This afternoon I picked up my friend Judith and headed to Okapuka Ranch. I don't think I've mentioned Judith before in my blog. Judith lives in Katutura. I met her through our first week of language learning in Babylon. Her family is from Angola and she was chosen as a language helper for the majority of our group learning Luchasi since their assignment is in Rundu, near the border of Namibia and Angola. As with many of the Africans here, she also knows several of the other languages spoken in Windhoek, including Oshiwambo. She worked with me some during that week, allowing me to record her speaking phrases so that I could practice them at home on my own and then back out in the community once I had them memorized. Judith is in grade 10. She is 2 years older than most grade 10ers because she was made to start school in Windhoek at grade 2 even though she would have been in grade 4 had she stayed in Angola. She is very bright and so sweet. I have really enjoyed building a relationship with her and I pray that it will grow and be an enriching friendship for the both of us throughout the next two years. Last month I took her out to lunch. We went to Mugg & Bean, one of my favorite restaurants here. I found out on the drive there that she had never eaten at a restaurant before. Ever! Her family doesn't own a car, and taxi fares are too expensive for most residents of Katutura. You could reach town by foot in about 3-4 hours, but if you didn't have money to buy anything then of course there would be no point in going--unless you had an appointment or something.

I could tell the menu was overwhelming for her. She asked me to just order for her whatever I ordered for myself. To me, it's boring to have two of the same dishes on a restaurant table. I'd rather order different things and share it, so that's what we did. I ordered nachos as an appetizer, french toast with bacon, and an omelet. I let her choose the omelet ingredients. We enjoyed all of it and were quite full! She took the extra meat back home with her. After our meal she wanted to go to the mall, one of her favorite places. She can probably count on one hand how many times she has been there. As we were leaving she said, "This is one of my best days! I will never forget it."

So that's an introduction of Judith. I think it's important to write out the stories of the people I mention. It will help me to remember them after God sends me on from here, and hopefully it will paint a much richer picture for you as you are following along.

Now that you know a bit about Judith, I'll tell you about the game drive at Okapuka. I had been wanting to go because my friends kept telling me it was worth seeing. It's one of the more affordable game drives in Namibia and it's less than a half hour outside of Windhoek. You can't beat that! And since Spring is upon us, now is the time to see the baby animals. I thought Judith would be a great person to bring along, because I figured she had never been on a safari before. My assumption was correct. We both had a lovely time! It was great catching up with her and relaxing at the lodge before and after the drive. We saw some baboons in the median on the way to Okapuka. Unfortunately I was driving and couldn't take any photos. They were huge and it would have made for some incredible shots! We saw some on the drive but they were very far away so I couldn't get a decent photo. As we arrived at the lodge, we walked towards the back where the tables were and immediately we noticed the warthogs. They were everywhere! I counted at least 50 of them. Green grass surrounded the restaurant and the warthogs were grazing. I had never seen anything like that. I didn't know Pumbaa ate grass... I assume that's what they were eating. And they never stopped. No wonder they are chunky.

We were on one of five safari vehicles. I'll let the photos I posted here and on Picasa speak for themselves, but it was a really great ride. We didn't see any lions (the lion feeding was booked up so I'll have to do it another time), and there are no elephants or buffalo on this ranch, but there are 90 giraffes and a ton of springbok, wildebeest, guinea fowl, white rhinos, and other animals I can't remember their names. The ride itself was peaceful. The weather was perfect. It was just a lovely day. If any of you come for a visit, we'll definitely go here. It's just too close and affordable not to visit, although I do hope one day to go on one of the ultimate safaris of Namibia. I've heard Etosha and Erindi are amazing! One day...



Click here to view the rest of my photos from Okapuka.