Yes another fashion show!!?!?! This time we took the crew to Ongwandiva which is about 700km north of Windhoek. It was a long drive Saturday from 10am to 7pm. Ongwandiva was buzzing that night and the show featured many talented designers and musicians to perform.
Our crew representing. Thats Cwe, Zoks and Eddy. I would have brought my white sports jacket as well but its at the cleaners.
Some of the lovely ladies taking part in the show.
Various members of the audience were very eager to have their picture taken.
These girls were getting down like nobodies business.
One of the musical groups. I forget this guys name but he made up a song on the spot all about Ongwandiva. It was called “Ongwandiva Baaaaaaby!”
At the venue, peacefully Namibian wildlife roamed free. No lions kicking around.
So the real story begins here. No pictures were taken, so ill try and paint you a picture.
We were four fifths of the way home. It had been a long drive already and were all quite weary from the 6 hour drive. We noticed a truck oozing smoke on the highway and had a good laugh hoping it would make it to the next town 30km down the road. Suddenly a slight yet ominous noise became present in the car. We pulled over to check it out, checked under the hood and could see nothing wrong. So we continued, and so did the noise. We pulled off again to take a closer look. As we approached the left front tire we immediately saw that there was a problem. The tire had come loose from the caliper and was visibly protruding and crooked.
We could not continue, and thank god we noticed this before the tire popped off the side of the car resulting in a accident. We had no tools in the car, so we started to flag people down. Very few people stop in such a situation. I really urge you to stop just once cause you never know what sort of situation people might be in! Darkness fell, and it seemed even less likely someone was to stop. Finally a car did stop and a nice family came out with a toolkit to help. We took the wheel off the caliper and then refastened it. Tried to move the car again but at this point our battery had drained so we got behind to push for a jump start. As we pushed we noticed some resistance. As we peered around the left side we could see that the wheel had come out again. The problem was not a loose bolt, but a damaged caliper.
Our saviors left, after all it was getting late, I would have left too. We were doomed. Calls were made and options checked. A tow would be very costly at this hour on a Sunday night, so we opted against that idea. A friend of a friend knew a friend that had a cousin in Okahandja just 30 km down the road. Our new saviors were on their way. We packed in the car and had a good laugh about the whole situation.
Shortly thereafter our new saviors arrived. We removed the wheel, tightened up the caliper, and tried again for a jump start. Same deal, and we knew we were in trouble. By this time the light of the other car, which was guiding our work on the damaged car, had faded. And so yet another car battery had bit the dust. We pushed for a jump start but this old battery had no life left and the car was rendered useless without a jumper cable. So these fine folks who started as our saviors turned into our camping buddies on the side of the road to Okahandja.
Now here we had a really good laugh. Our poor saviors were as screwed as us. I really started to worry when I saw our saviors getting a fire going on the side of the road. Were we planning to spend the night, or did we have one more card up our sleeves? A few more calls were made and attempts to flag someone down proved to be fruitless. We packed back into the car and continued our laughs about the situation. It was a good group.
Then I heard the word that would really shake me up. “Goodnight” What? This is it? There is nothing more to be done. Cars on the road had reduced to a light trickle. My body was pleading for a shower and a cozy bed. The shock was immense. That was it. Fortunately the stars were beautiful in this remote area. Unfortunately, it was freezing cold and with only a few light blankets we were far from comfortable. I waiting endlessly for the sun to rise.
When day broke we got the fire started up again. It was freezing and the chill dug deep into my bone marrow. Our first big break of the morning was a car that stopped and took one of the saviors back to Okahandja to get a new battery. Next a nice young fellow stopped and was able to offer us a jump start with his battery. The hardest thing to explain was how it ended up that two cars broke down beside each other. I saw a couple snickers about that, but who can blame them?? Our third and final big break was a nice man in a truck willing to take most of us back to Windhoek. Cwe stayed with his car. And from what I heard spent the following night in that same spot while he waited for the towing arrangements.
Back in Windhoek and a warm shower. I decided to take the day off as a “mental health day”. What an experience. At least I can say that I survived and I feel stronger for having done so.
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