Preface:
Theresa 'Terri' Murphy is on a mission. Three things have recently shaped her outlook on life. The first was her meeting in Paris with her publisher. Her work had been received very well. The first excerpt from her writings have been published in a number of erotic European magazines earning her a modest payment and a request from Louise Lambert to get to work on her ending.
The second had been a number of encounters with African emigrees from Senegal, DRC and the Ivory coast among others while in Paris. Terri was determined to journey to Africa, her appetite suitably wetted, to meet more locals.
The third and most significant was a pregnancy risk sex session with a group of men in Los Angeles. Although she hadn't fallen pregnant at that time, she had wondered what would have happened if she had. Terri had thought long and hard, weighing up the consequences and balancing them against her needs and desires. Ultimately, she had determined that she wanted to become pregnant, to have a child. More than that she wanted to do it in a way that the father would be unknown to her, one of a number of candidates in a breeding frenzy. She just had to figure out the 'how' of it all.
These three points had brought her to where she was now. Standing in line at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, waiting to board a plane to Africa. She had done a little research; she was on a budget but still wanted to see some of Africa's beautiful scenery and wildlife.
So,
she had settled on Namibia as her destination. The fact that English was spoken there as well also had a bearing on her decision.
Two days before her flight she had sent a small package to her publisher, the package contained her birth control pills. The note attached read 'I won't need these where I am going'.
Chapter
1:
Africa was hot. Okay that was obvious but now, in summer, for someone of Terri's complexion... Africa was HOT!
Windhoek, the capital city, was small as cities went. Just 250,000 people made their home here. In comparison to some of the cities Terri had been in over the last year it was tiny, but it had a calm, unhurried atmosphere which suited her well.
She had chosen a 3-star hotel just north of the center of the city for the day or so that she planned to spend in the capital. It was a lovely three storied building, with a fantastic BBQ area, the smell from which reached Terri as she checked in making her stomach growl.
The hotel clerk smiled at the sound, passed Terri her room key before telling her that the BBQ kitchen was open from 7am till 11pm. Terri thanked her and shouldered her rucksack. She paused on her way to the lift, backtracking to the check in desk.
"Can I help you miss?" the clerk asked.
"Sorry yes, I wanted to ask about organizing trips in the countryside, like outside of the capital. Where would you recommend?"
The clerk picked up a small map of the city, she circled the location of the hotel before circling another spot, almost in the city center.
"The hotel offers day trips, but I don't think that's what you are looking for. If you go here, you will find a tourism office. They can help you or you will find independent operators around this area offering trips. Might I ask what you are looking for?"
"Umm something quiet, out of the ordinary, not really touristy. I want to avoid crowds."
"Then you should look at the Kunene region, that might be what you want."
"Thanks, I'll do that" Terri said and headed for her room.
Terri had sent most of her belongings back to the US before leaving France. Her laptop and heavier or formal clothing had all been sent back to New Jersey. She'd bought herself some clothing and footwear better suited to the Namibian climate, a good quality rucksack and a small set of binoculars. Aside from some small make up items, her phone and underwear, that was all she'd packed. She planned on travelling light.
She prioritized once she'd reached the room. There didn't seem to be any need to unpack as she wasn't going to be here more than a day or two at the most. Terri splashed some water on her face, put her passport and most of her money in the room safe. Finally, she reapplied some sun block on her exposed skin, there was a lot of it as she was wearing quite high shorts and a cropped tee shirt. Then she went in search of food.
The hotel had been an excellent choice. After stuffing herself to bursting with chicken and ribs from the BBQ, Terri settled down in a shaded corner with a cold beer and a clutch of pamphlets she'd picked up in the lobby. She poured over them looking for inspiration. It was however as the clerk had said, mostly day long trips, all within a few miles of the city. The couple of exceptions were to lodges and other hotels around the country and seemed to be aimed at families and groups, nothing for the lone traveler.
While disappointed, Terri figured she'd hang out the rest of the day while acclimating to the heat. At least she'd have time to drink a few more beers. She'd go to the tourist office tomorrow.
Bright and early Terri headed into the city center, the idea being to get back to the hotel before the noon day sun cooked her.
Passing through a market she bought herself a leather bush hat, pulling it down over her short blonde hair, the wide brim kept the sun off her face and neck. It was also a bonus that it went so well with her khaki shorts and short sleeved shirt.
There were about 10 independent tour operators, all working from small wooden desks with signs on them, scattered near the main tourism office. Terri decided to check out the office first and so breezed past them.
As she walked along the rows of signs on the walls, each one describing trips, prices and dates Terri noticed two things. The first was that all the trips were built around groups of four or more, which made sense as all the tourists in the area, and the ones in her own hotel, were in family groups. The second thing she noticed were the prices, although she was trying to do this trip on a budget, she actually had a lot more to spend than she'd first thought since things were so cheap here.
Seeing nothing in the office that suited her she tried a few of the independents. They all offered excursions to the Kunene region, had tents, 4x4's...everything. But they all required a minimum of four people for the trip to make it worth their while.
After striking out with the fifth one she asked if he knew anyone who might do it.
"Try two streets over, ask for Lucas, maybe he help, maybe not, depends on if he sober."