Vlooisdriff to Trawal, South Africa This was an easy travel day, around 300 km on paved road, making our way down from the high desert plateau into wine country. We arrived at Highlander's and pitched our tents on a grassy terrace overlooking hills of grapes, all hung with fruit just formed. Whip Man and his truck White Nile was already there. We knew he would be, since we were scheduled to have a wine tasting with his group later that afternoon. They are now a small group, and we noticed some tension between two people, who were fighting, which is not an uncommon sight for an overland group, we are told.   This is spring in South Africa. We went for a walk down the road for a few kilometers, just enjoying the scenery, with grapes ... read more

Sesriem to Fish River Canyon There is another overland group paralleling our trip from Acacia Overland. Their vehicle, White Nile, passed us when we were broken down on the way to Solitaire. We found out later that he wondered at the time why we were having lunch at the side of the road at 3:00 pm. But he continued driving anyway.  Their driver has a long whip, which he cracks at every opportunity when in camp, much to the annoyance of all. We first encountered him at Lake Malawi, and we've seen him off and on ever since. We call him 'whip man'. This was a very long day over some very rough roads, rivaling the road into South Luangwa, only much longer - 600 km. Toilet stops along the road - ladies behind the truck, ... read more

Swakopmund to Solitaire,  This was a day of surprises. We set off early enough, towards our destination of Sesriem, but arrival was just not to be. As we drove away from Swakop and out of the fog, the flat barren land turned into hills of layered rock. First stop in the hills was to photograph a few quiver trees, which have a star shaped leaf. Kayla took advantage of the deep blue sky to indulge in quite a few photos. Next was a stop at a high pass, where we walked a little higher to a nice viewpoint. Richard was in rock-hound heaven. Then we reached the Tropic of Capricorn, and the day all went downhill from there. We got out for the obligatory photos with the sign, only to hear a loud pop as one ... read more

Spitzkoppe to Swakopmund, Namibia Today our route was down to the South Atlantic coast from Spitzkoppe at an elevation of 1000 metres mostly on gravel. As we gradually made our way to the coast, the land got more and more barren, from scattered bush and grassland, to completely barren sand. The coast road (north - south) looked paved but is actually gravel mixed with locally mined rock salt to reduce dust and harden the surface - aptly named 'salt road'. There were no markings, just a hard surface. From Henties Bay, we diverted a bit north to visit Cape Cross, where Portuguese explorers came ashore in 1486. They must have wanted meat because there is no water or vegetation, just sand and thousands of seals basking on the rocks and making lots of noise and smell. ... read more

Etosha Park to Cheetah Farm, Namibia This was a day on gravel roads where all the land was either fenced for cattle or fenced for private hunting lodges. No small villages, nobody walking beside the road, no mud homes with thatched roofs, no small children running out to wave. Since we passed through the red line on our way to etosha park the land is all owned by whites with financial resources to operate big land holdings. One such farmer has made an arrangement with Himba people from north west Namibia to live at his farm near Kamanjab, enabling tourists to get a glimpse at their life style. These folk have a unique culture where they reject modern life style and live in a very primitive manner. The women in particular cover their skin with Ochre ... read more