After cleaning up a bit and putting on something a little more suited for dinner, I mosey on over to the main lodge and join Johann and Tinus. Over my first brandy and Coke-lite, we talk over the events of the day and I get to know Tinus a little better. We swap some stories, and evidently he has led a more exciting life than I have, or at the very least tells better stories. By my second sundowner, he and Johan are discussing some kind of new hunting regulation or something in Afrikaans so I start to look around a little bit. Osonjiva is nice, very nice. It is stone construction with a wooden post frame holding up the thatched roof. There is ceramic tile on the floors and trophies of every kind on the walls. This place is almost (I am a little prejudiced) as nice as Tualuka. The one advantage it does have over Tualuka is the uncommonness of some of the trophies. There are white and black springbuck, black-faced impala, sable, roan, and a few others. I wonder around looking at everything and soon discover I have a faulty cocktail glass. It seems there is a hole in it and all of the contents have mysteriously disappeared. I have not heard the dinner bell yet, so I decide to find my way back to the bar and exchange it for a different one. Maybe this glass will not lose its contents so quickly.
Before the dinner bell finally rings, some amazing smells start wafting their way towards us from the kitchen. I ask, “What’s for dinner?”, and Tinus tells me he is unsure of the side dishes, but we are having eland filet for dinner. If you need a little clarification, that is the filet mignon cut from Africa’s largest antelope. Once we are seated, the rest of the meal is brought out. There are sautéed green beans and mushrooms, potatoes, fresh baked rolls, and a whole host of other goodies. The filet is so tender I never need to pick up my knife. My fork simply melts right through it. A ladle of au jus and lots of buttered rolls to soak up the extra with, and I am in heaven.
After dinner, I get to meet the chef. She is a local girl and her name is Leilani. It turns out that cooking is only her hobby and she pops in from time to time to earn extra money. She studied fashion design at a university and works part-time as a designer in South Africa. Leilani is a most unusual name for a young lady from a small town in Namibia, and it is almost as odd as a fashion designer that could easily cook for any five star restaurants in the world. Needless to say, I ate way too much and waddled off to bed pretty much as soon as dinner was over. Tomorrow was another hunting day and I wanted to be rested and ready to go.
The table in the bar area of Osonjiva
