Arrival and Windhoek

Finally, on Thursday, April 5th, the long-awaited flight to Windhoek, the capital and largest city of Namibia with a population of 300,000, departed! The 10 hours were relatively boring... The entertainment program from Air Namibia is not very generous, so there was only one movie that I watched and otherwise I tried to sleep. We landed at 6 am and Frauke and her boyfriend Chem picked me up at the airport. After breakfast at Frauke's place, I took a nap again because Frauke still had a lot to do.

In the afternoon, Frauke and I went on our first little game drive. Just outside Windhoek, we already saw some rhinos, although they were still quite far away. Followed by kudus, oryxes, and warthogs. I even got to drive myself, a small Golf 1 with right-hand drive and now be careful, built in 2009! Yes, they kept producing it down here, about 30 years after production had stopped in Germany! ;) At some point, I saw a giraffe in the field, pointed it out to Frauke, and she was like, yeah, sure!! I've never seen a giraffe around here before! So I put the car in reverse and drove back. Look! How many would you like? 3, 4, 5, 6? Whoa, 6 giraffes at once? And you've never seen any here before?? Well, you just need the right tourist by your side! =P So the drive was definitely worth it! I saw my first rhinos in Namibia from at least half-near and Frauke saw giraffes for the first time in this area just outside the city! =D

In the evening, we went to Joe's Beerhouse, my and our favorite restaurant in Windhoek! =) The food here is really delicious! You have to like meat because they grill it really well, in Afrikaans it's called braai! So definitely not something for vegetarians or vegans! =P

On Saturday, there was a carnival parade in downtown Windhoek! Helau!! =D I even brought a costume from Germany! ;) And now here's the kicker! Ees was even riding in the parade with one of his bullies! A musician from Namibia whom I'm a huge fan of! We even had the opportunity to chat briefly! And now get this! He was on the same flight from Frankfurt as me and flew in just from Germany! =D

Frauke still had some things to take care of, so she left me in the city for a while. I strolled around a bit, to the Christ Church, Old Fortress, Zoo Park, and many other sights of Windhoek. And wouldn't you know it, Ees drove past me again, this time in his original blue Nam Flava Bully from the music videos! =D One amazing event after the other! ;)

In the evening, we were invited to friends of Frauke's on their ranch for a braai (grill), who were also participating in the parade at noon. They have a really nice view of the surrounding mountains from their ranch! Unfortunately, the sunset is behind the house, but it still beautifully illuminates the mountains! =D

Today started quite relaxed. Frauke and I had breakfast and then went to the mall again for my Namibian SIM card and some shopping for my tour. Yes, stores are also open on Sundays in Namibia! ;)

In the afternoon, I drove alone with Frauke's car to the Okapuka Ranch for a guided game drive. Here, we got so close to the rhinos and giraffes that we could have attacked them! We also saw oryxes, wildebeests, springboks, and warthogs again, just like on Friday, plus this time a lot of zebras! =)

The ride with the small Golf 1 there was hellish though! It was pouring rain! So much so that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face! I drove slower and slower and still ended up hydroplaning 2-3 times! I've never been happier to arrive at my destination! But as soon as I arrived, the rain stopped and the sun came out!

The trip back home was dry and easy! I went back into the city and had a sundowner on the rooftop of the Hilton Hotel. =)

Tomorrow I will pick up my rental car and then head towards Etosha! I'm already very excited! =D