Oshakati

Chapter Seventeen

The Intercape bus dropped me off in Grootfontein at 1 AM. An online search showed that there were no hostels in this area. In fact, the cheapest accommodation I could find was 30 American Dollars (Namibian currency is also called dollars). Unwilling to pay that, plus 1 AM was too late to arrive someplace, I ended up sleeping under a tree. I was in a somewhat secluded area, but the lights of a Shell gas station were within running and shouting distance, should I need assistance. My mummy sleeping bag managed to conceal my race and gender and I felt relatively safe.

​I woke up as the sun was starting to rise and made my way to the Shell Gas Station. A Namibian informed me that if I went to the Puma Gas station I should be able to find a shared car to Oshakati. Oshakati was near the location of my next workaway experience. The shared car ended up costing 170 Namibian Dollars.

Sexual Harassment

I’m not going to get into all of the details of why my next workaway did not workout. I was supposed to be volunteering at a game reserve and lodge. However, the lodge was closed for renovations, meaning that it was just my host and me, 40 miles from the nearest town and 14 miles from the nearest road. The game reserve contained hyenas, jackals cheetahs, kudu, zebra, oryx, eland and giraffes.

The first few days were amazing as my host took me on free game drives and I had the luck of seeing a group of 14 giraffes. The lodge patio was near a watering hole with a spotlight so that at night you could watch as animals drank. I had my own chalet and the host seemed to have no work for me to do. He was just happy to have company, claiming to be very lonely out in the bush.

A few days into my volunteering he made physical advances on me and I decided to leave. With no guests or other volunteers, we were secluded. I wouldn’t be able to walk the distance to the nearest town. It also wouldn’t be safe with all of the wild animals. I decided that leaving was my safest option. This host has currently been suspended from Workaway, so hopefully any future Namibian travelers will never be in that uncomfortable position.

This experience made me very standoffish with strangers, especially men. Simply being polite to my host because I was grateful for the food and lodging, lead him to believe that he could touch me. Wanting to never have that happen again I definitely smile and make less eye contact when meeting new people. It’s sad to have to doubt everybody’s intentions and to close myself off to potential friendships but I’ve learned that there are too many creeps out there.

Winging It

Having a Workaway fail in Namibia was the worst possible scenario. As I already mentioned, I couldn’t find any cheap lodging in Namibia. The day I left the game reserve a Namibian that had been working on the renovations drove me to Oshakati. I asked him where the locals stay when they come to town. Obviously a Namibian wouldn’t be paying 30 USD a night. This man had no idea where to take me but he drove around asking strangers on the street if they knew of any cheap guest houses.

Finally, after over an hour of searching, we found one. It was an absolute hole in the wall which was exactly what I was looking for. Chipped paint, questionable toilet, lumpy mattress: it was perfect. It cost 8 USD a night. This is probably the cheapest thing a person could find in Namibia. There was no fan and the metal roof let in all of the heat. During the day the room must have gotten to 100 degrees. I spent 5 days here as I figured out my next move.

Exploring Oshakati

​ ​During the day I had to retreat to somewhere with AC. A KFC was oddly enough one of my refuges. Also a hotel in town called Oshandira Lodge allowed me to buy a drink and use their pool for the day. Eventually, I asked my next host if he could take me early and I headed back to Grootfontein to start my next adventure.