A Lifetime Experience in Namibia
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Are you bored?
Will this be a mission trip?
Why?
When we told friends and family about our upcoming two-week trip to Namibia, these were the responses we received the most. Rebecca and I are in our mid-seventies, and six months ago, when our friend Brian Hesse, owner and guide of Cowabunga Safaris, said he had two slots open for his Namibia safari, we said, “It’s now or never.” And, immediately, began second-guessing.
In the last decade, we’ve visited Malta, Ireland, Northern Ireland, England, Morocco, Croatia, France, Romania (three times), the Czech Republic, and Mexico. But not sub-Saharan Africa.
We understood our friends’ bafflement. Our eyes were as closed to the possibilities of this experience as mine were in the first photo.
When asked today about our Namibia excursion, our response is as clear as the Namibian sky.
It was an experience of a lifetime. These ingredients are what made it so.
Brian and Donovan
On our travels, leaders— Mohammed in Morocco, Michael in Northern Ireland, Stephen in Ireland, and Sergiu in Romania — all provided excellent context, helping us understand what we were observing. Guides are teachers, and their countries serve as their classrooms.
In Namibia, Brian and Donovan joined this litany of excellent mentors.
Brian teaches Political Science at Northwest Missouri State. He brought 30 years of experience in shepherding groups through several countries in southern Africa. His daily energy was infectious. I don’t recall a single question about an animal, plant, or geological formation that he could not answer. He truly made Namibia come alive.
Donovan is a Damara and earned a degree in tourism at the University of Namibia in Windhoek. His mother named him after the British rock star Donovan Leitch. Here he is scouting a herd of elephants with a newborn calf.
It’s not as easy as you would think to find an elephant family that is protective of a new member.
As we were observing this scene from our van, I noticed Donovan paying close attention to the bull, the large elephant in the center. “I’m watching his ears. If they begin to flap, that means he believes danger is close and I’m getting us out of here.”
‘Good Guides Attract Good People’
This is our intrepid group on Namibia’s Atlantic Skeleton Coast, halfway through our 13 days. When we gathered early in the morning on the first day, Brian anointed us Cowabunga. By this point, the adventurous spirit bound us together, even the introverts.
The age range was 14 to 75. It proved true what I read on the testimonial page of the Cowabunga site. Good guides do attract good people, over and over again. Several members of our group had previously visited Tanzania with Brian.
For two weeks, our hearty band of 12 ate together, traveled in two comfortable vans on some very bumpy Namibian roads, thoroughly enjoying each other’s company.
As this was the first time they had worked together, I asked Donovan what he liked about pairing with Brian. “It’s the energy, every day, without fail.”
Cowabunga!
Chills
I thought I was too old.
I’ve seen a giraffe in a Zoo. But never in her backyard.
If there’s water, they will come.
Donovan, “A Black rhino footprint.”
And the rest of him.
Questions
What are these phenomena I’ve never seen before?
A termite mound. Tonight we’ll eat mushrooms nurtured by the moisture at their base. Really. It’s decades old. You’re right, it does feel like concrete. I think I get it. These communities are integral to Namibia’s arid ecosystem.
A social weaver bird nest. It can contain hundreds of apartments for this sociable bird and weigh up to a ton. It is an intricate hut with three levels, designed to protect its inhabitants from occasional rain showers and predators, particularly snakes.
The backdoors are accessible only through the air.
Wow.
Namibia: The Gift of Awe
As a child, I remember coming upon a squirrel that had been hit by a car. I wanted to turn away as its little body was still moist and bleeding. But I didn’t because I had never seen the insides of a creature. I guess I was awestruck by something new.
At 75, this Namibian safari has reignited a sense of wonder, which comes from seeing new things or old things in a new context.
There are so many mysteries in this vast world.
It’s easy to sit on our thrones and think we are the center of the universe.
Namibia reminded me that I am but a small part of something much larger.
My ego shrank, while my imagination soared. And I made new friends, of all sizes and species.
Note to the reader: When we returned from Namibia, I Googled “Awe” and discovered Dacher Keltner’s Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life. (Amazon). It’s an excellent book written for a general audience.
