Why did we choose to travel by bus for 24hrs? Well, crazy as it seems, we thought it seemed like a good idea at the time. It was cheap - about £30 a ticket, and it was straight forward - get on the bus in Livingstone, Zambia, and then get off in Windhoek, Namibia. Flying was so much more expensive compared and we try to avoid flying where we can anyway. The reality of 24 hours on a bus was definitely something. I am a big person and being confined in a little space is never super comfy for me, but 24 hrs was not fun; my legs were aching and I hadn't slept for more than a couple of hours, so I was feeling pretty awful by the time we arrived.
The journey involved a bus change (from a small shuttle bus with trailer, to a large coach) and two border crossings (Zambia to Botswana, and Botswana to Namibia). These were handled in a structured manner with the bus driver escorting everyone from the bus to the border office and advising where to go. For Gaz and I, we found this very straight forward and we had no problems at either border post. On entry into Namibia, we were asked how long we were staying - I said 5 weeks, and they gave us the maximum of 9 weeks. This wasn't the same story for many others on our bus who, as Zambian's or Zimbabweans, they were only granted entry for a week or two. I really felt for a mother and her daughter who were travelling together for the daughter's university graduation; the mother wasn't granted enough time in Namibia to actually see her daughter graduate. She explained that she would have to go to an Immigration office when she arrived to try to get an extension. Sometimes, being from the UK (or maybe Europe?) has benefits that we're perhaps unaware of.
As we were leaving Botswana, the border police flagged the mini bus for broken light and insisted that the driver pay a fine before leaving the country. The fine had to be paid in cash in the local currency (Pula) but the driver didn't have the money, so needed to call his boss to get a payment sorted over the phone. But there was no phone reception at the border! So everyone disembarked from the bus and we were left in the shade of a large Boabab tree while the driver drove off to get something sorted. Eventually he returned, collected us to go through the immigration gate into Namibia. These things are just standard when travelling by bus in a foreigh country. You often find yourselves in an uncertain position with no-one to really provide guidance or explanation, but things invariably get sorted and all works out.
In Namibia, we stopped in a few major towns en-route to the capital, either for a bathroom break or to drop someone off. Before the daylight faded, we had the chance to see some of this new country and the fascinating rural villages in the north, with their traditional houses apparently made entirely of natural materials.
We also saw a whole array of women and children walking alongside the road carrying large containers of water for what appeared to be a number of kilometres. This was our first glimpse of the rural Africa we had seen on the TV, but until then had not seen it in person. I was taken by how tidy the homesteads were; clearly they are well cared for. We have been in rural areas of Senegal, Morocco, and South Africa where villages are often strewn with litter. Perhaps these communities are too remote to have access to shop bought products with modern packaging? I don't know, but it was notable by its absence.
Apart from the interruptions from the driver when we pulled up to a new town for a rest stop or drop off, the night hours were punctuated by the wildlife jumping into the road and causing the driver to brake, of beep his horn to scare them off. Lucky to be sat at the front of the bus, in the headlights I saw the back end of a Rhino retreating away into the brush, a large Kudu jumped in front of us, and what I think was a large cat of some description on the side of the road.
Before you knew it dawn arrived and we spent the last couple of seemingly endless hours watching the unfolding landscape gradually become more and more inhabited until we arrived at the city of Windhoek, marking the end of the longest bus journey we've ever taken.
Hopping off the bus we grabbed a taxi the 1 mile to our accommodation very close to the centre of town on Independence Avenue. We were staying in a private apartment in a block just a short walk from all the downtown sights, so it was very convenient.
The apartment itself was small but well appointed with a lounge area and a great kitchen which meant we could have meals at home - a way to control what we're eating but also keep an eye on costs.
Windhoek was described to me by a friend who visited a few years ago, as like Birmingham, UK, in the 80s. I don't know if that's a good description, but I can see what she means. There are a few high rise office blocks and administration centres for banks etc... so there are modern buildings here and there full of glass and steel, but these are adjacent to low level buildings and malls that look fairly run down on the outside and the units are taken up with small businesses rather than large chain outlets.
The poster child property of this interesting city is Christuskirche, a Lutheran Church established in 1910 during the time of German colonisation. We visited the restaurant level of the nearby Independence Museum to get a good view of the church and the wider city. It's pretty cool up there, but they won't let you take any photos without buying something, so we complied and took the opportunity to get out of the sun for a while with a cold drink.
The Lonely Planet guide recommended we visit the Zoo park, which we did, and whilst we had a nice lunch in the cafe there, I wouldn't recommend the park itself. It's very run down, not really maintained and there were a lot of men just hanging around in the more remote corners not doing anything. It made it feel a bit seedy, so we exited fairly quickly.
Generally we felt confident walking about the city in the daytime. We were still careful and mindful of not carrying lots of cash and not wandering about after dark, but walking to the pizza place at the end of the block after dark was fine. Namibia has a low crime rate, but Windhoek does experience petty crime like any city, so we were sensible and had no issues at all.
As well as exploring the city, we also went to Joe's Beerhouse, a local institution that was established in 1991 by a German chef who travelled the world and set up a small beer garden decorated with all the random things he found on his travels. It's now developed into a large outdoor restaurant serving good food and good beer in a relaxed informal environment and still surrounded by the quirky items that have been gathered to decorate the place. They wisely offer a pick up and drop off service, which makes it so easy to get there AND have a drink! Gaz was a bit cagey and went safe with a beef steak, but I ordered a series of meats to try, Kudu, Eland and Springbok. They were ALL delicious. It's definitely worth a visit if you're in the city, but if you go, be adventurous like me, you won't regret it!
Before we knew it our week in Windhoek was over and we were ready to see more of this place.
So we packed up our things and caught a shuttle bus to Swakopmund which would be our first chance to see the Namibian West coast.
Before we left the apartment, the cleaner arrived and she got started while we waited for our lift. This is worth mentioning simply because we watched her use a toilet brush to scrub the shower. Yep. No lie.
I have to say you both look so well even after all that travel. Nice that the local cleaner let you into here trade secret cleaning method. Guest Toothbrushes are great for tap bases too!