Piet had to go to
Namibia again for a number of government meetings and teaching sessions. He is
working on this project with Dennis, 'our man in Windhoek'; who organised
everything for this week. They are normally in contact on a daily basis by email,
phone or online communicator and it is always good to spend time 'face-to-face'
in the same office.
This time Piet came
a day early and took the opportunity to visit the Erindi Game Reserve, a large
area (700 km2) that is maintained as a wild park and conservatory. Piet rented
a small car at the airport, and drove 3 hours to the Old Traders Lodge, not
realising that the last 65 km were off-road. Luckily these roads were in
reasonable shape, and once in the Reserve there was a 30 km speed limit to
avoid scaring the animals. On arrival Piet went straight on a game drive
through a very dry landscape. Namibia is suffering from one of the worst
droughts in the last century, and that was clearly visible. Normally the summer
(during our winter) is the rainy season, but there has been very little rain.
In the Reserve there are a number of manmade waterholes where some of the
animals gathered. In addition extra grass is supplied to assure that not all
animals die. The game drive was mainly a pleasant tour of the Reserve, without
seeing a lot of wildlife. After dinner and a night's sleep there was a second,
early morning game drive in another part of the area. Jointly with the trip in
and out Piet spotted wildebeests, gazelles, lions, rhino's, giraffes, elephants
and a rare leopard. Although a bit rushed it felt like a true safari. Mary
wants to join next time!
This was followed
by a week of hard work, with many meetings and presentations, but also with
time to enjoy Windhoek food (oryx steak!) and South African wines.
Sunset over Windhoek
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