Top 10 (not so obvious) most-used gear items we brought for our five month COS (Close of Service) trip

We’ve been “on the road” for more than two months now! It’s hard to believe we finished our Peace Corps service way back in July.

There were many things we had to get done at the end of our service, and packing for our COS (close of service) trip was one of them. Packing has never been easy for me. I always pack too much!

While Josh prefers to travel as lightly as possible, I have a hard time letting go of some items. I started out with a big pack, and as we went along I realized there were many things I wasn’t using. I left those belongings in the backpacker lodge’s free boxes.

Here’s our list of the 10 best items we brought along for this five month trip, aside from the obvious items you pack right away like a good camera, backpack, sunglasses,  water bottle, clothes, scarf (bring a scarf! keeps you warm, makes me feel more dressed up), bug spray, and for us, camping items, etc. Many of the same items we packed for Peace Corps we also brought on our COS trip.

1. Katadyn water filter – In Namibia we were very fortunate that we could drink water right from the tap (we did, however, use the filter Peace Corps gave us most of the time). For the rest of our travels the water hasn’t been safe to drink in most places, so we use this water filter to make the water clean. We have a steri-pen as well to purify water but left that with our Peace Corps daughter. Bottled water adds up in price. This has saved us a lot of money.
2. Platypus water bladder (2.5L) – To go along with the water filter, it would be a pain to pump water multiple times a day if we only had our single water bottles. When camping we also may not be able to be near a water source for a day or two, so we fill these handy platypuses and we’re set. We found the water bladders came in handy on our many hikes during our trip, as we used them as our hydration system with attached hoses. If you’re only concerned with one bottle a day, there are products like the life straw that would work well.
3. Waterproof stuff sack and stuff sacks – When you travel, you are often in wet places with your phone and other electronics. We’ve used this floatable waterproof stuff sack to keep our belongings safe, to soak our foot in when a sea urchin attacks and as a basin to wash clothes. Stuff sacks are a great way to keep your clothing and gear organized.
4. Battery pack – This awesome gadget was given to us by our friends Mike and Christine when they came to visit, and it’s proven extremely useful. When we are traveling places where there won’t be electricity, or if the power goes out, which happens often in Southern Africa, this is able to power up both of our iPhones and give us a few more days of use. On a whim we also brought one of these handy car chargers and have used that quite a few times on long rides to charge our phones.
5. Plug for sink – This flat rubber stopper is great for washing clothes in the sink as well as for filtering water and it works with all size drains.
6. Chico bag – My in-laws bought me this for my birthday and it has been such a great item on the road. I use it as a stuff sack when it’s in my backpack and when we go places for the day I prefer to use it over a purse. It’s super lightweight and has two big pockets on the side for water bottles. It can easily hold a lot of items (blanket, jacket, book, food) for a day trip.
   

   Sportin’ my Chico bag in Deadvlei

7. Electricity adaptor set – We’re traversing two continents and multiple countries, and each has their own plug for charging. This set is pretty small and has worked everywhere so far.
8. Luggage locks – These little locks have given me piece of mind when we leave our stuff in a hostel locker as well as on the road. I feel like they are good deterrent for thieves. We even used them to lock the zippers of our tent a few times.
9. Hiking boots – If you are an active traveler, good footwear is important! I wear my chacos every day and they were one of the best thing I brought to Africa, but we have also hiked a lot and my boots from home were best for this activity. Good footwear and selection can be hard to find in Africa. These were a gift from my mom before we left for Peace Corps service. Thanks, Mom!
10. Toilet paper and antibacterial alcohol hand sanitizer – I have toilet paper stuffed in every pocket of my jackets, and I always have some in my purse. Most toilets here don’t provide tissue. You never know when you might want to wash your hands, and it’s not always easy to find running water and soap in the same place. It’s important to stay as clean as possible on the road so you don’t get sick and ruin travel days!

Best Luxury Items: How you travel is a personal decision, and many of the items we brought above might be considered very luxurious to some. But in addition to the above, I love and consider my travel yoga mat that I use many days to be a luxury item I’m glad I brought. Working out and doing yoga is important to me, and it’s nice to have a cushion to protect me from the sand or dirt. I also brought my Asus transformer laptop. It’s great for travel – small and light. It serves as my entertainment (Kindle) and I play all my workout videos on there. It also allows us to easily update the blog.

As a side note, I’d bring as much crisp, new U.S. dollars as you’re willing to travel with. I cannot believe how many places have taken U.S. dollars as payment and it has helped us quite a lot when we’ve run out of local currency (ATMs not working has unfortunately been common on our travels!!). Cash is king!

Mokoro trip and birding in the Okavango Delta

As Peace Corps Volunteers based in Rundu, Namibia, we lived for two years along the Kavango River which forms the border between Angola and Namibia for several hundred kilometers in the north of the country. We also had the chance to visit tourist lodges in the Divundu/Bagani area, a gorgeous stretch along the semi-tropical banks of the Kavango River. In this area about two hours east of Rundu, the river begins to curve south through a narrow strip of Namibia and then into Botswana before emptying out into the Kalahari Desert to form one of the largest inland deltas in the world. Before we left the U.S. to begin our service in July 2013, we watched a great documentary on the Okavango Delta and had it high on our list to visit.

A great egret taking flight in Botswana’s Okavango Delta.

After we finished our travels in Namibia, we flew from Windhoek, Namibia to Maun, Botswana. The delta supports agriculture mostly in the form of livestock and, like most rivers and lakes in Africa, thousands of people use the water the delta provides for drinking and washing. We stayed at Old Bridge Backpackers (a campsite costs about $7USD per person per night) along the southern end of the delta and about 10km from the town of Maun. They have resident pied kingfishers in the delta area just in front of the lodge, a very helpful staff and a decent self-catering kitchen area.

If we had to do it again, we probably would have done a multi-day kayak trip through the delta since we enjoy active tours. We still had a great time, basing ourselves at Old Bridge and enjoying a couple of day trips including a ride in a traditional canoe called a mokoro.

The video really sums up the three hour experience of gliding through the reeds in a beautiful channel of water. In the southern part of the delta, you find more domestic animals than wild ones, but it was still interesting to see donkeys up to their necks grazing in the water as we were poled along. We also saw many new species of birds including the elusive malachite kingfisher.

Malachite kingfisher. These small and colorful kingfishers are much easier to spot with the slow pace of a mokoro than with a motorboat.

Another photo of the malachite kingfisher. It is my favorite of the 155 species of birds that I have seen in southern Africa.

African fish eagle. These impressive birds were very common in the delta. It seemed like we saw one every kilometer or so.

Reed cormorant. Another very common bird in the delta.

Saddle-billed stork. This bird has a very colorful long bill and legs.

This tiny spotted frog jumped into our mokoro at one point.

The water of the delta is very clear and the colors can be amazing.

Hamerkop. This bird was much better at posing for pictures than the one I saw previously in Chobe National Park.

Namibia’s Quiver Tree Forest

As we prepared to leave Namibia after two years of service as Peace Corps Volunteers and then as tourists for two weeks, one of our final stops was the Quiver Tree Forest near Keetmanshoop in south-central Namibia. This interesting desert landscape contains thousands of quiver trees, a distinctive species of aloe. The lodge and campground also provide a home for a few cheetahs that would have otherwise been killed for attacking livestock. Nearby the Quiver Tree Forest is an area called Giant’s Playground for all of the larger boulders that are stacked upon each other.

A good example of a mature quiver tree. A short walking trail through the trees is located next to the campground.

One of the rescue cheetahs waiting to be fed.

Lisa being the brave one and petting a cheetah at mealtime. She is a crazy cat lady and couldn’t resist. I offered to be the photographer.

One of the larger male cheetahs enjoying a dinner of raw rodent.

Bokmakierie

Acacia pied barbet

Rosy-faced lovebird

Giant’s playground

The quiver tree forest at sunset. After we watched the sun go down we had our final braai in Namibia.

Images of Lüderitz

Lisa overlooking the town. We climbed up a rocky hill and had great views of the sunset.

In July, we spent four days in the Namibian coastal town of Lüderitz, an interesting mix of old colonial German architecture and a more modern port that is used mostly for mining transportation. One of the highlights was a boat tour to a nearby island where a colony of African penguins is now recovering from past guano-mining and human encroachment. It is a good success story for conservation efforts in Namibia. In the early 1900’s the penguins were nearly wiped out during extraction of their nutrient-rich guano which was shipped off for use as fertilizer. Unfortunately, this layer of guano on the cold and wind-swept island had acted as a safe place for the penguins to burrow and lay their eggs. Once the several meters of guano were removed, the population of penguins crashed. Recent conservation efforts have improved the penguin numbers to several thousand.

Other highlights included a drive along the coast to Diaz Point, one of the windiest places I have ever been! The seascape is craggy, with exposed rocks and some short sandy beaches. Flamingos and other waterbirds make their home along this stretch of coast, including the rare African Black Oystercatcher.

While in Lüderitz, we enjoyed the company of fellow Peace Corps Namibia Volunteer Janet who lives in town. She showed us around and joined us for the boat tour. Thanks, Janet!

We stayed at Element Riders Backpackers, a cozy and friendly place on a historic street in the middle of town. We also took a tour of Kolmanskop which we covered in a previous post.

 

Our drive to Lüderitz was spectacular, with the landscape of mountains, sand dunes and windswept plains. Wild horses roam just east of town.

 

African black oystercatcher

 

African penguin

 

Cape gannet

 

The coast near Diaz Point

 

Flamingos near an abandoned ship in a bay just southwest of Lüderitz.

 

Colonial German architecture in the very hilly town of Lüderitz.

 

The still-active lighthouse at Diaz Point.

 

Looking through the fog at the colony of African penguins.