After visiting the Ruacana Falls which are currently in flood and absolutely spectacular we decided to head a little further west to Opuwo to see this part of the country. On arrival in Opuwo we were haggled by some young indigenous folk and we realised how harsh we have become from the continual harassment we have received throughout this trip as you are a “white man” that clearly means you must have money and you must give… give… give, so now that we could actually express ourselves in English these poor little beggers got a proper mouthful (we will have to work on our humanitarian side again). We stayed at the Opuwo lodge which was average but nothing to write home about and saw some of the local Himba people and the great country side but we did not do much more in this area.
look at us camping!!
From our swimming lessons in Angola we had damaged one of the tension pulleys on Mo and needed to get a replacement so headed through to Oshakati on the Monday to get a replacement part. We decided to take the short cut through the C41 which is actually still being built so took a lot longer to get through than expected, as the effects of the flooding is all over the north. On arrival in Oshakati we discovered that it was actually a public holiday so there was no way we could get some work done on Mo so decided to head a little further east towards Ondangwa. We were forced to stay in a B&B here as the one and only campsite around a small dam was now one large dam with underwater campsites and a few happy geese.
From Ondangwa we were then directed to Tsumeb as the Toyota parts we required were not available. This is directly due to the recent earthquake and Tsunami in the East which has resulted in a shutdown of parts availability.
water in Etosha
There was much excitement from Clauds as the next day we were heading to Popa Falls in the Caprivi Strip to meet up with her folks, Ed and Gail who had decided to come and join us for our Namibia leg and even bought a tent to initiate their first camping holiday. We had a call from them on their first night to say that they were in a puddle of sweat but their tent was finally up! We set off early in the morning and joined them for 2 nights at Numba River Lodge which was only partly flooded. Ed came prepared with half the bottlestore and had even hidden wine under the spare wheel in his Freelander. This campsite is particularly pretty and well designed and between catching up, we managed to fit in a boat cruise to see the Popa rapids. From here we headed into Etosha for a 3 night stay, 1 at each camp heading west. Although exquisite, there was so much water around that the game viewing didn’t meet expectations but we did see a pair of mating lion, magnificent birds and countryside. Will need to return one of these Augusts sometime.....
Nam roads
Next stop was Twyfelfontein after a visit to the petrified forest and our first sighting of Welwichias, hardy slow growing ancient plants that typify photographs of Namibia. Twyfelfontien is famous for its rock engravings done by the nomad communities. We stayed at a campsite called Xaragu which means Meerkat and besides the infestation of king crickets, we had a very pleasant 2 nights stay. Gail and Ed were now into the whole camping idea and we can see that this certainly won’t be the last of this new type of holiday experience! Even if little lessons are learnt along the way like keep your tent closed at all times to avoid midnight doom sessions when the mozzies creep out of the corners where they have been waiting!
Skeleton Coast
Although Skeleton Coast was a big tick for us, we couldn’t have done it faster as a comedy of errors unfolded and we thought Ed and Gal were ahead of us and they the same which resulted in us trying to catch each other. Bear in mind that there is no cell phone reception for 200km! Anyway, we eventually tracked them down and caught up in Henties Bay for a bottle of wine to curb the nerves!
more typical scenery
As we pulled into the Municipal chalets, Andrew commented on just how awful these little huts looked and imagine having to stay there, just as our GPS announced ‘arriving at destination on right!’.....damn! it is however the best value for money at R270 per self catering chalet per night (2 people). Wined and dined at a few of the many great restaurants that seemed to be around and of course indulged in many an oyster!
a rare sight in Etosha!
On our way to Sossusvlei we stopped off at the old army base (and had a quick look from the outside before the guard came to enquire what we were doing) where Ed served more than 45 years ago, Rooikop, a great step back in history and some very funny army memories were shared with us! One that tickled our sense of humour most was the assistance provided to those men that had been called up and were dragged out of the bush for their conscription but could not tell left from right. To ensure that their marching ability improved, they were to tie a rag around one ankle, and some grass on the other and the marching continued with shouts of “Gras....lappie.....gras.....lappie!”
Sossus Oasis
And onto Sossusvlei, to stay in a beautiful upmarket camp ground (Sossus Oasis) where each site has a latte shaded area, your own toilet, wash up area and shower ‘on suite’, a novel concept and even biodegradable wash up liquid was provided. (there is such a thing as executive camping).
here Gail comes up the dune
Due to the unusual amount of rain Namibia has had, we were lucky enough to spend a full day picnicking (yet another few glasses of wine of course) in Sossusvlei as a real vlei filled with water. Ed and Andrew even had an afternoon swim after climbing the dunes (a fine exquisite red coloured sand that we have not ever encountered before).....you can see why so many calendar photos are taken of this area. Claudia spent ages on the dunes desperately trying to photograph a barking gecko which burrows into the sand constantly and is not an obliging participant!
one teeny bit of exercise that we did!
the elusive gecko
From here we took the scenic route down to Luderitz on the D707, what a spectacular route with scenic changes through the desert – every hill we came over seemed to present another new type of landscape, from dunes to rock, to grass to purple mountains, then grey – you need to see for yourself.
Namib wild horses
We stopped to see to wild horses of Garub, the theories of their ancestry are not exactly understood but they are thought to be escapees from either a shipwreck, a rich farmer who fled before the war, or the soldiers that served in the war but sometime during this period. We counted over 150 and were lucky to see them as water and food is certainly not scarce at the moment.
picnic in a cave
Luderitz – windy, arid, barren, harsh but dramatic! Stayed in a self catering apartment on the experience advise that camping is just not fun on the coast when the wind howls as it usually does! We spent the day looking for agates on Agate beach (and found 2!), visiting Diaz Cross, the lighthouse on Shark Island and watching the seals before another round of oysters at Shearwater Oyster Factory – we even skipped the tour as it was the same price as another 6 oysters!
sunset in Etosha
The following day it was onto the Fish River Canyon with a visit to Kolmanskop diamond ghost town on the way which was abandoned after WWII once the diamond barons returned and discovered larger stones at the mouth of the Orange River and established Oranjemund. Kolmanskop is fascinating by how the Western world can arrive in a desert, make ice which was provided to each household daily, build a railway of 60km in 10 months, a hospital that could sustain 250 patients for a community of about 1400, build grand homes, have a dedicated entertainment manager with bowling alley, gymnasium and hall all within 10 years only to abandon it all for greener pastures. A well worth visit.
Agate Beach - Luderitz
As the last stop with Ed and Gail, we arrived at Canon Roadhouse to visit the famous and second largest canyon in the world. Impressive, but again, harsh climate and scenery with no vegetation – we decided that we needn’t return to hike the 85km to Ais Ais. We waved the fogies goodbye and made our separate ways onto SA. What a great holiday and a very good way to ease back into ‘normality’.....
Fish River Canyon
So here was are, in Elandsbaai SA, after a last stamp in our passports for a while and a better than expected nights camping stopover in the craggy mountains of Kamieskroon at Pete’s B&B with a 270 degrees view of what will be covered in wild flowers once the rains arrive.
Kolmanskop Ghost Town
A brief summary of the next few weeks includes meeting Simon tomorrow for a week’s cruise to CT, thereafter, Southbroom to see Ammy and Mark’s new bambino, Mia, then Easter with the Gordons and catch up with Daryl and Chris in the Drakensberg and then we can’t avoid it anymore, we will be hitting jovial Joeys and look forward to seeing you all, but for now, around and about is rounding up until............
aaah no! Last stamp imminent!
first night in SA - Kamieskroon
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