner at a restaurant and sleep in a bed after cooking on a single burner and sleeping in a tent on top of a Land Cruizer for eight days. We even had some wine while we checked our email at our lovely guesthouse. We completed the transition back to civilization in Cape Town on the following day. Our flight from Namibia to Cape Town was in the morning, and our flight back to North America wasn’t until 11 pm. We spent the day visiting wineries in the artsy community of Stellenbosch, which is nestled in the foothills of the Hottentot mountains. I felt out of place (but happy) to sit on the patio of a winery, eating fancy food, and drinking wine. We were able to walk through the vineyards at one winery, and it felt great to stretch our legs before the long trip back to Toronto. ‘Spent a couple of days appreciating Spring in Toronto, and had one final brunch with Keriann before returning to Cincinnati and reality. Wow what a trip within a trip within a trip! My summary really hasn’t even scratched the surface of our adventure. It was certainly epic, and traveling with friends made the trip even more special.

So, what else have I been up to? Aside from this most recent trip, my spring has been full. My Masters student, Jenelle, successfully defended her thesis in April, I presented some of my research at a conference in Austin (where Matt and I got to meet up with some friends and also a cousin), and I managed to submit and publish several papers, which always feels good.

We also built a free-standing screened building in our backyard. My brother visited in April, and helped name and christen the space as the “funny house”. We have already enjoyed it considerably and anticipate spending quite a bit of time here over the summer free from bugs and rain (I am looking forward to camp outs in a hammock).

Sadly, my sabbatical is now officially over, but luckily, I’ve still got the summer ahead of me. Starting in the fall, I’ll be taking over as graduate director for the Geology Department, so I’m keen to get all of my ducks in a row before the semester begins. Matt and I will be doing some more traveling over the summer (but nothing as epic as our spring adventures).

Happy Memorial Day, and Happy Summer!

Brooke