Africa 2017- Day 20

Day 20- Leave for Namibia

After breakfast, we had an amazing talk about David Livingstone.  Sad to say I never got the speaker’s name or background because Jeri and I got to the talk a bit late (we were confused as to where the talk was to be given).  A little info about Livingstone.

He was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1813 to impoverished parents and went to work in the mills at age 10.  He went to the village school in the evenings after working a 14 hour day.  He had an interest in biology and eventually received a degree in medicine.  He hoped to go to China as a missionary, but before he was posted there, the 1^st Opium Wars erupted.  He met a missionary, Robert Moffat (whose daughter he later married), who was on leave and became interested in missionary work in southern  Africa.  He saw it as a way of stopping the east African slave trade (not to be confused with the west African slave trade that was responsible for American slavery).  In 1849 and 1851, he travelled across the Kalahari, on the second trip sighting the upper Zambezi River. In 1852, he began a four-year expedition to find a route from the upper Zambezi to the coast. This filled huge gaps in western knowledge of central and southern Africa.  During this exploration, he found Victoria Falls which became an impediment to his drive eastward.  He finally reached the Indian Ocean in May, 1856, the 1^st European to cross the width of southern Africa.  He returned to England, a national hero, and while there, published and spoke publicly about the horrors of the slave trade.  

He was sent back to Africa by the British government to explore eastern and central Africa, but after 5 years producing little of worth, he was recalled by the government.  During this period , his wife died of malaria.  He returned again to England an raised money from the private sector to mount a 3^rd expedition to central Africa to find the source of the Nile and to further expose the slave trade.  After nothing was heard from him for many months, Henry Stanley, an American explorer and journalist, set out to find Livingstone. This resulted in their meeting near Lake Tanganyika in October 1871 during which Stanley uttered the famous phrase: 'Dr. Livingstone I presume?' With new supplies from Stanley, Livingstone continued his efforts to find the source of the Nile. His health had been poor for many years and he died of internal bleeding from dysentery complicated by malaria on May 1873. His loyal porters,  Chuma and Susi, removed his heart and buried it under a tree near the spot where he died, which has been identified variously His two long term African porters cut out his heart (after he was through with it) and buried his heart in Africa,and his body was taken back to England and buried in Westminster Abbey in Explorers’ Corner”.  Though he died before seeing his labors, he was instrumental is shutting down the slave trade in east Africa.

Victoria Falls Airport.  Reminiscent of the Village Huts in Zim Zim

It was time to leave for the airport and say goodbye to our old and new friends.  Carol, Dave, Anne and Phil were headed to Capetown, we were off to Namibia, everyone else to their respective homes, and Mandela left behind in Vic Falls, Zim-zim.  I think I can speak for all that this was a great trip.  We flew back to Jo-burg together, then some last minute shopping (not for us, since we were going to be on an extended safari), hugs and kisses and bon voyages (or gute Reise- we’re still practicing our German) and off we went to our fifth country (6ht if we count the USA) in 3 weeks.

We were met at Windhoek Airport by Moses from Wilderness Safaris and he drove us to our 1^st hotel in Windhoek, The Galton House.  It was a small B&B nothing fancy, but fine for the night.  Tomorrow we plan to walk around Windhoek and relax (what does that mean??)