Reception is a remarkably unimpressive affair. It appears as though they simply converted their original farm house into the area that welcomes guests. While I'm all for recycling and reusing, one would expect the headquarters of such an exclusive place to make more of a first impression on guests checking in. As we said our goodbyes, I think everyone was wishing that the plane starting up on the dirt runway had come to pick them up. I commented that at least they only had a two day drive home - for kev and I it's going to take two weeks!
Since we only had 80km to get to Sesreim, we decided to make the most of our last few hours at Wolwedans. John, our fantastic guide, took us to see the other accommodation, helping us decide where we want to stay when we return again. At Dune Camp, where Brad, Angelina, and their brood spent a weekend while she was pregnant with Shilo, we met up with Stephan again, who let us in on his plans for expansion. Currently, Dune Camp is the least luxurious of the available accommodation, but Stephan is hard at work getting them renovated by Wednesday. The new tents will have bathrooms in the back so that skittish European guests won't have to go outside in the middle of the night. Much like my Grandad, he gets very involved in the building process, even taking over the interior decoration. As we parted, he gave me some nuptual advice, explaining that 'marriage is like travelling on the roads of Namibia. Sometimes it's easy, but sometimes it's rocky and you might get stuck. Remember, though, that no matter how bad things seem at the time, you're going to hit a smooth road again sooner or later. Most people bail out too early and miss the most scenic parts.'
On the way to the lodge, we passed private camp, where up to 6 guests enjoy total seclusion, with their own chef and staff. It's where I'd have assumed the jolie-pitts would've stayed, but maybe their entourage is getting too big. Miguel, the lodge manager, congratulated us on our wedding as we climbed off the game drive vehicle onto the deck overlooking a waterhole that was attracting gemsbok and springbuck. He explained that we're something of a novelty because ours was the first wedding at Boulders and the biggest Wolwedans has hosted to date. Everyone knew who we were, all congratulating us and asking for details as they brought us drinks, breadrolls, salad, and dessert in turn. I think it embarrassed Kev a little, but I enjoyed the feeling of being special.
With his relaxed nature and easy conversational skills, Miguel makes a greast host. He showed us the newly renovated rooms, took us into the wine cellar, kept us well-watered, and regaled us with stories of previous guests. One particularly amusing tale involved the sunburning of some Dutch tourists. Sure enough, lying on the sunbaked deck next to the surprisingly cold pool, the latest arrivals were beginning to turn a worrying shade of pink. I was impressed that he and the other staff members remembered me from my visit a year ago, as I'm sure they see many faces come and go. At Boulders, when we arrived, the staff member in charge of our beautiful table settings, Scott, told me how pleased he was that I hadn't made 'empty promises' when I said I'd be returning to get married. Back at reception, the lady at the curio store also recognized me and asked how my grandmother was doing. Apparently, you don't even need to have a giant wedding (of a whole 11 people) to feel special at Wolwedans.
As John dismantled the ribbons used to decorate our game drive vehicle (which had been very admired by the other guests, who actually made their guide reverse so they could see it - even they had heard of our wedding), we said our final goodbyes and hit the road to Sesriem. We had a bit of a fright as we drove past a place called 'Sossousvlei Desert Camp' when we were still 30 minutes from the park gate that we need to be at when the sun rises tomorrow. Kev began worrying that he would need to get up at 4am again. Luckily, though, the lady at the Sossousvlei Lodge explained that our 'Desert Camp' is only 3km further down the road. Namibia clearly isn't burdened with the same copyrighting laws that we need to work around in South Africa. The gate only opens 6:30am, so we won't need to wake up too early after all.
