ZA - Bots - Zim - Nambia 2010/2011 (Complete!)

[Carmen Smit]

Ja Marius, skattie, waarom wag ons vir die trip report...???

[Carmen Smit]

Engel, los nou eers die papierwerk en amptelik besigheid goed man, skryf vir ons nog so bietjie van ons trip!!!

[Hi-Hilux]

Jou vrou het gepraat! Jy beter luister

[OOOOMS]

Marius, Marius, Marius......

[Toerboer]

After a long dusty and extremely rocky road,Van zyl's campsite was very welcoming. At our arrival we met up with Andre & Louise Benecke who also conquered the road from Epupa Falls. Only the two of them with a Jeep Wrangler and a Jurgens Explorer off road caravan. With the campsite being deserted they were very happy to see us and we decided to camp together.

With everyone being exhausted and no one feeling like making dinner, me and Derik decided to braai 'n lekker skaap ribbetjie. Seeing that Cassie had his long awaited Bully Beef and went to bed not longer after that, left me, Derike and Andre and the ladies to feast on the rib.

Andre and Louise left early the next morning while we packed up camp and got everybody ready for the big day. With Andre and Louise being 2 hours ahead of us, we were expecting to see them soon as they were travelling with a caravan over Van Zyls pass (and a "Jeep") and we would easily catch up......

Some beautiful scenery along Van Zyls.

More scenery, rocks and beautiful, amazing and funny looking trees growing in this harsh part of the world.

[Toerboer]

After many twists and turns, rocks and dust, we could see the long awaited Marienflus in the distance. What a breath taking picture.

A real "voetspore" photo. The 3 trust worthy vehicles making it to the viewpoint on Van Zyls.

The few hurdles, dongas and ditches between the viewpoint and the end of Van Zyls.

Some misfortune of previous travellers on the Pass.. This made us greatful and happy to have done Van Zyls pass safely and without any problems.

Himba Kraal down at the bottom of Van Zyls/start of Marienfluss.

The last official ritual, finding a rock, writing our names - WE HAVE DONE VAN ZYLS!!

As we reached the end of Van Zyls pass we realised that we did not pass or caught up with Andre and Louise but noticed that they wrote a rock and also left us a smiley face packed with rocks in the ground. Very happy and surprised that they made it we would be seeing them at Camp Syncro, we set of to conquer the Marienfluss.

[Hi-Hilux]

en nog?

[Mud Dog]

en nog?

Trevor, hy's seker besig om iets op die LR reg te maak soos die vorige keer toe Carmen hom moes roep het!


Lekker foudies en mooi trip rapport so ver, Mark & Marius!

[Hilux01]

Great Mark,

[OOOOMS]

Great Mark,

Ek't niks gedoen nie, behalwe so paar 'bump' sms na Marius gestuur, die LR eienaars het mos 'n 'stoot' nodig so nou en dan

[Hilux01]

Dan bedank ek jou amptelik vir jou "stoot" van n LR eienaar in die regte rigting

Marius, met vriende soos die wie het nou vyande nodig

[The Legend]

Mark,
Julle maak my jaloers.Dit kon net lekker gewees het.Ons wag in spanning vir die ander fotos

[OOOOMS]

Mark,
Julle maak my jaloers.Dit kon net lekker gewees het.Ons wag in spanning vir die ander fotos

Toemaar....ek ook :wink2:

Marius, Marius, Marius.....kom in :!: :!: :!:

[Calbro2]

Baie nice fotos en n trip wat ek graag eendag sal wil aanpak!!!

Marius, Marius, Marius.....kom in

[Toerboer]

We tried to take a group photo at all the nice spots we visited (we are now better know as the 9'ers).

We are officially entering the Marienflus with an up-side-down board welcoming us.

We had to stop and take a photo. With only dents and scratches our landy is still going strong. Unfortunately can't say the same for this burnt out landy. This must have been a landy coming with the Dorslandtrekkers

... and then finally we caught up with Andre and Louise in their Jeep and Jurgens caravan. They immediately pulled over and although they were happy to see us things weren't going so well for them. As you can see from the picture the caravan's axle bent beyond repair. While they were waiting for us at the bottom of Van Zyls, Andre was winching the axle side ways up and down through the Marienflus trying to straighten the axle but with no success. After they waited for us for an hour and a half, and a half a bottle of whiskey later, Andre and Louise decided to start driving towards Camp Syncro hoping that we would catch up with them, which we did. We assessed the damage and decided that it would be best to continue with the axle as far as we could hoping to make it to Camp Syncro.....

Some scenary of the Marienflus with Angolan mountains in the back ground.

At this time of the day anything that lives is seeking shade. We saw the most amazing gemsbok, ostrich and springbok on the Marienfluss, all standing in perfect harmony.

Driving at 30km's per hour we escourted the Jeep all the way to Camp Syncro. What felt like a day's drive, we eventually reached Camp Syncro and we all were very grateful that the caravan made it.

[Toerboer]

Camp Syncro is based on the banks of the Kunene river with Angola on the other side. Like most Nam camp sites this time of the year there was nobody else at camp, but still the camp was clean and ready to accomodate tired travellers like us.

In Nov a car burned out due to electrical fault and a part of the camp site was totally destroyed.

The water from the river was inviting, it was VERY hot.

After all the formalities of setting up camp, myself, Derik and Cassie went to help Andre stripping the axle from the caravan. In the meantime Louise was making long distance calls trying to organise spares to the closest town which was Opuwo (a day's drive to Opuwo and a day's drive back to Camp Syncro). After a cost of R10 000 Andre and Louise left the next morning early for Opuwo to pick up the new axle. Keep in mind this was the 24th of December. (Waar 'n wil is, is daar 'n weg). Cassie and Magda joined them. Unfortunately due to illness in the Cassie, Magda & Anna had to cut their trip short. That left only Team Smit and Team Vellies (aka the 9'ners) to complete the rest of the trip to Puros (via a few other scenic stops) where we would meet up with OOOMS and OOODS. Still after all the hassles we had time to social and build great bonds with Andre and Louise the last evening we were all together at Camp Syncro, two very pleasant people from the Eastern Cape.

eish, ook maar goed ons het nie gaan swem nie... A cold shower is much saver than a swim in the river.

Early the next morning we set off to the furthest point of the Marienfluss at the Hippo pools where we came across a " former cruiser club member" who obviously did not make it.

On our 10km detour we reached this breathtaking oasis in the middle of the "almost" desert.

From the Hippo pools we back tracked past Camp Syncro and the Himba village camp (also a nice camp site). Through the Marienfluss and then taking the road over the Haertmansberge.

[OOOOMS]

There are plenty of crocs in the river...glad you did not go for a dip, otherwise you would have been ate'rs....or eighters....and it does not rhyme

[Hilux01]

Thanks Marius



looking forward to the remainder of the TR. Great reading thus far

[Niel]

There are plenty of crocs in the river...

Have a read (I know it is long but it is good)
Look at the number of shots fired

see here http://www.getaway.co.za/article/surviv ... 2007-08-01" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Few gave canoeing pioneers Willem van Riet and Gordon Rowe much chance of getting out alive when they set out to paddle down unexplored stretches of the mighty Kunene River in 1965. The Namibian government refused them permission, so they started from Matala on the Angolan side of the border. Willem van Riet, now 65, recalls the epic trip.

If we had imagined that canoeing down the Kunene involved blistering heat in a country of utter desolation, hunger, attacks by aggressive crocodiles and such back-breaking labour on the portages, perhaps we would have thought twice about our plans for exploring the lower reaches of this mighty river.

Canoeists, like mountaineers, always set their sights on a bigger and tougher challenge and, after having canoed down most of South Africa's largest rivers during the previous six years, the Kunene had become my personal Everest. It was something I had to do; a final problem to be overcome. The idea of challenging the 1 200 kilometre Kunene first occurred to me when canoeing down the Orange. Gordon Rowe, who had won the Mgeni River canoe race five times and paddled 2 400 kilometres down the Zambezi, decided to join me.

Our two moulded fibreglass single-seater canoes, built by Gordon, were 4,7 metres long, 60 centimetres in the beam and weighed 20 kilograms. Our paddles were 2,3 metres long with fibreglass blades. Knowing that there would be considerable portage around rapids and waterfalls in the mountains, we took only the barest essentials. We left sleeping bags and tents behind, packing merely tracksuits to sleep in and a waterproof cover - very necessary as it rained almost every night on the trip. Medical supplies, cameras and food (mainly porridge oats, rice, packet soups and sugar) completed our kit, together with a 12-bore shotgun and a .45 revolver for protection against crocodiles and for use in supplementing our larder. Our small bundle of kit was packed into two double-compartment Klepper waterproof bags, which also provided buoyancy for the canoes.
Matala launch
We set off down the Kunene on 18 January, 1965, near Matala after the river leaves the plains, with a few Portuguese shaking their heads in doubtful fashion, shouting warnings and good luck.

Passing through the Kalahari sandveld, we occasionally met Ovambos paddling along in their dugouts. At night we sat around a flickering campfire listening to the sounds of the night carried on the wind; not the sounds of people or civilisation, but the sounds of the wild. The sounds of the Africa of yesterday.

Gordon nearly drowned in the rapids on the third day after a spill, but luckily he managed to struggle to the bank. There were many other mishaps on the river, but our biggest challenge was to be the 97-kilometre unexplored gorge through the Baynes Mountains with vertical walls of rock over 300 metres high.

We spent January 31 at Chitado, a small Portuguese settlement about eight kays from the river. By then our feet were badly cut and bruised, so we had them attended to by a male nurse at the settlement. Chitado was the last place where we could pick up supplies before the unknown 280 kilometres ahead.

We had been living on oats porridge in the morning, sardines on bread for lunch, and soup, bully beef and bread at night. When we could, we bagged wild duck and roasted it over the fire to relieve the monotony. In view of the difficulties ahead, we allowed food for 12 days to see us through to the coast.

We left Chitado to experience some of the toughest days I have spent in my life. Every dip of the paddle was one stroke further from human assistance as we neared the untrodden Baynes Mountains.

We carried the canoes around the thundering Epupa Falls with the help of two Ovahimbas who look after the rest huts there. Full of awe, they attempted to explain to us that it was impossible to follow the river through the mountains. We were now embarking on the most dangerous part of the trip - no one had ever been there before us and we knew that if we had an accident in the gorges, there was no way out on foot. We would be absolutely on our own. Once we set off on the 190 kilometre journey to the sea, there could be no turning back; we would be imprisoned by the Shamalindi Mountains on one side and the Baynes Mountains on the other.

No sooner had we entered the Kunene Gorge when I saw a crocodile swimming straight for Gordon, who was ahead. My warning shout was drowned by the thunder of the falls. Luckily Gordon looked over his shoulder, saw the crocodile and swung at it with his paddle. Frantically he dug his paddle in the water and shot between two boulders, inches ahead of the croc. Attack of the river monsters
My relief was short-lived, for the crocodile immediately turned and came straight for me. "Make for the bank!" was my only thought - the shotgun momentarily forgotten. Shotgun in hand I leapt out of my canoe, slipped and landed up to my neck in the water. In record time I struggled out of the water, scrambled up the bank and gave the crocodile an overdue shot. Much too close for my liking.

Pale, we continued downstream only to be attacked shortly afterwards by another crocodile coming out of a rapid. This time the shotgun was ready and the blast scared him off. Every 100 metres or so the gorge narrowed, with rock dams forming rapids between the pools. We were unable to shoot these rapids as the maelstrom at the bottom was too rough, so time and time again we had to carry the canoes and gear around the boulders on the bank. That afternoon, February 2, we were forced to leave the river and carry the canoes up the cliffs and along the mountains for about three kays.

The river curled below us in continuous rapids. We were forced to camp high above the water, clothes and skin torn to bits by the thorn bushes; our feet were also blistered and cut from jumping on the rocks. We had been forced to fire at six crocodiles, shooting one-handed at them with the other hand clutching the paddle. A nerve-racking experience, for they had no fear of us and sometimes the noise of the shot did not scare them off, so that we had to hit them with buckshot before they disappeared.

On the morning of Feb-ruary 3, we were forced out onto the bank again and again, until at midday the river dropped into a gorge with granite cliffs rising sheer from the water. We were forced to climb over 200 metres up the mountainside, pulling and pushing our canoes, hauling first the one and then the other. We seemed to become breathless at the smallest exertion and it took the whole day to climb up and down to the river again.
Although we were exhau-sted, we made reasonable progress the next morning, largely due to the river flowing out of the granite area into a valley of soft sandstone where there were a few deserted Ovahimba huts. Our relief was short-lived, for about three kays further on the Kunene flowed straight between two huge cliffs, 300 metres high. Should we go in? We were scared of waterfalls, but another look at the height of those walls was enough to convince us that there was only one way through - by water. After half an hour, without having met any serious obstacles, we shot out of the gorge into a large valley.

There were few rapids in this valley, but attacks by crocodiles continued. I shot at two close to the canoe - one grabbed the back of the canoe but let go again. That night we camped just before the river entered the last stretch of the Baynes Mountains proper. A crocodile hit the back of a canoe while we were getting out on the bank. Very lonely, hungry and extremely tired, we sank onto the sand. It was a place of utter desolation: apart from elephant spoor and a lonely grave we discovered, there was nothing. A fearsome place in our weary, dejected state.

Knowing that we had to press on, however despondent we might be, we shot rapid after rapid on February 5. Towards afternoon we entered a very narrow cut in the granite - little more than six metres wide. The walls shot straight up and seemed to lean inwards at the top. The turbulence of the water was incredible, forcing us to fight for our lives to remain in the canoes.

After nearly two kays we were out of the gorge, but those were the worst hours of my life. I did not expect to come out alive. We were just beginning to regain our composure when, after making good progress and shooting rapid after rapid, both Gordon and I were capsized by the force of the water. We managed to reach the bank safely and recover our canoes and supplies, grateful that there were no hungry crocodiles on the prowl! At 16h00 the gorge was already in deep shadow when we were forced by waterfalls ahead to make camp in a little hollow, the thunder of the falls echoing off the high walls.
Gordon had a lucky escape during the day. While he was standing on the bank near his canoe, a crocodile suddenly shot out of the water and lunged at him; just as it snapped its jaws closed, its front feet slipped on the canoe, missing Gordon by inches. On another occasion, a crocodile came up beneath my canoe after I had taken a shot at it and I was lucky to avoid being capsized. We were interested to note that the floodwater level in the gorge was about 24 metres up the wall; obviously not a pleasant place to be in when the river is in flood.

On February 6, we left the gorge behind and entered the Marienfluss Valley. It was unbelievable - we felt as if we had escaped from a prison and, for the first time since leaving the Epupa Falls, we saw a few thorn trees on the banks. With relief and in a state of near exhaustion, we headed for the bank to rest. Behind us lay the terrible Kunene Gorge and we still had almost 100 kilometres to go to the mouth of the Kunene on the Skeleton Coast.

Through the trackless Namib
Extremely depressed and lethargic, we seemed to have an insatiable hunger no matter how full of rice and soup we were. We were weak from our unbalanced diet and every movement was an effort. During the night the rain poured down again; even on the edge of the Namib Desert, it couldn't leave us alone.

On the morning of February 7 we struggled with our canoes and gear around a shallow gorge for about a mile before being able to take to the river again. The flat water didn't last very long and soon we encountered another stretch of rapids in a narrow gorge. After the several hours of portage over rocks and boulders we had reached the end of our tether. We sank exhausted against the rocks; even walking without loads had become torture.

The seemingly endless rapids and rocks ahead suddenly looked impossible. The only way out of our difficulties seemed to be to find the track to Ohopo from the Marienfluss Valley. With only a little porridge and no water, we set out to cross the Hartmann's Mountains to try and reach the bantu commissioner at Ohopo 350 kilometres away. But only five kays from where we'd left the canoes, with the sun beating mercilessly down on us, we came to our senses and realised the foolishness of this plan. We would never reach Ohopo. There was only one way out and that was to reach the Portuguese outpost at the river mouth as soon as possible. So back to the canoes we went.

A short stretch of calm water revived our hopes to a certain extent, but they were dashed again by fast rapids between two almost sheer cliffs 250 metres high. I looked in despair at Gordon and on his face I could see traces of the strain and hardship of the past two weeks. We decided to camp for the night before attempting a portage to where, we hoped, the river would become navigable again.

That night the river came down in flood and in the morning the water level was close to our fireplace. We carried the canoes, one by one, and then the supplies, to the top of the sandstone cliffs from where we could see the sand dunes of the Namib stretching to the south. With revived hope we ventured again onto the river, feeling that our difficulties could not last much longer. A few crocodiles emerged from the brown water in several attempts to have us for lunch but, with an air verging on disdain, we fired at them to scare them off.

Towards evening the notorious desert wind sprang up and tried to blow us back to where we'd come from. With heads down, we battled to make headway into the wind and so we did not notice at first the entrance to another series of gorges. Too late, we saw the first of the rapids, which I managed to get through, but when I glanced back I saw Gordon being thrown out of his canoe by giant waves. Over and over he went, clinging to his unsinkable craft. Against the rock wall in the pool below I tried to pull him out, but the water was too strong and we were pulled back into the next series of rapids. The whole river beat against the sheer wall of the rock and recoiled in wild brown waves.

How on earth were we going to get through this? With a cold sinking in my stomach, I entered the waves and miraculously got through, only to see Gordon disappearing with his canoe under water. He appeared again a few moments later. At last we managed to pull out to the right bank.

We camped near the last major obs-tacle, a deep gorge about 50 kilometres from the sea. We judged it impossible to canoe through and next morning we struggled up the soft, grey, shale-like rock of the cliff on one side of the gorge, carrying one canoe at a time. Four hours of agony later, we were back at the water where we finished off the last of our sugar and porridge. It was essential that we reached our destination that day.

As we paddled, crocodiles continued to attack us - since the Epupa Falls we had fired some 60 times. The desolation of the country here must seen to be believed. At last a white speck appeared on the right bank of the river - the Portuguese pumping station near the river mouth.

We had made it! Thin and physically exhausted, we were happy to escape alive

[OOOOMS]

Let me add my side of the story here....without pic's....as I am pictureless....

We stayed at Pupa Falls for for an extra night and would meet up with the 9ers a day or two later at Puros.

We (myself, Danelle and Kiara) leisurely packed up and headed South for Opuwo S18 03.691 E13 50.360
Quite a busy town with lots of irritating hawkers. Town is filthy unlike other towns in Namibia.

We filled up the vehicle with diesel, went sopping at Checkers to stock up with supplies and headed down a good sand road. Soon the road became rather bumpy and the going was very slow towards Orupembe S18 09.612 E12 33.960. Beautiful scenery, rocky and also passing the beginning of the Puros riverbed. We spotted lots of elephant spoor but saw only assssstretches and buck.

Near Orupembe we spotted a sign Campsite ' Little house on the Hill' so we decided to camp there in the middle of nowhere. We were very surprised expecting nothing....however the camp site was indeed very neat and tidy. Nice showers, hot water and a goat wandering around.

We were the only people there

The next morning we headed for Puros Camp site S18 44.115 E12 56.573 dipping into the lovely riverbed where we would meet up with Marius and Derick (9er's) whenever they got there

Marius floor's yours ..............

[Rollercoaster639]

Mark / Marius

I am really enjoying this report. Just one complaint, can we pick up the pace a bit, I would like to finish reading it before I go on pension.

[Hilux01]

Ek is saam met Barry op die een

[JohanM]

Mark / Marius

I am really enjoying this report. Just one complaint, can we pick up the pace a bit, I would like to finish reading it before I go on pension.

Ek is saam met Barry op die een

Barry, Henk, Julle vergeet dat Mark is alreeds op Pension.......... En Marius ...........Uhmmm sy Landy hou hom te besig om hierso baie te skryf!!!....

[Hi-Hilux]

En julle se ons Namibiers het baie tyd...

[Mud Dog]

There are plenty of crocs in the river...

Have a read (I know it is long but it is good)
Look at the number of shots fired ............................

A very interesting story, Niel and well worth the read. Just a quick calculation would have put those two men at roughly age 24yrs ... still youngsters by today's standards.

Sorry to jack your thread, Mark / Marius ..... also very entertaining, but starting to take as long as the trip itself.

[OOOOMS]

Spoke to Marius now....he is still busy fixing his LR....... Just kidding...!
He will be online 2nite

[Kykdaar]

Subscribe - great report Mark and co

[Niel]

Andy, could not find the trip that I was looking for but this one had the same trend croc attack after the next. The one day they had 36 attacks on 3 kayak.
There is a lot of hungry crocks in that river

[Toerboer]

The road leading over the Haertmansberge also had a few challenging obsticals. A real threat in this part of the world is sharp rocks and one need to be very carefull not cutting a tyre. We were very fortunate not having any problems (including the Toyota's)

at the top of the Haertmansberge the landscape changes dramatically, getting the feeling that almost nothing can survive in this part of the world.

As mentioned we left Camp Syncro very early and was driving the whole morning. This part of the trip felt like forever. Looking at the scenery of rocks, dust and dry river beds it felt like you are the only people there for thousands of km's and that you really not making any progress untill we finally reached Blou Drom. From what we understand this is one of the few "drom" beacons in this part of the world. As you look around you everything looks the same and you can get easily lost. These beacons have been put there to give you some guidance. Luckily these days we have GPS! With our hopes up high I made a quick "call" to OOOMS telling him that we are on course and will see them soon.

[OOOOMS]

With our hopes up high I made a quick "call" to OOOMS telling him that we are on course and will see them soon.

Jy jok :!: :!: :!: :!:

[Toerboer]

Leaving Blou Drom, with our hopes up high, we conquered the last few 100 km's over corrugated roads. After driving on the left, on the right, side ways, inflated tyres, deflated tyres, you name it and we tried it, it was the worst corrugated piece of road in the world and I have new found respect for any motor vehicle not falling apart after driving a few hours on this road. But besides the corrugated road there is something about this piece of the world that still remains so beautiful. It seems that no photo can do justice to the beauty of this barren land.

and before you know it the landscape changes again driving through mountains towards Orupembe. We stocked up on cold drinks and beer at a Spaza shop in Orupembe, called Shop 1. Orupembe consist of Shop 1, Policy Station & a few donkeys.

We climbed into a dry riverbed and followed it for a couple of km's following the green tree trail. We knew that we would find elephant and giraffe and soon enough we came across these beauties.

After a few hours of dry riverbed driving we reached Puros Conservancy. This road leads through a mountain pass down the canyon and into a dry river bed which led us straight to Puros Campsite an hour or 2 later, where we met up with the very happy OOOMS and OOODS. It was the 24th of December! We achieved a personal goal by doing Van Zyls pass, Marienfluss and the Haertmansberge all the way to Puros. This is something that every keen 4x4 and nature enthusiast should do at least once in their life time. There's many places to be visited in Africa, some better than others, but the memories and the experiences we encountered from this trip will stay with us forever and we encourage everyone to stop dreaming about a trip like this and just do it!

Thanks Mark for allowing us to capture our experiences on this leg of the trip report.

Keep on reading this trip report, we are only half way and there is a whole lot more to share!

OVER TO MARK, Mark Mark Mark kom in....

[OOOOMS]

Puros, a small town with no fuel and a small spaza shop, airstrip and not much more. But certainly one of our favourite places.

What better place to spend xmas with some good company. So at about 15h00, switched on my 2way radio and jokingly called 'Marius / Derick come in........' Not expecting a reply.....but surprisingly Derick replied, 'Staan by!'

This meant that they were no more than 30km away and we would have company for the the rest of the trip.

The camp site is not easy to find as it is 'on an island' in the rainy season so you have to keep your eye's peeled to spot it. There are only 7 camp sites and x3 were still available. But as the camp sites are about 200 - 300m apart we opted for 1 large site.

It took the 9ers about 20 mins to find us as the site is a bit hidden.....Finally through the bushes came 2 vehicles ..... not 3 (Marius and Derick) no Cassie and Magda.....?

Puros camp site:
S18 44.115 E12 56.573
Here on the map:

namibia_map.gif (18.03 KiB) Viewed 5294 times

[Hou da nou da]

Hi Mark ons het jul opinie nodig. Ons beplan n toer tussen 27Maart en 12April 2011. Ons probleem is een vd groeplede se vrou sal 14weke swanger wees. As ek na die kaart kyk kan dit n probleem wees. Wat was jul ondervinding en of wie kan ons beste raad gee? Kan hul saam gaan of is die risiko te groot?

[Hou da nou da]

Jammer blonde oomblik namibia is groot ons wil die kaokoland doen.

[OOOOMS]

Jammer blonde oomblik namibia is groot ons wil die kaokoland doen.

14 weke is nie te erg nie, Danelle was 7maande swanger toe gaat sy saam Moz toe.
Ons trip was deel Kaokoland.....?

[OOOOMS]

Kassie and Magda had headed home, IMO he wanted to see Eenhana and do V Zyl's and their daughter was ill due to the mozzie bites.


So that left our group with x3 vehicles.
Purros campsite reception area:

As it was xmas the kids decided to build a xmas tree while the men made a roast beef, ribs and the ladies made salad and veggies. Belinda made dessert and the little one's decorated the tables.

To say the least we had a feast :!: :!: :!:

Nice and shaded camp sites all with donkey shower, toilet, basin with running water

Purros a special place in our hearts

[OOOOMS]

The next morning 26/01 we packed up heading for Purros canyon towards Sesfontein.

.....Marius and myself drove to the 'office' paid and I filled up my water tank.

We waited and waited for Derick....but he didn't come. called him on the radio and no answer....strange....Derick likes to talk on the radio....

Then my phone rang, it was Derick, his car was smoking....inside (Derick does not smoke!)

[Witblits]

That's right, leave us hanging - your time will come!

[Rollercoaster639]

Mark this better be good and worth while waiting for...like Andre said, every dog has its day

[OOOOMS]

And neither do his two boy's........















When we (Marius and I) arrived back at the camp site where he was parked....the battery was flat.....??? Hmmmm....his Prado wouldn't start....there was no smoke :!: :roll: :roll: :roll:

So we hooked up the jumpers, started the vehicle and the smoke began....from the A-pillar!
Switched off, stripped and traced the problem. The wires running in the A-pillar had chafed through and created a short. IMO due to all the corrugation of the previous days driving.

So we stood there looking at about 10 wires, all just copper......

We managed to trace the burnt wire's, luckily going via a harness and unplugged from the fuse box.

In 30 mins we were ready to hit town(Purros).....as Derick's petrol Prado was thirsty!
We found nothing........(all his cans were empty)

[OOOOMS]

From Purros you can take the boring sand road D3707 to Sesfontein S19 07.549 E13 37.074 (110km approx. 5 hours drive) or head South for Purros Canyon and Tsuxub Canyon. Derick made the obvious choice to join us no matter what, he did not want to miss it for the world :!: :!: :!: So we headed South

There was quite a lot of water, more than last year.

Some ellies wandering about

Beautiful rock formations, in the Canyon

Then you see this lodge....abandoned....empty.....eye sore....you head left out of Purros Canyon towards Ganias Flats

[OOOOMS]

The Ganias Flats are a beauty of it's own

Gary's favourite pet.....

We stopped for lunch in the Hoanib river where we were sure to spot lots of game

The most amazing scenery

This really made our day!

[andrevt]

ouens
dis die lewe.......sowaar

[Hilux01]

Thanks guys,

Following this post makes coming to work a bit lighter cant wait for my next trip

[OOOOMS]

Sorry for the delay....here goes....

By this time Derick's fuel light was glowing but Sesfontein was around the corner.....

About )10km via the riverbed) you get 'extreme dust warning' on your GPS also known as powder dust. Quite nerve wrecking driving through it, but also a lot of fun at the same time. Warning: Keep your windows closed....it's better that way
Note this is what you see from inside the vehicle, pics are not blurrrrred!

Marius and myself having some Low Range fun

[OOOOMS]

With only 2km's to go to Sesfontein (S19 07.551 E13 37.070), I could hear the relief in Derick's voice over the radio

The excitement soon ended when we stopped next to the pump..............

Hmmmm....no fuel since the 01/12 today was the 26/12....!

With no other choice we headed for 'Warm Quelle' where we would camp for the night.

Rocky campsite, not my favourite but liveable with refreshing pool!

Derick decided, not that he had much choice and drive to Palmwag early the next morning 80km, where he was assured there would be fuel. He made it in record time and joined us again by 09h00, at the turn-off to the Khowarib Canyon (S19 15.612 E13 52.119) heading for Kamanjab (S19 37.261 E14 50.615) where we would overnight.

[OOOOMS]

The drive in the Canyon is awsome, rocky at first and the into the riverbed:

All road lead to Rome when you get to a vet control point: We had no hassles!

[Bulletjie-3]

Dankie Mark ek het gerefuel en is reg vir die res van die trip - baie dankie vir julle moeite en baie goeie insette.

[OOOOMS]

As mentioned no hassle through the vet check point, just open the cooldrink fridge and walla.

A couple of km's from the checkpoint, we were on tar again But then for the first time on this trip it poured with rain....

Arriving in Kamanjab we were surprised to find all the shops closed.....
Town....

cause as we found out it was a public holiday in Namibia....so we filled up and drove to the first and nearest camp site, literally 1km from town.
There was a lovely notice on the gate 'Closed until 12/01/2011' The owners were on holiday and as it is their off-peak season...closed!
So we headed off towards Outjo where we camped at the Himba Village Community camp site.(approx. 30km from Kamanjab)

Everyone relaxing after a hard day's drive!

Marius taking care of the meat

Beautiful sunset!!!

Next morning we headed for Outju, South of Etosha as we wanted to be at the gate early morning! But proved to be wrong......

We ventured into town found a nice place for brunch

Thereafter we headed for the the butchery and OK to stock up on supplies!
We drove about 5km out of town towards Etosha where we found a nice lodge with campsite.(Bushveld Lodge).....more about that later..... :!:

We were the only visitors in the camp site / lodge we all had a dip in the pool

That evening at about 20h00 it started to rain, Danelle put Kiara to bed and I still sat with Derick and Marius having a last cuppa.

At 21h30 we decided enough was enough as the rain was becoming a bit of a problem under the awnng....so we all headed for our RTT's as we were going to be up early 05h00 and head for the gate at Etosha.....
As I would usually do empty my pockets and put it on my seat, Danelle asked from the RTT 'do you want me to lock? I said no it's safe here and no one is around anyway accept us........'Big Mistake' :!: :!: :!:

[cheetah]

Dit lyk lekker Mark, baie mooi foto's, hoop julle het dit geniet. Dit laat my baie verlang, Outjo is my plekkie wat ek goed ken!

[Hilux01]

Mark

Thanks for the reports thus far. Looks great

[OOOOMS]

....Big mistake indeed :!: :!: :!:

We slept like babies the whole night through.....

Woke up at 05h00....when I opened the door of my van....I found this.......

Not a nice feeling at all....I was asking myself 100 times, why didn't I lock, why......!!!! But the deed had been done. Fact is we had been robbed during the night....and that's about that!

Passports, both camera's, both cell phones, DVD players, all our ZAR cash & USD and my bag with goodies in......

We started combing the area and Danelle found a paper trail down a footpath about 400m from the campsite.

Our Passports was our greatest concern.... :!: :!:

You do not want to loose your passports in a foreign country....it's a major schlep

Under a small bush were some 'unwanted gifts' the thieves did not require.....
Our passports were amongst the stuff and vehicle papers....wet but that was OK

So the cops were contacted and arrived 20 min later, but could not do much and requested us to come down to the local police station and open up a case. Which we did (took 2 hours....).

We then had to find a bank and draw cash as we were not planning on ending the long awaited trip just then.

We then drove to Etosha still fuming and disappointed at the same time....we arrived at the gate at 11h00 (not as planned )

[Toerboer]

Hi Mark,

Dis lekker om weer deur die foto's te gaan totdat ek die sien waar hulle julle geroof het dan kry ek weer n knop in my keep.Maar dit was n onvergeetlike trip.Ons is klaar besig om ons volgende een te reel agter die skerms,ek is seker Mark sal sy Bakkie die keer sluit.

Just n bit of advice we discussed during the theft Mark and Danelle had.Make ekstra Copies of al lyour documents,laminate them and keep them under your RTT matresse and maybe some where alse too,should your car get stole,"hopefully will never happen"During a trip like this one off the safest places is under your RTT Matress,its always dry,nobody axcept you go there etc,its the last place they will look.

Please Mark,continue taking us down memory lane....... :) :)

[OOOOMS]

Entrance for Adults was N$130.00 and half price for children U12
S19 19.909 E15 56.392

There is plenty of game in the area and it wasn't long before we realised the beauty of Etosha

Not long and we spotted 7 cats lying 10m next to the road

Beautiful pans of Etosha!

Overgrown!

Anyone know what these are? ...and no, they are not normal Rooi bokke

More!

There was plenty of rain around....the rains had come early this year

[cheetah]

This is one of the best reports, thanks for sharing it with us, I hope there is more to come.

[Hilux01]

Mark in the hunting frat we call the "swartkop rooibokke" as sub-species of the "original" MCdonalds you find in KNP etc. in my experience they are usually also a bit heavier (carcass weight) than your standard impala. Almost like the 6 different sub-species of "kameelperd" you find all over Africa

[OOOOMS]

This is one of the best reports, thanks for sharing it with us, I hope there is more to come.

Only a pleasure sharing :wink2:

Mark in the hunting frat we call the "swartkop rooibokke" as sub-species of the "original" MCdonalds you find in KNP etc. in my experience they are usually also a bit heavier (carcass weight) than your standard impala. Almost like the 6 different sub-species of "kameelperd" you find all over Africa

100% ...Henk...thought Andy would'nt get it....

thumbnail.aspx.jpg (2.59 KiB) Viewed 5068 times

[OOOOMS]

After driving around all day we headed for the Halali camp site S19 02.107 E16 28.265 Prices were relatively high (R550.00 for x2 adults and 1 child per night) + we would have to pay another day's park fee p/p so we headed for the gate (besides imo the camp site was nothing special!)

Out of the park we headed for the camp site Sachsenheim S18 45.328
E17 15.520
Camp site was nice and tidy but the restaurant was closed as the owners were away, but the skeleton staff would gladly assist us

Food was prepared, while my dear friend Marius attended to his LR......!

After some investigation we found his front universal was poked....removed the front prop-shaft and would continue till Tsumeb where we would hopefully find some spares!

Beautiful sunset

Pretty dirty vehicles from all the rain at Etosha

My number plate.....

The following morning we headed for Tsumeb! Where we would hopefully get some spares...

[Mr_B]

Please sir... can I have some more?

[OOOOMS]

Of all the towns so far visited Tsumeb was the nicest! Situated on the East side of Etosha, seemed to have most almost everything.

First stop CYMOT = ZA's Midas equivalent, to find the LR's prop-shaft universal. No problem, Marius bought x2 (one for spare) I asked the sales-man behind the counter if he knew Trevor (Hi-Hilux)? Sure....everyone in a small town know's one another. So he called him.....but Trevor was playing golf with is son did not answer his phone.....
The salesman directed us to his wife's nursery (just around the corner), where we were pleasantly greeted by his wife

Before we knew it she hopped into her car, sped off and said "I am quickly going to fetch Trevor....." ummmm OK!!!
3 mins later Trevor arrived and we had a cuppa and chatted The ladies shopped in the nursery / curio shop, while we decided how and where we going to repair the LR. As it was not a big job we did it on the pavement!

Trevor's fly away pet....

Once the universal had been repaired Trevor recommended we drive to Bush Baby Lodge where he would later catch up with us about 60km towards Grootfontein.