Namibia

Day 1:

The "Warthogs" is a name that my sister very kindly gave to our branch of the family some years ago and it is a name we have been pround to live with, but this year we decided to go and see some of our namesakes in the wild!

We had been anticipating our trip to Namibia for months. Preparations had been thought about, extremely expensive anti-malarials purchased and consumed (swallowing tablets – a first for Oliver), and camera equipment thought about, purchased and played with.

Our flight from Gatwick to Windhoek was with Air Namibia in an entirely adequate, but slightly old Airbus A340. None of the distractions of back of the seat in-flight entertainment systems and we concentrated on trying to get some sleep.

We were collected and transported to a guest house, "The Elegant", and it was just that - simple but elegant. After a little snooze, we had an afternoon at Safari drive (and Ultimate Safari) HQ, being briefed, shown the equipment (including the satellite phone and a blunted axe that was to meet a sad ending!) and being introduced to our Land Rover.

The boys immediately laid claim to the roof tent, which was a beautifully simple design. The tent unfolded forwards onto a support that attached to the front of the bonnet and thus it was instantly erected and not only that but the mattress and the bedding was laid out ready for use!

Our first evening, having stocked up on supplies at the local supermarket, we took a taxi to Joe's Bier Keller (for serious carnivores). The food was excellent, but, as the sun dropped, the temperature also fell dramatically - winter time in the southern hemisphere! That night was cold, but in the morning the showers were hot!









Day 2:
The drive from Windhoek to Tauschab River Camp, Oliver compared to driving through Arizona. After an hour or so we abandoned the tarmac, which we would not see again for three days. Lunch on the roof of the Land Rover was a great novelty. As we drove along, we spotted a family of meerkats beside the road although they were quick to disappear as we slowed down.
River Tauschab is the most remarkable campsite. It is on a huge farm owned by Johan Steyn, and has eight individual camping areas, each one private, secluded and excruciatingly beautiful. We were in the furthest, "Shrike ", and we parked below the boughs of an enormous wild olive tree. The “Braai”, the barbeque area, is ready to be cooked on, and we have a supply of running water. After dark, the walk across to the spotless facilities is done with ‘trepidation' as snakes are expected at every step. Although we didn't see any wild snakes at any point on our trip, Oliver returned at a sprint.

What a campsite!

The day ended with the game of cards in the roof tent, before turning in. Although the night started warm, by 3 am it was freezing.











Day 3:


This was a long day, driving to Sesriem, in the Namib-Nankluft National Park, took 1 1/4 hours, complete with fording rivers en route. Once through the gates, it was 45 km to Dune 45, and this was the biggest, the reddest, and sandiest of all the dunes. Near the base a mass of scuttling beetles ran across the sand, and as the wind blew, the edge of the dune became obscured by a red haze of sand. We didn’t make it to the top, but were sufficiently high to have views up and down the valley that has been gorged by the River Tauschab when it is in flood. It is this river that has deposited water into the salt flats at the end of the valley that have now turned into the “vlei” (the Afrikaans word for a shallow depression filled with water). There are five or six of these, some providing little oases of green surrounded by the red sand of the dunes and the baked white mud of the vlei itself. In Deadvlei the carcasses of trees that died more than 500 years ago stand starkly black against the heat of the midday sun.
We collected sufficent sand in our shoes that afternoon, for us to still be emptying the sand from our shoes after we had returned home!

Unfortunately time does not allow us to visit the Canyon, again carved by The River Tauschab, near the entrance to the park at Sesriem. Instead we beetle home to beat the setting sun and enjoy our second night in “Shrike”.






















Day 4
Just remember when you have to go somewhere, don’t get distracted.
We started by discovering an open air shower inside the split boughs of a neighbouring olive tree – just too late to enjoy it! We then left Tauschab campsite and instead of heading straight to Swakopmund, decided to try the “short” 4 wheel drive route round the southern range of the farm. Although beautiful and affording us our first sighting of our radio-controlled name sake (a warthog with its tail up), it took nearly three hours. The opportunity to go back to Sesriem to see the canyon has gone.
Instead we drove, and drove, and drove.


The route from Sesriem to the Skeleton Coast was stupendous, and the stop for petrol at Solitaire was spectacular if only for the rusted cars from the fifties that decorated the approach.

We reached the Gaub pass, and as the sun dipped below the horizon, we cleared the Kauseb pass which afforded a wonderful photo opportunity, but still three hours of driving!

Darkness was fully set by the time we spotted the lights of Walvis bay. As soon as the sun was down our pace turned to a crawl for fear of hitting wild animals. However at Walvis bay there are street lights and tarmac, and then onlt a few short kilometres and we arrived at Long Beach resort and find the Burning Shores – a hotel that has been graced by the presence of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. The food was excellent, but the bathrooms become a bit of a challenge when the whole resort runs out of water!


























Day 5
Walvis bay is a well developed town on the skeleton coast. It is bustly and lively and feels very prosperous. Here there are plenty of cash ATMs, supermarkets and a busy port. However we headed to Mola-mola (a tourist company that takes guests aound the bay as well as being the name of a giant sailfish) and we took a 2 hour tour of the bay. Pelicans, seals and scenery! Our guide was a local called Johan and his powerful catamaran “Humphrey” could be docile or a ferrari of the inshore waters. The seal colony was on the beach just before the tip of Pelican point. For no apparent reason the Great White sharks don’t stray down here, but various other sharks can be caught from shore lines just up the coast in Henties Bay. The tip of Pelican point is marked by a German light house that was shipped here in the 1900s, but the tip of the point extends by 20 metres per year and now the lighthouse is half a mile from where it is required! Although whales and dolphins can be seen here, we saw neither. However we were joined on board by Osama Bin Laden (with ticklish fins), Saddam Hussein, Surfin Sally and Google. They are all seals and, although very tame, completely free to come and go as they please. We finished with a (cold) meal of oysters and wine.
The afternoon we spent quad biking. The beautiful silence of the rolling dunes was only disturbed by us and about 100 other quadbikers – great fun!
We were given a free meal that night at the Tug restaurant in Swakopmund. The restaurant is built around an old wrecked tug that has been dragged on shore. Unusual and the food was tasty!















Day 6
A day of travel and at last we had our timings sorted. We stocked up our supplies in Swakopmund and headed up the coast, passing the salt factories and then the fishermen of Henties Bay, before turning inland and across the desert towards Brandberg. As predicted the clouds, that commonly cover the coastal area, lifted 40 kilometres in land. At Uis we topped up our long-range diesel tank before driving across the pastel shades of the African plains to the Brandberg White lady Lodge – although actually we were in the campsite rather than the lodge itself.
This was the only campsite were seriously big animals (elephants) could and regularly did walk through the camp at night. There was plenty of evidence that they were around, but we actually never saw one. The campsite was simple but clean and efficient, and we had a new cook “extrordinaire” as Oliver took up the spatula and produced our Braai heated chicken nuggets!














Day 7
The birdlife in this campsite was amazing. Breakfast was enlivened by two squabbling hornbills, with the victor retreating with his mate into the surrounding acacia trees. These trees were amazingly tough. We tried to collect some deadwood for our fire, but our axe fell apart rather than cut through the tough timber.

“To elephants drive, or not to elephant drive” - that was our question of the morning. However our decision not to go on the local elephant drive was forced on us as we made our inquiry about its availability at 0810 hrs, and discovered the drive had departed at 0800 hrs. So instead we set off for Twyfelfontein, to see the ancient rock art. The journey was enlivened by seeing three desert elephants and we discovered later that those that took the elephant drive at White Lady Lodge didn't actually see any elephants that day! We also saw Himba women in traditional garb and colourful dresses. There seemed to be much more poverty in this area, and certainly more begging.

The rock art centre was made from stone blocks and old oil drums based around some rather aromatic long drops. Sally was not over enthused by the cohabitation with rodents either. However the rock art was impressive, clearly visible having been carved or painted onto the red sandstone centuries before.











After Twyfelfontein, we retraced our steps to the organ pipes - rock crystals sticking straight up out of the ground, and then the burnt mountain before making our way back to the campsite.






















Day 8
Today we said goodbye to the gravel roads. Tarmacdam took us to Outjo where we found two supermarkets and a hardware store where we hoped to replace the shattered handle of our axe, but unfortunately the store was closed for lunch and we decided not to wait. Then on to Okaukeujo - a campsite in the middle of the Etosha Park, with its own waterhole. That first night we watched a beautiful sunset with giraffe and then a white rhino. The campsite was crowded by our previous standards but clean(ish) facilities and the wonderful waterhole. The smell of incoming rhino and giraffe was very powerful!











Days 9-11.
We spent four days in Etosha. The game gathered around the waterholes, and we saw all sorts of Bok, elephants, rhinos, wildebeest, jackals, ostriches, ringed mongoose, elan, lion and a variety of birds including the famous lilac breasted rollers. There is no doubt that the elephants have tremendous fun in and around the waterholes, splashing rolling and intimidating smaller game. After a good splash, they climb out and dust themselves down with the wholesome dose of talc (dust). As soon as dark descended the jackals came out, running through camp emptying any bins they could find. That first night, after visiting the waterhole, we noticed a lunar eclipse - another spectacle!

The central salt pan is enormous with heat baked mud extending over 60 shimmering kilometres. At the eastern edge of Etosha, the pan still had water, but it was clearly undrinkable as the animals avoided it. We were particularly privileged at the Kalkhewel watering hole, when 80 elephant, 160 zebras, and over 200 Springbok gathered around one pool. It was beautiful!













At Makuti lodge we saw the only snakes of the trip. However they were all in a snake park. When I say that they were "in" the snake park, half the snake pits were empty. We were a little worried as to where the escapees may have gone! However the black mambas and spitting cobras were all safely ensconced.
The meals in Makuti Lodge were wonderful self-service affairs, with big pots of various nutritional substances being suspended over hot coals to which one could help oneself as and when!























































Day 12
We left Makuti Lodge and headed south, stopping at the cheetah refuge where Ron, Hermione and Harry were all fed. Lots of effort goes into educating farmers that cheetahs are not dangerous, and their cattle and goats can be protected by dogs that are donated by the refuge. Unfortunately cheetahs that hand reared at the centre, never learn to hunt sufficiently well to be released into the wild.
Our night at Waterburg was the last night in the tents. They are sadly missed!