Moving from South Africa to Namibia

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Hi and welcome to a bumper edition of my blog, a lot has happened since I last wrote and the delay is because we have been off grid for a while. I want you try and picture the scene of where I started writing this. It is 6am and the full moon is bright in the sky and in about 30 minutes the sun will start to rise. We are camping in an area called Damarland and the site is in the middle of nowhere. I drove about 30k on a gravel road, well gravel is not as you would expect it was compacted mud, sand and stones. The scenery is harsh with huge rocks and boulders punctuated by miles of sandy scrub and hardly any wildlife. We had power last night from sunset at 7 till 9 and nothing this morning till the sun comes up. Fabulous.

Last time I wrote we were just beginning our trio to Swellendam and that seems an eternity ago. We spent one day just wanderings in Swellerdam visiting the old Dutch style buildings and the fascinating museum the Drotsky. The area was settled by the Dutch fleeing from near Cape Town where the English were being too kind to the blacks, it had a bit of a white supremacy feel to it. After our three course meal on the previous night we tries out a dinky, newly opened place calked Republic. The name a hark back to when Swellendam declared itself a republic! They had good craft beer and nice tasty food and cool music and great staff.

For our second day we toyed with the 200k round trip to Cape Agulhas, the southern most point in Africa ( a good winner fir a quiz as most people would say Cape of Good Hope). In the end we opted for a trip to Whitsand about 125k. Good plan , except maps.me took us off the main road onto gravel and through farmland. At one point thinking we were totally lost we arrived at a farm when a guy said, of course you are on the right road and gave us very precise directions to the last stretch of tarmac leading to Whitsand. It was pretty foggy but it started to lift and we walked along the coast for a bit and then went up the Breene estuary and had lunch with fabulous views. When we got back we told our hose Adele and she laughed and said that it was gravel whichever way you go! Another trio to Republic for a snack and a few beers. Breakfast was at a local cafe, the Old Gaul, so we packed up and headed there before our drive to Franschhoek.

We stayed in a pretty old fashioned but clean and comfy guesthouse. We got upgraded , to a pretty big room with a massive bathroom. The purpose of this part of the trip was to sample the Western Cape wines. Franschhoek was pretty touristy but quaint, old French influences, many of the street names, etc. were French. They of course helped establish the wine industry, God bless them. I booked us a three hour tuk tuk trio for the next day, sounded fun and the alternative, the tram ( really a bus) needed you to think about planning a route. We got sorted and went for dinner in a Greek restaurant, just for a change of cuisine.

Next morning we had a good breakfast in the guesthouse, with an American guy who ran a coffee house in Boston. Which explained the specially roasted beans he carried, the hand coffee grinder, filter and papers. Not quite up to his usual standard as he didn't have his scales or bottled water! His partner , who was African, said he was a pain in the butt about it all and she just ignored it all and drank Roobis tea!

The tuk tuk arrived at 10am and our driver Noel said and which route have you chosen? As I had booked on line there was no option. So we said we wanted to try fizz, Chardonnay and Pinotage and off we went. The first vineyard was R55, about £3 ,and we had 6 different wines. It was a nice setting but we could see the clouds rolling in , threatening rain. The staff were friendly and very smart in their uniform. Fizz, pink fizz, two chardonnay and two pinot noir, Chris is not a great fan of white or fizz but he was a brave soldier and tried them, liking one of the white!

It is now 11 o'clock and we have tried 6 wines, although I didn't finish all of them. Stop 2 of 3 was R 75 and we tried five red wines. We also ordered food as otherwise it would have been very messy. Three croquettes and a platter of meat and cheese with some bread was very welcome. I liked this place the best, it was cosy inside with a fire and the staff were friendly and completely unpretentious in just normal clothes and no flourish as they poured the wine. A good selection with two nice Pinotage. Our final stop was at the most expensive tasting and completely pretentious and over the top. Completely lost on Chris and I and the wine was okay. Noel took us back to town and dropped us at the Tuk Tuk brewery where we had a quick ale to finish the day. We avoided the worst of the downpour but got back to the guesthouse for a disco nap. We opted for Italian food in the evening and had a fairly early night.

Chris drove back to Cape Town but this time to a hotel at the airport, and one of the most expensive of our trip. It was great, big room, great shower room, plenty of lights and sockets although as with everything here not quite perfect. The milk in the fridge for the tea was cheese and there was no remote for the TV. That took a telephone call and a trip to reception to sort out. In the evening we ate in the restaurant and the food was good but the guy who was seating people thought I was mad when I said could we have a table away from a TV. One of the features of South Africa is they are football mad and it is on the telly constantly, everywhere. Next morning we had a delicious buffet breakfast, fabulous selection of fresh fruit, yoghurt, seeds, nuts etc. and the usual breakfast fare.

We got the hotel shuttle to Cape Town airport to fly to Namibia for the next leg of the trip. What a joy, happy friendly staff a security system where you just leave everything in your bag and a very clean and airy building. The flight was two hours on a small plane with about 40 passengers and our transit was there when we arrived. We were met by Martin, and ex South African Defence soldier, from the company who were renting us a 4x4. Our hotel was a busy place as Windhoek is the start point of lots of trips. As we were setting off the next day on a camping trip and we had a long drive we went to get our supplies from the supermarket. In a few short hours it felt a very different place to South Africa and we had a delicious meal of BBQ Oryx- a type of antelope.

Martin came for us at 8.30 to start our trip and at 11 we were ready to leave having checked out the 4x4, got all of the instructions, signed the paperwork and seen how to put up and take down the tent on the roof. We drove to the Waterberg plateau, a stunning part of Namibia and camped in an NWR site. The reception staff were grumpy and unhelpful , I think we had disturbed their day , there were only 4 campers! Getting the tent down was easy and it was quite comfy, I was always going to be apprehensive about this part of the trip as I don't really do camping, and was worried about the state of the facilities and the possibility of ridiculously high overnight temperatures. The facilities were old but clean, the campsite was a strip of grotty land and some of the power points didn't work. We drove up to the bar/restaurant and it was so old fashioned and grim we decided to cook. One pot camping cooking on our camping gas stove was fine. The showers were fine but as we were to find out you spend most of the time dusty.

As soon as the sun went down it was cool so sleeping was fine. I had made overnight oats so that breakfast was ready to go and just as we were getting sorted a pack of baboons arrived and one headed straight for our car , where all of the doors were open. I managed to scare him off and quickly closed the doors. Getting the tent back up proved less easy but we managed although it was hare work. Neither of us is tall and that didn't help!

We set off to start our trip to Etosha wildlife park, beginning at the eastern end Namatoni. Another NWR site but slightly more friendly. This time we were allocated a pitch and it was much more pleasant, near enough to the shower block. Each pitch had a Braai pit, so we bought some wood and he did the man thing with fire. Our South African neighbours offered varying bits of advice and it was a moderate success, needed more wood and a lower grill, but ours wouldn't go lower! The food was nice but it is not a speedy process. We could hear hyenas and jackals as we went to sleep and before bed a civet came and walked past Chris as he sat watching the fire. In the morning there was a pack of mongoose. There were two big groups on the site and one of them decided to do the washing up at 11.30, with the radio on, this was to become a feature of each place we stayed. I couldn't be bothered to clamber down the ladder to tell them to shut up!

We then set off on our own game drive through the park, our next campsite was at western end. We meander for a big chunk of the day, sometimes on the main gravel road other times on worse roads down to waterholes. You see wildlife by the road but as Etosha is a salt pan the animals are constantly looking for water, so waterholes become prime viewing spots, or not as there is no timetable in nature. As we drove from Namatoni there were hundreds of Zebra , mainly walking single file, with some young as well. The park is full of Springbok but the first time you see them spring is amazing. The elephants are adapted to the terrain so are taller and with shorter tusks, there is not a lot of trees but they survive. Oryx are also plentiful and very handsome animals, and tasty too. We encountered giraffes but about 10am we were lucky to see a lioness at one of the waterholes. We stopped for a very mediocre lunch at Halali about halfway on the road. It was getting seriously hot and we were thankful for the AC in the 4x4. I drove after lunch and the roads were pretty dodgy in parts but the big tyres did help. About 20 minutes before our night stop we came across two elephants at a waterhole, amazing creatures. I also managed to get a shot of a giraffe drinking, they have to gradually splay their legs to reach down to the water.

We arrived at Oka and were again allocated a pitch, we were tired after a long day of driving and it was double scorchio . The pitch was awful, hardly any shade, next to a massive weaver birds nest a broken braai pit and miles away fro the nearest shower block. I was not happy and wanted to change and Chris just wanted to get set up. In the end sense prevailed and we drove round to reception only to find a huge queue and only one person working at Namibian pace. The queue was a group and their leader let me jump the queue, she reluctantly said “try pitch 7”. A big improvement so we pitched up and got sorted ready for Braai round two with game wurst and Oryx to be cooked. Only down side we were opposite another big group, this time gAdventures.

We got sorted and showered and Chris sorted out the Braai, this time with loads more wood and a grill that moved up and down. It is not a speedy process and the locals just drink beer till it is ready. It took a while for it to be hot enough but the Oryx and game sausages were delicious. We then went to the waterhole on the site and saw our first black rhino. They stood still for about 15 minutes, like a game of statues.

After many days of travelling we planned to stay on the campsite and at 6am the whole site was awake when the gAdventures bus and the vary noisy, mainly American kids, woke up. We visited the waterhole, seeing one of the few elephants that live in the park. We booked a night drive and chilled by the pool. The temperatures were crazy and we kept having to move the table and chairs round the 4x4 to get maximum shade. Our night drive was 3 hours from 8pm and we were lucky to spot 4 more black rhinos, a lion family with playful cubs, a spotted eagle owl and bat-eared foxes.

Next morning we discussed the next stage of the journey as the last 2 days were in another park and we would be putting the tent away at 4am in the dark and then driving 65k to see the sunrise at a huge sand dune. We had our last trip to the waterhole and I left my camera sitting on a bench but didn't realise until three hours later. We decided against the trip to Sossievel and set off for the last night of camping a good five hour drive away to Madisa. It was mainly tarmac except for the last 50k. The scenery was stunning mountainous and rich red colours. Our pitch was huge with some shade and outdoor sink and cooking area and outdoor, walled shower and toilet. It was 35° plus so we drove up to the pool. We relaxed having a few beers and chatted to a Dutch couple who had been in Etosha. We drove back to the pitch, put up the tent and ate our last one pot meal and marvelled at the huge skies and amazing stars.

Next morning we got the tent away while it was still cool and after five mornings finally got the system sorted, no cross words! Our next destination was always in the plan , two nights in Swapokmund in a guest house called Alternative space. Ahead of us was a long, long drive on first gravel and then hard sand. We started in savannah and then into the Namib desert emerging at the Atlantic ocean. A coffee stop in Uis and the first Wi-Fi for 5 days was are only real break, apart from buying some jewellery from a roadside stall. We also gave the local people our leftover food although they were more desperate for water so gave them 5 litres from our tank. You forget how many people in the world can't just turn on a tap. Driving on a sand coloured completely straight road with sand either side of you and no cars in front or behind and no animals or people was a pretty surreal and awesome experience.

Alternative space was a fabulous place run by Frenus and Cybille, full of art by Susan Mitchison, mainly nudes. There were five German friends staying and one of them Ellen was a traveller like us and we clicked immediately. In the evening we went into town for food at Kuki's bar and bumped into the mother of one of Imogen's infant school friends. How spooky is that.

I will leave it there and update the rest later.

Norma x

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