The Thrill of Hiking

The Following Day, the 13th of March, I was planning on beginning my travels back to our training town of Okahandja. The previous night, a fellow trainee, Paul, arrived at our house. The plan was that his driver would drop him off, spend the night in a nearby village, and then drive us the 200 kilometers to Rundu (the closest town) in the morning. We were supposed to leave around 6 am, so when that hour came and went, and several hours passed, we realized it was time to make other arrangements.

Chris and Lori (other PCVs) were planning on going to Rundu on that day as well, so luckily we had them to help us with the last minute chaotic travel plans. So we decided we would hike (hitchhike) to Andara, meet Lori, and then from there we would foot (walk) to the paved road to find a hike to Rundu.

I didn’t think much of the plans, I just threw on my flip flops, my heavy backpack, and my loaded duffle bag and set out to begin the journey. I decided against sunscreen initially because I didn’t think we would be out in the sun long enough for me to burn. We started by walking about 1 kilo from Frans Dimbare to the gravel road, a distance that seemed much farther with my hefty luggage. At the gravel road, we waited under a tree for about an hour for a car to pick us up and take us to Andara.

After we arrived, Lori joined the party and we proceeded onward. The way I pictured things when they were talking about the walk from Andara to the paved road, was that it would be a short distance. I did not realize we would be walking several kilos in the blistering African sun. After several minutes in, with no view of an end in sight, I realized that it was long past time for the sunscreen. So I used the moment to steal a quick break, I unburdened myself of my bags, lathered the sunscreen onto my sweat-drenched skin, and then reloaded the luggage back onto my tired and sore shoulders.

We walked… we walked… and then we walked some more. I kept praying that one of the small clouds in the sky would block the sun, even if just for a moment, just to give us some reprieve from the heat. I kept hoping that over each hill we were on would be the tire road. But there were few periods of shade, and there were many, many tiny hills. And what made the whole thing unbearable was the luggage that I had deemed an appropriate amount for this trip. If I had known I would be trekking through the blistering savannah during midday I would have packed very differently (one set of underwear and clothes would have sufficed).

Finally, the end came, as it always does, we made it to the road and my suffering was over. We found some shade by the paved road and waited for the first vehicle we saw to flag down. We were lucky and didn’t have to wait too long. A lorrie (a semi-truck) stopped and agreed to take us to Rundu for N$50. We climbed up into the back, into this long, open-topped flatbed, and then the driver took off for our destination.

It was such an incredible and exciting experience, hiking for the first time. The thrill of the unknown, of not having scheduled and reliable transportation, of taking chances and depending on others, was unique and completely unforgettable.

I lied on the rusted metal flatbed, hidden from the unrelenting sun by my dirty towel. I rested and took a nap during the 2 hr drive. I stood up while the lorrie was moving, feeling the wind blow against my skin. I looked around at all of the surrounding nature and the numerous villages scattered throughout. I waved to all of the small children walking alongside the road, who were jumping with excitement at the sight of a white person. I did something that I would never be able to do in the States…And I LOVED every second of it.