Travelling Hopefully
31 August - 01 September
My flight wasn’t until 9pm from Heathrow, so I spent the morning at home preparing the house and finalising my packing. A quick on-line check revealed that a number of trains to London had been cancelled, so my kind neighbour agreed to give me an earlier lift to the train station than originally planned.
At 1.30pm I was off. No problems getting into London nor on the underground. There were a large number of Arsenal fans using public transport, wearing the shirts and scarves of their team.
At the terminal, it took over an hour to get through the queue to bag drop. Some of the attendants were weighing carry on. I was well aware that my backpack, full of camera equipment, was 2 kilos over the 7 kilos carry on limit. So I moved the two biggest lenses into my camera waistcoat, just in case.
My backpack wasn’t weighed. Check in was 22.5kg against the 23 kg limit, but I wasn’t worried. I was flying with Ethiopian Airlines and they actually allow for two check in pieces, even in economy, at 23kg each.
I had time, on the other side of security, to have a snack and a beer. After boarding the plane, I had to desist people from handling my camera backpack in the overhead storage area. There were many bags and little room. ‘There’s expensive camera equipment in there’ I had to warn more than one person who thought they could shove the backpack into a smaller space.
I did my best to get some sleep after the rather uninspiring meal. At Addis Ababa, I had just under two hours to change planes. Everyone had to go through security again, but the gate for the flight to Windhoek was only a short walk away. Then the woman behind the counter announced that the gate had been changed. This change was not reflected on the monitors, nor at the new gate, but the announcement did prove to be correct.
Although this plane was also full, the people on board had fewer and smaller bags and there was plenty of storage room. I read a book in-between more nearly inedible meals and a beer.
We landed at 1.30pm as scheduled. First stop was immigration and border control. We were handed forms to fill out with our personal details, and I was glad that I always carry a pen. I watched as various people were asked a number of questions, and made sure I had my answers prepared. However, the woman who dealt with me didn’t ask me anything. In fact, the only words she spoke to me were ‘You can go’ when she’d finished typing in her computer and stamping my passport.
My case was waiting for me and I exited. Our guide was waiting outside in the arrivals area. I went to change money and then we boarded the extended land cruiser for the drive to our first night’s accommodation, about 30 minutes away.
I met my roommate and we went down to our cabin. We stayed inside the air-conditioned room to do some repacking and relax. Once the temperatures cooled we sat on the veranda outside.
Dinner was T-bone steak which I washed down with local beer. Afterwards I went to bed early, as I’d had very little sleep on the flights.
02 September
I developed a neck and headache during the night, which also affected my stomach. Later I found out that we were staying at 2000 metres, so between the travelling, the altitude, and perhaps the beer, that wasn’t surprising. I skipped breakfast and reported to the vehicle at 9am. I sat in the back and dozed, knowing all I could do was wait until I felt better.
At our picnic lunch break, I ate a pear and drank the provided fruit juice. A littler later on, a banana was also successfully consumed, and I could finally take some ibuprofen.
We arrived at our lodging near the Quiver Tree Forest in the early afternoon. Our rooms were off a shared common area which offered a small kitchen and a dining table. I crawled into my bed and had a nap.
At 5pm we went to watch the two resident cheetahs being fed. They had been orphaned, and the owner of the lodge complex took them in. As they had been reared by humans, they cannot be returned to the wild. The owner holds the necessary permits. Legally he’s not allowed to charge money for people to view them. The enclosure was very large and the two animals looked healthy although, the owner told us, they are overweight as they simply don’t get the exercise they would in the wild. He stood in the enclosure by the two cats, explaining that you’re safe as long as they can see you. Never walk behind a cheetah.
Several of the owner’s dogs stood outside, eyes fixed on the raw meat being consumed. Any leftovers are brought out to them. One was still a puppy, who later on tried his best to annoy one of the older dogs.
Afterwards we took the short drive to an area fenced off to preserve the quiver trees. Dassies, small rodent-like creatures, ran over the rocks and climbed up bushes to eat. They seemed rather unperturbed by humans. I took some general shots and decided which tree to photograph against the sunset. I set up my tripod and took a seat whilst I waited, simply happy to be feeling better and to be in a scenic area.
The sunset was a bit disappointing. I decided to pack up and walk back down the rock-strewn path whilst there was still light. The sky turned more red once I was in the car pack, so I took a few hand held photos with my long lens to pick out various trees.
It was after dark, and after our agreed meeting time, when the last two group members arrived at our meeting place. One had become lost and was quite unsettled from his walk in the dark on the tricky paths. His shirt was soaked through with sweat, I discovered, when I patted his arm in an attempt to comfort him.
We had a buffet dinner, a beef stir fry with separate rice and vegetables, at the lodge. Then we went back to the reserve for some astrophotography. The moon was new, and the Milky Way stretched out above us. I set up tripod and camera and did my best, discovering that my wide angle lens didn’t seem to have a switch for manual photography. It didn’t want to take any photos as there was nothing on which to focus properly. I managed, in the end, to get it to focus on a street lamp.
When our guide returned, he took us to see a Fisher’s gecko, shining his flashlight on the reptile. I took a photo with my iPhone. We then clambered into our vehicle and returned to our lodge.
03 September
Woke up with a clear head when my alarm went off at 5.40am. I made myself a coffee in the common area and drank this whilst preparing for our pre-dawn drive out to the area called ‘The Giant’s Playground’. When we arrived, a half an hour before dawn, we could see why. Boulders piled on top of each other created all sorts of interesting shapes, as if giants had stacked them deliberately.
We walked from the car park and, as the light was already beginning to change, I made a quick choice about a composition and set up my tripod. I was pleased to have been so quick, as the light became less interesting as the sun rose.
I moved on to another spot, again set up tripod, and enjoyed my surroundings as I waiting for the light to come. We were the only people in the area, but we still had to be conscious about not getting into other people’s photos from time to time. We certainly didn’t want to get lost. Although there were paths trodden around the various outcroppings, nothing was labelled.
Some of the rocks were marked with long white patches. Our guide later explained that dassies make middens, hence the staining from their urine. I also amused myself by spotting shapes. One set of rocks looked to me like a pregnant woman pointing into the distance.
After an hour the light became harsher and less interesting. The chap who had become lost the night before told me I was in charge of safely getting us back to the vehicle! Fortunately I succeeded in this weighty task.
We had breakfast back at the lodge. Bird feeders in the cheetah pen had attracted a large number of lovebirds and social weavers. The lodge owner said it was safe to go into the enclosure to take better photos of the birds, so I downed my breakfast and collected my camera to do so. A happy twenty minutes was spent, as the birds were unconcerned about human company. Any day which starts with parrots is a good day. And as the cheetahs stayed away, I will add that any day which starts by not being eaten by a cheetah is also a good day.
At 9am we headed to our next destination. This took around three hours, as we left tarmac behind and drove more slowly on gravel roads. The land was mostly flat, very dry, with occasional stony hills. We saw various birds and a couple of oryx. The group talked, dozed, and sometimes took photos through the windows.
We arrived at the Fish River Lodge in time for lunch. I had chicken mayonnaise with salad. Afterwards we checked into our chalets, which overlooked the Fish River Canyon. The canyon is the second largest in the world. As the light was harsh, and the wind had picked up, I stayed in the room and worked on photos. Two showers were on offer, one indoors, one out. My roommate tried the outdoor shower and found that it had no hot water. I thanked her for taking one for the team and opted for the indoor shower, which did provide hot water. I shared said shower with a four-legged cricket whom I named ‘Quad.’
At 5pm we met and walked along the canyon rim to take photos. A ground squirrel ran past. As ever, trying to catch the enormity of a canyon proved challenging. The wind was quick brisk, so I didn’t attempt to put up a tripod.
We opted to return to our chalets for the sunset. The building broke the wind, and I used my tripod in the area just past the patio for some photos. I went inside after sunset and downloaded the afternoon’s photos.
At 7pm we met for drinks. I had a South African cider, into which the bar attendant placed a slice of lime. A little later we enjoyed a dinner of squash salad, main course oryx steak with vegetables, and pear poached in red wine for dessert. Our guide explained that restaurants serve a lot of game. Trophy hunters only want the head of the animal which they’ve shot, so the meat is sold off for human consumption.
I decided against trying any night photography, and returned to the chalet to relax and do more photo processing.
04 September
As we were in situ for the canyon, the morning was ours to do with as we wished before meeting up at 8am for breakfast. I got up at 6am and had a leisurely coffee before heading out just before dawn. I took a few photos as the sun emerged and lit up the canyon walls whilst talking about different religions with a fellow traveller. He’s married to a devout Buddhist.
I had what I would call a ‘full English’ breakfast of bacon, a sausage, eggs ‘sunny side up’, mushrooms, a slice of tomato, and a rather small dish of baked beans. With filter coffee and real orange juice.
We departed at 9am and bumped back down the road, stopping at one point to photograph a three hundred year old quiver tree. Around noon we arrived at our next lodge, where we had lunch before checking into our rooms. As I was nearly caught up with photo processing, I took the opportunity to read emails and do some reading whilst sitting outside, where the temperature was pleasant and not too hot. I also did some hand washing and hung my clothing out to dry.
At 4.30pm we met up and headed out. A small herd of oryx caught our attention. The small beanbag I’d brought with me, designed to rest on a car windowsill, proved very useful for supporting my telephoto lens.
At a waterhole which usually brings in the feral horses had a distinct lack of them. The herd was in the far distance. So we headed off again, and found a small group of what we thought were only four horses. We photographed the stallion to start with, before heading closer to the other three. To our delight, there was a foal in the herd, probably around a month old. We had been approaching the horses cautiously, not wishing to scare them. One of the mares decided to come to us and made friends with a member of the group, ironically one who had no experience with horses.
The herd moved on, so we drove to a nearby railway station which had been abandoned around 1913. The evening light was catching nicely on the dilapidated structure, as well as the remains of the water tower nearby. I went inside and frightened a pigeon into flight.
The sun was setting and the light fading. We headed back to the lodge, stopping to photograph a flock of ostriches. A nice sunset greeted us after our return to our rooms. The barking geckos filled the air with their sounds as we walked over the restaurant for an excellent dinner. I had the springbok, which has become my favourite meat. Tastier than any other steak I’ve ever had. I paired it with a local beer called ‘Irish Red Ale,’ very nice.
Then early to bed as a very early rise the next morning.
05 September
I managed to wake up just before my 4.30am alarm and turned it off so my roommate could have a bit more sleep. I did wake her at 5am, at which time we discovered that she’d set her alarm for 5.45am, past the 5.30am departure time.
The lodge had given us breakfast boxes the night before. I ate one sandwich, drank the orange juice, and ate the pear. The room offered coffee bags, so I made a coffee to drink and a coffee to go (I’d brought a portable drinks container with me).
We stumbled into the pre-dawn light for the hour’s drive to Kolmanskop. The town grew during the diamond rush in 1912 and was slowly abandoned, with the last inhabitants moving out in 1956. In its heyday over 1300 people lived and worked in the area. A hospital with a hundred beds and two resident doctors was built, along with a primary school. The buildings are slowly filling with sand and the bright painted walls have faded away into pastels.
The town is open to the general public from 8am to 1pm. People can purchase special permits to enter before dawn and to stay until sunset. Our guide had arranged such permits for us, and he used a code to open the gate to let us in.
The sand in many buildings is now waist high, so you enter through windows rather than doors. As the sun rose, light streamed into the rooms, highlighting the sand and the decaying walls. Bathtubs can be found in various rooms, and it seems the site staff move them from place to place.
I had taken my tripod in with me, and I found I was usually sitting on the sand for my photography. I was also very mindful that sand is deadly to cameras, and I was very cautious with my equipment, always putting cameras back into my backpack between photo sessions. I had a 16mm wide angle on one camera, and a 24-105mm on the other, as I did not wish to be changing lenses in that environment.
Making my way through the buildings which our guide had said were the most interesting, I concentrated on contrasts of colour and interesting light. The hospital was my favourite site, light streaming in from the rooms into the long corridor and a toilet with sand up to the base.
I walked back down to the buildings which had been shops, and took a seat in the ice-making building to take off my boots and shake out accumulated sand. One of the site guides came in, and informed me in English that a group would be following her. I responded that this was fine. When the group formed around her, she continued in German. So I tagged along, thrilled that I understand every word she said. My attendance seemed to have surprised her, as when we moved on to what had been the butcher’s shop she told me in English that there was an English tour following behind. I explained in English and then in German that I was fluent in German.
The tour ended in the ‘Casino’, which was actually a place for social gathering, not for gambling. This included plays and at other times people could use the gym equipment. Displays in nearby rooms told the history of the town and diamond mining. A section I found interesting was on how people have tried to smuggle diamonds out of the mines. This included fake soles in shoes, cassette tapes, homing pigeons, and packages in various bodily orifices.
I trudged up the accountant’s house. There was some lovely light coming in through the slats which were all that was left of the ceiling. The next house along was much better preserved and somehow far less interesting.
By this time the wind had picked up, gusting sand up into eyes and ears. I pulled my Buff cloth tube over my mouth and nose as I headed down to the main visitor area. There I visited the gift shop before going to the small cafe to have a Coke.
Our guide and four of the group arrived there by noon as agreed. A sixth member had already declared her intention to stay all day in the site. So we five drove to the nearby town of Lüderitz, where we had lunch before a short wander in the historic area. We got lost and were given directions by a local man in order to view a lovely Germanic manor on the hill (it was shut to visitors) before walking on to the Lutheran church. It was nearly dangerous to walk up the viewpoint over the sea, as the winds were so strong that I was nearly buffeted from my feet. Our guide, who had not gone with us but had gone to a petrol station, collected us as promised from the area by the church.
We returned to Kolmanskop. There is a shot which most people take, of a series of open doorways leaded to an angled door. I hadn’t found the place in the morning, and our guide ducked in and out of buildings trying to remember where it was. When he decided it was near at the end of the road through the town, I decided it wasn’t essential to photograph it myself. Instead I walked up to the engineer’s house, known as ‘the slatted building’. As the roof has gone, in the afternoon sunlight forms stripes on the walls and sand as it streams through the wooden beams.
After taking a few photos with my cameras, I decided not to risk them any further in the blowing sand. I used my iPhone instead before going back down to the visitor area. I’d had enough.
I met another person from the group there. Although there was some shelter from the wind in a patio area, sand was still hitting us, and we decided to return to the vehicle. Our guide was there, and he let us in. We amused ourselves by watching visitors arrive who obviously hadn’t realised that the site shut at 1pm. They rang the bell to the entrance guard’s door, but never succeeded in convincing him to let them in.
At 4.30pm, as agreed, the rest of the group had returned to the vehicle. We drove back through the strong winds. Sand swirled around small sand dunes, something I’ve never witnessed before. As we left the coast, the winds eased. We stopped to admire a herd of oryx before arriving back at our lodge around 5.30pm.
Dinner was at 7pm. A buffet was the main meal, offering sausages, oryx steak, vegetables, and a Moroccan chicken dish. I again had the lovely Irish red ale. When, after dessert, people decided to talk about politics, I made my farewells and returned to my room.
06 September
A later start this morning, allowing me to get up at my usual time of 6.30am. It was our guide’s birthday, and one of the group presented him with a gift and a balloon which stated ‘Happy Birthday.’ She had packed such balloons because, she said, the chances were that someone would have a birthday on the trip. We sang the usual ‘Happy birthday to you’. At the end of breakfast, the lodge staff appeared with a slice of cake and a candle, and they too sang for him.
We started our five hour drive, stopping to photograph any interesting wildlife which presented itself. When our guide pulled over and we could see nothing, we wondered what was going on. ‘Tyre blow out,’ he explained. With the confidence of many such experiences, he had us leave the vehicle, which he jacked up to replace the thoroughly destroyed tyre. Several cars slowed down as they approached us, checking whether we needed any help.
Our lunch stop was under a tree near a farm house. We had boxes with sandwiches, a chicken fillet, an apple, a drink, a hardboiled egg, and a yoghurt bar. A wheatear kept flitting past, the bird rather annoyingly not often selecting good spots for me to photograph him.
We headed off. At one point, I glanced to my left, and saw that the door to the back luggage compartment had flipped open. I shouted at our guide, and he pulled over. I watched him count up bags and a look of relief washed over his face. We hadn’t lost anything. The lock was broken, so he sealed the door with duct tape.
I joked nervously how things run in threes. But we decided that the early morning discovery that one of the window latches wouldn’t work was the third, so we didn’t have to worry about anything else going wrong.
We arrived at our lodge mid afternoon. Long elevated walkways led to each individual cabin. ‘It’s like Tahiti, but without the water,’ one of my fellow travellers decided. I did some washing, which dried very quickly in the warm sun.
At 4.30pm we headed out for sunset photography at ‘Dune 40’ of Sossusvlei. We used our telephoto lenses to photograph trees at the bottom of the red-tinged sand dunes. Dinner at the lodge, then early to bed.
07 September
Our alarms went off at 5am. The room offered a small cafetiere and ground coffee, so I was able to have something good to wake me up. I filled my small flask with coffee at the lounge later on before joining the rest for our 6am departure.
We bumped along the road in the dark. Around an hour later we arrived to the turning for the road to Deadvlei. This was even bumpier, our guide using the 4x4 drive as we headed up and down mounds of sand. We stopped at the entrance to the park before going on in.
Deadvlei features a set of trees which had once been rooted in a lake. The lake disappeared, leaving a white salt flat, and the area is so dry that the dead trees have not decomposed. It’s thought that these ancient remains are over a thousand years old. Our guide drove past the main car park and took us cross country, eventually arriving at the main path to Deadvlei. The night before he had said ‘It’s only a kilometre, it’ll only take twenty minutes.’ He had not told us that we’d be walking up sand dunes which, although not very steep, still made for hard going.
Our goal was to arrive before dawn and before the crowds. We managed both, and it was only our group and a few other people for an hour. As the sun rose, giving a red hue to the dunes, I found a spot which allowed me three different compositions. I used my tripod, although I probably could have taken shots hand-held, as I like the way a tripod forces me to slow down and to consider what I’m trying to capture.
A large group arrived, I think Japanese. They concentrated on selfies and posed shots, taken with their mobile phones. Behind them came more waves of people. The challenge now was how to take photos without people in them.
A couple of hours later the light had become too harsh and the area too occupied. I packed up my tripod and realised that I’d forgotten to bring my hat. I also realised that I wasn’t certain I could find our vehicle going back the cross country route, so I followed the path to the main car park and turned left. As I had thought, we’d parked a short distance away.
Our guide was there. I was the first back. I collected my breakfast bag from the vehicle and ate whilst sitting at the nearby picnic table. Sparrows hopped around hopefully, and I threw them bits of bread. Later a skink appeared, posing nicely on a nearby tree.
The rest of the group slowly joined us. After we’d all finished eating, we headed back to the lodge, where we had lunch. I went to my room and did some washing.
Late afternoon we drove out to the sand dunes for some sunset photography, stopping for animals along the way. We lined ourselves up for a sand dune which had a tree placed in a very compositionally pleasing way. A young Czech man asked us politely if he could go closer with his camera and tripod, and we reminded him that we didn’t own the area nor the view. But it was good of him to ask.
Dinner and an early night.
08 September
Got up at 5am and packed up my case. At 6.10am three of us were collected by a driver from the lodge for an hour’s drive to our dawn helicopter ride. At the small business, we were given instructions on how to put on the lap belt (similar to those on airplanes) and the headsets. We clambered aboard the small craft, which had no doors except for the pilot.
We lifted off around 7.15am. I videoed this on my iPhone, then quickly tucked the device into a pocket. The wind was fierce, blowing through the passenger area. Ten seconds later I removed my glasses as I was in danger of losing them. This meant that the landscape below was a bit blurred, but I adjusted my camera’s viewfinder so that everything looked sharp through my lens.
The helicopter took us over the Sossusvlei desert. Mountains gave way to red sand dunes, snaking their way down to dry river beds. I found the lack of doors and the non-stop wind very disconcerting, as well as a lack of anything to hold on to. I must admit, for some time I did not find myself enjoying the ride, although I did take photos. Then I discovered that the lap belt in the empty middle seat was available for my left hand to grab, and that gave me greater confidence for when the pilot turned the helicopter.
We flew lower, now nearer the sand dunes, and I found this much more to my taste. Two separate oryxes ran at our approach, and we also disturbed two herds of mountain zebras.
After an hour we landed back at base. My legs felt a bit wobbly as I exited the craft. Our driver was waiting for us. We started the drive back, held up for a few minutes by hot air balloons, one of which had landed on the road and was being deflated. We drove between balloon and support truck.
At the lodge, I had time for a quick coffee before we boarded our usual vehicle. A long day’s drive followed. Lunch was at a lodge which featured a very friendly zebra. She came up to our vehicle and rubbed her head against the back. Her foal and a stallion watched her and us.
Later afternoon we arrived in Walvis Bay. Our last photographic stop was at lagoons filled with flamingoes and a few other aquatic birds. We had a happy time shooting pink birds against yellow sand dunes, although the smell of refuse being burnt at the nearby tip added an unfortunate acrid note. As were the people who got out of their cars to view the flamingoes, rather than remain inside as we had done. Their approach often scared the birds, which did give us plenty of opportunities to take photos of the birds in flight.
We arrived at our hotel and headed to our rooms. There was no hot water for my shower, and as the temperatures at the coast were much colder than in the desert, this was a bit unwelcome. After dinner, we returned to our rather cool room. The radiator wasn’t on, and for once there were no spare blankets. My roommate and I pulled out our warm pyjamas. After many hot nights in the desert, to be wearing socks in bed was quite a change!
09 September
Another early rise, heading out at 5.15am. Our guide had arranged for us to be taken into the coastal sand dunes by another company, as they had the specially altered cars which enabled them to drive on the sand.
We were split between the two vehicles. My room mate and I took one, the other three the other. The car was very comfortable, with plenty of room for our camera bags and other bits and bobs. It was very cold, and I regretted only having the one layer for my lower body, having put on several for my upper. The warm hat and gloves I’d brought from England I’d left in my main luggage.
It was only half an hour before we exchanged tarmac road for sand. Our car’s headlights picked out a jackal in the process of killing a baby seal, and we startled two springboks. The vehicles took us up to a viewpoint over the sea. Sadly, fog clung to the coast, so although dawn brought light it did not give us sunshine. I needed some assistance to climb up the steep dune, and I set up my tripod for a few shots of the area before sliding back down.
Our guides set up a table and offered various snacks and hot drinks whilst we ate the breakfast provided by the hotel. This turned out to be a toasted sandwich of cheese, ham, and tomatoes, with a side of cold french fries, along with an apple and an orange. I ate half of the sandwich, finding it rather unappealing, and concentrated on the fruit. The mug of coffee was very welcome to my cold hands.
We continued along the dunes, travelling up and down to investigate the area for wildlife. The black-backed jackals mate for life, and we watched one pair climb up the sand together. By the actions of both, our guide decided that the female was on heat.
We spotted more jackals as we headed back towards the sea and then on to the peninsula at Sandwich Harbour. Driving past large groups of shorebirds and pelicans, we stopped at one of the many seal colonies. The adult seals argued amongst themselves whilst the youngsters huddled together in groups. At times a number of seals would plunge towards the surf, the elders driving in whereas the pups entered the water more carefully.
One of our group’s telephoto lens decided to stop communicating with the camera. Another of the group was beside him when this happened, and told us afterwards, ‘I learned some new cuss words. Actually, I think I need to look some of them up.’ When we reported the lens failure to our main guide, he said he could arrange a lens loan.
We returned to town, spending some time near a flock of flamingoes which allowed for close ups. Then we had lunch at the sea front. Although there was plenty of fish on the menu, I ordered the BBQ pork ribs. The glass cabinet nearby held a great quantity of high quality Scottish single malt whisky, but I contented myself with a cider.
The fog had lifted by the time we drove back to the sand dunes. We saw springbok, first a pair and then three males who ignored our vehicle as we stopped nearby. A little further we halted for a break, and three of us accepted cans of beers. Standing near the three springbok, in the sunshine, drinking beer, was a happy moment.
As we returned along the coast, we photographed various groupings of birds. As the light faded, we returned to tarmac roads. Our guides stopped to have their tyres returned to normal pressure (they were partially deflated for driving on sand), and then we were taken to our next destination. As promised, our guide had picked up our cases from the previous hotel, and these were waiting in our lovely rooms in the town of Swakopmund. Not only had we heating and hot water, hot water bottles had been placed into our beds!
Dinner was at a local fish restaurant. I had beer battered hake and chips, with a large side order of roasted vegetables. Then back to the hotel for an early night. Two pre-dawn mornings in a row had left me rather tired.
10 September
Good to have breakfast at the hotel. I skipped the sparkling wine and oysters on offer, and went for fruit and muesli instead.
The lens on loan arrived. The lens belonged to our guide’s father, and we decided it was essential that said lens was protected. So my roommate and I decided that we’d split the nagging between us, I would take the morning shift, handing over at 1pm.
A local guide collected us at 8am. After showing us photos of herself asleep with a guinea hen tucked up under her arm, we headed out to the local desert. Our goal was to see the small reptiles which live in the area.
We were given some rules along the way. As many of the reptiles spend their time under the sand, we were to walk ‘goose fashion’, following our guide in single file in order to disturb the ground as little as possible. When she found a creature, we were to move slowly as to not scare it. Only she would handle an animal, as she had long experience in doing so. However, we were not to touch any of them, as our scent could transfer across and this would enable predators to find the animal.
She found for us a couple of geckos, a chameleon, a shovel-nosed lizard, an adder, and a sidewinder. Part of the morning’s amusement was, as we waited in the vehicle, watching her follow the small animal tracks and then digging in the sand to find the creature. She also talked to the reptile whilst positioning him or her for our photographs, praising them when they posed nicely, begging when there was a refusal to cooperate.
The gecko had lovely, almost translucent colouration, and dug very quickly back into the sand once released. The adder moved very quickly, and watching the sand winder dig himself back into the sand was fascinating. But my favourite was the chameleon, who determinately walked towards us and changed colour from dark brown to yellow along the way.
‘She has a gecko tattoo,’ one of our group stated. Our response was ‘How do you know?’ and ‘That was fast work.’ He pointed out that her shirt rode up as she bent over to dig, revealing said tattoo on her lower back.
We had a break for fruit juice and home made cookies. The latter were delicious but rather hard, needing good strong teeth to break through.
Lunch was back in Swakopmund, at a cafe. I had ‘deep fried bockwurst’, a reminder that the town had been built by German settlers. I remained in the area afterwards, wandering into various gift shops and admiring the older buildings. I had to ask several people to work my way back to our hotel, stopping to photograph both the Catholic and the Lutheran church along the way.
I concentrated on photo processing until it was time for dinner. At another local restaurant, I had a lovely rib eye steak with garlic butter and a salad. Only a small beer to wash it down, so that I had capacity for a small whisky back in my room later on.
11 September
Again I decided not to have the oysters and sparkling wine at breakfast. Fruit, muesli, and strong coffee were enough.
We left at 7.30am, driving half an hour up the coast to view the ship wreck of the fishing trawler ‘Zeila’, which was stranded in 2008. The tide was in when we arrived, so we stood on the beach, shivering in the fog and cold wind, whilst we took a few photos. The site is a major tourist stop, and men left the fire around which they’d been huddled to try to sell us various semi-precious stones. ‘It’s the only way I can feed my family,’ we were told. I still declined to buy anything.
Our next stop was the Cape Cross seal colony. The smell hit us the moment we stepped out into the still foggy morning. Up to a quarter of a million fur seals live here during the peak breeding season. A boardwalk allowed to us view them both close hand and further away. Many were asleep, the pups often in small groups. Seals climbed over other seals, those near the shore engaged in disagreements and occasional battles. Seagulls ripped guts from dead pups and fought each other for feeding rights.
I was glad for my multiple layers, my gloves, and my warm hat. After about an hour we all had finished and we headed back to our vehicle.
A long drive north beckoned. A stop at the remains of an oil platform entertained us with the shapes made by wind and sand to the deteriorating metal. ‘Feels a bit Mad Max to me,’ I told my travelling companions.
We left the sand dunes behind and entered a very different landscape. The soil turned red and rocky, with hills of granite stone rising from flat lands featuring trees. Our guide stopped to show us some rare lichens, the species of which date from Cetaceous period. We ate our picnic lunches in the car rather than in the dusty wind.
It was around this time that we deduced that our vehicle should have a name. Various ideas were tossed around, including ‘Dusty Daddy.’ Our guide protested that vehicles were always female, so we amended this to ‘Dusty’ and finally ‘Dusty Springfield.’
As we continued our journey on a rather smooth road, the temperatures soared and we shed layers. A herd of desert adapted elephants with two calves appeared. Later we saw our first giraffes, including a young calf.
We arrived at our lodge just before sunset. This was a return to individual cabins with a balcony. The new feature was the outside toilet and showering area. We were warned to shut doors when leaving the room, as the nearby baboons might decide to enter and investigate.
Dinner was outside, a three course meal of a small meat pie, oryx steak with vegetables, and a vanilla cake. Several dogs wandered around hopefully, but we did not feed them from our plates.
12 September
There may be no risk of malaria in the area and time of year in which we were visiting, but bitey insects still found their way into our room, probably because we had left the door open to let in cool air. I obtained several bites on my arms, but worse was to come. During the night, something had a go at my right eyelid. I noticed immediately when I rose to visit the toilet, as the swelling had brought the eyelid half way down my eye. This has happened once before, when I was in London. I went to a pharmacist and he diagnosed it as an insect bite and advised I take some antihistamines. As I don’t normally carry those, one of my fellow travellers gave me some of his. I assured my concerned companions that it was uncomfortable rather than painful.
We ate our breakfast outdoors and headed out around 7.40am. We drove for around an hour, passing small houses and herds of goats and cattle. Definitely more people seemed to live on the land compared to other places we’ve been. I was amused by a bar called ‘Arsenal’, the green outside walls even bearing the football team’s logo.
We entered the Hoanib park. The guard who took our entrance fee advised our guide that a lion had pulled down a giraffe and where the carcass could be found.
Our hope was to see elephants. Although there were many signs of their passing, both in tracks and droppings, we were unsuccessful. We did see plenty of oryx, herds of springbok, a steinbok and two klipspringers. Many birds came close enough for frame-filling shots. The hornbills amused us by fighting over an elephant dropping, and we watched a weaver busily building a nest to which to entice a female.
The morning was cooler than anticipated, and we put layers on in the vehicle. By afternoon we were removing coats again. The light became harsher and less friendly to photography.
We found the giraffe remains. As our guide tried to reposition our vehicle for a better view of the body, we spotted another safari vehicle nearby. As we joined it, our hopes were realised. The young male lion who had pulled down the giraffe was resting under a rocky outcropping. His head was up as we approached, giving us opportunity for some nice photos. Then he laid back down to return to his snooze. He had a collar on, and our guide explained that this carried a tracking device. Not only could the park’s rangers find him, they can also warn villagers if a lion is heading their way.
After half an hour of watching a lion sleep, with the occasional movement to stretch without rising, we left the area and began the drive back to our lodge. We drove back a different route to our lodge. Our guide had hoped to fill up with petrol, but the station on the way only had diesel. In the remote area in which we were staying, there weren’t many options. He said he’d have to drive back down the road from the lodge, around an hour from where we were staying, in order to fill up the tank.
Evening meal was a buffet, which I partnered with the nice South African cider. The fire pit had been lit again, and the smoke smell was pleasant even it if did hang on to our clothes after we’d returned to our rooms.
13 September
Our guide rose early, drove to get petrol, and was back at 8am to join us for breakfast. We packed and left around 9.15am.
As warned, it was a long day’s drive. We not only left marked gravel roads, at time I wondered how our guide knew where to drive. At times we bounced, ground up sandy passages, and were given great views over rather dramatic drops.
An artist has set up ‘stone men’ along the route. These are figures made of stone pieces, held together by metal struts, in various positions. Some had plaques alongside, most did not. There are around thirty of these, of which we saw five. Most were set on top of small rocky outcroppings. We saw a few animals, such as giraffes, and when we came to a halt we’d have to wait for the dust raised by our vehicle to settle before taking photographs.
At one such area, one member of our group was not to be found when we wanted to head off again. ‘Start the engine, that’ll bring him running,’ someone suggested. I asked our guide, ‘What speed setting should I use on my camera to capture him running after us?’ ‘Oh, one 5000th of a second,’ was the reply. ‘That should catch the tears rolling down his face.’ Our missing member did appear quite quickly as the vehicle started moving.
We left vegetation behind for a time, returning to landscapes of mostly barren desert, before once again arriving in an area with trees and bushes. One last grinding through sand and stone brought us up to the ridge on which our latest lodge was located. This was run by the Himba community to benefit the local people.
As with other lodges, we had our own cabin. The sides were canvas, with a straw roof. The toilet and shower were off to one side. The balcony looked over the valley, and lovebirds shrieked to each other in trees below. Other birds came and went, adding their own songs. One of our group had around sixteen dassies pose on the rocks near his room. I looked at the images he’d taken on his phone with some envy.
We gathered for dinner at 7pm. The staff had cans of beer for sale in a cooler. Our meal was a local maize along with goat casserole. This marked the third time I’d eaten goat in my life, and as ever I’ve enjoyed it.
The distinctive whine of mosquito disrupted our evening back in our room. I managed to untangle the mosquito net which hung from the ceiling and placed it over my bed before turning the lights out.
14 September
Didn’t sleep well. The mosquito whine seemed very close in the night, and I wasn’t certain whether I’d trapped one inside the net with me. Getting in and out to visit the toilet was an interesting challenge.
Breakfast was porridge and bread. Around 7.30am we headed out to a local Himba encampment, arriving in time to watch the woman and children herding the goats. Our interpreter obtained permission for us to visit and to take photos. Several goats were held by the horns whilst being milked, although not much was taken. Shortly thereafter the herd was split, the older goats to be taken further away in order to graze.
Himba women traditionally smear orchre dirt mixed with animal fat over their skin. Their hair is braided and indicates their marital status. Young women have braids which extend stiffly over their foreheads. Woman who are mature enough to be married, as determined by their father, start braiding the hair from the back. When a man decides he wants a particular young woman as his wife, he approaches her father to discuss this.
In contrast, the men at the camp were dressed in Western clothes, and one had a smart phone. They watched as we interacted with the woman and took photos. One of our group thought to break the ice with the women and children by pulling out his false teeth to show them. Another member of our group had packed frisbees, and gave one to the children to play with.
The baby of the family was learning how to crawl. Despite mom trying to interest the baby in the frisbee, the child was more interested in eating dirt. We tried to ask questions through the local guide, but his English wasn’t very good and he mostly tried to answer us himself rather than speak to the people.
We discovered that one of the women had a badly sprained wrist. The nurse in our group examined the injuty. I donated an ankle strap, which fit over the wrist well enough, and a tin of ibuprofen tablets, items which I carry in my first aid kit.
After a couple of hours our guide gave them food parcels and we headed back to the lodge. We had time before and after a simple lunch to enjoy our surroundings and I also worked on photos.
At 4pm we gathered for an afternoon excursion. We saw four Rüppell'sparrots, not great for photos but lovely to see them. A hornbill grumped nearby. We visited a small village encampment, which had mud huts, an animal enclosure, and three women. A different interpreter had gone with us, and we were able to ask more questions of the Himba through her. We also discovered that we Western women were not good marriage candidates, as we didn’t know how to slaughter a goat.
I mostly concentrated on taking photos of the camp rather than the women. They had various handicrafts for sale. Our guide later explained the morning’s visit had been to people who do live off the land, but the afternoon was becoming more geared towards the tourist trade. One of our group bought a small bracelet, and asked whether wearing it made him appear to be a Himba woman.
Upon our return we went to the furthermost cabin, at the invitation of the occupant, hoping to see the dassies which had climbed on the rocks near his patio. No such luck, but we did enjoy looking at his bathroom, which was built under a rock overhang like a grotto.
Dinner was rice, a potato mix, and BBQ goat. We chatted over drinks before heading back to our rooms.
15 September
Breakfast was scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast, a nice surprise. We packed up and left around 8.30am, heading down the steep track one more time. The day was overcast, and we even experienced a few spots of rain.
At lunchtime we arrived at a very beautiful and expensive lodge for lunch. As we ate outside, albeit under shelter, we enjoyed three courses, starting with a beetroot salad, main course beef wraps, and dessert was blueberry ice cream. We bumped down a track to the lodge at which we were staying, which was far more basic. My roommate and I made the mistake of taking the family room, in which we tossed a coin to see who would have the double bed and who would use the bunk beds. I lost, so resigned myself to sleeping on the bottom bunk. The room had no toiletries, so I pulled out a small bar of soap which has travelled in its unopened packaging for years. No bin either.
At 4.30pm we drove out into the local area. We first drove up to a viewpoint over the oasis. Then we looked for wildlife. Elephants eluded us, but we had great fun watching two young male giraffes wrestling with each other. This was almost like a dance, as they mimicked each other’s actions, necks swaying in unison until they banged heads against each other. We laughed as a springbok passed by, first one direction, then the other. It made me think of a bar brawl, with an innocent bystander deciding he must edge past the fight in order to visit the toilet. ‘Don’t mind me, I’m not involved, just squeezing past.’
Dinner was again at the posh lodge, as where we were staying didn’t offer meals. I assisted my room mate with finishing off a bottle of Chenin Blanc (she had started it at lunchtime and the lodge kept it safe for the evening). Again three courses, starting with pear gratin, main course roast lamb, and cheese and biscuits to finish.
Returned to the room and soon after went to bed, as we were facing an early start.
16 September
We left at 6.45am, after a night of mosquito whining and biting. The room did not have mosquito nets either.
As we drove to the posh lodge to collect breakfast boxes, we spotted a brown hyena making his way near the hills. Despite the low pre-dawn light, we still took multiple photos of the creature. It was the first time I’ve seen a hyena in the wild.
The day was devoted to driving. We bumped our way down the track, and later in the morning we had a flat tyre. Our guide put on a replacement. We stopped at a petrol station, where the tyre was repaired and we bought drinks and snacks from a small convenience store.
Lunch was also a boxed one, collected from a lodge in which we’d stayed previously. We ate our sandwiches at a picnic spot. By this time we were on tarmac, which made for a much quicker and smoother ride.
Around 5pm we arrived at the gates to Etosha. Plastic bags are banned in the park, so those which were evident (from our earlier shopping trip) had to be emptied and the bags handed over. My own bag was tucked under a seat and not spotted. I promised myself not to release it into the wild.
Shortly thereafter we arrived at our lodge. This was a large complex, and it was a bit disconcerting to be sharing an area with so many other people. Our accommodation consisted of an entry seating room with a sink and a kettle, a twin bedroom, and a bathroom with toiletries and a bin. Plus air conditioning and mosquito nets. Much better than the night before!
The lodge had its own watering hole, fenced off, but with benches and a viewing platform. I went over at 6pm with one of the beers I had purchased. Zebras came down to drink, along with a flock of guinea fowl. A woman left her seat to inform me, ‘You just missed the elephants,’ before she headed back to her bench. I never understand why people feel the need to tell others what they have missed seeing.
Our guide had warned us that people found the complex confusing to navigate, so we met outside our rooms at 7.20pm to walk over to the restaurant together. We sat outside, a couple of candles at the table adding a bit more light to what spilled out from the building. The staff seemed stretched, and it took a while to place our orders. I had the pea soup to start, sirloin steak to follow (two huge slabs of meat), and cheesecake to finish. Because I’d had the beer earlier, I stuck to sparkling water with my meal.
17 September
An early start, breakfast at 6.30am and then heading out 7am. We bounced down the bumpy road at dawn, cameras at the ready.
Shortly after spotting a hyena in the distance and some oryx, we encountered a pride of lions walking towards us. The lionesses were in the front, followed by an elderly male and a young male. We took photos of them approaching, leaving, and then moved Dusty several times to follow them. The lionesses were in a good mood, several times breaking into play wrestling. One chased the other, biting the base of her tail.
Afterwards we came across the carcass of the springbok which the lions had killed. The remains were spread across a wide area, and jackals and crows were tearing into the meat and bones. Two jackals had a fight over one leg.
We drove on to a rather busy waterhole. Herds of ostriches, springbok, oyrx, and zebra congregated at the water’s edge. Several kudu joined them, seemingly far more cautious. Birds swung past and overhead, eating the insects stirred up by the heavier animals.
A large bull elephant trumpeted as he took over prime position at the water, the other animals quickly giving way to him. A smaller male joined him, and the two entwined trunks before drinking side by side. A third bull approached, and was given far less welcome.
We returned to the lodge for lunch. Afterwards I did some laundry and hung everything outside to dry in the hot sun. At 4.30pm we again boarded Dusty and went out. This time we spotted three rhinos, an adult with a calf and, later on, a female on her own. The horns of the females are often removed to make them less desirable to poachers. Although I can understand the reasons for removing the horn, it did make the rhino look rather odd. The males need their horns so these are left in place. Sadly, it seems that poachers still kill the rhinos without horns, so they don’t waste time tracking them in the future.
For some time we parked up at a different water hole, and watched how giraffes have to bend their long legs in order to drink. We admired some more elephants and a small group of mongeese before heading back for our dinner.
18 September
We were packed at 6.30am, had a quick breakfast, and headed out. The morning was grey, with high level clouds, as we continued through the park and towards our next lodge.
Our first significant sighting was of a black rhino, with horns, grazing in the bush. We never got a good shot of him due to the shrubbery. Later on we encountered a herd of zebra, with one wildebeest following behind. ‘Self-identifying as a zebra,’ we decided. Then a pair of spotted hyena, male and female. We stopped at a waterhole to admire more zebra and various antelopes.
Further down the road we came across four elephants. They passed close by Dusty, and I shot a short video on my iPhone.
Our most exciting time was watching a female leopard. We first spotted her (well, found her because of all the other vehicles nearby) drinking from a small spring. She made her way past wary antelope to climb up a tree branch and have a lie down. After twenty minutes or so she returned to the water, then went off.
We drove to our lodge and had lunch. I ignored the signs about not feeding the birds, and held out french fries for the startling to steal. A woman came up to me and spoke in German about the birds. I responded in kind. She asked if my accent was Austrian, and I responded that I lived in England. I love the way that throws Germans.
We checked in, and had some time in our rooms. I downloaded the morning’s photos, worked on those from a previous day, and did a bit of laundry.
4.30pm we went back out into the park. The clouds had cleared and we had lovely evening light. We admired antelope, ostriches, and a distant herd of wildebeest crossing the salt pan. We found another rhino, with horns, partially hidden by a bank. We also saw several of the ‘ghost elephants’, looking nearly white from the mud they’d placed on their bodies.
The park is supposed to shut at sunset, so our guide began to hurry us back to the lodge. Dusty was brought to a juddering halt as he suddenly saw the same leopard as we’d watched in the morning. She crossed the road and loped away.
Dinner at the lodge was a buffet, so for once I was able to have a small portion, this time pork chops. I took in a nice dark wheat beer. Again, the restaurant didn’t seem to care that we’d brought our own alcohol.
19 September
Another 6.30am breakfast and 7am departure. We followed a hornbill for a while and a honey badger. The latter was quite striking, grey fur above eyes to tail and black below. He was a determined creature, scuttling across the landscape in search of breakfast.
Mid morning we spent some time at a water hole. Although we couldn’t see it, due to reeds being in the way, a recent kill drew in hyenas, vultures, and jackals. Every so often the wind changed direction and we grimaced at the foul smell of rotting meat. The hyenas left the kill to drink water and to cool off in the water hole. When two of them were together, one licked the face of the other. One jackal ran from the carcass, yelping, probably due to a bite from a vulture. A different jackal was made of sterner stuff, and actually chased birds away.
Although most vehicles seemed to follow an honour code, of not pulling in front of another and thus blocking the view, we did have one car place itself between us and the watering hole. We protested and the driver backed up. A couple other vehicles asked us if they could temporarily drive in front of Dusty, and we agreed.
We had an early lunch at the lodge where we’d be staying that night. After taking luggage to our rooms, I worked on photos. A lizard on the front patio distracted me for a short while.
At 4.30pm it was out again. We amused ourselves with a nearby giraffe, whose body was mostly hidden by a bush, only the head poking up from time to time. We saw a couple of warthogs, and came across a large herd of elephants. There was a young calf with the group, but mostly surrounded by older elephants so difficult to photograph.
Evening light was falling nicely on the land. We finally found a couple of cheetahs, lying quite a way down on the gravelly airstrip. I took a shot, then called everyone’s attention to the jackal digging at a carcass on the other side of our vehicle.
We returned to the lodge and had dinner outside. It was very warm, so I decided to have ice cream for my dessert. After all, temperatures in England wouldn’t be leading me to eat anything cold for quite a few months.
20 September
Our last morning in Etosha. Again, packed, breakfasted, and ready to go at 7am.
We stopped at a couple of water holes where nothing was happening. A few birds posed for us, including a hornbill.
A large number of vehicles parked up told us something interesting was ahead. This turned out to be two cheetahs, a mother and her four month old cub. They alternated snoozing near a tree with running around, the cub at one point leaping over the mother.
We returned to the watering hole which had featured the out of sight corpse. The smell was even worse than the day before whenever the wind shifted direction and wafted the putrid scent over eyes and noses. But the action made it worthwhile. Hyenas had dragged portions of the carcass from behind the reeds, and were busily chewing away. Jackals made attempts to take bites for themselves. A long leg identified the deceased as giraffe.
Driving down ‘Dik Dik Avenue’, we saw several of the diminutive creatures. Rather delightfully, one stood on rear legs in order to graze.
Our last stop was another watering hole. Something alarmed the animals several times, causing the zebra to gallop off and the various antelope species to spring away. We never saw the cause of the panic ourselves.
We left the park and started the seven hour journey down to Windhoek. Lunch was at a restaurant, and we made a couple of comfort breaks before arriving around 6pm at the same lodge we’d used at the start of our trip. It felt a bit odd to back at where we’d begun.
I also felt some sadness at removing everything from Dusty, who had been a good and faithful steed for our adventures. It was also a bit of a shock to drive through a city and experience traffic lights after all of our bumpy country tracks.
21 September
We met up for breakfast at 8am. I said goodbye to my travelling companions and readied myself for the two hour horse ride I’d booked months before. The guide appeared at the lodge with two horses just before 9am.
After I’d signed away my legal rights, I put on the hard hat he wanted me to wear and we used a chair as a mounting block. I misunderstood what he was asking me at first, thinking he was wondering what language I wanted to use. Actually, he was trying to find out whether I wanted an English or a Western saddle. Both horses had the former. I said I’d be fine with English although I preferred Western, as that’s what I learnt as a teenager with weekly horse riding lessons.
We headed down the hill and stopped at the stables. There the guide insisted on changing the saddle over to a Western one. I held the reins of my gelding as he did the swap. As I only needed one hand, I used the other to scratch behind the ears of the six month old foal who came up to me. The horses wander freely when not used for riding lessons. I had originally been booked in to ride at 8am, but the guide has asked the lodge to change this to 9am to give more time for the horses to come back to the stables in the morning.
Once I swung into the Western saddle, I realised that the guide had been right to make the change. It was like going from sleeping in a hotel bed to one’s own. So much more comfortable. My body relaxed into the saddle, and I remembered how I’d been taught to use the stirrups and reins.
We set off down the track, conversing about horses and Namibia. The guide grew up riding horses, and he and his family have several of their own. He worked full time at the stables near the lodge, but was frustrated that he rarely had a day off and he didn’t the wages were good enough. But he wants to work with horses and wasn’t certain what else he could do.
I had told him to treat me as a beginner, because I’ve had so little recent riding experience. We mostly rode along a wide track, a few times venturing off, and remained at a walk. My gelding and I had to have a few discussions when he tried to crowd the guide’s mare or head off on his own. But on the whole I could allow him to make his own way although I found he responded better to direct reining than neck reining.
The temperatures remained comfortably cool during the two hour ride. We saw oryx tracks but no animals. A few birds flitted about. I was pleased to hear the distinctive calls of lovebirds, as I had at the lodge earlier.
At one point we turned off the trail so the guide could take photos of me on the horse (I’d only packed my iPhone for the ride). I dismounted so he could readjust the saddle and tighten up the girth strap.
We returned the way we had come, but bypassed the stables to go back up the hill to the lodge. Once there he again brought the chair over for me to dismount. This went against my instincts. I’d been taught to dismount by bringing the right leg over the saddle, then kicking the left foot out of the stirrup, to drop to the ground with both feet. The idea is that one doesn’t want to have left foot still in the stirrup in case the horse decides to move. However, I didn’t want to risk both feet landing at once on a possibly unsteady chair, so I put right foot down then removed left foot from stirrup.
After a fish and chip lunch at the lodge’s restaurant, I headed back to my room to work on photos. I kept going until dinner. I had hoped that maybe something interesting would feature for my last evening, and to my delight this proved to be the case. Main course was zebra sirloin, very tasty, and nothing like horse.
Afterwards, I drank my final beer whilst watching the sunset afterglow on the nearby hills. After yet more photo work, I turned on the air conditioning and went to bed.
22 September
A leisurely morning. After breakfast, I packed up and was pleased to fit everything into the one case. I left my room at 10am, prepared to sit in the lodge’s sitting area until my airport lift arrived at 11am. The man actually came at 10.30am, bringing someone from the airport with him.
Everything was rather quiet at the air terminal. I dropped off my bag, spent the last of my Namibian currency on some presents, and went through security. I had a small lunch on the other side.
23 September
Changing flights at Addis Ababa was annoying. This time there were two trips through security, which seemed a bit over the top. I ate at the airport, which was just as well, as the airline food was again virtually inedible. I tried to get some sleep in my seat.
We landed on time at Gatwick, where everything was rather quiet at 6.30am. I went through immigration, collected my case, and used train, underground, and train again to get to Northampton. Lovely neighbour collected me and by 11am I was home and unpacking. Homecoming meal was beans on toast!
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