Botswana - Tsodilo Hills

Another day another reasonably uneventful border crossing, so far so good - the only minor hiccup was insufficient Namibian funds to pay the road taxes (you need N160, or 110 Pula) but a nice South African man changed some money for us. The other thing of note is that you cannot bring any dairy or meat products into Botswana due to foot and mouth disease but apart from half a pint of milk (which the inspector advised Duncan to drink, so he did) we were fine.

We've been through several roadblocks for foot and mouth (and maybe one for lung disease, they're not very explicit) and I dont quite understand the logic. At each one the Landy gets her tyres sprayed and you need to stand in the shoes you're wearing on a disinfectant pad and also disinfect any other shoes you have. Fair enough for the tyres if you're exiting an infected area, or stopped and got outside the car in an infected area. But I dont understand having to disinfect leaving a clean area into another clean area - and I dont understand re disinfecting the shoes in your luggage when you just did that 20 minutes ago up the road! In each case they checked the fridge and back for meat and dairy products to confiscate so the moral of the story is dont travel with any you aren't prepared to lose.

We're camped in the tranquil bush at Tsodilo Hills, a world heritage site where there are loads of ancient rock paintings.

Rundu

Today we are camped along the banks of the Ovakango river - the Namibian border with Angola.  Coming from an island state, it seems funny to think that those boys we watched play soccer on the other bank as the sun went down live in a completely different culture with a different language to the culture we're currently in.

Actually the north of Namibia is different to everywhere we've been here so far.  To be fair, we've spent a lot of time driving through national parks and conservation areas, but it seemed like the minute we passed through the veterinary barrier we passed from rich to poor Namibia.  Up here on either side of the road there are small communities of half a dozen or so stick and mud huts and the people subsistence farm - it feels very similar to the road up the coast of Mozambique, but with extra cattle and goats on the road.

Tsumeb

After the desert and the dry savannah and scrubland of Etosha, Tsumeb is a veritable oasis.  The main road into town is lined with big palm trees and the streets are lined with Jacaranda trees blooming in brilliant purple.  Add to that general greenery and some Bouganvillea and you start to get the picture.  It seems this town gets a high rainfall for Namibia.

We checked into MouseBird Backpackers and Camping which was very friendly, comfortable and homey.  Lightning and thunder heralded a heavy rainfall (rain, yay!) not long after dark and we sat up until the small hours talking with Paul, a Namibian pharma rep who drove the entire country every fortnight and had lots of interesting things to say about the country he loves.  Just as we were retiring for the night he got a call from his best friend in Walvis Bay - who'd beed tied up in his home and robbed, could Paul come around... (he's okay though).

Etosha National Park

We drove into Etosha late yesterday afternoon and set up camp at the campsite closest to Andersson Gate.  We passed by the camp waterhole on the way to the shop and were happy to see some jackals, an elephant, some antelope and a lone zebra.  As it got dark giraffe came to drink and we were lucky to see a parade of elephants and their young troupe up in line.  Not quite holding eachothers tails, but very close to the Disney picture (actually, Disney has a lot to answer for when it comes to shaping expectations of wild animals).  Later that evening, after we'd cooked dinner, we returned to the waterhole where the elusive black rhino came to drink.  Then another one came and they had a territory standoff.  Very interesting watching (and listening) to the grumpy one complain and stamp his feet to make the other one move.

We were up early for a game drive and although we saw many many zebra and springbok on the plains, clearly all the action was at the waterhole at camp.

Skeleton Coast

After checking in with the tourist office in Henties Bay we started further up the coast towards a 4WD trail into the desert.  We stopped at Cape Cross which is home to one of the largest breeding colonies of fur seal in the world.  There must have been tens of thousands of seals there, some surfing in the waves and diving for fish, others basking in the sun nursing their pups.  One rather large pup I saw had a loop of packing tape tight around its middle pinning the tops of its flippers.  The tape was already hindering the pup's on shore movements and I hope it breaks soon or the pup could have trouble getting food when its weaned in the next month or so.

Just as we were leaving the seal colony, Duncan complained of a migraine so I took over the driving.

Messum Crater

Nothing for miles except another photographer

After a couple of hours slow driving across the alternately rocky and sandy desert (I'm glad I didnt manage to get stuck or puncture a tyre) we came to the Messum Crater which is 20km across.

Swakopmund and Namib Nakluft Park

In Swapkomund we visited the Crystal Gallery which exhibited some enormous crystal clusters found on a local farm and samples of many of the different quartz crystals and semi precious stones found in Namibia - including some amazing geodes of amethyst and citrine.   Driving into town reminded me a lot of driving in the outskirts of Las Vegas - all these new walled housing developments smack bang next to miles of plains of dull grey sand.  It isnt hard to imagine the whole of Swakopmund swallowed up by dunes like Kolmanskop near Luderitz in the future.  The town is right on the seashore and sports many cute historical buildings.

Because we'd gone to Windhoek to get our visas we had not driven up through the desert which was supposed to be a magnificent scenic drive.  So this morning we drove south Walvis Bay to buy permits to enter the Namib Nakluft Park and see at least part of what we had skipped. The road between the two towns runs 30 odd kilometers along the shore with giant salmon coloured dunes to the east and giant crashing surf to the west.
Finding the information centre proved a challenge.  We tried the location given in the local brochure, the location on the map, the location in our guidebook... no luck.  We stopped at the local library where I asked for help.  The tourist information centre had closed down, but if I went next door to the municipal council they had a small one there, the security guard could direct me to the correct office.  I wandered through various corridors until I came to the correct office only to find a notice on the door announcing the occupant was out of office until further notice.    It seemed they didnt want to sell park permits to tourists that badly.  

In the end we decided to stick to the main route through the desert which didnt require a permit.  At the top of the road we stopped to pick up a young irish hitchhiker exploring Southern Africa after a spate of volunteer work in Zambia before returning to commence life as a commercial lawyer in London in 2010.

The variability of the desert is amazing.  It moved from high red dunes to ashen plains like the remains of a fire to swirling pink curves to yellow grassy knolls to black volcanic rock.  Just before we turned back North we climbed up the Kunis pass which featured rocky interlocking spurs covered with fine dried grass blowing in the breeze.  I have no idea how anything lives out there but we saw ostrich, zebra, oryx and lots of springbok.

We stopped at Jakkalsputz campground by the ocean, which reminded me of something out of an American teen horror flick with its abandoned run-down demenour and doors banging repeatedly in the strong wind.  Deciding against camping there we headed another 10km up the coast to Hentiesville, where the campsite unexpectedly had a separate bath and toilet for each pitch!

Usakos

We picked up our visas this morning, grateful they took only one day to process instead of the usual three and after waiting around until 4pm to pick up the Ezi Awn panels from their Windhoek distributor we headed towards Swakopmund.   Because of the late start out of town and a long long run of roadworks we had no hope of making it to Swakopmund before dark so we've stopped at a town called Usakos where the local policeman told us off for not having Namibian plates on the Landy and told us we should head straight for Windhoek to get some.  He hadnt heard of the concept of a carnet de passage but seemed happy to take our word for it when we said we had a permit to drive in Namibia without Namibian plates.  I think he was just bored.

Windhoek

We returned to the main road north and after re-inflating the tyres hightailed it to Windhoek so we could apply for our Zambian visas first thing Monday morning.  This will save us from driving all the way south to Gabarone, the capital of Botswana, to get them.

We decided it best to stay at a hostel in town for ease of access as the nearest camp-site was on the outskirts.  Ever since the Landy was broken into in Cape Town, Duncan and I have taken turns going in to check in at places to stay while the other one of us waits with the Landy and all our stuff (I'm the paranoid one).  The first two hostels we tried were full and we ended up at a sweet guesthouse complete with secure parking about 10 minutes walk from the Zambian consulate.   Just after we checked in the local police arrived to take a statement from a Dutch couple who arrived just after us, and had the backseat window of their rental vehical smashed and a bag stolen while the car was parked on the road outside for the five minutes they took to check in!  A sign in the room warned that Windhoek was like any other big city (although its not that big) except with 45% unemployment.

Its a nice city though, clean and compact.  People are friendly.  We're enjoying a day lazing around the guest house garden reading while we wait for the visas to be processed.  Tonight we're going out for a restaurant dinner.

Brukkaros Extinct Volcano

After a relaxed tour of the castle, we made our way further south and east along more pink roads.  Not much in the way of fences in this region, although a number of cattle grids.  We encountered crossing the road as we travelled a couple of herds of brown goats with floppy ears, horned cows, ostrich and several hopping mules, hobbled by a cloth which tied their front legs together to prevent them from wandering too far with their young.

In the distance, rising dramatically from the otherwise flat plateau lay Brukkaros, an extinct volcano with a crater 2km in diameter.  We paid the fee for the community campsite and the Landy climbed up the side to a windy plateau about half way up the outside of the crater wall.  From here we hiked a rocky track down into the crater floor.  Looking up to the highest part of the crater wall what did I see?  A flambe cell phone tower!  The views from the volcano were amazing though, you could see the surrounding plains for miles in every direction, the horizon curving right around.

The track wound up the inside of the crater wall another kilometer or so to the ruins of an observatory which, according to the Lonely Planet guidebook was used by scientists from the Smithsonian to study sun spots in the 1930s.  We made it back to set up camp just as it was getting dark and enjoyed a peaceful evening as the only people for miles around.

Sossusvlei

To avoid the heat, we headed off early towards Sossusvlei, driving down a narrow corridor with huge red sloping and curving sand dunes on either side, framed against a deep blue sky. The dunes on the west side stretch all the way to the Atlantic. Its difficult to describe, them, so a picture is worth a thousand words...

We stopped at the 2WD car park to deflate the tyres a little and then skidded and bounced another 5km down the sand (4WD only) track to reach the dry clay pan at the end of the equally dry Tserib riverbed. The red sand of the dunes is incredibly fine and soft. Hot to touch in the sun, but surprisingly cool in the shade. A lone oryx was skulking under the trees in the picnic area, avoiding the sun's burning rays.


We wanted to go up through the Namib Naukluft Park to Swakopmund, but with the precision Germans are famous for, the capital city of Windhoek is situated right in the middle of the country so there would be too much backtracking if we went up through the park.

So we headed out of the desert park and up the Tsarishoogte pass to the Nanania Plateau where the pink dust roads were framed by pale yellow dry grass.  We'd been crossing dozens of dry creekbeds that we would have had to ford in the wet season and had to slow down quickly to actually ford a wet one!  The Landy now has some small mud splashes the colour of calamine lotion on her body.   On to Castle Duwisib which was built in 1909 by a German ex pat in an ardent display of nationalism.  We arrived just as the castle was closing but told we were welcome to enjoy the empty campsite and settle up in the morning.  The sun is just starting to get low in the sky and I need to think about what to make for dinner.

We took a wander through Luderitz which is a funny little German town sandwiched between the sea and the desert. All the buildings reminded me of picture books when I was a child. We enjoyed a solidly greasy breakfast at a local cafe before heading out of town. We stopped briefly to take a look at Kolmanskop, an ex mining town abandoned in the fifties being slowly swallowed by the surrounding dunes. They sell tickets for entry and tours at the information centre in Luderitz, but we decided against it. The wind had died down considerably compared to yesterday, but the dunes still rippled in the breeze. Although we didnt expect to be able to see them, we took a side road off the highway to the Wild Horses lookout. Over 100 horses were milling around the water trough there. No one seems to know the origin of the horses, among the theories are they are decendents of horses from shipwrecks on the way to Australia, or WWI soldiers.

It seemed every road we took heading up to Sossusvlei wound through another park or nature reserve. So far I am in awe of the arid beauty of Namibia.

Luderitz

After another 'quick' dip in the hot pools to soak our 'aching' muscles, we managed to leave Ais Ais by 11.00 am heading north up the west side of the canyon. We detoured for some great views and then hightailed it though arid farmland to the B4 where we stopped for a quick sandwich where the road crossed the Fish River. Just past Aus ( a WWI historical site) and heading west, we had forbidden diamond-land on the south side of the road and Namib-Naklauft Park on the the north. Despite several road signs warning of crossing foxes, oryx and wild horses we drove without incident for a further 90km where the roadsigns warned of wind and sand... and deservedly. I was driving and slowed considerably for the rivers of sand not only crossing the road but sandblasting the landrover! Windows up, when we stopped there was a thin layer of fine sand coating all surfaces in both the front and back.

Tonights campsite is Shark Island in Luderitz, which used to be an island connected to the mainland by a causeway, but they're filling in part of the harbour to increase the landmass. The road we took started as gravel but half way up turned into a paved beauty. This is the most windy place we've stayed in, but has amazing views of the harbour and desert. We're the only ones here.

Ais Ais, Fish River Canyon National Park, Namibia

After nearly an hour driving from Marizanne's we reached the SA border and the only thing that took our time there was the tax claim on a dive watch Duncan bought in Sodwana Bay. We finally crossed the bridge to Namibia, cruised through into the border post there simply stopping for passport formalities and to pay a N180.00 road user tax. The Orange River creates much of the border between South Africa and Namibia and I was shocked at the difference in landscape between the south and north sides of the river. It seemed all of a sudden that we were transported to a dark sandy desert moonscape, with the odd volcanic cone rising up on the horizon. To be fair, that sight only lasted for half an hour of driving or so, then the terrain returned to the familiar rubbley hillscape of the road north of Springbok. The road was gravel and plumes of dust rose from the tyres. Our campsite for the night is at the Ais Ais (scalding) Springs at the southern end of and inside the Fish River Canyon.

Over dinner, after relaxing in the heat of the natural hot springs, Duncan mentioned how twinkly the stars were. I was sceptical when I looked up, but he was right! Apparantly something about the heat rising from the desert makes the stars appear to twinkle. Not as magical as the milky way at Praia Mar e Sol, but impressive still.

South Africa Honors Roll

Tomorrow we cross for Namibia so I thought it time for a roundup.



Best Campsite
- Location - Rustic Camp, Mokala National Park - loved the isolation and all the animals coming to the waterhole throughout the day
- Facilities - all the South African National Park sites, generally well equipped with cooking, washing up and laundry facilities in addition to decent showers with copious hot water and baths (although you need your own plug)!
- Raspberry award - Bloemfontein campsite for being the most expensive with the least facilities.

Best sights/experiences
- Driving up Alfreds Pass (Klein Karoo)
- Watching the dolphins surf at Lambertsbaii (West Coast)
- Cango Caves (Oodtshorn)
- Self Drive safari in Kruger National Park
- Wine Tasting at La Motte vineyard, Franshoek

Best Treat
- Buffelsdrift Lodge, A luxury two room safari tent on the shore of a dam with afternoon game drive, à la carte dinner, breakfast and morning game drive included (sometimes you need a break from camping).

Best Customer Service
Jess at Ezi-Awn, hands down, although I found Afrikaaners to be very helpful in general.

Springbok

We've spent the last three nights in Springbok, enjoying the generous hospitality of Marizanne, the sister of a former colleague at lastminute.com. As we drove further west from Augrabie the treeless plains gave way to rubble-like rock mounds and rocky hills. The town of Springbok is wedged between two of these rocky hills. Once known for its copper mines, Namaqualand is now better known for its spring flowers and although we were at the end of the season, the roadsides were still blanketed with vibrant purple, orange and yellow daisies.

After taking care of weeks of laundry, we took a drive from Marizanne's farm up to Nababeep and the mining museum there, which impressed me by being both free and open on a Sunday. We were invited to a traditional South African braii with the neighbours, Elaine and Ronnie for dinner on Sunday night.

Augrabies Falls National Park

I'm sitting here watching the full moon rise and listening to the roar of the Augrabies Falls. Its lovely and warm compared to the last few nights.

Earlier this afternoon Duncan and I undertook walking the 5km Dassie Trail which took us scrambling across rock formations and river crossings pestered by bazillions of little green flies. Rated easy, it wasnt a physical challenge, but required a certain amount of balance and agility. You certainly wouldnt want to recommend it to your elderly aunt what with the dodgy bridge crossings and sliding across wet rocks. We didnt see many dassies on the trail, but they were all over the campsite, grazing on the sprinkler watered lawn and climbing the hand watered trees remarkably unconcerned by all the humans wandering around. Normally they bask on rocks, keeping a sharp eye out for the enormous birds that prey on them. Improbably the closest relative to the elephant, the rock hyrax looks like a plump, overgrown guinea pig.

The falls are loud, and throw up an impressive mist but they are small in comparison to the path the water has carved in the rock and I wonder what they'd be like if it wasnt dry season. The Orange river has its origins in the highlands of the Drakensburg range and winds its way across Lesotho and South Africa to the west coast of Namibia. I also wonder how the Katze and Mohale damns in Lesotho are affecting its flow and water supply to Namibia.

We had a call from Jess of Ezi-Awn. He wasnt able to find any panels in stock at any of his suppliers in South Africa, but can have one made up. Great. We'll have one please... and can you send it for us to pick up in Windhoek? Once again, impressive.

Upington

The drive along the N14 reminded me a lot of driving in the outback in Australia. For hours the impossibly straight, long road stretched into the enormous blue sky on the horizon. The landscape was red, dry and rocky, covered in low scrub. Occasionally a yellow mongoose would dart across the road, the white tip of its bushy tail bobbing merrily. We stopped for the night in Upington at a camp by the river.

Barberton Nature Reserve

Compared to our drive into the city, the remainder of our time in Johannesburg passed uneventfully. Poor tourists, we didnt even try to see any sights. We mooched about Randburg sorting out the Landy and things for our trip further north, and availed ourselfs of the not-too-slow and relatively inexpensive internet at the hostel. The Landy now has a new battery and shiny dark windows, newly tinted for sunm heat and smash-n-grab protection. We stopped by Ezi-Awn, the manufacturers of the roof tent to enquire about panels for the Landy's awning. Ezi-Awn gave us exceptional customer service. We asked if we could have some of the little hole dooberies that the tent poles go into as a couple had fallen out somewhere in Australia and we were making do with some bolt things and the guy instantly organised one of his staff to replace them on the spot. I also mentioned one of the tarpaulin clips had broken and asked for a replacement clip. Replace all four' Jess said to his staff member, 'these guys have a long way to go.' Less than 10 minutes later it was all sorted, free of charge. They didnt have the panels in stock said they'd ring around the suppliers and try to get some sent up to Upington so we didnt have to wait around. Impressive.

After stopping by the safari store and stocking up on gas cans for the stove and groceries we got a late start out of town so had no chance of reaching our target of Vryberg by nightfall.

Barberton Nature Reserve was a peaceful bird sanctuary on the lake and we were one of only three guests at the camp.