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THE "HOW TO SURVIVE NAMIBIA" TOUR 1997 - Day 12 - Enda personal insight ....
Article by Jan Maritz
Photos by Lynette Oxley |
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Day 12 - Eric, Terry and Murray left at 4.30 a.m. to go back to the trailer to put the axle back and promised to be back by 1000 - and they were. Paul went off to have his chassis welded and we finally got away from Opuwe at 1300. Tonight we are staying at the Guest Farm Rustig and the road is purported to be fairly good. We hope to get there by early evening - but who knows!
I am not feeling too well, migraine threatening. Must be all the tension and hot weather. The road was long and hot and we are riding beside the Etosha Game Park fence, though we saw little game. When we reached Hobatere Lodge, we were not far from Kamanjab, and Rustig is not too far from there. It proved to be 19 km off the main road!! We came across a herd of giraffes standing on the roadside. They evidently step over the fences meant to keep them in and in the process damage them considerably. When they saw us coming, they stepped back again. Must be quite a road hazard at night if you are not on the alert.
Not far now, found a sign to Rustig, turned off and drove through the farm gate. Another few kilometers on we see the farm house up on the ridge. Beautiful situation, wonderful view. They keep giraffes, zebra, springbok and a few other game animals together with their main concern cattle and boer goats.
We are welcomed by Jurgen and Heidi, long, cool lagers are presented to the exhausted travellers and we sit on the patio and gaze out at the marvellous vista. What a relief, I am definitely feeling worse. After a shower and a change of clothes, we are invited to dinner. Unfortunately, after a bowl of kudu soup, I had to leave the table in a hurry and that was the end of my evening's entertainment. I spent the rest of the night nursing my head and missed out on a great supper. The next morning I felt better and after breakfast and a lengthy chat with our hosts, we left the farm on our way to Etosha Game Park.
Day 13 -Our first stop in Etosha is Okaukuejo. We got there via Kamanjab and Outjo and it took 4 hours. Gee, the miles are long in this country. Our chalet was comfortable, if austere, and there was a welcome swimming pool for the weary, tired explorers. The floodlit waterhole was a wonderful experience as herd after herd of elephant came to the water to drink during the night, along with hyena, zebra, springbok and a lone rhino. I went to bed too early and missed the lions.
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Picture on the left: An elephant at Okaukuejo waterhole |
Day 14 and it's on the road again. Next stop Halali. Paul and Lynette left us to follow their own itinerary for a day or two and we plodded on. Halali is not too far and on the way we saw lots of game. Etosha Pan is still very dry so water is scarce and the animals are concentrated near the small waterholes. Camp Halali is smaller, the chalets more modern and airconditioned, which was great. The floodlit waterhole was not as good but we saw quite a few animals that night including a rhino and her calf.
Day 15 - Namutoni is the next port of call, the final rest in Etosha. This used to be a German fort during the first world war and they have turned the fort into accommodation for visitors. The fort also boasts a museum of its history and they have built the restaurant and office buildings to match it. Mada, Roy, Eric and I shared a chalet right near the floodlit waterhole and Terry, Gail and Murray slept in a room in the fort. We braaied that night and fed the bones to two blackbacked jackal who came to forage.
Picture on the right: A Damara Dik-dik photgraphed close to Namutoni
The highlight of the evening was an enormous elephant who came to drink and spent quite a few hours crashing around in the reeds by the waterhole, only two metres from the electric fence. We were so close but he didn't taken an atom of notice of us. Gail spent a lot of time trying to get a picture of his eye!
The Range Rover now has a leaking petrol tank to add to the tale of woe. Sunlight soap has been commissioned to try and block up the leaks - not sure how effective this will be, but in an emergency, we must try anything.
Our original intention on leaving Namutoni was to reach Popo Falls on the Kavango River but, after looking at the distance to travel in one day, and a chat with Jurgen of Rustig we opted for a nights stay at Kaisosi Lodge outside Rundu in the Caprivi Strip on the Kavango River. Jurgen's sister owns the lodge and he made a booking for us. We reached Rundu via Tsumeb and Grootfontein and the road was fairly reasonable, mostly tar. Just inside the town of Rundu, surprise, surprise, we met up with Paul and Lynette again, who had changed their plans as well and we all spent the night at Kaisosi Lodge in very larny accommodation. The evening meal was excellent and the surroundings extremely conducive to staying longer. However, we still have many miles to travel and a further change of plan has been mooted. At Namutoni it was decided that no one should miss a visit to the Khaudum Game Reserve. This is an extremely wild resort to which only 4x4s have access. We sent off a fax at Namutoni and booked accommodation at Khaudum camp and Sikeretti for the next two nights.
Picture on the left: The swimming pool at Kaisosi overlooking the Kavango river.
Day 17 and we are making for Shamvuka and the entrance to Khaudum. It is the heat of the day, boiling hot, we are boiling so is the Range Rover. Paul and Lynette have departed once again and went off to Popo Falls. We reach the entrance and the road ahead is sand, thick, talcum powder-like sand. The road is also narrow, not easy to turn round. It is also very difficult to push a stalled vehicle.
We toil on for 5km, the going gets worse and worse, the Range Rover is boiling, we are hotter and hotter. Eric made a major decision and one for which I am eternally thankful. Let's turn round Terry and go back, we are never going to do the next 55km to the camp in these conditions. Easier said than done. The engine stalled. The only way to get it going again is to let it cool down for about an hour. Terry unhitched the trailer and managed to turn his vehicle round. Then we had to manhandle the trailer to face the other way and hitch it back on again. Eventually the Range Rover was cool enough to get started again and was turned round. Off we go, back to the main road and sanity. Oh dear, plaintive call from Terry - I'm stuck! Can't turn vehicle round again to go back so we must go back on foot. Eric and Roy trudged over a kilometer back to the stricken rover and trailer. Mada got half way and turned back exhausted, I did not even try. The sand was so hot you couldn't walk on it and flip flops are not the ideal footwear for conditions like these.
An hour or so later Terry and Co are in sight. Mada and I breathe a sigh of relief, we are dehydrated, exhausted and just about ready to bow out of this particular trip. As Terry got abreast of the Range Rover he didn't want to stop to let Roy and Eric get off as he was afraid to lose momentum. So as they saw the Range Rover getting further away, they decided to leap for freedom, only to land face down in the sand. It isn't easy to run in soft sand!! We are nearly back to the tar road, fainting from heat and I, personally, ready to kill! I am fast becoming a bit sick of this trip and definitely wonder if I need to be certified on my return to civilization.
The tar road - that was an exercise in futility wasn't it? Khaudum can keep whatever it has to offer and I will be demanding my deposit back on return to the land of the living.
So where to next? It looks like we shall be seeing Paul and Lynette sooner than we thought - off to Popo Falls!
Late afternoon Popo Falls and Paul and Lynette are there to welcome us. "What happened", they said, "why aren't you at Khaudum." We proceeded to tell them. We had to camp at Popo, no friendly natives had put up huts for us and it was pretty basic, but the ablution facilities were quite splendid and there was a communal kitchen with all mod cons.
Picture on the right: Popa Falls!
After our harrowing experience trying to get to Khaudum, Popo Falls looked like the place to stay for a while, it had a river and although very hot, there were some shady trees and grass to sit on. So we caught up with our washing, rested in the shade, topped up our bodies with food and water and generally wondered what can happen next.
Another bar of Sunlight soap was called into service to patch up the leaking petrol tank on the Range Rover plus some epoxy was commandeered from a friendly fellow camper to seal up the welsh plug in the engine block in an effort to stem the overheating problem. Never a dull moment
Picture on the left: Applying Sunlight soap liberally...
Day 19 - I have a feeling it is Wednesday 24th September, but I can't be sure!
Paul and Lynette are off to the Okavango Delta today and then on to Zimbawe. We are going to Katima Mulilo through the Caprivi Strip. We limp along, stopping frequently to cool off engines and take on water into our thirsty bodies. We finally reach Katima and have been recommended to the Zambezi River Lodge. They have rooms and a swimming pool. Sundowners were taken at a floating bar on the Zambezi where we watched the sun set. Dinner was pleasant and tasty, sleep was even better. What will tomorrow hold, can anything else go wrong with the vehicle, will we get home in one piece. I will worry about that tomorrow.
Thursday 25th - Day 20 - I am beginning to be afraid to ask how many miles are we travelling today. We have to be at Nata Lodge before 6 p.m. this evening and we have to negotiate the border from Namibia to Botswana. It looks a long way on the map, but maps lie, it can't be that far!!
The border post at Ngoma was a breeze except the we had to push the rover from Namibia to Botswana! The road to Nata is via the Kasane Forest Reserve and we saw elephant but not much else. We made Nata late afternoon and were given 2 x 4-bedded tents to sleep in. The mosquito netting's zip was broken on ours, so Roy spent quite a while trying to mend this. I was so tired, a mosquito could have carried me off and I would never have noticed.
The birdlife at Nata is phenomenal, probably because they make a point of putting down food for the large variety of birds that inhabit the bush there. We found out the next morning about the birds and how noisy they are too. One little darling woke us up at about 4 a.m. shrieking at the top of his voice just above the tent. Eric was not amused when he banged on the tent to try and scare it away and hit his hand on the end of his bed instead.
After a leisurely breakfast, Francistown is our next port of call. We now have a tyre problem, it keeps going down!! Still a friend lives in Francistown and he just happens to have a tyre shop. How convenient. We are not going to make it home tonight, I am beginning to forget what home feels like.
Tyre fixed in Francistown - another border to get through. Martin's Drift here we come and on the home straight. Ellisras is looking more and more attractive for an overnight stop and there is a very fancy lodge there called Machauko. Rover needed a push from Botswana into South Africa and we enlisted the help of a friendly SAP, who thought it was hugely funny. He hasn't been through what we have.
Machauko Lodge lived up to expectations, airconditioned, peaceful, nice food and apart from a very noisy neighbour in the next bungalow who snored loudly all night, it was great. I can feel home, it is getting nearer and nearer, I can't wait to see it again and the family left behind. 1 p.m. Saturday, 27th September we are pulling in to the driveway, dogs are leaping up at me, daughter running to greet us, son not in evidence, he's at golf, mother looking relieved to see us in one piece and oh how wonderful it is to be home - never again to wander - until the next time, of course.
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