A number of photos from S.A. A number of other photos have been added to entries for November. [View Full Entry]

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We set off back down the mountain, admiring the flowers and birds we saw on the way. At Clanwilliam we turned westwards for the Atlantic coast at Lamberts Bay - a rather nondescript seaside resort - where we turned southwards along the coast to Elands Bay, finding some interesting birds en route. From there we continued the coastal route which was almost free of traffic and we had a fishy lunch at a beach-side cafe in Veldrif. From there it was a mere 85 miles to Capetown down an excellent road. The outline of Table Mountain came into view about half [View Full Entry]

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The wind did drop but the noise of traffic on the N7 disturbed us somewhat. And we had a phone call from friends who said we simply must visit the Seiderberg Mts on our way south. So we rang cousin Graham and said we would be a day late. The Seiderbers lie to the east of the N7 roughly half way between the Namibian border and Capetown so we branched off eastwards at Clanwilliam - a nice little town clearly geared towards the tourist industry. The dirt road wound its way steadily up charming valleys, with occasional small citrus farms, and [View Full Entry]

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On departing our lovely gorge camp site we found that within only a few miles we were into the Orange River valley and the first rural concentration of local people we had seen for many a mile. Clearly there was water close to the surface as natural greenery was to be seen along the valley floor. As we turned to follow the valley we suddenly came upon a vast area of land cultivated with vines, many hundred of acres, warranting the road to be tarred to avoid the dust pollution had they not sealed the surface. This continued for several miles [View Full Entry]

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Our aim today was to get somewhere within easy striking distance of the South African border. The scenery continued to be as beautiful as we have come to expect here in Namibia and, at Seerheim we branched due south along the superb dirt road where, running on the line next to the road, we met the first train we have seen moving in Africa - a short goods train with a dirty old diesel engine at the front. Then we entered the Fish River Canyon Nat Park. It was, by now, a rather bland rocky surface everywhere and I was getting [View Full Entry]

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We had set our alarms to go off at 4.30 am and we had packed up the whole camp except for our tents of course. We planned to be at the park entrance at 5.00 am so as to be at Sossusvlei to see the first rays of the rising sun hit the dunes. We were all awake at 3.00 am and up before any alarm went off! Disaster - Ian’s car had a flat tyre! So we set about changing the wheel with all rapidity in the dark. A filthy dusty job and the last thing we needed today. But [View Full Entry]

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We were off at our usual time driving inland and southwards, firstly towards Windhoek across the bleakest of deserts where simply nothing grew. The road at first was tarred but soon turned to the graveled surface we now expect in this country, and the standard was as high as ever. After some 40 or 50 miles the desert changed to the more familiar sand with the vivid yellow grass covering, the very, very occasional tree growing, and a backdrop of dark, sometimes blue, hills. This scenery, in the crystal clear air and the clear sunlight will be indelibly imprinted in our [View Full Entry]

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We set ourselves a gentle target today. Ian wasn’t feeling too fit. He had left his gout pills in Kenya so had bought some locally and the pharmacist gave him the wrong instructions and he took double the dose he should have. This may well have prevented any recurrence of gout but it didn’t half upset his insides - poor man. So we took it gently and drove the short distance down to Walvis Bay (Whale Bay) where we drove gently around the southern edge of the bay looking at the bird life. Camilla and Ian were really rather disappointed with [View Full Entry]

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Our B & B, the Princess Rupprecht Pension, was very comfortable and everything worked with Germanic efficiency. But we were anxious to get on so we set off early for the Toyota garage. The service manager reacted immediately to our request to have the vehicles checked and allocated to us a young Afrikaner mechanic, Nicky, for as long as we needed. He spent about half an hour on my car going through all the suspension and steering set up and, to my thankful relief, gave it a complete bill of good health, although he could do nothing for me about the [View Full Entry]

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Today’s drive turned out to be the longest we have so far done in one day - over 330 miles with one fuel point en route. This was at Palmwag, a rather smart tourist lodge setup where there was also the fuel pumps and a cold drinks shop to water the tourist minibuses that pass frequently. Full tanks again was a blessing as we turned westwards towards the Atlantic and the Skeleton Coast National Park. We entered the park at about noon , where the road continued westwards with the desert getting more and more bleak with increasing views of mirages [View Full Entry]

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