Weekend at Etosha National Park

Last weekend was one of the most amazing of my life! Etosha means ‘Great White Place’ and you can find it easily on ‘Google Maps’ – it is to the south and slightly east of Oshakati. The huge white expanse which you can see is the Etosha pan (110 km wide), which used to be a huge lake but which now, for most of the year, is dry.

It is surrounded by a variety of habitats ranging from woodland to open grassland in which are watering holes where animals come to drink especially in the early morning and late afternoon.



The second scary moment of my stay in Namibia happened soon after we entered the park. We turned a corner to see a very agitated black rhinoceros charging down the road towards us. He veered to the left then turned to face us.Luckily he decided not to take out his bad temper on us!

We then visited our first waterhole and, on the way, spent time taking photos of a vulture in a tree. I happened to turn around and saw between 30 and 40 vultures on the ground behind us all trying to eat a dead zebra.
We watched them for a while then proceeded to the water hole where we saw zebra and giraffe drinking.




As we returned I noticed something else by the zebra – a leopard! It must have killed the zebra not long before we'd arrived and was trying to entice its two young to eat whilst also trying to keep the vultures away from it! I was so excited! You may need to copy the photo and look at it full size to see the leopard which was very well camouflaged, especially when it lay under the dead tree yu can see in the background.







We returned to the same water hole the following morning and all that was left of the zebra were some ribs. There were also some very full and sleepy vultures and a couple of jackal – all they managed to find and make off with was the tail!

For the rest of the weekend we just sat at other water holes and watched processions of animals come, drink and then melt back into the bush: zebra, giraffe, wildebeest, kudu, water hogs, impala, springbok, oryx, mongooses and eland. They all posted sentinels to keep watch in each direction so that the others could concentrate on the water and not worry about predators. They were very wary of a couple of hyena who mooched around a bit until they were seen off by a bunch of wildebeest.

On our last day we found a waterhole with 6 elephant drinking, washing and covering themselves with mud – an awesome sight!







The only animals which we really wanted to see but didn’t were lions. We plan to go again at Easter and seeing them will be our goal.

We saw many wonderful birds too including ostrich, flamingoes, cranes, hornbills, hawks and this beautiful shaft tailed widah- look at its long tail.


Here are some giraffe for Rennie to count. How many legs do 1, 2, 3 and 4 have? Maybe next time I will be able to find groups of 8, 9 and 10.



































































A zebra crossing.

Oshana on the move

In the Oshwana region in which I am living, there are no buses or trains; there is little public transport in Namibia as a whole. In the towns, people either own a car or walk or take a taxi. It costs about 60p for a local ride and other people share the taxi with you. When I drive to work I have to be very careful as taxi drivers might suddenly stop in front of you to pick someone up or pull out suddenly in front of you to drop them off. Other people ‘hike’ a free ride with someone.

If you want to travel south to Windhoek, you can take a seat in a minibus. The only scary moment I have had was when I was taking the picture below and a man tried to grab me to get me onto one, as they leave once they are full! Before I was allowed to drive a government vehicle I had to take a driving test. Two government officials sat with me as I drove around the block. I was told I was an excellent driver as I slowed down at the junctions and looked both ways.
The school where I am working is in Ompundja. If you search for Ongwediva on Google maps, then look along the main road west towards Oshakati, just over half way along is a road which goes south. Follow that road and keep going until it ends; that is Ompundja! This photo shows the road – busy isn’t it! I take the right track to get to Kapolo School.

As you can see it is a dirt road. When it is dry and another vehicle comes along you are blinded by a cloud of dust; when it is wet, the dust turns to a slippery, muddy paste and it is like driving on ice. As the principal of the school said ‘Ah, you danced to school this morning.’ Other hazards on country roads are cattle and goats which roam everywhere; we have been advised to never drive at night as we may well hit an animal. Warthogs in particular do a great deal of damage to cars. Some wild animals come out of the bush to sleep on the warm tarmac.

Beyond Ompundja the roads turn into tracks; donkey carts are used to get around or people walk.

The children walk many kilometres from homesteads out in the country to get to school. When I arrived one morning last week, two children who were late were sitting outside the school gate. It had been locked to teach them a lesson. Sometimes Meme Amukana, the inspector with whom I am working, and I pick up children who she knows have walked between 7 and 10 km and take them to school. Some of them are very small.

I do like my new car!

On my way to Ompundja I cross three oshanas (seasonal ponds). Recently boats have been out on one of these practising the rescue of people in case the floods come. This is one of a number of dug out canoes which have been bought from the Kavango region to the north east of us.
It is still very hot here, but there have been some showers and thunderstorms. Everyone is still waiting for the heavy rains to come.

Of course, babies and young children always get a very comfortable ride with their mothers!

Shopping

There is a small shopping centre in Ongwediva where I am living, but we usually travel to Oshakati which is about 10 km away to do most of our shopping, Here there are modern shopping centres where you can buy all the essential things you need, though they do not have ready meals or many frozen items.

Local shops look more this this one which is flying the SWAPO flag. SWAPO fought for the country's independence and now governs it.

It is most difficult to buy fruit and vegetables. One day you will go to the shops and there are lots of bananas and apples for sale. The next time you go there are no apples or bananas but lots of cabbages and carrots! It is difficult to plan what you are going to eat! This photo shows me in a shop called ‘Fruit and Veg’ where there is the biggest selection. Margaret is trying to remember the name of the vegetable I am holding. She lived in South Africa for a while and most of the food seems to be imported from there. One difference is that, to prevent shop lifting, you have to hand in all of your bags before you enter the supermarket. The first time I did this I queued like you do in England – but I didn’t get anywhere. I soon learned to stand up for myself! When you have paid for your shopping and before you leave the shop, you have to show your receipt to security guards who check it against what you have in your bags. There are also open markets which sell more local produce. The main food eaten by Namibians is ‘porridge’ or ‘pap’. This is the same as in Zambia though they call it ‘nshima’ there. Sometimes it is made from ground maize, but mainly from ground mahangu, a kind of millet grown locally. They are very worried at present that this crop will fail as the rains which fell during the first week I was here have been replaced by dry, hot weather and the this year’s crop is beginning to wilt. I have also been given a glass of a local drink called ‘oshikundu’ brewed from ground mahangu with sorgum; I’m not sure I will ask for another. It is very different from anything I have ever drunk before and impossible to describe.

Another great delicacy is the omanugu worm which you can see for sale in the photo below. These are dried, but the season for harvesting fresh ones is approaching; apparently they hang from branches of certain trees. Will I try one I wonder?

You can see mahanga growing to the left of the termite mound.

Here I am, in the market, trying on a dress in the Namibian style! It makes me look a bit like a highly decorated Christmas pudding but is cool to wear and cost me 100 Namibian dollars (a bit less than £10) with the head dress thrown in – a bargain!

There are not many places you can eat out. There is Kentucky Fried Chicken in Oshakati.

In Ongwediva there is an eating place where I had the worst pizza ever! I ordered one with tomato, salami, garlic and cheese. After about an hour and a half it arrived; however there was no tomato and no cheese on it (they had run out) and the salami was actually cubes of luncheon meat which fell off whenever I tried to eat.

Here you can see all the food which we bought on Friday to last us for the coming week. How many things do you recognise?

South African World Cup official footballs are on sale here - would you like me to bring one back for school or are they on sale in the UK too?
Tangi unene (thankyou very much) to all of you who have emailed me. It has been lovely to hear from you all. Kalei po nawa.

Journey north; arrrival in Oshana district

I arrived in Ongwediva after a seven and a half hour drive along a very straight road. We did have to stop twice for petrol, once to let a family of baboons cross the road and once for our driver to buy some funghi for tea.

Apparently, they are very tasty and grow only at the base of termite mounds when the rains come. All of the countryside we passed through is bushland – it is too dry to grow anything there.

When we entered Ovamboland, things changed in more ways than one. This area is much poorer and much more like Zambia. However in addition to the rain, lots of water flows here from the Angolan Highlands to the north. In the village settlements families are therefore able to keep chickens, goats and maybe cattle – they are subsistence farmers. The land is very flat.

We eventually arrived at our house which is quite big and has a lovely garden with plenty of trees for shade.
We were very despondent when we entered, as the house hadn’t been lived in for some time and was quite dirty. Moreover there was no gas, no electricity, no equipment in the kitchen except a fridge and some spoons and no bedding. Luckily we were rescued by another volunteer who lived nearby and who took us out for a pizza!

So the next day we went shopping. First we bought electricity from the garage. Then we had to buy lots of equipment for the house and clean it from top to bottom. I am very glad that there were 3 of us and I didn’t have to do it all on my own! This is my bedroom now that I have settled in. I share it with a lizard.

HEALTH & SAFETY

Are you wondering why my bed is covered by a blue net? It is to help to stop the mosquitoes biting me at night. These insects carry a parasite which can give people a serious illness called malaria. Many people die from this disease unless they are protected.
This is a photo of some of the essential items I have to keep me safe. They include tablets to stop me from becoming ill if I am bitten, 'Doom' with which to spray my room, and something to spray my body with. The sun and heat could also cause me problems. The temperature has been above 35 degrees and the sun has been shining everyday (sorry!). I therefore need drink lots of water and use lots of suntan lotion. Why do you think I need an umbrella ? The following picture might help you to answer that question. It is of Jason (a senior educational advisor) who helped us with our shopping, talking to a friend of his. Look at the lady in the background.

Many people steal as they are so poor; we have to put metal bars across our doors at night.

I must go now and do my washing. We do not have a washing machine so I have to do it by hand in the sink outside. At least it will dry very quickly!

Make sure you all take great care of yourselves too.

Kalei po nawa.

Windhoek, the capital of Namibia

“Mwa lele po – good morning to you all! I am Mrs Bird, what is your name? How are you? How are your parents/brothers/sisters? The weather is very warm but rainy today.”

Greetings are very important in Namibia and, even when you meet several people at once, you have to shake hands (in the same way as they do in Zambia) and have a conversation like the one above with each person in turn or you are thought to be very rude and disrespectful.

I have just finished my training which, as you can see, has included learning a little of a language called Oshikwanyama. It is spoken by the people in the north of the country which is where I will be travelling tomorrow.

Everyday I have walked to the VSO office with two other volunteers. We were the only white people walking although many white people live in Windhoek. Why might that be?
This is a photo of part of my route.
Try to find out why this street might have been given the name Nelson Mandela Avenue. The following information might help you. After the 2nd World War, Namibia was ruled by South Africa who introduced the system of apartheid. All the black people had to leave Windhoek and live in a township called Katatura. After a long struggle, Namibia became independent in 1990; however, most black Namibians still live in Katatura or in the ‘informal settlements’ beyond as they still cannot afford to buy other houses.

Sunset over Windhoek. There are frequent thunderstorms.

This is the VSO office – I am sure that Mrs O’Brien will exclaim,”Look, the ………… is exactly the same as ours!”

And this is the view from the front door! At least it is not snowing which it was when I left England.







Water is a big problem in Namibia. If you look closely at a map, you will find it hard to find many rivers and they are all in the north. Most of the country has to get its water from bore holes and this is running out as there is not enough rain. On the other hand, the rains are getting much heavier in the north, there is a great deal of flooding and peoples’ clay houses are destroyed. The women then have to rebuild them by hand.

The Namibian people whom I have met are very friendly and determined to improve their lives and their country. I visited a Young Achievers’ meeting yesterday in Katatura. The young people, aged between 7 and 20 years of age, are all from very poor families but each had a vision of what they wanted to achieve. At the meetings they learn the skills they might need and support each other. One young man who is now the breadwinner for his family as well as studying to become a lawyer, said that he had been about to give up his studies but, after the meeting, knew he had to continue. They all wanted my email address so I might become very busy!

These are the other two headteachers who will be working in the Oshana region with me. We went to a supermarket to buy some food. Most things cost the same as in England or even more – like fruit and vegetables.

My first sight of Namibian wildlife.

I must now go and soak my mosquito net in insecticide as I will need it tomorrow.
Next time I will tell you about my journey to Ongwediva and my new life there.

Ka endeni po nawa ovahongifikola, ovahongwaficola. (go well teachers, learners).