Our Holiday vs Corona – The final chapter

Life at Daan Viljoen is easy and relaxing. A bit swimming, reading, and looking at all the animals roaming around freely and visiting us at our campsite, without being intrusive. At breakfast a group of ostrich visits us, looking for some leftovers on the ground, or a family of warthog.
The next day we go shopping in Windhoek, buying food for a week.

When Ger goes for a run in the afternoon he encounters a group of baboons. They make way for him and stare at him, Probably thinking what a fool he is, running around in the heat. You could almost hear them think.
From the waiter at the restaurant we learn that almost all staff has been sent home. The remaining few now do all the work. In Namibia there are few Corona patients, but the impact on the country is already enormous.

Ger is completely happy here, but I find it more difficult to adapt. How to get back home is uppermost on my mind and I find it hard to relax.

We apply to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Netherlands, stating that we are abroad and want to go back home. This way they have an idea how many people are still abroad and want to be repatriated.
From a German tourist we hear that there will be 4 Lufthansa flights to Germany. It is possible to sign up for a Lufthansa repatriation flight. Via the Dutch Consulate we fill in some forms and send those back. He will put us on a list with all other tourists that want to go back.

During diner that evening we receive a call from the Dutch Counselor; we can go on a flight to Münich early next morning. A lot of Dutch don’t want to go to Münich, to far from home. That is why we are already asked. We think it is very close to home in comparison with Namibia, so we take this opportunity and break up camp after diner to stay the night in Windhoek.
Next morning we go to the airport at 5 am.

The flight is completely full and in the end I end up on a crewseat, so one more passenger is able to go home. Because I am flight attendant, I am allowed to sit there for the entire flight.

From the crew we hear that we will not be able to travel home by public transport. So, either we have to wait for the next day and go home with KLM or we can rent a car. There are no trains going to the Netherlands and no hotels are open. This is the first thing we notice of the lockdown in Europe.
At customs we are asked how we intend to go home. If you don’t have a plan, you simply cannot enter the country. They call to see wether the car rental services are open. After that we are admitted. We hire a car at Sixt and drive 800 km to arrive home at 4 in the night. A very long day, but the car is comfortable. The restaurants along the highway are closed and the only thing we can buy is a sandwich in one of the gasstations that is still open. We hardly see any normal cars, they are all trucks.

Looking back it has been a strange holiday. We know for certain we want to go back to this incredible country, with its rough beauty. Due to Corona we were not able to enjoy it as we should have. But still, it made an enormous impression on us. Not only nature, but also the friendly people.
So, for sure, there will be a next time!

Thank you for reading our blog. It was a pleasure to write this blog and we like to thank AffordableAfricasafaris for their support.

Until next time, Ger & Astrid