Namibia

Namibia

I hadn't been up this way since I was up here wearing a brown uniform an carrying an R5 automatic rifle. That is another story but it ended with my flying out of Walvis Bay in a "Flossie" which as I remember was a large transport aircraft in which whatever passengers there were sat in sort of hammock-style chairs, arranged longitudinally in the fuselage. There was no inner skin to the aircraft, as one has in a commercial jet, which meant that it got really cold and that the noise of the engines was deafening. They did provide us with earplugs, I think. That was about a month before I "klaared out" - got my demob. And that was that - my third and last trip to Namibia. So when the opportunity arose to revisit Windhoek, I had somewhat mixed feelings, but decided to go.

For some reason I was booked on Air Namibia. I asked my boss somewhat nervously if he had ever flown with them. “Oh, yes”, he said, “cheapest way to get to Europe - via Windhoek on Air Namibia.” Suitably comforted, I forbore asking for a change in my booking. The flight left CapeTown at around 6 pm on a Sunday. Our plane was a small twin engine jet - an Embraer, I think. Seated about 30. I had a window seat on the right and an empty seat next to me, which was nice. We had a smooth take off and the captain warned us we would probably have turbulence later on as there was thunderstorm activity all the way from the Orange River northwards. He was right, but it wasn't too bad. The sun was setting in the west and in the East we could see these huge banks of cumulonimbus with frequent flashes of lightning illuminating them. Rather pretty I thought, although I was glad they weren't too close.

I fiddled on my iPad and wrote the odd email. Before long the captain was on the blower again to tell us we were commencing our descent. Not sure why they tell you - you can always feel it. Again we were warned that we should expect turbulence on the descent and again it didn't happen. To make up for it though, he dropped the aircraft onto the runway with such a jarring thud that I thought the wheels would fold. They didn't. It was raining lightly when we disembarked and to my surprise we were asked to walk through the rain to the terminal building - no bus being available. That was a first for me, though I didn't really mind - it wasn't very far. I filled in the inevitable immigration form and handed my South African passport to the immigration officer. She was in the process of quizzing me about my intended activities when a fellow from the WHO came bustling up, ascertained who I was and told the young lady that he would take it from here. I felt like an immune diplomat!

For some reason the international airport in Windhoek is about 40km out of town. I remarked on it to a colleague from Antwerp and he said that this is the modern trend. Can't imagine why. Takes over half an hour to get there. I thought maybe it was all the mountains around the city centre - it kind of lies in a ring of high hills, a bit like Blantyre, but then many cities have much larger mountains close to their airports, mine being one of them. I chatted to Lord Charles on the way in and it went relatively quickly.

We were staying at the Safari Court Hotel. From what I can make out it is on the Gobabis Road, near the University and Technical High School and right next to the old Windhoek airport (which is presumably no longer international). Also nearby is the Windhoek country club, where we would be having our meeting. The hotel is a solid six story building, actually quite attractive in a sort of monolithic way, with nice grounds and pool. The rooms are old - mine had a radio next to the bed with "preselects", and it lacked a safe, but otherwise it was comfortable enough. Small planes, and an occasional larger one buzzed in and out of the airport. They started early in the morning but mercifully did not go on late into the night. I made daily good use of the gym and pool, both of which were world class.

The mornings were crisp and clear - maybe it was my imagination but the air in Windhoek just seemed a whole lot clearer than in Cape Town. I could see the surrounding mountains clearly, even without my glasses on. In the grounds some small birds played - nothing spectacular but nevertheless rather special. I heard a lot of Afrikaans spoken, which made me feel quite at home, as well as a fair amount of German. Of course, the meeting was in English. Unfortunately I did not get a chance to go out and see the city.

What else can I say about Windhoek? It rained a lot. I think it rained every afternoon in fact. Thunderstorms with lightning. Bad enough to keep me out of the pool. We were told that rain in December is unusual but welcome. The food was excellent and the beer was world class - Windhoek lager and draft, Hansa Tafel-lager - we get these brands in Cape Town but it somehow felt more special drinking them in the town where they are brewed. I had roast oryx at dinner one night - a type of buck - very good. One new thing about the WHO meeting - one no longer has a morning break for tea or coffee and pastries. They are now called "fruit and health breaks" and those delicious pastries and muffins have been replaced by bowls of apples and oranges. The public health part of my soul was all tumultuous applause. The hedonist part was protesting loudly - "get a life!!!" The Internet connection was slow but reasonably reliable. The Namibians I met seemed uncomplicated, friendly folks, proud of their young democracy (older than ours come to think of it, by about 5 years). They sang their national anthem with gusto. We sang the African Union anthem as well – first time I had heard it. Not bad. The words are very idealistic and flowery, but hey, what’s wrong with a little naïve optimism now and then? They seemed to get the balance right – enough pomp and circumstance to keep the politicians happy but not so much that it got in the way of the workshop proceedings. I am not a fan of large meetings but this was a reasonably productive one.

Before I knew it it was my last night and I was clearing the cupboard and packing. Then the long drive back to the airport and a short wait for my plane. Everything went smoothly, although some of my European colleagues were delayed – the SAA plane from Johannesburg was late landing, late taking off and in consequence one of them missed his connection to Zurich. I told him next time he should come via Cape Town!

So that was Windhoek. General impression: clean, pleasant, well run. Should probably go back and visit it again sometime, with herself and the princesses.