NAMIBIA

Wunderba.....a kaleidoscopic landscape

We drove southwards from the border along first class roads and reflected on how easy everything suddenly seemed in Namibia. We were warned however that Namibia has a strict highway code so we followed the speed limits carefully. Approximately 20km into our journey at about 4pm with the sun low on the horizon we were sprung a surprise. Approaching what looked like a narrowing of the road with barriers on either side we slowed, squinting into the sun to try and make out a semi obscured sign. The obstruction was a uniformed policeman and the sign behind him said STOP. We realised too late and went a couple of metres past, before pulling sharply to a halt. The policeman immediately pointed out that this was a fineable offence and no amount of explaining that he was in the way and the sun made it difficult to see the sign seemed to have any effect. I realized that it was a set-up and they probably caught lots of people here at this particular time of day. The fine, they insisted, had to be paid at the police station 30km back the way we had just come, so I called one of them to the side and quickly negotiated a ‘passing fee’. Just then Dave and Jane of Lizzy Bus screeched to a halt behind us having fallen for the same scam.

We reached the campsite at Ondangwa and were delighted to find it had hot showers. It is surprising how much you miss these small luxuries in life. The West, in general, is indeed very fortunate compared with Africa and most other parts of the world. That evening, after so many weeks without meat, I ordered a tasty rump steak which must have weighed 16 ounces. I contemplated and reflected upon the exhausting big push through Angola. After a couple of cold beers chewing the fat with Dave and Jane we hit the sack.

The following morning I headed into town, bought a Namibian SIM card and withdrew some cash from one of the numerous South African banks present in Namibia. I also was told of a place that could reportedly refill our gas bottle, which had run out in Cameroon. We packed up, said cheerio to Dave and Jane, successfully refilled our gas bottle and headed southwards 250km towards Tsumeb, a world famous copper mine that I had always wanted to visit.

Tsumeb was built by the Germans around 1900 after the discovery of a rich copper ore body protruding out of the ground as a ‘green hill’. The 240 different mineral species that were found make it a unique mine and 15 of these species are found nowhere else in the world. The Glory Shaft produced fabulous Azurites, Dioptase and Cerrucites which grace many of the world’s top museums.

We found our way to the Mousebird Campsite and headed into the picturesque town to deliver our clothes (both dirty and ‘clean’) to a laundrette. It is surprising how much dirt you pick up travelling like this and no amount of hand scrubbing in cold water can compare to the results of a hot machine wash. We also needed to find out if the mine tours were still running, which unfortunately were not. We stopped in at the Etosha Cafe Biergarten for lunch and later that evening ate dinner at the Makalana Hotel. The following day I had a long overdue haircut (short back and sides again) and posted my long overdue Congo, DRC, Cabinda and Angola blog journals. In the afternoon we walked around the old mine workings and visited the museum which has a nice display of minerals and mine memorabilia, including an old mineral sampling kit from Cornwall (made by a Mr. Letcher of Truro). We had a jovial chat with the ladies at the museum who all seemed to be keen mineral collectors. As the sun was setting we went around the mine and town taking pictures, again enjoying a lovely sunset.

The following morning we left Tsumeb and drove through Grootfontein towards Rundu, the gateway to the Caprivi Strip, which lay around 300km away. The roads were again excellent and we reached Rundu in good time. We stopped at the local OK store and replenished our supplies in preparation for camping in the remote Caprivi along the Linyanti, Kwando and Okavango river ways. We also picked up a couple of big rump steaks and a couple of crates of Windhoek Lager......important personal replenishments!!

We checked out several campsites and lodges in the immediate area before deciding to try one last place, Kasiopi Lodge, which lay 8km east of Rundu. The drive was worth it and we were delighted to find one of our best campsites to date on our journey. With our own personal secluded camp space, which included a shower, washing facilities and barbeque we were in camping heaven. We cooked our steaks that evening and had a peaceful night sleep next to the river. After not been able to have any deep sleep during the past few weeks these quiet Namibian nights were starting to have a positive energy recharging effect. Our plan the following day was to head to the western Caprivi to a turnoff that led southwards from Divundu towards the Mahungu Reserve, which is the only reserve in Namibia that you are free to walk around in....and it has lots of animals.

We reached the turnoff and headed towards Ngepi Camp, that has an excellent write up in the Lonely Planet. Arriving at the camp we instantly recognised it was a good place to be. It is well away from the main road on the western side of the Okavango River and its riverfront location, funky bar, super camp spaces and its general sense of character makes it somewhere worth staying for a couple of days or more.

We set up our camp next to the river and later that evening went on a sunset cruise up the river. Along the way we saw crocodiles and hippos although seeing anything was difficult as we travelled directly into the slowly setting sun. Once we turned around, the skipper turned off the engine and we slowly drifted downstream back to the camp, witnessing a fabulous sun set on the way. That evening, after cooking dinner, we went to the funky bar which was packed with travellers. We met a couple of South African tour operators and had a few beers. I was surprised when one of them said he was from Copperton in the Northern Cape, which is the copper mine that I worked in when I first came to South Africa on vacational work experience as part of my degree course at the Camborne School of Mines. After a few more beers we called it a night. Early in the morning I was awoken by the sound of a lion across on the other side of the river. It was there that we were planning to wild camp when we left Ngepi Camp.

The following morning I strolled along the river side up through the camp and was pleased to see so many birds along the way. In the afternoon we headed down to the Mahungu Reserve which is 15km away and borders Botswana. The drive along the flood plains was great and we saw a few different animals including the impressive Sable. We reached the southern lookout point and had a sun-downer before heading back quickly to the main gate before the 6.30pm deadline. We reached camp by about 7pm only to find that the camp had double booked and there was another group in our camp spot, even though we had left our camping gear out. Unfortunately, none of the staff we had dealt with were there so we reluctantly set up in another camp spot which, in all fairness, was also pretty darn good. That evening I arranged to go on a early morning guided bird trek with Christopher, the bird specialist, and after spending a couple of hours at the bar we called it a night.

The following morning, slightly late, I met up with Christopher and went on a two and a half hour walk along the river and through a marsh area. I saw many birds along the way and it was well worth the £7 fee. At 9.30am we ate breakfast and then departed for the eastern side of the Okavango River to visit the Buffalo Park and Bwabwata Reserve. Our plan was to locate a wild camp spot before heading into these reserves for the day. We marked an old South African Defence Force base on our waypoint and headed down the eastern side of the Okavango River towards the Botswana border. The drive was very scenic and along the way we saw a very large crocodile and the usual land based game species. We had a sun-downer with a group of South Africans on a fishing and camping holiday, and who we had met the previous day at Ngepi Camp. We travelled in convoy with them out of the game reserve and headed to our wild camp spot. We cooked dinner at about 8pm and listened to the sounds coming out of the marsh. Mainly we heard hippos, but then a loud whooshing noise which became louder and louder. Eventually I realised what it was when I caught the scent of bovine. A whole heard of buffalo were now in the marsh and we could make out a large black mass below us. At one point it sounded as if they were coming up the slope towards us so we got into Proper Job. They didn’t however come our way and during the night we heard them splashing about and disturbing the many hippos that were living in the marsh some 50 metres away. We did not hear the lion that evening so I guess it must have moved on.

The following morning we drove about 200km eastwards into the Western Caprivi. We planned to spend a few days along the Kwando River and in the Linyanti marsh lands. Both these areas hold large numbers of animals and I was looking forward to going there, having visited both areas on the Botswana side whilst on safaris with my Dad. We filled up with fuel at Divundu before heading southwards along a gravel road to the Mudumu Reserve, which had been highly recommended to us by the South African we had shared sun-downers with at the Bwabwata Reserve. We were not sure where we would stay so checked out a couple of lodges and camps along the way. I had read in the Lonely Planet that there was a camp site in the reserve which was located on the river. When we reached the rangers office we enquired and were told that the cost for a 24 hours in the reserve was N$80 and there were no camp fees on top of that. There are three camp spots with no facilities so you needed to be self sufficient, which we are. We checked the first two out which were both great, but were prevented from reaching the third by a herd of elephants that were drinking at the river and blocking the road. After almost two hours we decided to head back to the other camps but on the way noticed on the GPS that there was another route to the third camp. We decided to give it a go. The first part of the track was fine but became quite deep sand and I wondered if we would get seriously stuck. We managed to get through unscathed with a bit of bush driving around a swampy area, eventually arriving at the camp spot. We were not disappointed and it had a glorious panoramic view over the river and reed beds. The elephants were still further up river blocking the road so we set up camp and enjoyed a perfect setting. To date, this is by far the best camp site we have had and it is truly in the wild. The bonus here is that you are allowed to drive around in the evening. After a steak and boerewors barbeque we witnessed another fabulous sunset before heading out on a night drive for a couple of hours. We saw a few animals along the way but no leopards or lions which is what we were hoping to find. During the night we heard many hippos in the nearby reed beds and some hyena howling a few kilometres to the west of us.

The following morning we decided to check out the north western part of the park and visit Fidel (the warden) to extend our stay in this great place. Along the way we saw more elephants heading into the reed beds for the day. The north western part of the park has a nice stretch near the river close to the posh Lianshulu Lodge. We drove around the tracks and saw more elephant. At around midday we got back to our camp and cooked up a proper English breakfast for brunch. At around 2pm a German group arrived and pleaded to be able to stay at our camp. We relented and accommodated them....although not in our line of view. We planned to head out on a long drive that afternoon but at around 2.30pm a large herd of elephants came down to the river to drink so we were camp-bound until 4pm......oh well there are worse things in life I suppose. We stopped at the ranger’s office to extend our stay for a day as I really liked this wild camping spot on the Kwando River.

Later in the afternoon we managed to get by the elephants and found a nice spot along the river for a sun-downer. On the way back to the camp, which lay about 12km away, we met another large group of elephants and we were delayed for a while playing cat-and-mouse with a large male that didn’t want to budge. Eventually, patience and switching on and off the headlights a few times seem to do the trick and he moved off to let us through. We sped by leaving a trail of dust and luckily he didn’t pursue us. We stopped by our South African friends Marius and Chanelle in Camp 2, who kindly invited us around for dinner the following evening. We got back to our camp at 7pm and dived into getting the barbeque ready for our steaks and pitch our tent for the evening. I enjoyed a nice glass of red wine with my meal and sat and listened to the sounds of the African wild. I never get bored of it.

The following morning, as I sit here writing, another herd of elephants merges out of the bush to drink and they are very close to our camp. I crept through the bushes and climbed a large anthill on the river bank. I first checked that the wind was blowing towards me so they would not pick up human scent....which would definitely get them very agitated. The river inlet they are drinking in is quite small and they are only about 100 metres away. I managed to take a nice video of them before they melted away again. It continues to amaze me how such a large animal can appear so quickly and silently and disappear the same way. The Mudumu Reserve is a hidden gem.

The following day I decided to check out the Mamili Reserve which covers part of the Linyanti marsh area. It is not very accessible and we had heard reports that it was not possible to get in because of flooding. Fidel (the ranger) told us that you could get in so we wanted to be sure so we could make the right decision. After our morning drive, during which we pulled over along the river and had breakfast, we drove down to Mamili. We arrived at a rather rickety bridge that was surrounded by water and looked as if it had not been used for a while. We didn’t attempt to cross but decided to give the other entrance a go. When we reached it we were confronted with a marshy area that did not seem passable. Alas I made the decision not to go in, but it is something I would like to do in the future. We drove back the 30km to Mudumu and on the way back got a call from David and Jane (Lizzy Bus) saying they had a brand new turbo installed and had booked up a camp spot in the Etosha Reserve for Sunday....three days time. We arrived back at our camp spot to start packing up, and once again were cut off by a herd of elephants. I decided that it was probably better to relocate to Camp 2 for our final evening so we could leave the following morning without being ‘elephant bound’ and enjoy a late dinner (steaks of course) with Marius and Chanelle.

We enjoyed a hearty dinner and Marius cooked the meat to perfection (as most South Africans seem to be able to do). The following morning we bade them farewell and headed out of Mudumu towards the main road. We had been told of a neat camp site called Bum Hill which is along a dirt track to the north of the bridge crossing the Kwando River, and on the fringe of the Bwabwata Reserve. We got to the camp and, as it had hot showers and individual viewing platforms overlooking a wetland area, we decided to stay for a night. That afternoon we headed into Bwabwata and found some neat off road tracks where we saw many different animals. The track went through a flooded area that we carefully drove through. On the way back we almost got stuck but managed to reverse out, quickly deciding caution was a better option and took a longish detour around the water. The following morning I got up and went on a walk to check out the bird life around Bum Hill. Again here was rich in bird life, and I lucked into a brilliant picture of a pair of Barred Owls on a branch relaxing in the early morning sun. After a couple more hours and a fried breakfast we pulled out of camp and headed to Rundu, which lay 400km away.

We planned to stay in Kasiopi Lodge camp site (individual private hot showers) again as we had enjoyed our first stay there. We also needed to stock up on provisions before we went into the Etosha Reserve for a couple of days. We arrived in Rundu at around 2pm Saturday and went into Pick n Pay and then the bottle store, only to find it was shut. We tried a few super markets that sold beer but were told that they could not sell beer as it was past 1pm on Saturday. Town rules forbade any sales. I remembered from my years working in South Africa that this was the same as there, but there was always somewhere you could buy beer. After some enquiries we were pointed to a store just outside of the township boundaries and bought out their entire stock of Windhoek Draft. That done we headed to Kasiopi Lodge and I gave Proper Job a good wash off. Whilst doing this I noticed that a significant amount of blackish oil had leaked out of the front diff so opened the sump nut and found the diff full of grimy black oil. I figured we must have sucked some water in whilst going through Bwabwata and this needed to be monitored until we could drain it properly and refill with fully synthetic.

The following morning we headed towards Etosha via Tsumeb and arrived at the Numotomi Gate at around 2pm. We were meeting Dave and Jane (Lizzy Bus) at Halali Camp, which is reportedly the best of the three for nearby game viewing. The drive took us past quite a few water holes and drives and on the way we saw lots of elephants, a pride of lions (including a big dark manned male) and a black rhino drinking at a water hole, which was great to see. When we arrived at Halali we found Dave and Jane, who had been driving around Etosha all day. They had seen a leopard on the road a few hundred metres from Halali and another leopard at the Halali water hole. The Lizzybus has certainly got its mojo back now it has its brand new turbo.

We decided to stay an extra day, whilst Dave and Jane moved off to the Caprivi loaded with our tips on where to go and where to stay. We wish them well, and hope we meet up with them again on our journey.

We saw more lion prides and large herds of zebra, giraffe, impala, springbuck, elephant, wildebeest, ostrich and the beautiful gemsbok. As we passed by Kumotoni Lodge I checked the log book and saw someone had seen a lioness kill a leopard at Goas water hole two days ago. That would have been a rare sight indeed. Our closest comparison was a secretary bird catching and killing a large snake which was very neat to see. The Etosha Reserve is a wonderful place to see animals and, with its impressive backdrop of the dry and flat Etosha pan, is well worth spending some days in. I can now better appreciate documentaries I have seen on the BBC such as Lions of Etosha, and others showing huge bull elephants walking slowly though the salty dry pan, heading who knows where.

I decided that with Proper Job’s 5000km service coming up we should head back to Tsumeb to Pukewitz Toyota garage, which enjoys a fine reputation in these parts. We arrived in the late afternoon and booked in Proper Job for 7am the following morning. I explained the issue with the front diff oil and after a phone call the manager tracked down the correct fully synthetic oil at a local spare parts store. We stayed again at the Mousebird campsite, and even found our tup-a-wear box that we had mistakenly left on our previous stay. The following morning we delivered Proper Job and I walked to a local internet cafe and caught up with emails and called home. By 10am Proper Job, looking shiny and clean, was ready to go so we headed towards our next destination, Kaokoland in the north west corner of Namibia.

After a few hundred kilometres we reached a town called Kamanjab where we found a nice campsite just outside of town called Kamanjab Rest Camp (recommended in the Lonely Planet). We were directed by the manager to site 1 and set up camp. Later an English couple drove in and, after initially being offish that we were there, things quickly improved when Rick and I found we had a mutual interest in Geology. We had a fun evening with Rick and Frances and I listened with interest to what Frances was doing with Africats (a group set up to help, study and improve interaction between farmer and wild cats), and to what Rick was doing studying stromatalites (a micro-bacteria that predates coral reefs) in the rocks around Tsumeb. They love Namibia so much they are planning to leave Basingstoke and immigrate to Namibia. I really don’t blame them.

The following morning we headed northwards again along a good gravel road towards Palmwag. We filled the tank with diesel in Kamanjab as we had heard that there was a series of strikes in the petrol industry in South Africa and shortages could be expected. Along the route to Palmwag we passed through scenic passes and gorges that were multicoloured in an array of pastel shades. When we arrived we went to the Palmwag Lodge and enquired about camping in the Palmwag Reserve, which reportedly holds the largest concentration of game in this part of Namibia. I also asked about the Elephant Song Camp further north where I wanted to camp for a couple of days, but was told it was now shut as lions had eaten the camp guard !. We opted to camp in one of the two camping spots in the Palmwag Reserve and after a quick sandwich lunch headed into the park. At the park gates we were told that a group of campers had come out of the park the previous evening because of the presence of lions around the camp site. We quickly made sure we had enough wood to keep a good fire burning into the night. The roads were gravel and stone and we drove for about two hours along dried river beds and over a rocky terrain. Along the way we saw a lot of game, but did not see the rare desert elephant or rhino. We eventually found the designated camp spot which had a glorious view across a barren and rugged landscape. We were the only ones there, peace and solitude. We started a fire to prepare for our rump steaks and boerewors, and watched the sun setting over the mountains throwing off strong hues of reds. We did not see or hear a whimper from any lions during the night and the following morning we checked the camp and found no signs of lion tracks. We drove a further 50km through the park towards the north gate, and again saw a lot of game along the dry river beds where underground streams were flowing. These areas are green and a stark contrast to the rest of the landscape.

After exiting Palmwag, we drove northwards towards Warmquelle and a place called Ongongo. This place has hot springs producing s sort of oasis, and was recommended by Andrea Beyer, a capable German girl I had met in Caprivi. In fact every recommendation she has given us turned out to be a good one, so thanks Andrea. We crossed over the Hoanib river, where Elephant Song Camp is based and drove along some off road tracks to Ongongo. The place was almost full and is clearly a popular spot for those in the know. We managed to get a camping spot and headed down to the hot spring for a soak. The water was tepid and just right for these hot dusty days. I enjoyed a cold beer whilst soaking in the pool and then headed back to Proper Job to do some long overdue laundry. Later that afternoon we walked up the gorge to the source of the spring and along the way took some great pictures. We met some nice people at the camp but ended up with a group of Germans moving in next to us that were noisy and had no respect for other campers. Oh well, we won’t hold that against Germans as we have met lots of good ones on our travels.

We heard that evening that someone from the camp had killed a springbok, which is supposed to be the nicest of all game meat. We tried to procure some steaks for the following evening, but unfortunately the owner of the springbok was not there so we would have to wait until another day to taste Springbok.

The following morning we left this oasis and headed further north for another 80km past Sesfontein and along a graded dirt road towards Opuwo. Our intended destination was a small camp called Ausicht which is owned and run by a German Namibian called Marius Steiner. Why I was particularly interested in this pace was because it is the site of an operating dioptase crystal mine. Dioptase is a secondary copper mineral and is much sought after by museums and private collectors alike. Marius has been working the mine for 26 years. Recently in the USA and Europe rumours of large, long green gemmy crystals from Kaokoland had leaked out, and I wondered whether this mine was the source. The last 5km to the camp was along a small dirt track that wound through attractive dry hilly countryside. When we arrived at the camp we instantly liked the place as it was well laid out and equipped. Marius had even laid out wood by each barbeque for each guest. It was also in a great setting up in a hill looking down a scenic valley. The area is rich in bird life and Marius had laid out a couple of well positioned drinking wells so we saw many beautiful birds. He also had a pet ostrich which lived in his back yard and got on famously with his large dog. Later that afternoon I went with Marius down to the mine and he showed me where it had all begun 26 years ago and explained how his father had used local knowledge to find the place with ‘green rocks on the ground’. He later showed me some of his finest specimens and, although not yet in the world class level, the place has excellent potential to produce top quality crystals. When mining a deposit like this you never know what lies a bit further ahead and that is why prospectors must be dreamers and believers. Hope always dies last for them. Unfortunately it is not the source of the large gemmy crystals I had heard about. That evening we had a brai and enjoyed a silent peaceful night.

The next day we reluctantly left Camp Ausicht and turned Proper Job southwards and headed 200km towards Twyfelfontein where the World Heritage protected San paintings and engravings are located. After a couple of hours we left Kaokoland and entered Damaraland. The landscape became much redder and the scenery very different from Kaokoland. This area is classic Namibia, with strangely shaped hills and the occasional ‘green belts’ marking the presence of underground river systems winding like snakes through the land. We planned to stay at the community run camp called Aba Huab. that had been recommended by other travellers we had met along the way. This camp is known to have elephants roam through it, but alas again we did not see any during our stay. We visited the rock paintings, Burnt Mountain and the Organ Pipes, but in all honestly only the paintings were worth seeing. We had a great camp spot and made a roaring camp fire where I sat late in the evening and enjoyed a glass of South African red wine.....one of life’s small pleasures.

The following day we headed on a 150km loop going through Khorixas and back towards Twyfelfontein through the petrified forest. We found a butcher in Khorixas that, whilst having no Springbok, had some great looking Kudu steaks. These I immediately purchased. The petrified forest was interesting, in particular the fact that these huge trees (not in existence any more) had come all the way from the Congo region of Central Africa. We made our way back to camp and had a nice hot shower. I noticed a man making a documentary and enquired what he was up to. It turned out to be Andrew St Pierre-White who many over-landers will know from his valuable DVD’s on off road driving etc. He is currently making a documentary on the source of the Okavango River, and is heading into Angola to track it down. After another pleasant night around the fire, drinking more red wine, I called it a night as we had a long drive the following day to the infamous Skeleton Coast, the place Wilbur Smith so dramatically based his novel the Burning Shore.

The drive to the Skelton Coast took us through some amazing Damaraland scenery, which gradually died away as we reached the Skeleton Coast National Park area. After obtaining our transit permits at the Springbokwasser Gate we drove into a harsh dry desert like landscape which reflected well the descriptions in the Burning Shore. The wind was strong and the land became saltier as we reached the coast. We turned southwards towards Mile 108 which was our intended overnight destination. The salt road we drove along was very good and as smooth as tarmac. Along the way we stopped to look at s couple of shipwrecks and an abandoned oil rig that lay inland. We then came across a blazing sand storm and drove almost blind through it for a few kilometres, hoping that nothing was coming at speed in the other direction. We say a couple of jackals along the way and I wondered how they managed to eke out a living from this barren place.

Some distance later, as we approached an area where another ship wreck lay, I noticed two people off the track waving desperately. I drove along a track towards them and they said they were from a party of German that had got there two Land Cruisers seriously stuck in a salt pan. Oh well, good job I don’t hold grudges against the Germans from Ondongo. We crammed them in the back and they led us to the place where their vehicles were. Approaching, I enquired about the state of the ground conditions and quickly decided I would not risk taking Proper Job in there. We walked to the spot where they were stuck, which was 300 metres from a firm track. Some of the others were caked in a gooey mud and they had not managed to budge either vehicle. I enquired what recovery gear they had and were told only two shovels. I decided that sand tracks would probably work so we went back to Proper Job and got ours out. We had not used them since we got stuck in the desert in Mauritania. One vehicle was more seriously stuck than the other so we worked on the easy one first. I instructed them where to dig and how to lay the tracks properly and, hearing none of them had much off road driving experience, decided Sam would drive the first vehicle out. The route was directly to the track we had left Proper Job on. First attempt, the first vehicle came free and we were able to get it back to safety. The second was to be more difficult though and after five attempts we had managed to get about 20 metres short of more solid ground. However, the vehicle was now down to its axle in mud and two wheels were spinning. The sand tracks were now not able to recover the vehicle so I decided that the first vehicle needed to be brought back onto the salt pan and we would use our Kinetic Strap (TugUm) to yank the second vehicle out from the mud from a relatively safe point. Sam carefully reversed the first vehicle down the tyre tracks made when driving it out, and we attached our TugUm. I decided to drive the stuck vehicle and Sam would drive the towing vehicle. I gave the TugUm as much slack as I dared without getting the first vehicle stuck. The first vehicle sped off and with a lunge, plus all Germans pushing, the second vehicle lurched out of its mud trap and we drove both vehicles safely to a solid track. The Germans gave a mighty cheer and gratefully brought all the gear back to Proper Job where we carefully cleaned it and packed it away. I must say I was impressed by how much power and pull the Kinetic Strap has. It worked just like Andrew St. Pierre-White’s (who we had met the previous day) videos had shown !! The Germans offered us a bottle of Rum as a thank you, which I graciously declined knowing that we one day may also need someone’s help in a difficult situation.

We drove to the Mile 108 camp and found a bleak beach line with a strong wind blowing parallel to the coastline. Whilst I was signing in, three fishermen from Swakopmund pulled in for some refreshments and their car was full of a desired fish called Cobeljou. They had caught them way north in Tora Bay. I swapped a few fishing tales with them and convinced them to sell me a fish for N$20, which I cleaned in the surf. As the wind was so high I decided to pan fry it with some herbs, salt and pepper. It was delicious and I wished I had bought more of the fishermen. We set up camp behind a block house to protect us from the wind as much as possible. The temperature dropped quickly in the evening and we had to pull out our warmest clothing, last worn in the mountains in Morocco. The sunset was beautiful and the ocean and crashing surf glowed in an array of pinks and oranges.

The following morning, after a hot cup of coffee we drove southwards towards the turnoff that would take us inland towards warmer climes and the Brandberg Mountain. On the way we stopped at the Cape Cross seal colony which had thousands of cape fur seals lining the beaches. The noise and smell were both loud and strong and I could only wonder at how rich the ocean here was to support such a large and healthy population. When we drove inland the temperature went up nicely and we were able to ditch the warm clothes and don the shorts again. As we approached Brandberg we dropped into the former tin mining town of Uis to buy a few things. I found some Eland steaks in the butchers so added this to our game meat store. There is also an internet so I was able to get online and write a few necessary emails. One was confirming my participation on a steelhead fishing trip to the Dean River, northern British Columbia, in June 2011 and the other to a mechanic in the Cape Town area that Paul Marsh (Footloose 4x4) had recommended me to go to for a thorough Proper Job check over. After completing all this, we headed out to the White Lady Lodge camp site which is about 10km from Uis. When we arrived at the reception office, I took a double take as I recognised Katherin and Eckhard, whom we had met at the Green Turtle Lodge, Ghana. We had not seen them since and it was nice to catch up with them and hear some of their adventures. It all seemed so distant from Ghana, where they were seriously considering turning around and heading back to Germany. Now they are looking at going all the way around Africa, but were surprised when I told them there are currently problems with getting visas for Ethiopia. Unfortunately they could not stay at the camp site because of their dog and the fact that there is an apparent danger associated with elephants that can roam through at night. We said farewell, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we bumped into them again.

We checked into the camp and had a relaxing but busy day cleaning Proper Job and doing general chores. We had accumulated a lot of dirt coming through Kaokoland, Damaraland and the Skeleton Coast. That evening I barbequed Kudu steaks and borewors which were washed down with cold Windhoek beers. The Kudu steaks were absolutely divine, and I will certainly keep my eyes open for more. Later that night, there was a lot of commotion when a pair of honey badgers came into camp looking for food scraps. Some local village dogs were worrying them and they soon started growling and snarling. They sounded quite horrific and a bit like a Tasmanian Devil. Once they had passed by us there was an almighty scream from a girl in the next camp site as they sniffed around her ground tent. She was eventually placated by her mates who assured her it was only a dog. The following day the guides at the nearby lodge asked what had happened as they had also heard the scream.

The following morning we left early to go and try and find the desert elephants that are supposed to roam this area. We headed towards a place called Sossi-Sossi, following the green but dry Ugab river course. We saw some huge elephant prints along the way and after some kilometres ended up driving along the sandy river bed itself. The sand became thick in parts and we ground to a halt in one patch. Checking out the conditions I decided to lower the pressure further to 1.5 bar and we were soon out of the predicament and moving down the river bed again. We did not see any elephants and later learned that no one at the lodge (paying N$200 each) had seen any either. Back at camp I noticed that one of our spot lights had snapped off its bracket. I fashioned a bracket with a large washer and clamped the light back into place, which I hope will last until we get to South Africa.

That afternoon we decided to drive the 100km circumference around the Brandberg massif. This meant travelling along small winding rocky and sandy tracks. The north side of the mountain was very hot and sparse and we only saw some ostriches and springbok. The mountain is geologically of great interest and I enjoyed identifying its structures and forms. Along the way we visited a couple of abandoned mines. The drive took us longer than we thought and we rolled back into camp at around 5.30pm.

That evening there were no further commotions from honey badgers and we left, after a quiet night, at around 9am the following morning for Spitzkoppe. On the way we pulled over and did a two hour hike to see the White Lady, a San painting which is around 6000 years old. The painting isn’t actually a lady at all, but the name stuck. The gravel road to Spitzkoppe, like most in Namibia, was a good one and we made it to the community run campsite at around 2pm. Spitzkoppe is a reddish granite inselberg, an impressive igneous intrusive structure protruding from a featureless landscape. The campsites are laid out around attractively around the base of Spitzkoppe. Today the plan was to have a relaxing day so I lazed around as much as I could whilst swatting swarms of annoying flies. I am not sure why this place has so many flies but we had not seen this many since Nekob in Morocco. I even wondered whether it was better to be back on the Skeleton Coast....freezing cold but not a fly in sight. Later in the afternoon, when the sun started descending, the flies disappeared and I was able to get out my computer and catch up with my Namibia blog. Tonight we were trying Eland steaks and I hope they would be as good as the Kudu steaks we had eaten the other night.

I wandered around the base of the mountain as the sun was setting and met a couple of Germans that had been travelling through Africa since 2008. After swapping a few stories I headed back to camp to have a sun-downer and then start cooking. Well the steaks were good, but not as good as the Kudu.

The next day we left around 9am, away from the emerging swarms of flies, and headed towards Swakopmund which lies on the coast. As usual the scenery along the way was swathed in colors which helped pass the time. Arriving in Swakopmund we walked through this attractive German town and checked out where the Crystal Gallery was and also got a good tip on where to buy the best meat in town. We were told that Namaqua Meat Market was the place to go, so off we went. We found our long sought after Springbok steaks as well as huge Oryx steaks, fish wors and Springbok biltong. Loaded up, we headed back to Proper Job filled our fridge and then went to a cafe for a coffee and to hook up to the internet. After checking through emails and searching for info on the Ethiopia visa issue (definitely can’t get them in Nairobi, but some suggest they can be got in Harare) we returned to Proper Job. On the way we bumped into our South African friends Marius and Chanelle, whom we had first met in the Mudumu

Reserve in the Caprivi. We caught up, arranged to meet later for dinner later, and then headed to the Crystal Gallery. There wasn’t really that much to look at and I believe a number of the crystals are from other countries !! We then went to check out the campsite and found it to be expensive but the facilities, individual hot showers etc, were excellent. Later that afternoon we wondered into town for a couple of beers and then went to the Tug to meet Marius and Chanelle We enjoyed a fun meal and called it a night as the following morning we were heading to Sesriem and the giant red Sossusvlei sand dunes. Before we bade farewell Marius told us about a small village along the way called Solitaire that was famous for its apple strudel. Sounded like a must stop

With 300km to cover we left at 9am and drove along a gravel road through the Naukluft mountain range towards Sesriem. Just before Solitaire we once again bumped into Marius and Chanelle and agreed to meet at the famous bakery for apple strudel. When we arrived we found Solitaire to be a quaint village with a lot of character. Being a small village we soon discovered the bakery and chatted amiably with the chef, who looked as if he had eaten loads of his own pies and cakes....ha ha. He was large and a real character. I enquired if he had any apple strudel left as there was none on the counter, and he proclaimed that apple strudel was not the only thing that was good in his cafe. I guess the demand for his apple strudel is putting a lot of pressure on him in terms of keeping up with demand. The strudel was great and we bought a couple of extra ones to take with us to Sesriem. We said yet another farewell to Marius and Chanelle, although we may well hook up with them again if we go to Pretoria for Ethiopian visas.

An hour or so later, as we were passing another car travelling at speed in the opposite direction, two stones hit our window screen. One was quite big and almost punched a hole through the specially hardened laminated window screen, showering me with shards of glass in the process. I was relived it did not cause the whole of the screen to implode and after applying some duck tape we continued towards Sesriem. At around 2.30pm we arrived at the Sesriem Campsite and managed to get a spot in the overflow section.

There were lots of other visitors and tour groups here at Namibia’s number one attraction. I enquired at the reception about entry into the Sossusvlei national park and was advised that we should leave at 3.30pm as it would take an hour to drive the 60km to Big Daddy dune, a couple of hours to climb up and down, and an hour back to get to the gates by the 7.30pm closing time. We relaxed for an hour then drove to the park entrance where we found out that the clocks had gone forward by an hour overnight. We now had a dilemma as we couldn’t stay another day and, if we wanted to climb the big dune, we would have to speed through the valley and rush up and down. I knew from my previous climb in 2007 that it would be energy sapping and exhausting but we had no other choice but to go for it. The speed limit was 60kmph but we averaged 110kmph along the tar road to arrive at the final sandy 5km stretch at 5.20pm where we lowered the tyre pressure to avoid getting stuck. We got through the sand without any problems and I instantly recognised the dune when we neared the end of the track. We found a place to park, grabbed a small back pack, slung in cameras, videos and a couple of beers and headed across a salt pan to the dune. We attacked the slope with vigour and after a tiring 45 minute climb, where we were at times crawling on hand and knees because it was so steep, we made it to the top. The time was now 6.15pm and we washed down a cold beer as the sun was lowering, showering the dunes with gorgeous deep reds and oranges. Getting down was very easy and we literally ran down the side, making it to the base in 5 minutes. When we got back to Proper Job it was starting to get dark so we jumped in and headed back along the sandy track towards the tar road knowing that we would not get to the gate by 7.30pm. I estimated we would be at the gate by 7.45pm and was sure the guard, like other parks we had been to in Namibia, would be tolerant. Within a couple of kilometres a park warden drove by and stopped us. He wasn’t too happy to find us there and, with his kids playing up, told us he would fine us as we would have to break the speed limit to get back and would be late getting out. He asked if anyone was down at the end of the track and I told him we didn’t know but may have seen some lights there...maybe campers (which is illegal). Anyway he drove off and we headed to the tar road and inflated our tyres. It was now quite dark and we sped along the tar road conscious of not hitting any animals.

Driving at night is dangerous as animals get attracted by head lights and can literally jump into your car causing major damage to both. Some 40km into the return journey the same park warden sped by us at about 160kmph, determined to beat us back to the gate. We arrived at the gate at 7.45pm and he was waiting there along with three Italian cars that were also late. He was not a happy bunny and no amount of discussion and pleading by all parties would dissuade him from writing tickets. I wondered how much the fine would be, and when I saw him write N$300 on one of the Italians’ ticket I figured it was not too bad after all. Whilst the Italians were still arguing I jumped at the chance to complete my ticket and, as soon as we could, got out of there and headed back to camp....where we still had to make a fire and cook our Springbok steaks.

At around 10.30pm the steaks were ready and were gorgeous. We washed them down with a cold beer, deciding though that, as good as they were, they were not as good as Kudu. I reflected on a bad day where we now had a window screen that needed replacing and had got a fine. Oh well, things could have been a lot worse.

The following morning we left at 8am for the long drive to Luderitz, which lay 450km away. Again the Namibian scenery did not disappoint and was especially good around the Namib-Rand Reserve area which is about 200km southwards from Sesriem. We stopped along the way and ate one of our remaining apple strudel pies, washed down with a cup of tea. After 325km along good dirt roads, which were a kaleidoscope of colours, we reached the tar road that leads from Aus into Luderitz.

As you drive towards Luderitz you have the restricted diamond area (Sperrgebeit) on your left hand side. The region is very barren and the wind was blowing a carpet of sand across the road. Every now and again we would come across road crews clearing the drifting sand from the tar road. I pondered on the value of diamonds recovered from these ancient raised beaches and guessed many billions would be close. The diamonds had been transported millions of years ago from the interior of South Africa by the Orange River to the coast where they were swept northwards by the long-shore drift currents and then deposited in the beach sands and gravels.

The wind grew stronger and stronger as we reached Luderitz and I had a feeling that camping tonight would not be possible. The only camp site I had found in the Lonely Planet and other books was Shark Island.....which is notorious for its exposed position. I went to the Information Centre and after enquiring with the manager about camping in the area, quickly decided to book into a self catering apartment for a night. I also picked up passes for our visit in the morning to the deserted diamond mining town of Kolmanskop and bought some Kudu biltong.

It was strange sleeping in a room again after so many weeks of camping in designated sites or wild in the bush. The last time we had not slept in Proper Job was in central Cameroon. Anyway, it was only for one night as I do enjoy the camp site scene and,, more often than not, the peace and serenity that goes with it. The apartment also had a TV so I was able to catch up on some world news, and in particular the apparent breakthrough by the Obama administration with the Palestine-Israel peace talks. Let’s hope this time there is some real progress. I noticed that the US dollar was also weaker, which is good for my gold shares......ha ha.

The following morning we did a quick tour around Luderitz which is very German. The coast is very bleak and reminded me somewhat of northern Canada. We got to Kolmanskop and at 9.30am went on a guided tour. The history of how Luderitz began is fascinating and the pioneers who first came here were very resilient and inventive. There was no water and a ship used to bring supplies every month. Mr. Luderitz, the first German to arrive found an Englishman already here producing seal products. Luderitz made a long trek across the tough and hostile desert terrain to Orangemund in present day South Africa. He refused to return along the same tough route, instead opted to go by small boat up the coast. He was never seen again.

The first diamond was discovered in 1908 by Zacharias Lewala, a Namibian, whilst constructing the railway. When Mr. August Stauch realised what it was he went searching for further riches. He lucked upon a place which he named Idatal, after his wife, and here he found so many diamonds he was picking them from the surface like pebbles. The diamond magnates in South Africa and London were at first very sceptical, but when Mr Stauch started giving them away, and more stones were verified, they finally believed that a major new diamond field had been discovered. Prospectors flooded into the area and the currency for goods soon became diamonds themselves. The German government did not like this so they reclassified the area in 1908 as Sperrgebeit, the Forbidden Zone. Prospectors were forced to form companies and sell their diamonds to official diamond dealers. The area is still closed off to the public after more than 100 years and the De Beers group are still extracting lots of high quality diamonds from here. The visit to the diamond mine ghost town of Kolmanskop is well worth a visit.

After a fascinating morning we headed inland again towards the Fish River Canyon, which lies approximately 300km away. The road going southwards from Aus to Rosh Pinah, the site of a large zinc mine run by South African giant Anglo American, is tar and we made it to the Naukluft Campsite by 3pm. For sure this tar road would not exist in this remote area without the mine development. This camp is set in a quiet valley some10km from the tar road. We arrived in good time it was great to have time to relax and chill out rather than rushing around after arriving late in the afternoon, which seems to be the norm for us. I strolled along the crest of the valley side and pondered on how things were at home, and how my ill friend Tony Silvey was doing. That evening we had cold beers with Springbok biltong as sun-downers.....life in Namibia is good. I cooked Oryx steaks for dinner, which means we have now tried three different game meats. The Oryx steaks were delicious and rank just behind Kudu steaks.

The following day was quite overcast with the odd spot of rain. This is the first time we had seen rain since Cameroon. The Namibian that runs the camp site is quite a character, doesn’t speak English, and is fascinated with equipment and gadgets. He found Proper Job very interesting and marvelled at all the attachments and gadgets. We drove back to the main road and continued to Ai-Ais, the hot thermal spring camp in the Fish River Canyon. Driving along the river you could see South Africa on the other side, and it reminded me that our Namibian adventure was nearing an end. We planned to stay at Ai-Ais for our last remaining two nights so we could relax, soak in the hot springs, and catch up on things we needed to do. The establishment is well laid out and has great camping facilities. It is not cheap and at N$300 per night we made sure we got full use from the thermal springs. That evening I cooked Gemsbok, game meat number four. As I was deciding on whether to have mash potato or rice with the meat, a friendly South African couple next to us gave us some tasty freshly cooked bread. This would go perfectly with the Gemsbok and boerewors. The Gemsbok was superb and equalled Kudu....so the ranking so far is Kudu/Gemsbok followed closely by Oryx, then Springbok and finally Eland.

The following day the clouds had disappeared and we lazed around a sunny warm campsite. We made a late decision to first visit the Fish River Canyon which meant a detour of around 100km, but what the heck we are so used to big distances now. We drove to Hobas and then along a part of the canyon. It is a geological wonder and it would have been great to have had the time to do a five day hike. Pictures don’t really do it justice and don’t come close to portraying the scale of this canyon which cuts through millions of years of history. Around midday we headed for the border crossing into South Africa which lay around 100km away. Here we would cross the Orange River and make our way down the west coast towards Cape Town. I had been in touch with Johan from JB Auto and had provisionally booked proper Job in for this coming Thursday. This would give us a few leisurely days to get there.

The border crossing at Noerdooer was as efficient as one could ever hope for and we were through both sets of formalities within 30 minutes.

I am definitely sorry to be leaving this brilliant country with its picturesque and kaleidoscopic landscape.