The debate has raged on a visit to Namibia for the last 2 –
3 years, two years ago we even traded our Nissan Micra in on a Daihatsu Terios
4x4 vehicle, capable of doing an off-road trip to Namibia (and rugged enough
that Gaynor won’t kill it too quickly when we pass it on to her). Then we decided
that we probably wouldn’t have time to fit a road trip in before we sailed away
from South Africa so the plan was to sail from Cape Town to Luderitz and then
Walvis Bay before heading across the Atlantic toward St Helena. Thankfully,
plans can and do change and so ours did…
On 8 September we packed the 12V fridge, the picnic bag and
our clothes into our trusty little Terrios and off we sped. Kevin had spent
some time chatting to friends who had been to Namibia and had loosely planned a
route that would take us, via Upington, through the Kalagadi Game Park, into
Namibia. It was “out of season” so we didn’t book any accommodation ahead, we
booked each day through “Booking.com”.
Loosely our route was Saldanha, Port Owen, Elandsbaai, Clan
William where we made our first discovery, this is the home of Rooibos tea. A
really old town sporting a number of tea/coffee shops on its main street and a
Rooibos factory on the outskirts of town that sadly was not open on a Saturday
and little else, thankfully Nancy’s Tea Room made a damn decent cheese cake and
cup of tea. A most beautiful sight, considering our drought crisis 5 months
ago, was the Clan William dam, so full that two of its sluice gates were open
and water was gushing down the river.
We crossed the Northern Cape border, stopping in Springbok
for fuel, only saw two Springbok! Next stop Pofadder, this was a rather long
way around to Upington but I was really curious to see Pofadder, oh boy, what a
let down, we couldn’t even find a decent looking pub to have the quick beer we
had promised ourselves, so next was Upington to a wonderful B&B next to the
Orange River. Last time we were here was in 2005 when we did the Iron Butt Run
– 1600km’s within 24 hours on our motorbikes, Kevin on his BMW Dakar and me on
my BMW650GS. I think my appreciation for the town was decidedly greater this
trip, but there still isn’t really a lot there.
An early rise as we still had 2 hours to drive to the
Tweerivieren Border Post and entry into the Kalagadi Park and we needed to be
out through the Mata Mata gate in Namibia before it’s 16:00 close as we had
booked accommodation at the Kalahari Game Lodge that night. Imagine our
surprise when we got to the gate to find that one is not allowed to drive
through the park and exit into another country (Namibia or Botswana, the Park
borders both countries) without spending two nights in the park at one of their
Lodges. After much begging and coercing we then asked for accommodation in the
park for 2 nights, only to be told “no we are full”. So there was nothing we
could do but backtrack and skirt 2.5 hours round the bottom of the Reserve to
the Rietfontein border post. Two things we learned from this experience
 |
| Rietfontein Border Post |
1 – Do your homework thoroughly regarding rules and
regulations, especially when crossing borders
2 – Never take SANParks word for it, call central
reservations, a friend of ours did on hearing of our plight and was informed
that of course they had accommodation. Anyway by then we were off down the
road.
The process on the Namibian side of the Rietfontein Border
held us up for an hour. It is mandatory when entering Namibia (and Mozambique,
not sure if it applies to other African countries) by car, to purchase Third
Party Insurance. You receive a receipt which must be produced on demand or a
hefty spot fine will be dealt out. When we arrived there were 4 cars, with
offroad trailers and caravans, packed and ready for a great trip through the
Kalahari, only their owners were in hot water. The official in charge of
recording details and printing the necessary receipt was reading out one
outstanding speeding fine after the other (from their previous trips through
Namibia) for these cars, one even dating back to 2013, much to the incredulity
of the driver. After much arguing and pleading most of the fines were reduced,
all paid for, in cash, and the receipts were handed out. All the fine monies
just paid were then also handed back, the official had played a prank on them,
to their tremendous relief.
After getting our receipt and compelling advice that Tafel
lager is the best beer in Namibia and must be sampled, we were off on a fairly
decent dirt road. We were navigating by GPS, which surprisingly had Namibian
maps on board and Google Maps which we had downloaded off line onto our tablet.
We had still not passed anything that resembled a shop much less somewhere that
we could purchase a local sim card so our phones were pretty much useless to
us, this was the situation until we reached Windhoek 3 days later, relying on
the wi fi at the various places we stayed. This very clever GPS pointed out a
“D” road that appeared to be a short cut and the condition of the road looked
just like the one we were on so we decided to take it.
 |
| Gate # ??? |
Well that road
deteriorated progressively until we were on single track soft sand roads,
closed off with big farm gates that required opening and closing, being watched
curiously by cows, sheep, meerkats and even a human – the only one we saw the
entire drive and boy did he look surprised to see us as we whizzed past,
smiling and waving.
Well it might have been a short cut but it took a couple of
hours longer, 4 hours to do 320kms – lesson learned –
1 - Don’t believe the GPS when it tells you of short cuts
2 - “D” roads in Namibia should be carefully considered
Had we known what we were in for we probably wouldn’t have
attempted the “alternate” route, but then we wouldn’t have had anywhere near as
much fun.
We arrived at Kalahari Game Lodge in the late afternoon,
dusty, tired and ready for a beer to wash that dust out of our parched throats,
only to discover a flat rear tyre. Turns out this is a common occurrence in Namibia,
every lodge has puncture repair equipment and capabilities – lesson learned –
when driving in Namibia take a puncture repair kit and have a good compressor
to re-inflate your tyres. We did not deflate our tyres too much, we didn’t want
to risk too much damage to flat tyres from rocks, this meant, however, a
compromise on speed, so while we only had one puncture throughout our entire
trip (we met one couple who had 2 punctures from nails and 2 big cuts from
rocks, requiring replacement), it was slow….
Kalahari Game Lodge is a really well put together Lodge. They
have turned over 40 000 ha of property into a reserve and conservation area for
free roaming Kalahari lions as well as buck and other wildlife that used to
naturally occur in the area. Dinner was a set 3 course menu or nothing and
seeing that we couldn’t exactly pop down the road for takeaways, it was a good
meal. The dessert was an outstanding orange marmalade pudding, the recipe for
which I was lucky enough to get from the chef and their wine list was varied
and good considering their location.
Next morning bright and early we had breakfast and checked
out, they were full for the night so we were moving down the road to Torgos. After
a brief stop to check in we headed into the Kalagadi, crossing the border back
into South Africa to find that it was National Parks week so free access into
any South African National Park, bargain.
We were lucky enough to spot a
leopard, lioness,
the biggest Social Weaver Bird nests, loads of Springbok,
Oryx and Wildebeest, a large number of black backed Jackal, many birds of prey
including Vultures, Eagles, even an Owl but the most entertainment came from
the little
 |
| Picnic lunch |
Ground Squirrels or Meerkat’s. These cheery little chaps are so
animated and cheeky they had us in stitches.
 |
| Wood delivery |
 |
| The donkey going strong |
Our chalet for the night was about 100 meters from a
waterhole and it was great to braai and watch the buck (it is a working farm so
they don’t have any predators other than the opportunistic Jackal or two from
the Park) coming down in their different breeds, almost like allotted time
slots. The accommodation was tastefully rustic, right down to a donkey to heat
the water, stoked and working well by one of the employees when we checked in,
the owners advice was to shower that night as there would be no one to light
the fire early in the morning again. Never deterred, Kevin was up at dawn with
bits of paper, flapping and fanning and nursing the embers til he had a roaring
fire going again and voila, hot water to shower with.
Next stop – Windhoek – more dirt roads until the B1 at
Hardap. We crossed the Tropic of Capricorn on the way and were pleasantly
surprised to find that petrol is almost R3.00 per litre cheaper than in South
Africa. We found a shopping centre and finally managed to buy a local SIM and
some data and were back in communication again, at least when we could find
signal.
By now everything was covered in a thick layer of dust, including our
tonsils – requiring lubrication every afternoon after a long days driving.
Joe’s Beer House was the perfect place for beer and dinner.
Windhoek is not much different to any other town so we were
excited to get back on the road the next day, heading for Walvis Bay and
eventually Swakopmund where we would be staying the night. We made a pit stop
at Wilhelmstal Padstal, they advertised coffee and boy was it good and strong.
Owned and run by a German family, they do their own smoking and curing of meats
and when the tray of dry wors came past we couldn’t resist, it was some of the
very best we have ever tasted.
Dune 7 in Walvis was on our radar, it is the highest Dune in
Namibia and we were going to climb it, though this was proving to be a bit of a
dilemma to those of us who don’t like sand. On arrival we found a company there
that offers, amongst many fun sounding activities involving sand and boards (wish
we had more time), guided quad bike tours, the perfect solution. What fun, an
hour of riding over the back of Dune 7 with its expanses of colour changing
sand, just the two of us with a guide who really knew his stuff. He spotted, I
have no idea how, and caught, a little gecko, told us about the difference in
the white dunes where we stood and the red dunes in Soussusvlei, that the iron
ore in the red dunes is rusting, hence their red colour,
how the dunes were
formed, the sparkling mud in the dry riverbed that is used by some tribes as face
powder and he even used a magnet to extract the iron filings from the sand,
which he then used to write in the sand. A really noteworthy experience.
With big grins on our faces we drove to the Walvis Bay Yacht
Club, a neat and friendly place with good cold beer to wash the dust out of the
throat and a lovely view of the bay, over which the wind grew steadily stronger
while we watched, apparently it is not an easy tender boat ride in the
afternoons.
 |
| The Pier |
 |
| Beach front apartment |
 |
| Sunset at the Pier |
We made it to our beach front apartment in Swakopmund, got
the laundry done and made it to the pier in time for sunset photos, well worth
the hype. Dinner was a yummy affair at the Butcher & Brewery, right on the
waters edge, where they brew their own craft beer.
 |
| Leaving Walvis |
Next morning, after
purchasing a tyre repair kit and mini compressor to inflate the tyres, we felt
a bit better about tackling yet more and reputedly unpleasant dirt roads.
 |
| Valley of 1000 Hills |
This part of the journey reminded me so of the book Out of
Africa, the scenery was a pure tapestry of different landscapes, from the beautiful
desolate sand dunes of Walvis (back on to dirt roads) to meandering through the
hills of the Valley of 1000 Hills and Kuiseb Pass and on to the majestic red
hills of the Namib Naukluft Lodge, just outside of Solitaire.
 |
| Solitaire |
 |
| Interesting decor - Solitaire |
We thought
Solitaire was a busy town, weren’t we surprised to find a roadside café,
garage, lodge and campsites and thankfully bar so that we could wash that dust
out of our throats.
 |
| The Bar - Solitaire |
The view over the desert landscape from the veranda of our bungalow,
nestled in the shadow of the surrounding red hills, was just perfect for that
afternoon sundowner to wash the dust out of the throat and enjoy a meal of
cheese and biscuits.
Kevin was even brave enough to take a dip in the pool, you
would think in that heat the water would be warm but nope, it was freezing. We
met the Lodges 4 month old hand reared Springbok, and the brothers who co-own
and manage the Lodge.
 |
| Meelsak Boom - Flour bag tree |
Amazingly one of them is a seasoned sailor, having
completed 2 Cape to Rio races and 1 delivery back to South Africa – this
resulted in us being given a welcome shot of Schnapps, made by their aunt,
beautiful presentation with a kick like a mule, a lovely evening spent with
good company and red wine.
 |
| Soussusvlei |
And then Kevin’s birthday dawned bright and crisp and dusty.
Today was always going to be tough, we had heard from many that the road, being
exceptionally well used by traffic between Soussusvlei and Walvis,
 |
| Red Dunes @ Soussusvlei |
Windhoek and
Marienthal, was badly rutted for quite some distance. Not only was it bone
jarringly exhausting it meant dodging oncoming vehicles who, like us, were
trying to find the easiest part of the road to drive on, rally driving with a
difference. We stopped at Soussusvlei for coffee and a bite and met up with 2
Daihatsu Terios’ going the opposite way and just as impressed with their
performance as we are.
Finally we arrived at Bahnhof Hotel in the centre of Aus,
well actually, besides the garage and small convenience store the Hotel is
pretty much all there is in Aus,
but it is perfect, a most inviting balcony and
bar – great for washing that dust out of the throat, welcoming staff, wonderful
room and the beer garden was so quaint, lots of clever ideas here. Considering
their location they have a very varied and affordable menu and the food is
delicious. They even made Kevin feel really special for his birthday.
Then the time came to go find the
Wild Horses in the
Naukluft Park – probably the last remaining feral herd of horses in Africa. We
had heard much about them, it seemed that we had an outside chance of seeing a
few, couldn’t believe how nervous I was as we approached the water hole and
view point that was built for them during the drought, but there they were…
We
counted 73 but there were a few dotted around a wider area and how gorgeous
they were. Their condition looked good, they have been subsistence fed for
several years due to the drought, but this year the rains have been wonderful
and the grazing is now plentiful.
The highlight had to be the gorgeous little
foal being well protected by his mom – we read a newspaper report later that
this little guy, born to parents Meredith and Igloo, is the symbol of hope for
the herd, their numbers have drastically reduced from 286 in 2012 to 80
(including the little foal) today. No foals have survived since 2012 and in
2013 Hyenas killed over 100 horses, at least 50 of them foals. Many of the
Hyenas have now moved out of the Park due to the drought so hopefully the new
generation – there are a few more pregnant mares in the herd – will be a new
beginning.
 |
| His pic of the day |
After 4 hours of watching, photographing, interacting with
and just smiling at the antics of these majestic creatures, well me anyway,
Kevin listened to music, had the odd beer and kept himself amused, we made our
way to Luderitz.
 |
| View from Zum Sperrgebiet Hotel |
The accommodation we had booked turned out to be way less than
desirable causing a little stress and a swift change in plans but it worked out
well in the end, made better by the most delicious calamari at Essenziet
Restaurant at the Waterfront.
 |
| A road hotel brought tourists in... |
Next day was a trip to and guided tour of the Kolmanskop
Ghost Town which, despite its name, is apparently not haunted at all.
 |
The train used to go right round the
town to save residents walking |
 |
| The station |
It is in
fact an abandoned German Mining Town which formed in 1908 shortly after the
first diamond was discovered there.
 |
| Put his toes in the Sea - freezing |
Again a fabulous photo opportunity, followed by a dash to
the Spar in town to get meat and veg to braai that night, a bit of a shock to
find a punnet of mushrooms costing R32.00 and a small to medium cabbage R31.00.
From there we lunched at the Lüderitz Yacht Club where we met the stand in
Manager who insisted we drink Jägermeister out of the biggest bottle we have
ever seen, with him, ughh. He imparted a pearl of wisdom, the water in Namibia is so cold even the great white sharks don't swim here!
 |
| Diaz Lighthouse |
 |
| The offending shoes |
 |
| Diaz Cross |
We then took a drive to the Diaz cross, a replica of
the original planted by Diaz in 1488. Kevin was horrified as a German tourist
proudly hung her broken hiking shoes on the rail, apparently this was a fitting
place to lay them to rest!
 |
Spotted these beautiful flamingos on
the route |
 |
| Sundowners from the balcony |
 |
| Darts with a view |
We stayed at a most magnificent Guest House, Cormorant
House, on Shark Island, that night. Sadly Shark Island has a dreadfully sad
history, it was used as a concentration camp 1905 – 1907 by the German empire,
apparently there are monuments to this event in the Shark Island Resort.
 |
| Braai room |
The
Cormorant House however is beautifully appointed with full sea frontal views
which made a great back drop to our braai and game of darts.
After breakfast at the quaint Diaz coffee shop we hit the
road (it was tar – happy dance). Kevin decided perhaps more air in the tyres
now would be good, sadly this was when we learned the difference between a GOOD
compressor and a cheap version. After ½ a tyre, the little inflator puffed it’s
last breath and found it’s new home in a dustbin at a roadside picnic spot in
Namibia and we inflated the tyres at the next garage.
 |
| Mighty Orange River |
 |
| Where the Orange River meets the sea |
We found and followed the
Orange River, so much greenery and water, such a stark contrast to the desert
we had just been in, into Oranjemund city centre, with its adult and junior
Oryx lying on the sidewalk, a couple of shops and not much else, a real diamond
mining town.
 |
| Champagne for the anniversary |
Op My Stoep Lodge was clean and lovely and the resident dog was
the cutest, great food and service, nice place to spend our anniversary.
On 8 September we packed the 12V fridge, the picnic bag and
our clothes into our trusty little Terrios and off we sped. Kevin had spent
some time chatting to friends who had been to Namibia and had loosely planned a
route that would take us, via Upington, through the Kalagadi Game Park, into
Namibia. It was “out of season” so we didn’t book any accommodation ahead, we
booked each day through “Booking.com”. 
Loosely our route was Saldanha, Port Owen, Elandsbaai, Clan
William where we made our first discovery, this is the home of Rooibos tea. A
really old town sporting a number of tea/coffee shops on its main street and a
Rooibos factory on the outskirts of town that sadly was not open on a Saturday
and little else, thankfully Nancy’s Tea Room made a damn decent cheese cake and
cup of tea. A most beautiful sight, considering our drought crisis 5 months
ago, was the Clan William dam, so full that two of its sluice gates were open
and water was gushing down the river.
An early rise as we still had 2 hours to drive to the
Tweerivieren Border Post and entry into the Kalagadi Park and we needed to be
out through the Mata Mata gate in Namibia before it’s 16:00 close as we had
booked accommodation at the Kalahari Game Lodge that night. Imagine our
surprise when we got to the gate to find that one is not allowed to drive
through the park and exit into another country (Namibia or Botswana, the Park
borders both countries) without spending two nights in the park at one of their
Lodges. After much begging and coercing we then asked for accommodation in the
park for 2 nights, only to be told “no we are full”. So there was nothing we
could do but backtrack and skirt 2.5 hours round the bottom of the Reserve to
the Rietfontein border post. Two things we learned from this experience 
We arrived at Kalahari Game Lodge in the late afternoon,
dusty, tired and ready for a beer to wash that dust out of our parched throats,
only to discover a flat rear tyre. Turns out this is a common occurrence in Namibia,
every lodge has puncture repair equipment and capabilities – lesson learned –
when driving in Namibia take a puncture repair kit and have a good compressor
to re-inflate your tyres. We did not deflate our tyres too much, we didn’t want
to risk too much damage to flat tyres from rocks, this meant, however, a
compromise on speed, so while we only had one puncture throughout our entire
trip (we met one couple who had 2 punctures from nails and 2 big cuts from
rocks, requiring replacement), it was slow….
Kalahari Game Lodge is a really well put together Lodge. They
have turned over 40 000 ha of property into a reserve and conservation area for
free roaming Kalahari lions as well as buck and other wildlife that used to
naturally occur in the area. Dinner was a set 3 course menu or nothing and
seeing that we couldn’t exactly pop down the road for takeaways, it was a good
meal. The dessert was an outstanding orange marmalade pudding, the recipe for
which I was lucky enough to get from the chef and their wine list was varied
and good considering their location. 
Next morning bright and early we had breakfast and checked
out, they were full for the night so we were moving down the road to Torgos. After
a brief stop to check in we headed into the Kalagadi, crossing the border back
into South Africa to find that it was National Parks week so free access into
any South African National Park, bargain. 
the biggest Social Weaver Bird nests, loads of Springbok,
Oryx and Wildebeest, a large number of black backed Jackal, many birds of prey
including Vultures, Eagles, even an Owl but the most entertainment came from
the little 
Ground Squirrels or Meerkat’s. These cheery little chaps are so
animated and cheeky they had us in stitches.
Next stop – Windhoek – more dirt roads until the B1 at
Hardap. We crossed the Tropic of Capricorn on the way and were pleasantly
surprised to find that petrol is almost R3.00 per litre cheaper than in South
Africa. We found a shopping centre and finally managed to buy a local SIM and
some data and were back in communication again, at least when we could find
signal. 
Dune 7 in Walvis was on our radar, it is the highest Dune in
Namibia and we were going to climb it, though this was proving to be a bit of a
dilemma to those of us who don’t like sand. On arrival we found a company there
that offers, amongst many fun sounding activities involving sand and boards (wish
we had more time), guided quad bike tours, the perfect solution. What fun, an
hour of riding over the back of Dune 7 with its expanses of colour changing
sand, just the two of us with a guide who really knew his stuff. He spotted, I
have no idea how, and caught, a little gecko, told us about the difference in
the white dunes where we stood and the red dunes in Soussusvlei, that the iron
ore in the red dunes is rusting, hence their red colour, 
With big grins on our faces we drove to the Walvis Bay Yacht
Club, a neat and friendly place with good cold beer to wash the dust out of the
throat and a lovely view of the bay, over which the wind grew steadily stronger
while we watched, apparently it is not an easy tender boat ride in the
afternoons.
We thought
Solitaire was a busy town, weren’t we surprised to find a roadside café,
garage, lodge and campsites and thankfully bar so that we could wash that dust
out of our throats. 
The view over the desert landscape from the veranda of our bungalow,
nestled in the shadow of the surrounding red hills, was just perfect for that
afternoon sundowner to wash the dust out of the throat and enjoy a meal of
cheese and biscuits. 
Kevin was even brave enough to take a dip in the pool, you
would think in that heat the water would be warm but nope, it was freezing. We
met the Lodges 4 month old hand reared Springbok, and the brothers who co-own
and manage the Lodge. 
Finally we arrived at Bahnhof Hotel in the centre of Aus,
well actually, besides the garage and small convenience store the Hotel is
pretty much all there is in Aus, 
but it is perfect, a most inviting balcony and
bar – great for washing that dust out of the throat, welcoming staff, wonderful
room and the beer garden was so quaint, lots of clever ideas here. Considering
their location they have a very varied and affordable menu and the food is
delicious. They even made Kevin feel really special for his birthday.
Then the time came to go find the 
Wild Horses in the
Naukluft Park – probably the last remaining feral herd of horses in Africa. We
had heard much about them, it seemed that we had an outside chance of seeing a
few, couldn’t believe how nervous I was as we approached the water hole and
view point that was built for them during the drought, but there they were… 
We
counted 73 but there were a few dotted around a wider area and how gorgeous
they were. Their condition looked good, they have been subsistence fed for
several years due to the drought, but this year the rains have been wonderful
and the grazing is now plentiful. 
The highlight had to be the gorgeous little
foal being well protected by his mom – we read a newspaper report later that
this little guy, born to parents Meredith and Igloo, is the symbol of hope for
the herd, their numbers have drastically reduced from 286 in 2012 to 80
(including the little foal) today. No foals have survived since 2012 and in
2013 Hyenas killed over 100 horses, at least 50 of them foals. Many of the
Hyenas have now moved out of the Park due to the drought so hopefully the new
generation – there are a few more pregnant mares in the herd – will be a new
beginning.
The accommodation we had booked turned out to be way less than
desirable causing a little stress and a swift change in plans but it worked out
well in the end, made better by the most delicious calamari at Essenziet
Restaurant at the Waterfront.
After the first World
War things began to decline as the diamonds began to deplete and the discovery
of the biggest diamond deposits ever known, in what is now Oranjemund, in 1928,
pretty much sealed the Town’s fate and it was eventually totally abandoned in
1954. Once more we were reminded of how the earth takes back as the sand is
gradually breaking into and covering one building after the next, heart-breaking
to see all those beautiful wooden floors going to waste.
Again a fabulous photo opportunity, followed by a dash to
the Spar in town to get meat and veg to braai that night, a bit of a shock to
find a punnet of mushrooms costing R32.00 and a small to medium cabbage R31.00.
From there we lunched at the Lüderitz Yacht Club where we met the stand in
Manager who insisted we drink Jägermeister out of the biggest bottle we have
ever seen, with him, ughh. He imparted a pearl of wisdom, the water in Namibia is so cold even the great white sharks don't swim here!
After breakfast at the quaint Diaz coffee shop we hit the
road (it was tar – happy dance). Kevin decided perhaps more air in the tyres
now would be good, sadly this was when we learned the difference between a GOOD
compressor and a cheap version. After ½ a tyre, the little inflator puffed it’s
last breath and found it’s new home in a dustbin at a roadside picnic spot in
Namibia and we inflated the tyres at the next garage.
Op My Stoep Lodge was clean and lovely and the resident dog was
the cutest, great food and service, nice place to spend our anniversary.
Kind of sad to be leaving Namibia, there is a special kind
of beauty about a desert, but happy to be going home so off we went through the
new border post at Alexander Bay, newly opened last year and very quiet.
Alexander Bay remains a boomed off secure area, seems there must still be
diamonds here.
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