Namibia - September/October 2017
Our friends Retief and Desiree kindly invited us to join them on a trip to the Zambezi to see amongst other things the carmine bee eaters. They wee unable to spend as much time on holiday as us and as usual we decided to travel around afterwards.
The trip started for us at Sebe Sebe just outside the Stockpoort/Parr's Halt border post into Botswana. Early the following morning we se off to the border and then drove up through Botswana to Chobe River Lodge where we spent the night. As always we enjoyed our stay at Chobe and we stayed in the lodge with the vehicles parked in the lodge parking lot. Early the next day, after breakfast, we set off for the Ngoma Bridge Border into Namibia. Just before the end of the transit road we encountered elephants crossing the road. We waited for them to cross the road. The grumpy official at the exit said he had seen us stop and told us this was a transit road and there was no need to stop for the elephants. (It is thanks to people like him that I will always and without fail (absolutely always) drive a thousand kilometers anytime rather than cross a border in Africa. The fewer borders I cross the better as far as I am concerned. This incident cemented the decision I had made on entering Botswana that I would not go through another border other than one in Namibia after we had entered Namibia.
We took no meat or fresh vegetables with us as we had decided to buy supplies in Katima Mulilo. Here we bought meat including beef fillets and lamb chops. The fillets were nice although the way they were cut was unusual. The chops were more bone than anything else.
We took on fuel and headed for Ngweshi Camp. Retief had the waypoint and we reached the camp successfully. The tracks in the area alter annually as the area becomes flooded. Here we stayed in a lodge from where we took daily boat trips on the Zambezi to enjoy the bird life and scenery. I borrowed an extra extension cable from Retief and was able to run our fridges from their solar/generator supply when it ran. I was happy to have alternative power as we were parked in partial shade and our solar panels would not be at their most efficient in those circumstances. The Carmine Bee Eater colony was amazing and we had never seen anything like it. We also managed to get some wonderful pictures of Fish Eagles.
We (actually I) like to eat before the sun sets. Our friends braai much later usually after we have gone to bed. One night in my dream mode I heard something about evacuate and fire. In the partial darkness I scrambled around trying to find separate holes for my feet as I tried to put pants on and hoped that it was not a shirt tat I was trying to use to become decent. It was a fire coming towards the lodge. We gathered up everything and I made a special note to make sure Retiefs cable was not left behind. (On reflection I would be a hopeless competitor in the TV series Naked and Afraid.) Everything was stuffed into the vehicle and we drove off to a spot where the grass was short. Here we moved about trying to work out what would happen next. Then the wind changed and the fire stopped advancing. Had the wind continued it was almost certain the camp would have been destroyed. Had the fire moved quicker we would have been doomed due to the time wasted ensuring our worldly possessions were saved. On the last day, after a final boat trip, we set off for Livingstones Camp via Katima Mulilo where we refuelled again.
Finding the start of the road to Livingstones Camp was interesting as the map was slightly outdated and when we soon found the road, to my surprise, it was an excellent tar road almost all the way. On arrival we met Ronald (I think) and I noticed a very substantial fly swatter and I asked him what it was for and he pointed at a Tsetse Fly I had not seen. This meant one thing Our Oz Tent Screen House would be erected almost immediately on arrival at the campsite. I manoeuvered the thing out of the vehicle and proceeded to set it up. The sand in the area is black. I somehow managed to turn the thing inside out. It stood in a flat heap with me dancing around trying to untangle it. I failed but managed to dismantle and reassemble the thing whereupon with Sylvia's help it was eventually erected. (Shortly afterwards I found the instructions how to assemble the thing inside the cover.) We were never pestered by insects so there was no urgency to set up the screen tent. At night we heard the hippo chomping but it was extremely dark as there was almost no moonlight so we only thought we might have glimpsed it once.
The next morning we set off for Nkasa Rupara National Park. The name comes from two islands in the area. This is shown as Linyanti Swamp ana Mamili National Park on my map. We were told to beware of mud and river crossings. It is a beautiful area and we were lucky to have lovely animal sightings. We crossed one river once and came back but as we were alone we decided to be very careful and not cross any rivers again. It would have been lovely to have a second vehicle. We found a sausage tree which fortunately we marked on the GPS as it was the only nice tree we found in the south of the park. This enabled us to find it again and enjoy a second lunch under it. On the last day we noticed a fire in the north and I was concerned as the grass was very dense and long in places. We came across the grass burning in an area where we were able to avoid the flames. A man in another vehicle said there was nothing to be concerned about as it was only a grass fire. I am concerned about fires.
From there we set off for Nunda Lodge. On arrival we were allocated campsite number two which was one I had seen before and really hoped to stay in one day. I was very happy about this. There was electric power and we set up the screen tent in very little time now that I had worked out where the top was. The moon was now brighter and the Hippo came to graze quite close by during the night. The swimming pool there is lovely.
We visited the Mahango Game Reserve and it was very pleasant. Here we met a Japanese couple in a tiny Mazda with about three inches of ground clearance. The man was lying under the car and we offered to help. He told us he was fine so we drove on. A while later he drove up to where we had found a cool spot under a tree. He told us he had about six spare tyres and that they slept in the vehicle. He had come across Asia and down Africa in this tiny vehicle. He was a graphics designer and she manufactured jewelry and they worked via the internet as they travelled. It was amazing to contemplate although it would be impossibble for him to reach some of the places we had been to even on this trip.
The next day we visited the Bwabwata National Park where we saw a very large herd of buffaloes. The sand was thicker and deeper than I had remembered. At one point there was an empty police Land Cruiser parked on the road in a position where we could not pass it. The keys were in the ignition and it started so I moved it while Sylvia drove ours past. I parked it back in the shade. We met the police later and they did not notice the vehicle had been moved. They were on anti poaching patrols in the area. We saw a dead hioppo being eaten by Maribou Storks and later we heard that there was a suspected outbreak of Anthrax which had killed about a hundred of the animals in the area. At one stage I could not find a track I wanted to follow and we met a game drive vehicle where the driver offered to allow us tio follow him.. Shortly afterwards we found the track when we had turned around. It was difficult to see as it was all soft sand and until we turned onto it it was practically invisible. It was not marked on our GPS.
Etosha was our next destination and we stopped on the way outside Tsumeb where we had pies for lunch.
The campsites at Namutoni had leafless trees. Fortunately we had our Ostrich Awning which we really enjoyed every day while we were there. We had also not used the awning for a while so packing it away the first time would have been entertaining had anyone been around to watch. The swimming pool was lovely. There were lots of animals at the water holes and it is a wonderful experience to see them in such large numbers. A problem surfaced - my almost new (the elderly are inclined to forget how long they have had things so maybe it was not as new as I imagined) gel deep cycle battery was not holding a charge at all. Thankfully we had power at the campsite and when the vehicle was running everything looked good. Thankfully the fridges remained cold. (On our return I visited Probe and they replaced the battery at no charge. This has made me extremely happy as I did not even have the original paperwork and also I have really liked that battery.)
At Halali the badger came on the second night. I was very happy about this as I did not see it on the first night and thought it might have been chased away.
Okaukuejo has a really good waterhole to see animals. We have seen the waterhiole before and the animal arrivals and departures were wonderful to see. Here we stayed in a bungalow and had breakfast there on the morning we left.
While at Nunda I noticed a child with an Erindi T-shirt and spoke to the parent who told me her sister worked at Erindi Private Game Reserve. She very kindly got us a campsite booking for one night. The campsites are beautifully maintained and the separate bathroom and kitchen area is lovely the fridge was excellent and worked really well. The waterhole carries a large number of animals for its size and I am concerned that the water could become too polluted. (This however is not an area where I have any expertise.) We were unable to get a booking for another night so decided to head south. However there were people in the campsite close to ours who made a noise the whole night - I kid you not - the whole night - all night - relentless chattering accompanied at least once by the sound of breaking glass. On careful and intense reflection we can say absolutely and without doubt this was the worst experience of this type we have ever encountered. The fact the campsites are expensive added to our nhappiness.
We aimed for Bastion Farmyard - Mariental where we had stayed before and happily there was lots of space - all the foreigners were north in their hired vehicles. We were told mosquitoes were to be expected in abundance. Following this disclosure up went the Oz Tent Screen House tied down to two poles and set up on bricks. There is WiFi that was the best on out trip. That night the wind came up. The OzTent had to be folded up before it took off.
We headed for Mata Mata where we would try to get in to the Kalagadi Transfrontier Park. On arrival at the border we walked from Namibia to South Africa. We could get no camping sites but there were two lodges open - Nossob and Bitterpan. We thanked them and accepted both. Nossob campsite of course was not full and at least one site was never used. Here we bought meat which was only two days older than its stated sell by date. After Etosha the roads seemed lovely and the soft sand is so much nicer than the awful calcrete roads that they make to manufacture all weather roads for normal vehicles.
On leaving Bitterpan the main battery showed it was very weak but the vehicle started and we were off. We were unable to get a campsite a Twee Rivieren.
Opposite Spitskop Game Reserve - Upington there is a lovely campsite we have used before. That night the wind came up and it rained. By now the fridges were empty fortunately as the charger was sometimes even failing to turn them on. Now the main battery decided to follow suit and died, expired, stopped working, failed. Here a very kind man who was staying in the lodge gave me a jump start and I drove into Toyota Upington where they directed me to a battery place. They did not even test my poor seven year old battery - they just replaced it. The drive home was uneventful other than the late start. On arrival in Johannesburg I turned on Waze and that wonderful package guided me around all the traffic jams I could see as we trundled on.
We took over five thousand pictures and it has taken ages to sort out which to post and also which to delete. I am still working on this page and it wll take at least a few more days to sort it out.
We travelled about six thousand six hundred kilometers on this trip.
It was a magical trip and we are most fortunate to be able to do the things we do.