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The Adventures - Windhoek 

A South African Airways Boeing 747 takes you from New York to Johannesburg in 15 hours, non-stop. It’s one of the longest airline trips in the world and you stagger off the plane in the morning, bleary-eyed but grateful to be there. You grab a cup of coffee and catch your connecting flight to Windhoek, capital of Namibia, a couple of hours away.  You finally check into the Kalahari Sands Hotel in downtown and take a nap. When you awake, it’s almost dark and you are hungry.  You ask why you are punishing yourself like this. You struggle to your feet, stroll a block from the hotel and eat a phenomenal and unusual European-style meal on the verandah of Restaurant Gathemann in the cool unbelievably sweet air of the city.  How unusual, there is no sense of city smog here.  And, everyone speaks English.  You begin to appreciate why you made the journey,  Tonight, you fall asleep breathing fresh air.

Okapuka

Your destination today is Okapuka – a luxury lodge and game reserve an hour north of Windhoek where a variety of game can be seen in comfortable surroundings.  But, you are here for another reason.  It was at Okapuka that a lion and lioness, both destined for destruction because they were killing cattle, found a home in a relatively natural environment where they have spawned 3 litters of cubs over the past few years.   At feeding time, you can observe the current Simba family up close and personal and see for yourself why lions are rather protective and irritable when it comes to their food.

Okahandja

An hour further north and pointing at the highway outside the dirt-poor village of Okahandja is a sign that says Namibian Wood Carvers.  As you pull into the gas station alongside, be sure not to cause an accident as you catch sight of the largest carved wooden heads - larger than you’ve ever seen.  Intrigued, you stroll over to the village and watch men sculpting  tree trunks with axes, using the same strokes that you and I would use to simply chop a piece of wood.  You marvel at the skill of these people as they hack formless tree trunks into works of art.  And for the intrepid traveler, they are a real bargain -- if you are willing to carry them home. 

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