With Julie giving up her teaching job to be more available for ministry needs, we knew the extra income would be missed. Yet, it was such an encouragement when the Lord touched a few generous hearts and we received holiday love offerings and care boxes just after the New Year began. The timing was perfect and it really is a testimony of how God works in people's hearts! He is the provider and always knows just what we need.
As January began, Julie was struggling some with homesickness and wanted to make a trip to Namibia to see some old friends from Alaska. Both of us needed a break, as it had been very busy for months. One of our desires was to drive to the coastal town of Swakopmund and stay a couple of days. Even when we lived in Galena, Colin occasionally needed to connect with the sea due to his roots growing up on the east coast of the US. Usually in the past, he would travel to see family on the north Atlantic coast every few years. He was feeling that need to be by the ocean, so to get to the sea from Maun we would have to head west to the south Atlantic sea coast in Namibia. The other desire we had was to see our friends living in northern Namibia and we had always hoped to drive the two days west to see them. Once we reached the coast we could travel to see our friends, Tim and Laurel Osborne, who are living northeast of Swakopmund by Etosha National Park.
When we looked at the distance and the cost, it did not look like we could manage a trip. Then a care box came from a good friend back home. Not only was there a variety of useful items inside the box, but a card with a check in it. In the card, our friend specifically said to use the money on a trip or to do something special together. Going to Namibia would fall into both categories, and the dollar amount would cover the fuel cost! With a bunch of unused holiday leave left from 2009, and no flights on the immediate schedule, we took off for Namibia at day break on January 10, 2010.
Half the fun of traveling is experiencing different things together. We are always impressed with the road signs we see along the way.As January began, Julie was struggling some with homesickness and wanted to make a trip to Namibia to see some old friends from Alaska. Both of us needed a break, as it had been very busy for months. One of our desires was to drive to the coastal town of Swakopmund and stay a couple of days. Even when we lived in Galena, Colin occasionally needed to connect with the sea due to his roots growing up on the east coast of the US. Usually in the past, he would travel to see family on the north Atlantic coast every few years. He was feeling that need to be by the ocean, so to get to the sea from Maun we would have to head west to the south Atlantic sea coast in Namibia. The other desire we had was to see our friends living in northern Namibia and we had always hoped to drive the two days west to see them. Once we reached the coast we could travel to see our friends, Tim and Laurel Osborne, who are living northeast of Swakopmund by Etosha National Park.
When we looked at the distance and the cost, it did not look like we could manage a trip. Then a care box came from a good friend back home. Not only was there a variety of useful items inside the box, but a card with a check in it. In the card, our friend specifically said to use the money on a trip or to do something special together. Going to Namibia would fall into both categories, and the dollar amount would cover the fuel cost! With a bunch of unused holiday leave left from 2009, and no flights on the immediate schedule, we took off for Namibia at day break on January 10, 2010.
After a fairly simple boarder crossing and long day in the car, we started to look for a suitable place to spend the night just outside of the major city of Windhoek, Namibia, which is more than 6000 feet above sea level. We seemed drawn to follow the signs leading to a game farm about 7 kilometers off the main road. It was a perfect stop over with clean and comfortable bungalows that were reasonably priced. The highlight of the stop was the excellent game meat dinner we were served there.
These are pictures of the dining room and pool area.
In Swakopmund, we stayed two nights in an apartment that is owned by the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission. The building was built as a school in 1955, and was in operation for over 30 years before being turned into duplex as a retreat for missionaries. There were two fully equipped apartments in the building that still contained well kept vintage furniture. We stayed in one of them, at a minimal expense. The building was just a block away from the beach, which we could see from the front of the house.
The house really did not fit the existing neighborhood. Compare the picture above of the old school building with some of the neighboring beach front homes pictured below.
We really enjoyed the historical and German roots of the town. This lighthouse is in the center of the tourist area was built in 1920, and continues to shine a light into the open sea nightly.
There are many older and well kept buildings throughout the town. Below are a couple of our favorites.
Also in the center of town is a lovely beach, wading pool, indoor pool, in addition to many shops and restaurants.
Our first full day in Swakopmund, we decided to drive south down the coast to Walvis Bay. The area is well known for the large bird and seal populations. All around Swakopmund are huge sand dunes in which people do sand board surfing, quad-biking, para sailing, among other adventure seeking activities. The pictures below do not even begin to give a perspective of how big the dunes are or how much sand is everywhere around the coastal area.
When we saw this sign pictured above, our response was "No kidding!"
Along the way there were people fishing and at this particular spot you could see a ship wreck in the background.
We enjoyed a leisurely drive along the coast, stopping to watch surfers and big waves crashing to shore. As we got closer to Walvis Bay, we could see many ships anchored in the distance. Walvis Bay is a major shipping port for Namibia.
Seeking direction from our "Lonely Planet" travel guide for Namibia, we took a side trip into the desert to check out a huge sand dune known as "Dune 7". Again, the pictures below do not even capture the massiveness of the sand dunes the area is known for.
After leaving "Dune 7", we decided to follow our guide book and head to a place called Rooibank. There was supposed to be some sort of wildlife reserve and animals to see if we drove 20 kilometers to the mouth of a river drainage. The road was rough and we ended up driving about 10 kilometers down a desolate gravel road until in the distance we saw a sign.
When we got close enough to read it, we were shocked and then went into a laughing fit. Read the sign below.
At the same moment both of us thought, "What nature reserve?" Take a good look at the dry empty desert in the background. Obviously there must be something out there worth making a reserve for, but we sure could not see it. So, we decided to turn around and head back to Walvis Bay to look for shore birds. As we drove around the "lagoon" at Walvis Bay we did get to see a variety of birds and we continue to mark off our sightings in the South African bird book we were given by friends in Galena before leaving Alaska. It has been fun to see our number of identified species regularly increase.
Greater Flamingo
Great White Pelican
Grey-Backed Sparrowlark
Pied Avocet
As we drove around the area, we saw a large salt works plant and evaporated lakes of hardened salt. The trucks pictured next were scooping up the salt to transport to the near by plant for purification. It reminded us of the frozen lakes in Alaska.
Later that afternoon, we returned to Swakopmund and visited the Marine Museum there. The picture below was taken outside and in the background you can see the large dock near the center of the town.
Inside the Marine Museum was a large aquarium that allowed you to walk through a tube to see the fish. We tried to take pictures of the many southern Atlantic fish we saw there, but most of the photos were blurry. The only picture that came out was this odd looking fish floating above our heads that is pictured below.
The sea life viewing was interesting, but just down the road was the Swakopmund Museum and the history and diversity we found there was even more intriguing. There was a large room filled with cultural displays of all the tribes in Namibia.
Also, there were rooms filled with historical items and information from the settling of Namibia and Swakopmund.
Of course Colin loved the rooms filled with wildlife displays and mounts. He has always loved the look and feel of ivory, and had to have his photo taken with the large tusked elephant skull pictured below.
Namibia has a tremendous diversity of geological features, and mineral deposits. The museum had a room full of rocks, gem stones and minerals found in Namibia.
The morning of January 13, we left Swakopmund and drove north up the "Skeleton Coast'.
You can see how this rugged coastline got it's name by the abandoned ship wrecks scattered along the way.
After a couple of hours along the coast, we traveled northeast into the interior on a long gravel road. Slowly we left the flat desert behind. We enjoyed seeing the varied terrain and small isolated villages along the way.
The further north we drove, the greener the landscape became and by mid afternoon we arrived at Tim and Laurel's game farm on Tandala Ridge. Driving up the ridge over a gravel road, the building with their lapa (covered dining patio) with attached kitchen and living room came into view. It sits on the ridge overlooking the vast expanse of property they own on the boarder of Etosha National Park. (Second picture below shows the view) A little further up the ridge, and behind the main structure is a large bungalow where they have a combined office, bedroom and bath.
We were warmly welcomed with cool drinks and sat overlooking their land while viewing wildlife drinking from the waterhole below.
There are two comfortable cottages for guests visiting their B&B, and we were placed in one for the few days of our stay there. The other cottage had a returning guest from Holland named Henry.
Over meals, we appreciated hearing about Henry's many adventures traveling yearly around Southern Africa. He also listened to our many stories from the years in Galena and Alaska, while we reminisced with Tim and Laurel.
With an early morning breakfast under our belt on our first full day at the game farm, we drove down the ridge to explore the property.
There were some great fossilized features scattered through out the property.
In addition to a variety of plains game on the farm, they also have four black rhino. Two had working radio collars, so we drove through the bushy property seeking them out. We got to a place where we could hear one in the bush about 50 meters in from the truck, but it did not come out from the protection of shade for us to see.
Above is Tim Osborne radio tracking a black rhino.
As we find everywhere, we were surrounded by lovely flora and bird life such as the flowering Sickle Bush above and the Short Toed Rock Thrush seen below. This Rock Thrush is only found in Namibia.
Every night after dark while we ate dinner sitting at the table in the lapa, there were large African porcupines within about ten feet of the deck that would silently appear. After seeing the size of their quills used for jewelry and decoration, Julie had really wanted to see one while living in Africa. She got her wish. The picture does not show how huge they are especially when the quills are sticking straight out from the body.
Two nights and a full day really were not enough time at Tandala Ridge with our old friends, but with a two day drive still ahead of us to get home and only one week for our total trip it was time to leave on January 15. It only made sense to drive east through Etosha National Park, and knowing we can never get enough of the wonderful wildlife that covers the landscape everywhere we go in our travels. In the blog we have quit listing all the animals that we constantly see, but we do like include new sightings such as the black-faced impala below.
We have seen a few of the large Kori Bustard before, that is in the next photo, but they were everywhere while driving through the park. Now we understand how Tim and Laurel ended up in Namibia while they did biological research on this massive bird known for being the heaviest flying bird.
Bird life was abundant in the park. Above is an Abdims Stork and below a Black Winged Stilt with to Ruffs.
Each leg of out travels both to and from Namibia usually averaged about a ten hour day. With fatigue setting in, we followed the advise of our "Lonely Planet" guide book and stopped at a rather unique place (below) called Roy's Rest Camp to spend the night after leaving Tandala Ridge.
Above is our bungalow at Roy's place. The furniture inside was all hand made from local materials.
Right outside our door we found these two beautiful and unusual moths.
The next morning we continued heading northeast until we came to the Kavango River that is the boarder between Namibia and Angola. It also becomes the Okavango River when it flows into Botswana and it's water is distributed throughout tributaries in the Okavango Delta.
Looking across the river to Angola from Namibia.
Though it made for about a twelve hour day of driving our last day on the road, we followed the Kavango into Botswana and once back across the boarder we dropped south down the delta panhandle to return home to Maun. The trip gave us a needed break from the on going flights and ministry in which we are currently involved. Even with some long days on the road, the trip was a great time of reflection and refreshment.
On returning to Maun the FMS chief pilot was here and stayed with us for a few days, while Julie was filling in as secretary as Patricia needed to use some of her leave time also. During the second week while Julie covered the office, Colin was invited to a friend's game ranch a couple of hours drive from Maun. Since Julie was volunteering as secretary, Colin headed out to help our friend harvest some game meat to sell locally. Though they hunted hard through the thick brush, they only caught quick sightings of the jumpy Kudu they were hunting.
Our first full day in Swakopmund, we decided to drive south down the coast to Walvis Bay. The area is well known for the large bird and seal populations. All around Swakopmund are huge sand dunes in which people do sand board surfing, quad-biking, para sailing, among other adventure seeking activities. The pictures below do not even begin to give a perspective of how big the dunes are or how much sand is everywhere around the coastal area.
When we saw this sign pictured above, our response was "No kidding!"
Along the way there were people fishing and at this particular spot you could see a ship wreck in the background.
We enjoyed a leisurely drive along the coast, stopping to watch surfers and big waves crashing to shore. As we got closer to Walvis Bay, we could see many ships anchored in the distance. Walvis Bay is a major shipping port for Namibia.
Seeking direction from our "Lonely Planet" travel guide for Namibia, we took a side trip into the desert to check out a huge sand dune known as "Dune 7". Again, the pictures below do not even capture the massiveness of the sand dunes the area is known for.
After leaving "Dune 7", we decided to follow our guide book and head to a place called Rooibank. There was supposed to be some sort of wildlife reserve and animals to see if we drove 20 kilometers to the mouth of a river drainage. The road was rough and we ended up driving about 10 kilometers down a desolate gravel road until in the distance we saw a sign.
When we got close enough to read it, we were shocked and then went into a laughing fit. Read the sign below.
At the same moment both of us thought, "What nature reserve?" Take a good look at the dry empty desert in the background. Obviously there must be something out there worth making a reserve for, but we sure could not see it. So, we decided to turn around and head back to Walvis Bay to look for shore birds. As we drove around the "lagoon" at Walvis Bay we did get to see a variety of birds and we continue to mark off our sightings in the South African bird book we were given by friends in Galena before leaving Alaska. It has been fun to see our number of identified species regularly increase.
Greater Flamingo
Great White Pelican
Grey-Backed Sparrowlark
Pied AvocetAs we drove around the area, we saw a large salt works plant and evaporated lakes of hardened salt. The trucks pictured next were scooping up the salt to transport to the near by plant for purification. It reminded us of the frozen lakes in Alaska.
Later that afternoon, we returned to Swakopmund and visited the Marine Museum there. The picture below was taken outside and in the background you can see the large dock near the center of the town.
Inside the Marine Museum was a large aquarium that allowed you to walk through a tube to see the fish. We tried to take pictures of the many southern Atlantic fish we saw there, but most of the photos were blurry. The only picture that came out was this odd looking fish floating above our heads that is pictured below.
The sea life viewing was interesting, but just down the road was the Swakopmund Museum and the history and diversity we found there was even more intriguing. There was a large room filled with cultural displays of all the tribes in Namibia.
Also, there were rooms filled with historical items and information from the settling of Namibia and Swakopmund.
Of course Colin loved the rooms filled with wildlife displays and mounts. He has always loved the look and feel of ivory, and had to have his photo taken with the large tusked elephant skull pictured below.
Namibia has a tremendous diversity of geological features, and mineral deposits. The museum had a room full of rocks, gem stones and minerals found in Namibia.
The morning of January 13, we left Swakopmund and drove north up the "Skeleton Coast'.You can see how this rugged coastline got it's name by the abandoned ship wrecks scattered along the way.
After a couple of hours along the coast, we traveled northeast into the interior on a long gravel road. Slowly we left the flat desert behind. We enjoyed seeing the varied terrain and small isolated villages along the way.
The further north we drove, the greener the landscape became and by mid afternoon we arrived at Tim and Laurel's game farm on Tandala Ridge. Driving up the ridge over a gravel road, the building with their lapa (covered dining patio) with attached kitchen and living room came into view. It sits on the ridge overlooking the vast expanse of property they own on the boarder of Etosha National Park. (Second picture below shows the view) A little further up the ridge, and behind the main structure is a large bungalow where they have a combined office, bedroom and bath.
We were warmly welcomed with cool drinks and sat overlooking their land while viewing wildlife drinking from the waterhole below.
There are two comfortable cottages for guests visiting their B&B, and we were placed in one for the few days of our stay there. The other cottage had a returning guest from Holland named Henry.
Over meals, we appreciated hearing about Henry's many adventures traveling yearly around Southern Africa. He also listened to our many stories from the years in Galena and Alaska, while we reminisced with Tim and Laurel.
With an early morning breakfast under our belt on our first full day at the game farm, we drove down the ridge to explore the property.
There were some great fossilized features scattered through out the property.
In addition to a variety of plains game on the farm, they also have four black rhino. Two had working radio collars, so we drove through the bushy property seeking them out. We got to a place where we could hear one in the bush about 50 meters in from the truck, but it did not come out from the protection of shade for us to see.
Above is Tim Osborne radio tracking a black rhino.
As we find everywhere, we were surrounded by lovely flora and bird life such as the flowering Sickle Bush above and the Short Toed Rock Thrush seen below. This Rock Thrush is only found in Namibia.
Every night after dark while we ate dinner sitting at the table in the lapa, there were large African porcupines within about ten feet of the deck that would silently appear. After seeing the size of their quills used for jewelry and decoration, Julie had really wanted to see one while living in Africa. She got her wish. The picture does not show how huge they are especially when the quills are sticking straight out from the body.
Two nights and a full day really were not enough time at Tandala Ridge with our old friends, but with a two day drive still ahead of us to get home and only one week for our total trip it was time to leave on January 15. It only made sense to drive east through Etosha National Park, and knowing we can never get enough of the wonderful wildlife that covers the landscape everywhere we go in our travels. In the blog we have quit listing all the animals that we constantly see, but we do like include new sightings such as the black-faced impala below.
We have seen a few of the large Kori Bustard before, that is in the next photo, but they were everywhere while driving through the park. Now we understand how Tim and Laurel ended up in Namibia while they did biological research on this massive bird known for being the heaviest flying bird.
Bird life was abundant in the park. Above is an Abdims Stork and below a Black Winged Stilt with to Ruffs.
Each leg of out travels both to and from Namibia usually averaged about a ten hour day. With fatigue setting in, we followed the advise of our "Lonely Planet" guide book and stopped at a rather unique place (below) called Roy's Rest Camp to spend the night after leaving Tandala Ridge.
Above is our bungalow at Roy's place. The furniture inside was all hand made from local materials.
Right outside our door we found these two beautiful and unusual moths.
The next morning we continued heading northeast until we came to the Kavango River that is the boarder between Namibia and Angola. It also becomes the Okavango River when it flows into Botswana and it's water is distributed throughout tributaries in the Okavango Delta.
Looking across the river to Angola from Namibia.Though it made for about a twelve hour day of driving our last day on the road, we followed the Kavango into Botswana and once back across the boarder we dropped south down the delta panhandle to return home to Maun. The trip gave us a needed break from the on going flights and ministry in which we are currently involved. Even with some long days on the road, the trip was a great time of reflection and refreshment.
On returning to Maun the FMS chief pilot was here and stayed with us for a few days, while Julie was filling in as secretary as Patricia needed to use some of her leave time also. During the second week while Julie covered the office, Colin was invited to a friend's game ranch a couple of hours drive from Maun. Since Julie was volunteering as secretary, Colin headed out to help our friend harvest some game meat to sell locally. Though they hunted hard through the thick brush, they only caught quick sightings of the jumpy Kudu they were hunting.
Above is the camp and below one of the trackers.
Colin with a 60 lb. tusk from an elephant that was causing a danger to local people and had to be put down.
A Spotted Thick Knee to add to our list of bird sightings and an eye catching butterfly below found around camp.
On a regular basis, we still enjoy the help and friendship of Misheck. He and his wife continue to fellowship at our church now also. Below Misheck and Colin take a break from the yard work with a cool drink.
With summer in full swing here, the fever berry seeds from the trees in our yard are everywhere. Misheck no sooner gets them all raked up, and a big wind or rain moves in to scatter the golf ball size seeds all over the yard again as they blow off the trees.
There are always new birds around in our yard also, and we value their songs and colorful presence daily. Here is one of them pictured below after a year and a half of trying to get a photo of the Senagal Coucal!
Another weekly event that we are so thankful for is a Tuesday night fellowship and Bible study we attend. This group of people have become some of our closest friends and have helped fill the gap we felt in leaving so many loved ones back in the states.
As for current involvement with direct ministry, Julie is back to doing a Bible club once a week at the school had been teaching at last term. In addition, she has been going with a few other women from our church to encourage and pray with sick women at the Maun hospital. We still have the "Book of John" a friend from the states sent to us, and the team has been giving them out along with a FMS track to the sick women during the visits.
A new friend in our lives is another Alaskan who came here seeking a pilot position. We heard through the pilot circle that a guy named Will was from Fairbanks. When we got to meet him, we found out we have mutual mechanic friends in common in addition to our Alaska back grounds. Will is pictured below at the FMS office in Maun.
We are so thankful for the experiences and the loving friendships and family we continue to have near and far while living here in Maun. In closing, we can truly testify to the Lord's goodness and that..."The LORD longs to be gracious to you, He rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are those who wait on him!" Isaiah 30:18
May God bless all of you that have taken the time to stay connected to us through this blog. Your interest, prayers, emails, forwards, letters and gifts continue to be a source of encouragement to us while we serve here in Botswana.
Colin with a 60 lb. tusk from an elephant that was causing a danger to local people and had to be put down.
A Spotted Thick Knee to add to our list of bird sightings and an eye catching butterfly below found around camp.
On a regular basis, we still enjoy the help and friendship of Misheck. He and his wife continue to fellowship at our church now also. Below Misheck and Colin take a break from the yard work with a cool drink.
With summer in full swing here, the fever berry seeds from the trees in our yard are everywhere. Misheck no sooner gets them all raked up, and a big wind or rain moves in to scatter the golf ball size seeds all over the yard again as they blow off the trees.
There are always new birds around in our yard also, and we value their songs and colorful presence daily. Here is one of them pictured below after a year and a half of trying to get a photo of the Senagal Coucal!
Another weekly event that we are so thankful for is a Tuesday night fellowship and Bible study we attend. This group of people have become some of our closest friends and have helped fill the gap we felt in leaving so many loved ones back in the states.
As for current involvement with direct ministry, Julie is back to doing a Bible club once a week at the school had been teaching at last term. In addition, she has been going with a few other women from our church to encourage and pray with sick women at the Maun hospital. We still have the "Book of John" a friend from the states sent to us, and the team has been giving them out along with a FMS track to the sick women during the visits. 
A new friend in our lives is another Alaskan who came here seeking a pilot position. We heard through the pilot circle that a guy named Will was from Fairbanks. When we got to meet him, we found out we have mutual mechanic friends in common in addition to our Alaska back grounds. Will is pictured below at the FMS office in Maun.
May God bless all of you that have taken the time to stay connected to us through this blog. Your interest, prayers, emails, forwards, letters and gifts continue to be a source of encouragement to us while we serve here in Botswana.
