7th August. Near Grootfontein, Namibia.
The Caprivi strip was a boring drive. For the 2 days we covered 800kms passing many villages but apart from those there was nothing but scrubby trees on straight roads. The good thing going for it we didn’t see one pot hole the whole journey. The road off to the National Park was gravel but wide and a good surface. This. I believe, is what we can expect in Namibia. Today we go to the Etosha NP. The jewel in Namibia’s tourism crown. I expect there to be many other tourists there but we experienced the isolation of Muhanga NP which makes up for it.
Last night we stopped off at the Die Kraal Camping and Steak Restaurant. It was a cool night but the owner had a roaring brazier going. We sat down to a meal of zebra steak, roast potatoes and fresh beans. There is a butchery a short distance from here where we will go back and buy a couple of steaks. As I expected, the native animals are farmed here, yesterday we passed large areas of land fenced with high fencing that had vertical wooden battens every foot or so, I guess that is for the animals to realize there is a fence there. You have to be careful travelling through Botswana and Namibia; there has been an outbreak of foot and mouth disease somewhere and there are regular inspections on the highway where you have to stand in disinfectant and the wheels of the vehicle is sprayed. They also confiscate any red meat you have. We socialised with a group of Austrians last night, 8 in number, they had had meat for a couple of meals for them all confiscated the day before.
Incidentally, what started out as a quick meal on our own turned into quite a celebration as it was one of the group’s birthday, champagne was presented, the red wine flowed and the French cognac afterwards was much appreciated. Things are cheap here compared to AU, I should say food. But then we are getting almost 8 Namib$ to our dollar so a loaf of heavy health bread that would cost $4 in AU is costing $10Namib, the equivalent of $1.20. A 3 course meal at the resort the other night with a generous glass of wine cost $139$N each or $18AU. After Zambia’s prices it is great.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
6th August. Rundu, Namiba
3rd August. Katima Lulilo, Namibia.
I met a Texan today who used to play rugby while he was in the army and after that at university. I was tickled pink. To make it better he was very keen on the All Blacks and subscribed to their news letter on the internet. Well, what could I do on an occasion such as this but to give him the New Zealand scarf I wore to the World Cup last year. Patrick and his 2 children are over here for a vacation and are entranced by the country as we have been.
At the moment we are camped on the edge of the Zambezi River at this place, Katima Lulilo. It is another magnificent river and with such an exotic name how can it be other than entrancing. The sun set in a ball over the water while 2 fishermen cast into the deep water. Hippos are groaning again downstream and swimming is not recommended because of the crocs.
An interesting day today: we left Livingstone mid morning then travelled a short distance to the Botswana border situated on the Zambezi. The idea was to cross into Botswana then spend a couple of days in the Chobe NP . However, when we reached the park entrance we were told the camp site was 30kms into the park on a deep sandy track. 4WD was compulsory with a dif lock on the vehicle. We decided then to just travel on the transit road through the park and go into Namibia the same day. It was only a 50km drive on the transit road and although we kept an eye out for animals, saw nothing for the first 30kms. Suddenly we saw an elephant on the side of the road, the park is famous for its elephants. We stopped and a herd of them followed the leader crossing the road. They just kept coming, we counted well over 50 in that herd. We saw another 2 herds crossing of a smaller number. With that first herd, I pulled up to where they were disappearing into the bush when the last male turned around, rushed at us flapping his massive ears and trumpeting. From other times I know he wouldn’t keep on going, it’s just a bit of bluff, but is still a little scary
5th August. Mahunga Safari Lodge.
You’ve got to take your hat off to these Namibians: this camp sit is part of the lodge but it has everything you could possibly want and all for $14 per night. Once again we are parked on the edge of a great river, this time the Okavanga, but this river doesn’t find an outlet to the sea, instead it exhausts itself in the sands of the Kalahari Desert. The delta formed in the desert is famed as THE place to see wildlife but as the only way to get in is by plane and the lodges start at about $350 p/p per night it is outside our budget. We had to be content with the Mahunga Game Reserve a few kms from the lodge. Famed for its elephants, we saw everything but this morning but on the drive this afternoon we did see a good size herd. Sch an array of animals we came upon this morning: giraffes, zebras, blue wildebeests, hartebeests, various other types of antelopes, hippos mating (not a pretty sight) and Cape buffalo. At one point where we were able to get out of the car, the flood plain lay below us. From that point we were able to see 40-50 various types of birds with one sweep of our binoculars. It was amazing, Ross & Cathy eat your heart out.
Not sure of the details but they must farm the wild animals here in Namibia as we had a delicious eland stroganoff for dinner tonight at the restaurant. I don’t think they would be allowed to shoot them n the wild.
I met a Texan today who used to play rugby while he was in the army and after that at university. I was tickled pink. To make it better he was very keen on the All Blacks and subscribed to their news letter on the internet. Well, what could I do on an occasion such as this but to give him the New Zealand scarf I wore to the World Cup last year. Patrick and his 2 children are over here for a vacation and are entranced by the country as we have been.
At the moment we are camped on the edge of the Zambezi River at this place, Katima Lulilo. It is another magnificent river and with such an exotic name how can it be other than entrancing. The sun set in a ball over the water while 2 fishermen cast into the deep water. Hippos are groaning again downstream and swimming is not recommended because of the crocs.
An interesting day today: we left Livingstone mid morning then travelled a short distance to the Botswana border situated on the Zambezi. The idea was to cross into Botswana then spend a couple of days in the Chobe NP . However, when we reached the park entrance we were told the camp site was 30kms into the park on a deep sandy track. 4WD was compulsory with a dif lock on the vehicle. We decided then to just travel on the transit road through the park and go into Namibia the same day. It was only a 50km drive on the transit road and although we kept an eye out for animals, saw nothing for the first 30kms. Suddenly we saw an elephant on the side of the road, the park is famous for its elephants. We stopped and a herd of them followed the leader crossing the road. They just kept coming, we counted well over 50 in that herd. We saw another 2 herds crossing of a smaller number. With that first herd, I pulled up to where they were disappearing into the bush when the last male turned around, rushed at us flapping his massive ears and trumpeting. From other times I know he wouldn’t keep on going, it’s just a bit of bluff, but is still a little scary
5th August. Mahunga Safari Lodge.
You’ve got to take your hat off to these Namibians: this camp sit is part of the lodge but it has everything you could possibly want and all for $14 per night. Once again we are parked on the edge of a great river, this time the Okavanga, but this river doesn’t find an outlet to the sea, instead it exhausts itself in the sands of the Kalahari Desert. The delta formed in the desert is famed as THE place to see wildlife but as the only way to get in is by plane and the lodges start at about $350 p/p per night it is outside our budget. We had to be content with the Mahunga Game Reserve a few kms from the lodge. Famed for its elephants, we saw everything but this morning but on the drive this afternoon we did see a good size herd. Sch an array of animals we came upon this morning: giraffes, zebras, blue wildebeests, hartebeests, various other types of antelopes, hippos mating (not a pretty sight) and Cape buffalo. At one point where we were able to get out of the car, the flood plain lay below us. From that point we were able to see 40-50 various types of birds with one sweep of our binoculars. It was amazing, Ross & Cathy eat your heart out.
Not sure of the details but they must farm the wild animals here in Namibia as we had a delicious eland stroganoff for dinner tonight at the restaurant. I don’t think they would be allowed to shoot them n the wild.
31st July. Lusaka, Zambia
31st July. Lusaka, Zambia.
This city has been quite surprising. Lilongwe was like a little village that expanded upon itself but Lusaka is full of malls, modern shops and so very clean. Prices are getting close to Australian prices but the incomes must be higher as the people are well dressed and seem to spend a fair bit of money on their appearance. Plenty of cars in the city although once you get away from the metropolis they thin out. Zambia has one of the lowest people per kilometre in Africa and a lot of the country we drove through today was devoid of villages and locals.
We made it to Lusaka, a distance of 550kms, nursing a bulging back tyre and the spare as good as useless. It was a case of 80kph with anticipating a blow out at any time. Quite good driving at that speed; it gives you time to look around if there aren’t pot holes to contend with.
The camp site is 10kms out of Lusaka, a large camping ground with chalets set around the verge. We were surprised to see a herd of zebras wander across the camp ground to settle on a bit of green grass between a couple of chalets oblivious of the people around them. A pity a couple of silly yapping dogs disturbed them and set them away.
We finally drew ahead of Chris & Janet, the English couple we first met up with in central Tanzania. We have met up again 6 times but as they have a lot of time to kill I doubt we will see them again on this trip. They were the couple that drove to the North Cape in Norway before heading south. A lovely couple of similar age and with similar interests. While on Lake Malawi they said they had never had had a meal of fish cooked with the scales on. This is a favourite of mine as I always feel removing the scales is sacrilege as it’s the scales that hold all the juices in. So they (Chris) cooked the first course and dessert (Chris) while we cooked up new spuds, ratatouille and 4 tiger fish bought from the fishing boats after they had come in from fishing off the Mozambique coast. It was a delicious meal washed down with the ‘best’ cask of Sth African red available in Malawi (the only one)..
Still a long way from the end of this trip but we were discussing yesterday on the lovely attitude the local people have. There hasn’t been once when we have felt threatened or ill at ease with the locals. Sure, we haven’t gone out of our way to meet them on their own terms but when we stop on the side of the road for morning tea or lunch, the locals passing by always give us a wave, break out into a broad smile, and if are close to hand, give us the African hand shake and are delighted if we reciprocate. For the uninitiated it’s a case of shaking hands as usual, then clasping each other’s thumbs, then finishing off with another ordinary hand shake where the hands virtually slide off each other’s palms. It ‘s just a little more personal than the ordinary handshake.
1st August. Livingstone, Zambia
A long drive, 470kms, with the last 60kms a mass of magnificent pot holes. A side road has been formed alongside the tarmac that usually is the better route to take.
Livingstone is the base in Zambia for visiting the Victoria Falls. Also the base for the thrill seekers to satiate their lust with bungey jumping, white water rafting, paragliding, jet skiing and everything else that tickles your fancy. We are staying at a camp site not far from the falls and will visit them tomorrow.
The tyres I had fitted in Lusaka were a narrower tyre than what I had on but were the same depth and radius which I believe are the important thing in an all wheel drive vehicle. Pleased to say it seems to be travelling well. From here we cross into northern Botswana visiting the Chobe NP then into the Caprivi strip, part of Namibia that featured so much in the civil war in Angola. It is a thin strip of land, part of Namibia that stretches for some 400kms before coming into Namibia proper. Looking forward to Namibia, so many people have told us how lovely it is but we are starting to think we are running out of time to visit everything we should there. We have met a couple from Brisbane here at this camp site that have hired a 4x4 from Kea SA that has a great arrangement fitted on the back of a Toyota Hilux. Another food for thought.
This trip started off as a twice in a life time trip for us, something to remember in or dotage. But you may have picked up by now that it has become much more than that. It has opened up so many opportunities in what is possible with regards further travel. We have met so many people who have made their self drive travel part of their lives. From Will & Gunilla, a German/Norwegian couple whom we met in Nairobi in their massive MAN truck, they have sold up everything back in Germany to do nothing but travel. They have been on the road for 11 years, he is almost blind and they want to make the most of it before he loses his sight completely. To Anne & Keith the couple from Narromine who have bought a Hilux in Namibia and come over every few months to see more of Africa. Keith is an ex Qantas 747-400 pilot, has had a couple of health scares but again, wants to make the most of it. Henk & Mariannne, a Dutch couple we met at Lake Bunyoni in Uganda, another couple who travel for 3 months then fly home where Marianne works for 3 months then back they go to pick up their Toyota and off they go again. I think we have met more people from the Netherlands than anywhere. Today we had a surprise phone call from Reidar & Ellen, the Norwegian couple we first met in Luxor and ran into them 5 times after that., They had returned to Norway for a few months after leaving their Land cruiser in Cape Town ready for their next visit. Completely out of the blue, it was lovely to here from them, all they wanted to know was where we were and how we were going. So many lovely and interesting people. It’s a way of life alien to so many people, usually they are happy to travel around Australia 4 times. Yet there is so much they can do if they just step out of their comfort zone. As some Greek philosopher said ‘The first step of any journey is always the hardest.’
Enough waffling: today we visited the Victoria Falls. Like The Taj Mahal, Uluru and the pyramids you know all about them, know there will be hordes of tourists, yet when you get there they are just awe inspiring. So much water channelling over so many parts of the 1.2km wide falls it is just breathtaking. Upstream where the water is more subdued we found a picnic table on the edge of the water. There was a sign saying a permit had to be acquired as that area was part of the national park. There were 2 guards there to police the rule. After asking them if it would be okay if we had a quick picnic lunch there the senior bloke thought a while and agreed. I think he wanted a bit of a bribe, but after we had eaten we made up a couple of sandwiches and took it over to them. Broad smiles broke out and we departed with everyone feeling a win/win situation had occurred.
This city has been quite surprising. Lilongwe was like a little village that expanded upon itself but Lusaka is full of malls, modern shops and so very clean. Prices are getting close to Australian prices but the incomes must be higher as the people are well dressed and seem to spend a fair bit of money on their appearance. Plenty of cars in the city although once you get away from the metropolis they thin out. Zambia has one of the lowest people per kilometre in Africa and a lot of the country we drove through today was devoid of villages and locals.
We made it to Lusaka, a distance of 550kms, nursing a bulging back tyre and the spare as good as useless. It was a case of 80kph with anticipating a blow out at any time. Quite good driving at that speed; it gives you time to look around if there aren’t pot holes to contend with.
The camp site is 10kms out of Lusaka, a large camping ground with chalets set around the verge. We were surprised to see a herd of zebras wander across the camp ground to settle on a bit of green grass between a couple of chalets oblivious of the people around them. A pity a couple of silly yapping dogs disturbed them and set them away.
We finally drew ahead of Chris & Janet, the English couple we first met up with in central Tanzania. We have met up again 6 times but as they have a lot of time to kill I doubt we will see them again on this trip. They were the couple that drove to the North Cape in Norway before heading south. A lovely couple of similar age and with similar interests. While on Lake Malawi they said they had never had had a meal of fish cooked with the scales on. This is a favourite of mine as I always feel removing the scales is sacrilege as it’s the scales that hold all the juices in. So they (Chris) cooked the first course and dessert (Chris) while we cooked up new spuds, ratatouille and 4 tiger fish bought from the fishing boats after they had come in from fishing off the Mozambique coast. It was a delicious meal washed down with the ‘best’ cask of Sth African red available in Malawi (the only one)..
Still a long way from the end of this trip but we were discussing yesterday on the lovely attitude the local people have. There hasn’t been once when we have felt threatened or ill at ease with the locals. Sure, we haven’t gone out of our way to meet them on their own terms but when we stop on the side of the road for morning tea or lunch, the locals passing by always give us a wave, break out into a broad smile, and if are close to hand, give us the African hand shake and are delighted if we reciprocate. For the uninitiated it’s a case of shaking hands as usual, then clasping each other’s thumbs, then finishing off with another ordinary hand shake where the hands virtually slide off each other’s palms. It ‘s just a little more personal than the ordinary handshake.
1st August. Livingstone, Zambia
A long drive, 470kms, with the last 60kms a mass of magnificent pot holes. A side road has been formed alongside the tarmac that usually is the better route to take.
Livingstone is the base in Zambia for visiting the Victoria Falls. Also the base for the thrill seekers to satiate their lust with bungey jumping, white water rafting, paragliding, jet skiing and everything else that tickles your fancy. We are staying at a camp site not far from the falls and will visit them tomorrow.
The tyres I had fitted in Lusaka were a narrower tyre than what I had on but were the same depth and radius which I believe are the important thing in an all wheel drive vehicle. Pleased to say it seems to be travelling well. From here we cross into northern Botswana visiting the Chobe NP then into the Caprivi strip, part of Namibia that featured so much in the civil war in Angola. It is a thin strip of land, part of Namibia that stretches for some 400kms before coming into Namibia proper. Looking forward to Namibia, so many people have told us how lovely it is but we are starting to think we are running out of time to visit everything we should there. We have met a couple from Brisbane here at this camp site that have hired a 4x4 from Kea SA that has a great arrangement fitted on the back of a Toyota Hilux. Another food for thought.
This trip started off as a twice in a life time trip for us, something to remember in or dotage. But you may have picked up by now that it has become much more than that. It has opened up so many opportunities in what is possible with regards further travel. We have met so many people who have made their self drive travel part of their lives. From Will & Gunilla, a German/Norwegian couple whom we met in Nairobi in their massive MAN truck, they have sold up everything back in Germany to do nothing but travel. They have been on the road for 11 years, he is almost blind and they want to make the most of it before he loses his sight completely. To Anne & Keith the couple from Narromine who have bought a Hilux in Namibia and come over every few months to see more of Africa. Keith is an ex Qantas 747-400 pilot, has had a couple of health scares but again, wants to make the most of it. Henk & Mariannne, a Dutch couple we met at Lake Bunyoni in Uganda, another couple who travel for 3 months then fly home where Marianne works for 3 months then back they go to pick up their Toyota and off they go again. I think we have met more people from the Netherlands than anywhere. Today we had a surprise phone call from Reidar & Ellen, the Norwegian couple we first met in Luxor and ran into them 5 times after that., They had returned to Norway for a few months after leaving their Land cruiser in Cape Town ready for their next visit. Completely out of the blue, it was lovely to here from them, all they wanted to know was where we were and how we were going. So many lovely and interesting people. It’s a way of life alien to so many people, usually they are happy to travel around Australia 4 times. Yet there is so much they can do if they just step out of their comfort zone. As some Greek philosopher said ‘The first step of any journey is always the hardest.’
Enough waffling: today we visited the Victoria Falls. Like The Taj Mahal, Uluru and the pyramids you know all about them, know there will be hordes of tourists, yet when you get there they are just awe inspiring. So much water channelling over so many parts of the 1.2km wide falls it is just breathtaking. Upstream where the water is more subdued we found a picnic table on the edge of the water. There was a sign saying a permit had to be acquired as that area was part of the national park. There were 2 guards there to police the rule. After asking them if it would be okay if we had a quick picnic lunch there the senior bloke thought a while and agreed. I think he wanted a bit of a bribe, but after we had eaten we made up a couple of sandwiches and took it over to them. Broad smiles broke out and we departed with everyone feeling a win/win situation had occurred.
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