Namibia 12 -14 August

12 - 14 August   A weekend relaxing at Katima Mulilo.  On Monday morning we will leave for Victoria Falls so we worked out our food requirements for the next fortnight and bought most of it in the local supermarkets to get rid of our Namibian dollars.

We went on sightseeing trips by vehicle and on foot along the Zambezi - the bird life along the river and in the swamps to the east is excellent. 

Yesterday Tony and Ian developed sore throats and had runny noses.  Tony also felt dizzy so everyone took it rather more gently.  Today they feel much better.  Tony (a doctor) thinks it might be an allergy as opposed to an infection.

We also stripped out and cleaned the interior of the Landrover to get rid of yet more of the eternal dust that had gathered over the last ten days.  Apparently Landrovers are well known for letting the dust in whereas Toyotas, we hear (which most people drive out here) do not.  There seems to be a love/hate relationship with Landrovers in Africa.  People either look scornful and are very rude about them, or love them, flash their lights in recognition and, when parked, come over and ask questions about them. 

There is no doubt that Toyotas, which make up every second vehicle on the roads in Namibia (compared with perhaps one Landrover for every five hundred vehicles) are probably every bit as good across country and both faster and arguably more comfortable on the tar roads.  But they  have to be thrown away after ten years, have plastic interiors, saloon car dashboards and leaf spring rear suspension on the twin cabs which makes them characterless, anonymous and uninteresting and in Namibia for some reason they are all painted a boring white too!  Landrovers on the other hand (fans will say) have personality and, whilst rough around the edges, are very tough and will last 40 years if looked after properly.