Pat Lobley loves history and listening to people’s stories. She found plenty of both on the Victoria Falls to Cape Town tour through a world she’d only heard of before being immersed in it.

Pat Lobley

Pat, her husband Rick, and two other couples convinced her to come along. “I was reluctant to go at first,” she said. “Once I got there I was taken in by the animals and the people—people who are there now, and those who used to live there.”

She loved the Okavango Delta where the stars went on forever, even though sleeping outdoors while hippos grunted and roared nearby was way beyond her comfort zone. But it was the history that captivated her.

Uncover the Fascinating History of Kolmanskop

Kolmanskop, Namibia’s famous ghost town, took her back in time. Since the last three families deserted it in 1956, the inhospitable and desolate Namib Desert has done its best to reclaim what was once a thriving town of 1,300 people. She thought of the women who must have lived in the once-elegant homes, now filled with sand. “I can’t imagine getting the sand and dust out of your house. The wind blows continuously.”

Their top-grade hotel on the ocean took them far away from the Namibian desert and jungles, to terrain no less harsh. Here, naval history predominated. Namibia’s coastline is the graveyard of sailors and sea captains whose ships like in shallow waters. “We sat on our balcony watching as Right whales swam by and waves crashed on the shore. I thought about the shipwrecks and those who didn’t make it.”

Hear tales of hope and despair from those living there with Pat Lobley

Further south, it was a different kind of history.

“We’ve often heard stories about what life and politics are like in southern Africa but we’re only hearing one side of the story. Our guide in a copper town described how the Canadian government had put an embargo on copper, ostensibly to help the Blacks, but now everyone’s unemployed.

“Earlier this month we were on an agricultural tour in Alberta and visited a fish farm owned by a South African couple. They’d had to leave their homeland because of the politics.

“Everyone wants to tell their story but no one wants to listen.

“Where does it end? Somehow there has to be forgiveness and there never is. There’s always another side to the story.”

Visiting cultures far different than what she’s always known has broadened her perspective and lessened her reluctancy to travel. “I love hearing people’s tales. You learn to listen and let them tell their story.”

Now Pat and Rick are talking about going to Mongolia for the Golden Eagle Festival. Undoubtedly, she’ll be listening to many more stories.

Photo credits: Rick and Pat Lobley