Nomad No More - 6th - 9th Mar 06

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Leaving Maun we travelled north along the western edge of the Okavango Delta. A few hours later we were at Mohembo border, crossing into Namibia. Another hour or so took us west along the Caprivi Strip to a small town called Rundu sandwiched by Angola and the Okavango River. Except for the initial flutter of excitement at being able to see Angola on the horizon there was nothing else of specific interest here. A nice enough campsite though and a good spot to break the onward journey to Etosha National Park.
Of course, day 30 in the Big Brother Truck included, as normal, the 5.45 am (said as Ryan would say it!) wake up call and all contestants had their tents down by 6 ready for breakfast (nowadays we've gone upmarket and stashed up on bananas and yoghurts to supplement the standard issue cornflake ration).
We have a bit to inform you about the generally uneventful day 30 however, as we passed through a town called Grootfontein.
Grootfontein is Jorn's home town and only 65 km's away from here is his parent's 10,000 ha farm. It was drizzling when we pulled up in town opposite Spar and quite cold for that matter! Jorn immediately spotted his Mum and Dad's 4x4 with them inside and after initial greetings the Poms and Irish set off in search of money and a hotdog! Half an hour later all chores were in the bag and we joined Jorn and his parents in the Spar coffee shop. It was lovely for the Jos to meet Jorn's Ma and Pa again but at the same time quite sad that we don't have an opportunity to really get acquainted.
Although Botswana was generally enjoyed, the mood on the truck has been typically sombre since leaving Vic Falls. Various things are causing people to moan; Mosquito bites and endless early morning rises only to drive seemingly pointlessly all day on a bumpy road to a campsite that is either slightly better or slightly worse than the previous one.
Perhaps one of the excuses for the above downtrodden rant is the result of 2 tediously long days on fruitless game drives through Etosha National Park, and 2 equally tedious nights at each of the dust ridden Jackal infested campsites that provided little else to do but get told off for being too noisy at a clearly desolate game viewing spot!
Ignore the above however, we are told that Etosha is usually a particular highlight and we believe it to be true. The sole reason we weren't overwhelmed with game in the Pan is to do with the unlucky fact that it has been raining more here than Jorn can ever remember, thus all the animals are out on the plains enjoying the freedom of not being jossled to and fro at various watering holes.
So with nothing much to report on event wise from the Etosha trip, let us tell you a little story about Namutoni, the first campsite we stayed at in the National Park. The campsite is based around a whitewashed German fort built in 1899 to supress Owambu uprisings. The Owambu were a Bantu tribe who settled around the Okavango and Kenene Rivers in the north. They are thought to have migrated from East Africa some 500 years earlier. On the 28th Jan 1904 7 Germans unsuccessfully defended the Namutoni Fort against 500 Owambu warriors. 2 years later, the fort was rennovated to service as a police station and then fully restored in 1956 to original specifications and opened as a tourist centre.
With Namutoni under the belt we traversed the Pan to the western Okakeujo rest camp and then on day 32 we headed out of the National Park to a Cheetah sanctuary near Maltahoe.
The truck arrived at the dusty, disheveled camping ground close to midday, the sun already so intense all we wanted to do was to assemble the tents and head to the pool. After a volleyball session and gnarly game of headers with our half inflated ball, we hopped into the back of a 4x4 and made our way to the Cheetah park, the first pitstop being our guides parents house. As the 8 foot wire mesh gates to the property were closed behind us, we became suddenly aware of a fully grown Cheetah striding out towards us, the shift in her shoulder muscles clearly noticeable as she advanced. A few teeth were visible, her jaw gaped and she panted slightly. The tail, an extension of her long slender body, appeared static as if suspended on invisible string.
Our guide had told us "now only touch her 2 at a time, the rest stay 2 metres away and take your sunglasses off" (apparently they think your sunnies are big eyes and might swipe at them) 2 at a time? How about let's get the hell out of here! She was a lot bigger than the Leopard we had been up close and personal with 4 years ago.
Nevertheless, we had our pictures taken with her and it was quite exhilirating. Unlike the Leopard, who felt soft and furry, our Cheetah was more like a doormat to touch and her purr more equivalent to the decibel of your Dad's old lawnmower.
Of course into the grounds with us came our guides dog, your comedy Jack Russell, who typically thinks he is 'the dogs'. He's right - the dogs dinner - or would have been if he had continued to wind the big Cats up any further. We made our way round to the side of the house, along the way being joined by a 2nd and 3rd Cheetah, who skittishly played between us until we came to a halt on the lawn. We sat down here and continued to enjoy the company of the 3 majestic beauties for another half hour or so. Like a domestic Cat would play with your Mini Roll wrapper, the Cheetahs would tease the Jack Russell, chasing him across the garden until he collapsed into a crumbling, quivering heap, and then jump over him and bolt up a tree. Poor thing - he loved it though, the narcissistic nutter! We watched the Cheetahs have dinner before we left - 3 hefty chunks of a neighbours Horse, who had unfortunately broken its leg a few days earlier. The rest of the Horse was in a dustbin in the back of the Bakkie bound for the enclosure housing 22 Cheetahs, rescued from the wilds that surround Namibian farmlands. We say 'rescue' as they would have only been shot for killing Cattle and so on.
Inside the enclosure, which was equivalent to a small park in size, we slowly traced the perimeter until one or two Cheetahs popped out and began stalking the Jeep. Once we had gained their full attention, our guide stopped, got out and walked to the back of the Jeep to grab the Horse meat, stopping a couple of times to fend off the 2 cats with a long bamboo stick! To feed them he would throw the meat high into the air so we could watch them leap for their prey - incredible! We then drove across the park and came across the rest of the Cats hanging out together on a dusty road. As we approached, it was clear they knew that it was dinner time. Looking back there were 7 or 8 Cheetahs in the tyre tracks pursuing the Jeep in 2 files. At the sides they began to hiss and fight amongst themselves. When our vehicle ground to a halt their attention turned to the meat on the back of the truck, which at the time was difficult to believe wasn't us! They were about 15 strong. It would have been one on one had our guide not started dishing out the poor old mule! It was magnificent to watch them battle for their dinner. Typically, one would catch a flying steak and bolt off into the bushes, leaving the remainder circling like Sharks ready for another attempt. Once all had been fed we made our way back to the camp for some dinner and birthday cake in a torrential rainstorm. The campsite was possibly in the top 3 scariest - the rainstorm was pretty severe, all the power had cut out, and Whitters and Becs trying to find the toilets was a bit like a scene from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. There were puddles everywhere, rain hammering down, no doubt plently of wild animals roaming about and the toilets were conveniently located in the undergrowth! When they eventually found them with the help of a headtorch, the keys were stashed behind a metal sign above the loos. Inside was pitch black and Becs got up and flushed at which point a gigantic Spider ran from underneath the rim where she had been sitting - the worst toilet moment so far.
No need to mention the time we set off the next morning, but by 1pm we had reached the Skeleton Coast, seen an old shipwreck, had some lunch, walked along a beautiful beach that stretched as far north and south as the eye could see, and had arrived at the Cape Cross Seal Colony.
Imagine the stench of the faeces of 75,000 seals, baking in 35 degree heat atop of sundrenched rocks! Glad we didn't stop for lunch here! Also quite glad that we weren't ourselves trapped in seals bodies because there could be nothing worse than having to live amongst 75,000 writhing lumps of fat, with no arms and legs, whose sole purpose was to breed, excrete, go fishing, slob around and try to outdo each other in terms of noise to attract a mate or find their young.
Cape Cross also marks the spot where Diego Cao became the first European pioneer to reach the coast of Namibia via the sea. Thus a large stone cross was erected in his memory which also serves as a landmark for navigational purposes for sailors. It was also a good sunbathing spot for Whit and Green until Jorn told them off for tanning on a local monument!
Later on we arrived at a very high rock called Spitzkoppe where we spent the night in a bush camp and watched the sun turn the stone a brilliant red as it set. Spitzkoppe rises to a summit of 1728 metres and was frequented by the San or Bushmen of Namibia, who adorned many of the rockfaces with paintings. The paintings were a form of language and were able to inform nomadic tribes of good sources of water or good hunting grounds.
The morning we were due to reach Swakop was firstly spent scaling a large rock near Spitzkoppe to a little place called Bushman's Paradise to visit some old paintings. The climb was steep but when we reached our destination we discovered a little green oasis with trees and rock pools all smuggled into the top of the mountain!
The morning excursion was followed by an excitable couple of hours in the truck as we anticipated the delights of returning to the party town of Swakop!
Aufweidersehn Pet!

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Photos

Another one!
A Lion in Etosha National Park

We stink!
Smelly seals as far as the eye can see!

At Spitzkoppe
L-R: Irish, Becs, Shane, Sarah, Jo, Dana and Ryan

At the Cheetah Farm
Just like a big cuddly teddy bear!

At the Cheetah Farm
Feeding time in the bush

Spitzkoppe
The sunrise