By Margaret Finch (Oberlin College ’13)
October 14th, 2012
They say that time flies when you’re having fun, but in Namibia time has adopted a peculiar new identity. We have seen and done and learned so many new things, and we have eased into our daily routines so quickly and naturally, that it is hard to believe that only a few weeks have passed since we first arrived in Windhoek. Somewhere along the way we slipped into Africa time, when the hours pass slowly and our days are governed by the sun. After our intense mornings of wildlife counts, the midday heat drives us into the shade, where we sprawl, trying to be productive on schoolwork or packing up camp, while our brains flat-out refuse to kick into high gear. Then the sun goes down and we crawl into our tents, knowing that we’ll be eating our oatmeal before dawn the next morning. So even though we chase wildlife with our binoculars and run from the heat, our days are not rushed and hectic like they so often are at college. We don’t count down the days until the weekend, or fall break, or scary exams, or really anything other than shower day and birthdays. Instead, we’re perfecting the art of going with the flow and staying cool.
Besides the unusual passage of time, another pleasant surprise of this adventure has been how secure and comfortable I have felt. All my initial fears – of not having enough clean water, being exposed to diseases like malaria, and being overwhelmed by the desert heat – were in vein. Our drinking water comes from deep, clean wells that draw from Namibia’s vast water table, and is safe even for my finicky stomach. Meanwhile, we have seen a total of approximately 3 mosquitoes, and are quickly acclimating to the hot, dry climate. We’re always pretty sweaty and dusty, but who can complain when we’re sleeping under the stars in riverbeds nestled between stunning mountains?
Of course, the most exciting part of this trip is the work we’re doing. We’ve begun our official game drives and point counts in Torra and Anabeb conservancies and are constantly on the move, changing campsites almost every night. In the afternoons and evenings we work on group project proposals, study local plant and animal species, discuss articles, and journal our experiences. We have already seen too many incredible species to recount. On my first game drive in Torra Conservancy we came across a mother black rhino and her young calf browsing on shrubs in a dry ephemeral riverbed. Our game guard Ephraim, who was helping us with the game drive and is familiar with the rhinos in the area, told us that the mother’s name was Mystic.
The next day I saw my first elephant while we were driving down the riverbed to get to our campsite. He was an old bull, restful and dignified in the shade of acacia trees while he waited out the heat of the day. We watched for a long time, taking in his grandeur, before we finally pulled ourselves away and climbed back into the trucks. We continued on, only to come across a disjointed group of over 25 more elephants traveling up the dry riverbed! There were mothers and babies, a matriarch, and a group of bulls all plodding along. It was a stunning scene, and since that day we have seen many more elephants, giraffe, hyenas, and even cheetahs. No lions yet, but I’m sure we’ll see them soon. I can’t wait to see what adventures the coming months will bring!
