2002 Namibia Trip
Thanks to “Kort Broek” our fishing excursions were a thing of the past. We had nothing to do, as fishing along our coast as we had known it no longer existed. With hindsight I can now also say that “perlemoen” poaching would never have taken off at the scale that it has reached, if the fishermen were still patrolling the fishing waters along our coast.
We tried stopping close to the attainable fishing spots and walking to the waters edge to fish, but the vehicles were getting broken into and even stolen when left unattended. The petty criminals even got so brazen as to break into the vehicles parked a few hundred metres from where you were fishing and then running into the sea bush when seen and being chased. The only remaining was option was to sell the 4x4 or to use it for another recreational pastime.
This was either 4x4 driving obstacles (trails) or using the vehicle for overlanding. The nature of 4x4 trails was more competition type excursions which were not family orientated in those days and there were not many places that were geared for this type of activity. We had been toying with the travel idea and had slowly been gearing up for this with long week-ends away with the family and friends and honing our driving and overlanding skills.
We eventually built kitchens for ourselves which contained everything from groceries to two plate gas stoves as well as cutlery and crockery. We had purchased deep freezers which were connected to run on 12v while travelling and could be used on 220v electricity while in a caravan site. If we stopped in the bush we could run the freezers off gas.
This system worked very well but you could not afford to have the freezer run off the bakkie battery whilst the engine was not running, otherwise the battery would run completely flat in the time that it took you to go into a shop to buy cigarettes or bread. This necessitated the connecting the system onto the ignition, so that the power to the freezer was cut when the vehicle was switched off.
We would take the freezers out the canopies at night as fibreglass canopies are very flammable and would burn like petrol if given half the opportunity. The kitchens and freezers were tied down at the back of the canopy and everything else was packed behind the cab in containers which bounced around on the bad roads as well as on 4x4 tracks. We built in long range tanks which was a lot of trial and error with the red gold (petrol) often seen spilling down the street or road during our fishing excursions, blocking off the extra tank and fixing again on our return.
We also learned that we could not keep things like bread reasonable edible without a fridge, so we used cooler boxes in which to keep butter, cheese, salad ingredients and left over foods for brunch the next day. The only way to keep these items fresh was by continually buying ice, wherever it could be found. This was a continuous problem, as bought ice was usually the smallest blocks that melted in record time. These ice blocks were also often hollow in the centre or had a hole in the middle, so that they could be made quickly and cheaply by the seller concerned. The learning curve was working out very expensive.
We planned our first excursion to the Kgalagadi National Park and then onto Etosha Pan in Namibia after which we would do a bit of 4x4 driving through Kwoharib Schlutte on up to Epupa Falls and down home again along the West Coast until reaching Cape Town, before returning home to the Eastern Cape. This was to be a super long trip which we planned to do over a period of about four weeks. We packed the vehicles to the rafters and were ready to move at 03:00 the following morning.
Firstly we had to fill the thirsty Hiluxes before leaving on the long arderous journey to Wit Rivier. We had to check things like consumption of the fully laden 4x4’s on the long road, so that we knew how far we could get before requiring to top up the juice levels again. Spare fuel tanks were purchased at scrapyards and fitted by yourself , as there were no 4x4 fitment centres at the time, hence the trial and error motif and the “maak ’n plan broers”. We were very optimistic about how far we could travel in a day, as our first days travel was probably to two hundred kilometres past Upington, giving us a total of about 1000 kms in the first day. We made out first stop for fuel on the northern side of Upington where I stopped at the pump and the attendant started filling up. We were chatting and I was watching the pump nearing 110 litres when I told the attendant that he must not go past R50.00 as that was all the money I had on me. He nearly had a heart attack, but after a good laugh we told him to fill up to the brim.
We carried on to Witsand where we camped in a dry river bed below the Police Station. A braai was the order of the day before bedtime. The Kgalagadi was a new experience to us as we had never before visited one of our National Parks.
Maybe this is a good time to inform the folk that didn’t know that the Red Double Cab was known as the Donkey and belonged to yours truly while the White Single Cab belonged to Louis. The Meer cats (ground squirrels) at Twee Rivieren were very tame and photogenic. The Black Backed Jackals were entertaining and very busy and always had something to do.
We slowly made our way up to Nossob campsite as we had entered the Reserve early that morning. The Oryx or Gemsbok were everywhere and could never make up their minds if they wanted to be photographed or to run. They seemed to run for the pleasure of being able to run. What a graceful creature with its sabre like antlers. We did see Lions in the dunes, but they were a bit far away and just resting through the midday hours when the sun was at its warmest. They made a nearby Springbok nervous about his chosen patch of turf.
Nossob Campsite was very nice with big Camel Thorn trees to park under for their shade which they provided. We were entertained by the begging ground squirrels, which supplied plenty of photo opportunities. I must also add that at this time we were also experimenting with quick drying materials which were used for the clothing that we wore. This was so that when the clothes were worn and washed, that they would dry quickly. We had noticed that ordinary cotton clothing when wet would take a very long time to dry causing a problem in the traveller’s wardrobe. We used what was known as parachute material, which was quickly changed to parasuite material by Nannie who was our seamstress and made clothing for Louis and I from this quick drying wonder. The next day we left early and did the dunes route towards the other campsite, Mata-Mata, situated in the northwest of the park where we were booked to spend the second night in the park.
The game viewing was relaxed and we stopped at the picnic site for a brunch before continuing on our leisurely route towards Mata-Mata. This was not as nice as Nossob, but we found another shady site near the blutions where we spent an uneventful evening braaing and chatting through our new found adventure.
I must add that there were Jackals and Badgers that came into the camps after dark, which we watched rummaging around the campsites after everyone had gone to bed. In the wee-wee hours of the next morning I was awoken by a very sick Viv, who needed to go to the ablution facilities to get violently sick. The heaving did not sound very healthy in the dawn light of the new day and the anti-nausea tablets and other “muti” taken was of no assistance in quelling the runs.
This was not a pleasant way to start a new adventure, but by stopping when it was absolutely necessary it was possible to get out the park and get a few photographs of game sightings, so that we could show friends back home, on our return, all the wonderful places we had been to and what we had seen.
This is when we had another funny incident with a new invention we had. I have often seen how people are frustrated by needing to go to the Loo in the wee hours of the night and having to clamber down the ladder of the roof top tent (RTT) to relieve themselves. Well we sorted this problem out promptly after acquiring our RTT's. We used stay soft bottles which had the top cut off neatly, so as not to have sharp edges. These bottles could just about take a litre and a half of liquidgold. They could comfortably be used by both sexes and were easily stowed in the pocket of the RTT. After use it was easily places outside on the top of the canopy or in one of the boxes stowed in the canopy, so that it did not fall over and spill if there were any high jinks taking place in that particular vehicle. Well while travelling out the park where higher speeds were reached we noticed rain drops on our windscreen. This was from the Stay Soft bottle on the roof of the vehicle travelling in front of us, who had not emptied and washed their bottle that morning. We stopped them and they set the problem right so we could continue without the added problem of rain.
Well we made our way through the border post at Rietfontein and continued up through the red dunes of the Kalahari to the farm of friends, Willem & Magda where the next two nights were spent. They have a good early warning system in place in that when the neighbours at the turn-off onto the D606 see the vehicles passing their home, they notify the recipient farm to which the visitors are heading and they leave to form a welcoming committee. We spent two days on the farm visiting the camps and stock with the relaxed couple who were old school friends of Louis and Nannie. They were also interested in our mode of transport and we chatted about what we had done to make life on the road easier. After a good “kuier” and braai’s we left for Windhoek the next day and visited the Dutch Reform Church on the hill.
Wanting to be out the city we continued on the Okahandja where we stayed at what was to become known as “geraas kamp” with the passing traffic on the main north/south artery in Namibia. Naturally we were drawn to the flea market in the town the next morning before leaving for the road north. Louis and Nannie are elephant people, so are always intrigued by the sculptures of these animals, which can be found all over their home.
They would look for different ways to display these animals in their lounge, bar and anywhere else where they can be admired. We on the other hand are not curious people who see these things as clutter which were dust collectors in the home.
From this point we worked ourselves northwards, intrigued by the changing scenery in which there was no shortage of wild animals along the roads leading north. Many of the farms passed on the road wee game farms and we were also confronted by the many farm stalls which were selling biltong and nicknack's along the way.
We turned off the main artery at Otavi where we took the gravel road towards the Outjo Lake which was situated on a farm and which had been used as a free fall deep dive record attempt. Lake Otjikoto was a few kilometres further down the road and on the main artery towards Ovamboland and towards the East Gate of the Etosha Pan Game Reserve.
Lake Otjikoto was much more commercialised and had plenty curios in their little tourism shop. The surrounding little camps had game that was there to be viewed from close up and made for perfect photo’ opportunities, but one could not help feeling sorry for animals being held in captivity in such small enclosures.
I was surprised to see that there were fresh water fish in the lakes as well as wild duck swimming around on the water far below.The Outjo Lake was mainly undeveloped and left to its own devices. It did seem as though water was pumped out the lake for farming purposes or for use of the owner in his home for drinking water. There were no signs that the water was used for irrigation as everything was dry bush veldt around the lake, which was a pity as there were many possibilities with that amount of water around.
In contrast to this the OtjikotoLake was used to supply the nearby town of Outjo with water and the Lake was used to generate tourism. There were trees and plants planted to make the place more attractive with the small zoo in place. There was also a camp site which could be used, but with the passing traffic on the road adjacent to the camp site we did not want to spend two nights after each other next to a busy road network, which had a knack if inhibiting the little sleep we could get after a long day on the road.
Here we also learned that the Germans had dumped their cannons into this lake during the First World War to avoid having them fall into the hands of the closing in South African troops who would capture the weapons and then use them for their war effort. There were bigger enclosures at the back where Eland and Kudu were kept in a camp with one or two gemsbok if I can remember correctly.
The set up was very nice for a few hours entertainment, if one was not in too much of a hurry, as was our case with time to burn before our appointment with the Premier Game Park in Namibia.
Even though it was late afternoon and we were only booked at Etosha the next day, we decided to leave and spend the night closer to the gate, as we wanted to get into the park as early as possible to utilise the time available to us in the park to the best of our abilities. We set off to the park in the late afternoon and on finding no camp sites closer to our destination, we decided to camp next to the road after the turn-off to the park.
We found a nice camp site with a rubbish bin about three kilometres from the gate and set up for the night. Here we had another surprise. We heard an approaching vehicle and before long a vehicle with local registration numbers appeared and slowed down and stopped on the opposite side of the road from where we were camped. A passenger alighted from the vehicle, crossed the road to the rubbish bin next to out parked vehicles and deposited a packet of rubbish into the bin. He greeted friendly and ran back to the waiting vehicle which had four other occupants and climbed back into the vehicle, before it left in the direction of the Park Gate.
We were gob-smacked as this was something alien to us seeing the locals using the rubbish bins next to the road instead of just throwing the rubbish out their vehicle window.
We had a pleasant evening with no further traffic for the rest of the night. We would have thought that we would have seen game through the fence in the park, but no such luck for us.
The next morning we were up early and waiting outside the gate before opening time, when we were let in by friendly officials.
The Gate was near Namatoni Camp site which is situated at the old German Fort of the troops that were stationed there as protection against the marauding Herero’s of the time. This was not a popular campsite and our plan was to drive from east to west through the park and spend the night at Okaukuejo Campsite on the western side of the Park.
We soon started seeing game with Zebra and buck species seen next to the road. The turn-off to Dik-Dik Draai was taken to see the smallest African antelope which were plentiful in this part of the park.
Excitement was rife when we saw Lion walking in the bush a few hundred metres from the road. A short way back we had seen a game path leading to a nearby watering hole. We made our way to this spot as the Lion could not be seen through the bush and were rewarded after a few minutes by the whole pride walking past our waiting vehicles.
This was the highlight of our trip seeing a whole pride of young Lions a few minutes after entering the Park. They were so close to us that we could see that one of the females had two different coloured eyes. The males were so young that they hardly had manes and one could only wonder how these young animals could have taken over this young and healthy pride of Lionesses. It was also obvious from their bulging bellies and the blood around their mouths that they had just come from a kill. With ten lions in the pride, we made the assumption that it would not have been a little Dik-Dik that would have satisfied the hunger of this pride of felines. These magnificent creatures joined the road in front of our parked vehicles and regally led us towards the water hole to which they marched in the tune of our rumbling engines. They were unperturbed by the close proximity of our vehicles and when called by the way that kittens were called, we were given the look that told us in no uncertain terms what would happen if we were to get out of our safety cocoon.
The males in this pride were far too big to still be the sons of the females in this pride. The females were all sleek and in perfect condition, and it was apparent that none of them were older than the rest. There were no battle scared older cats amongst them. They stayed together and caused a lot of nervousness from the other animals that were close to the waterhole, but too far from us to get nice pictures. We watched for a while, while they drank their fill at the water’s edge and then left to see what other delights the park had to offer.
We told people at Namatoni who were loudly wondering where the big cats could be found, where we had seen them. They made a beeline for their vehicles and rushed to the site with friends and families in tow.
To be continued ........
