So Thursday was a day I would call a traveling day. We basically did nothing all day but sit in the car and stop to use the bathroom and eat. It was only supposed to take us around 4 hours to get from Opuwo to our next destination on the east side of Etosha National Park, but because of heavy rains in the north (what the newspaper called impregnated clouds) there were many roads which had flooded so we had to take a round about route which ended up taking us about 8 hours. We stopped for lunch in the second biggest city in Namibia, I can't remember what Uanee said its name was (Windhoek is the biggest). We were really excited because there was a KFC where we stopped and we were looking forward to some good ol' American fast food. Much to our dismay though, the chicken wings we ordered in the snackbox were the most spicy things we had ever tasted from KFC. Due to our hunger however, we ate them the best we could and I decided to wash mine down with a good ol' soft serve vanilla ice cream cone. Wish I would have gotten a picture of my face when I discovered how spicy the wings were.
I slept most of the drive and in between naps I listened to my iPod and played games and watched movies. Along the way Uanee would stop randomly for different Namibian site seeing opportunities. The only one I got up for however was when we stopped at a huge tree. The name of them starts with a B, but I cannot remember exactly what it is right now. They are huge though, with a trunk that has like a 15-20 foot circumference.
After some time we finally arrived at the Mushara Bush Camp. Originally when our professors told us we would be "camping" in the north we had pictured like dirt floor, sleeping bags, etc. however this was not what we got. We got something much more amazing. I love camping don't get me wrong, but this was like my type of luxury. We got to stay at a camp and and have a super comfy bed what could be better?
I'll let the pictures and their captions below tell the story of our pre-dinner fun. As for dinner, it was amazing, the most delicious food we had had yet. We were all really tired and we needed to get up early the next morning so we left the dining area around 9 pm headed for bed. It was pitch black and pouring down rain, so Jill (my roommate for the night) and I took off running by her flashlight lit trail toward our tent. When we got there Jill took a shower and then decided she wanted to dry her hair before going to sleep. The camp provided a hair dryer, which Jill tried to operate, but was not successful. I took it and re-plugged it in and turned it on. To my surprise, an electric shot was sent from my hands all through my body to my toes and back. I didn't scream I just jumped a little. Jill was confused and didn't think it was a big deal so she took the dryer from me and tried again to turn it on. She screamed and dropped the dryer, she had experienced the same or potentially greater electric shock than I. We decided to just leave the dryer where it was at but quickly disconnected the plug. We went to bed to the sound of crazy rainfall mixed with crickets, my favorite :) (When it rains in the summer back home, I purposely open my window and silence my music so I can fall asleep to nature's sweet sounds)
Some of the flooding we saw
The huge tree I was talking about
The sign out front
They greeted us with an amazing glass of juice and showed us this, our dinner menu, and I thought to myself, "I think I'm gonna like it here." :)
The dining and reception area, it was so beautiful when it was lit up at night
Fun little playground
The pool that looks really fun
We enjoyed it, but then...
...we screamed when we found out we were not alone
Our friend the water scorpion was swimming with us (the picture doesn't do him justice, his body is as large as the palm of my hand)
The pool's water was untreated, so there were lots of bug friends small and BIG joining us, so we decided quickly to get out
Trail to our tents
Tent #4, my home for the night
These were the nicest tents I'd ever stayed in
Inside the tent
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