CTown, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, CTown

Tell us about your recent trip. Please add some photographs.
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CTown, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, CTown

Post by GI Jane »

Hi, I'm back from my trip. 9241 km later... Will try and see what I can write as a trip report. Drove the whole way so photo opportunities were often limited, sadly. Wished that my eyes had a camera attached to them and if I blinked I got the shot. But unfortunately until someone comes up with the technology to do that, I have to make do with the ones I could stop and take.. Good sightings of the big 5, will see if I have photo's of all. But just in awe of this amazing beauty and landscapes of the countries I travelled in. Will start with a trip report in a while...
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Re: CTown, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, C

Post by CasKru »

Looking forward to the TR and pics
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Re: CTown, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, C

Post by LouisZ »

Yes please! Looking forward to the Report!!! :thumbup:
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Re: CTown, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, C

Post by Hoppy »

Good to have you back, waiting for the report!
All we get is excuses and no pics after a trip???
Think i will look after the 7d and the big zoom for a while :)
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Re: CTown, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, C

Post by Royco »

Welcome back, Val. :thumbup:
Looking forward to reading your trip report!
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Re: CTown, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, C

Post by Hilux 1 »

welcome back Aunt Val.
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Re: CTown, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, C

Post by Derren »

Welcome back. Can't wait for the words and photos! :cool:
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Re: CTown, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, C

Post by ChrisF »

Okay Val, I know I did not lend you the 5D3 .... but come on .... weeks in the bush and no pics .... thats just CRUEL !!!


remember it is YOUR trip report that is going to keep us sane untill we can get back to the bush. :)
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Re: CTown, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, C

Post by ThysdJ »

You guys must remember, Val was not on holiday, this was a working trip... and I have it on good authority that she worked her backside off on this tour.. :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

Still, no excuse for no photographs!! :acute: :acute: :acute:
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Re: CTown, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, C

Post by ChrisF »

Thys haar WERK was om vir ons fotos te bring ! :tease: :surrender:
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Re: CTown, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, C

Post by GI Jane »

Chris will net weet, is daar n manier wat ek daai 5D3 aan my oe kan koppel en as ek my oe flikker dan neem hy die foto's. Het die mooiste landskappe deur gery maar ongelukkig nie tyd om te stop vir foto's.

So woke up at 2am 8th August, met up with Dirk in his Nissan at 3am and we left the Strand. Think it was the coldest morning of the year, because round about Malmesbury, my Hilux started jerking and started having a loss of power. This continued until about Clanwilliam. It seems that the petrol was freezing in the carburettor while I was driving. Fortunately as it started getting a bit warmer the problem resolved itself and we were able to continue on to Namibia without further issues. Border crossing at Noordoewer went without any hassles. We stopped over in Keetmanshoop with a friend for the night and the next day went on to Windhoek to our accommodation. We had a bit of last minute shopping in town and the next morning we collected our Italian friends at Windhoek International airport. After a short tour of Windhoek the next morning we headed off, back towards Rehoboth and then turned off onto the C24 towards Klein Aub on our way through the Naukluft mountains to Sesriem.... (okay now I need to see if I can find some photot's to add) To be continued......
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Re: CTown, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, C

Post by Thunder02 »

No Val,was just getting into that,you can't stop there,i've just got me a glass of red wine and sat back for a brilliant trip report,so please carry on,i'm just going to fetch the bottle :)
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Re: CTown, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, C

Post by GI Jane »

Niel hope you have'nt finished the wine yet... just had a friend visit and grabbed a glass of red for myself..

Our camp site was at Little Soussus lodge a short drive to Sesriem....
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It was very windy in Namibia and freezing cold the 2 nights we slept near Sesriem there... For any keen photographers, make sure you get camping at Sesriem or in any accommodation inside the park because the gates into the park only open after the sun is up, there is a long queue and you won't make it to get the best light photographs.
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Re: CTown, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, C

Post by GI Jane »

The next morning we went into the park... unfortunately not with the best light for photography but got the best shots I could under the circumstances...

next to dune 45,
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sossusvlei walk to deadvlei
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and one of my best places to be but at sunrise when there are no tourists around, unfortunately not this time around
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and we spent the morning around the dunes, and then went back to the sesriem camp for lunch and then to the sesriem canyon. I had a power nap in my Hilux while Dirk took the Italians through the canyon... so no photo's.. Then back to our campsite for a braai. When we got back to the campsite the tents had been blown around, so we had to tidy up everything and put the tents back in more sheltered places...

The next day we hit the road again, our destination Solitair for a refuel, some bakery specials and coffee, and then on through the Naukluft on our way to Walvis bay. Have to say the gravel roads to Walvis were horrendous. I thought my skeleton was going to re-arrange itself from all the corrugations and holes in the road, even with heavily deflated tyres...
Last edited by GI Jane on Thu Sep 06, 2012 11:54 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: CTown, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, C

Post by GI Jane »

While at Swakop we went to the Dorob National Park to photograph the lunar landscape..
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After swakopmund we hit salt highway up the coastal road up passed Henties bay to Cape cross and the seal colony... We smelt the seals about 1km away from the site... (note to self- next time take a mask and oxygen so that you don't have to smell and breathe in the fowl air)
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Re: CTown, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, C

Post by GI Jane »

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After Cape cross we went back onto the salt highway and made our way to Mile 108 and turned off toward Brandberg nature reserve and our next destination Twyfelfontein. On the way we saw some Himba people and in exchange for a packet of cigarettes I got to take some photo's
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Once again after the salt highway the gravel roads in Damaraland were horrendous... 1 night in Twyfelfontein, pack up camp and off to Kamanjab via Torra and Palmwag. On our way to Twyfelfontein we drove through the dry riverbeds looking for Elephants but unfortunately found none, only evidence that they had been around. At the Kamanjab camp site, unfortunately for us an overland truck with Spanish tourists camped next to us, and they decided it was their night to party, so not much sleep with thumping music and a load of intoxicated tourists next door to us, we left for Etosha pans the next morning...(to be continued)
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Re: CTown, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, C

Post by GI Jane »

Just a hint of what's to come....
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Re: CTown, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, C

Post by Thunder02 »

Great pics so far Val :thumbup: :clap: :thumbup: :clap:
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Re: CTown, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, C

Post by Mud Dog »

Coming along nicely! :thumbup: Keep it up! ;-)
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Re: CTown, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, C

Post by GI Jane »

So from Kamanjab we left for Etosha pans... As we entered the park we went to the waterhole at Okakuejo and saw springbok, zebra, kudu and gemsbok.
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We left the waterhole for Halali and within half an hour a male lion crossed the road in front of us, never managed to get a shot off, it happened very quickly. We took a turn off to the next waterhole and on route, we saw this lady...
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Unfortunately she was alone, and did'nt appear that hungry, and even though the oryx were aware of her presence they did'nt see her as too much of a threat.. At the waterhole,
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We spent the night at Halali. At the waterhole late that night there were a couple of black rhino... here you are just going to have to believe me, cause I aint got no photo's..
The next day we left for our final night in Etosha at Namutoni... We did'nt find many animals on that half of the park, except another sighting of a black rhino, that moved into the bush as soon as we stopped our vehicles.
We left for our next destination early the morning, and stopped, just outside the park to re-inflate our tyres, and thats when my fun and games started... Had the engine running while inflating, and suddenly the engine died. Tried restarting, pushing, tried a tow start with Dirk's Nissan, and nothing... That's the time you phone a friend...
My boet and best friend, Hoppy, was on a boat somewhere, so phone and messaging was tough, plus I was running out of air time... Eventually after trying everything he suggested, we determined it was the fuel pump... The worst part of it all, was I had all other necessary spares, the only thing I was'nt able to get was a spare fuel pump... Sorry Hoppy I know you told me to get one, but I ran out of time... So Dirk towed me 110km to Tsumeb... He wanted me to take photo's of the Nissan towing a Hilux but I just laughed..... Unfortunately it was also Sunday and Toyota were'nt prepared to open the workshop to sell me a fuel pump... A very kind angel stopped in a flashy mercedes benz and after hearing our problem, dashed off to his farm came back dressed like a motor mechanic and proceeded to fit a pump from one of his machines onto my motor. He told me it would get me to Vic Falls and back to Cape Town...
From there onto Rundu where we spent the night.. I decided to take my Hilux to a workshop and get a proper pump fitted, which was done in half an hour the next day, and we made our way to Ngepe on the Okovango river close to Popa falls and to the Botswana border...

We did a tour through the Mahango game reserve and saw Sable antelope and the giant boabab tree and then off to our next border crossing at Mehembo. From their we went to Guma Lagoon where we spent 2 nights on the Delta... Our Italian friends had a day trip on the Mokorra's, I spent the day fighting off some bad water I had drunk. (note to self- remember to take bottled water when you go to brush your teeth, or you will get gippo guts from the bad water at Ngepe) Luckily it was our day off, so I could alternate between sleeping and running to the loo.... The immodium kicked in and I was fine the next day for the drive to Maun. We spent 2 nights at Audi camp in Maun... just loved it there. Meals were brilliant, swimming pool water was cold, but in case I forgot to mention after Swakopmund, and the rain we had there, the weather had warmed up considerably and we were running around in Tshirts and shorts, and of course swimming at every opportunity..

Next stop Moremi, Mankwe, Kwhai river wild camp, Choebe and Savuti... (to be continued)
Last edited by GI Jane on Thu Sep 06, 2012 11:59 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: CTown, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, C

Post by pietpetoors »

Absolute brilliant pictures Val. Welcome back!
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Re: CTown, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, C

Post by mushroom »

Keep the next installment coming fast Val, we are leaving for Bots on Monday so am keen on hearing your trip.. :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:
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Re: CTown, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, C

Post by ChrisF »

MOOI !!!!!!!

Dankie VAL.
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Re: CTown, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, C

Post by The Legend »

Baie mooi Val.Onthou om volgende keer na Hoppy te luister :lol:
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Re: CTown, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, C

Post by ROOFER »

Welcome back Val :thumbup: nice t/r where is the rest :drool: we waiting :?: :?:
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Re: CTown, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, C

Post by ROOFER »

Welcome back Val nice t/r where is the rest .we waiting :drool: :drool:
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Re: CTown, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, C

Post by GI Jane »

Sorry had a bit of business to see to and so will continue my trip report this afternoon...
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Re: CTown, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, C

Post by HennieO »

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

Thanks, great pics, keep em coming!!
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Re: CTown, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, C

Post by Thunder02 »

Great pics :thumbup: :thumbup:
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Re: CTown, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, C

Post by GI Jane »

Guma lagoon has sunrise over the Okovango Delta, I missed the first morning because of the tummy bug, but made sure I was there for the second one..
Guma lagoon sunrise 2.jpg
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.. Just in case you are wondering, the empty beer bottle by Dirks foot was left behind by guests from the night before...
Guma lagoon sunrise.jpg
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We left Guma lagoon for Maun and spent 2 nights there at Audi camp... Wonderful place to stay, with good food.. We did our shopping and laundry in preparation for the next few days in the Moremi, and Chobe parks... From Maun to Mankwe camp... The waterholes around Mankwe were dry so we did'nt find many animals around. The next day we left very early in the morning for the Moremi and entered via the south gate... The gravel roads from Maun to Mankwe and Moremi, were horrific, lots of huge potholes and corrugations.. in Moremi we were in for a feast... at Xini Lagoon
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GI Jane
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Re: CTown, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, C

Post by GI Jane »

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We drove on and were fortunate to come across this beauty
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Yip definitely a male
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Re: CTown, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, C

Post by LouisZ »

Ag Val, now you make me GREEN. I know what trip I will get planning.
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Re: CTown, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, C

Post by Thunder02 »

And you said there was no time for pics............great shots :thumbup: Now you are making me wish Dec was here already :dance1:
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Re: CTown, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, C

Post by IISARGE »

those were great pics val :thumbup: and yes you are so,so right about audi camp and yes the food was fantastec thunder 02 will agre with me :cooldude:
it was a good working holiday i an sure :drool:
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Re: CTown, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, C

Post by ROOFER »

nice pics Val thanks!!! ;-)
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Re: CTown, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, C

Post by mushroom »

Hey Val,

What were the roads like in the Moremi? did you cross the river at Khwai village on the transit route? if so what was the line (of course I will wade it to check - just thought a heads up might help :thumbup: :thumbup: ). We leave on Monday and cant wait !!!

Keep the fantastic pics and story coming...
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GI Jane
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Re: CTown, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, C

Post by GI Jane »

James we camped at Kwhai Community wild camps... Not much water anywhere, other than the rivers themsleves, just a few shallow water crossings. water is yecky so wading is not often an option... Dirk did do a nose dive with water over his bonnet in what we thought was a shallow crossing, but I think it was a hippo pool, I avoided taking my Hilux for a swim and there was an alternate little shallow crossing next to it. Lots of thick sand around Kwhai River, and Chobe to Savuti and from Savuti to Kasane. Roads are bad. Harder roads very pot holed and corrugated. Thick sand sections on some occasions used LR and Diff lock, also bumpy, sometimes down to 10kph because of the bouncing. Die paaie was rof. Lot of the water holes were pretty dry..
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Re: CTown, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, C

Post by SuidWes »

Brilliant pics - Thanks for sharing
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GI Jane
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Re: CTown, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, C

Post by GI Jane »

We saw lots of elephant, giraffe, zebra, kudu, impala and the regular animal sightings in Moremei... Had a few minor water crossings, but found that essentially it was a lot drier than I had anticipated.. Quite a few of the smaller waterholes were dry. As I said earlier, Dirk did a bit of a nose dive into what started off as a shallow crossing and then dipped very deep but it was a narrow section and he came straight out the other sided. Thought I was going to return the favour of his towing me from Namutoni by having to pull him out of the river... Just dreaded the thought of having to find his recovery hooks in that stinky muddy water, but he drove straight out...without any problem... We camped at Mankwe and the road from Mankwe camp to Moremi, and back was really terrible. In the park it was not that noticable because one is driving really slowly to look for game. The next morning we left Mankwe for Mababe, and took the transit road to our next campsite which was the Kwhai Community camp... Saw lots of elephant, hippo, impala,zebra,,,,

A word of caution for the skittish, camping at Kwhai river is a very interesting experience. We had hippo grazing out of the water just outside our camp, we had bachelor heard of 5 LARGE elephants taking the trees down in and around our camp, we had a visit from a hyena, and untold visits from about 4 honey badgers. Guys that left the morning we arrived had a pride of lion in a bush behind their camp the whole night. They never slept, the roaring of the male lions kept them awake, shivering in their sleeping bags... So make sure you have enough fire wood to have a massive fire to keep the animals as far from you as possible, and anticipate a sleepless night or two.. With the bachelor heard in our camp, Dirk started a second fire on the other side of our vehicles just 4 meters away from where a huge male was helping himself to the branches off a tree... when the elephant turned to scratch its butt against the tree, I thought the whole tree was coming down... Oh and definitely have no photo's of our night visitors, must say the hyena was magnificent, but had no time to grab my camera...
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Last edited by GI Jane on Thu Sep 06, 2012 12:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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GI Jane
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Re: CTown, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, C

Post by GI Jane »

We left Khwai community camp the next morning, oh and by the way, sure you all know this, but be totally self sufficient NO facilities at all it is a wild camp... Next stop Savuti, thick soft sand roads, rutted, used LR and difflock quite often.... lots of bouncing and rolling around in the soft sand.. We had a channel site at Savuti, really nice because we had elephant most of the day in the water and on the banks... But on game drives around saw very little other than the odd kudu, and impala... Dirk and I were taking a bit of time out, sitting watching the sunset over the channel when I saw movement coming out the the bush towards the channel....
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Unfortunately very low light, so I had to pump up the ISO to get a shot... she had settled in the long grass by the time I got my camera... And instead of her coming down to the water to drink which I think was her intention, something in the bush behind her caused her to get up and walk back towards the bush,...
Last edited by GI Jane on Thu Sep 06, 2012 12:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: CTown, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, C

Post by GI Jane »

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Once again we had a bit of action in camp that night when 2 elephants started looking like they were'nt happy to share our campsite... Fortunately it did'nt blow up to badly and they eventually went on their way to keep some others campers up for a while...

Next day on to Kasane and a boat ride on the chobe...
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Re: CTown, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, C

Post by GI Jane »

We arrived in Kasane and immediately went to book our sunset cruise on the wetland and river. There was a lot of animals on the islands and wondering around the highways and byways and in town... Warthog were around our campsite and in the streets..
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The next morning we left Kasane for the Kazungula border post into Zimbabwe and then to Vic Falls...

At Vic Falls our Italian friends went to the falls and Dirk and I went to the markets to do some shopping...

After breakfast the next morning said farewell to our Italian friends and we left for the long drive home. Back over the border to Bots at Kazungula, then some last minute goodies in Kasane on to the Ngoma border crossing into the Caprivi, to Katima Mulilo, then along the strip to Rundu.. We eventually decided to overnight at just before Grootfontein, 12 hrs after leaving Vic Falls... 4 hrs sleep and upat 3am, we hit the road again at 4am, drove 16 hrs to get over the border at Noordoewer. We slept at a camp on the Orange river for a couple of hours and then left very early, another 8 hrs to get home..... 3000km, in 3 days, with 10 hrs sleep in between.. was pretty tired when I got home... Now I need a holiday..
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Re: CTown, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, C

Post by Royco »

Thanks for sharing, Val. :thumbup: :thumbup:
Makes me envious!!
3000km, in 3 days
that is insane!! :blackeye:
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Re: CTown, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, C

Post by GI Jane »

Royco wrote:Thanks for sharing, Val. :thumbup: :thumbup:
Makes me envious!!
3000km, in 3 days
that is insane!! :blackeye:
Tell me about it... the Nissan got a sniff of Gordon's bay harbour as we left Vic Falls, and the rest is history...
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Re: CTown, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, C

Post by ChrisF »

Val baie dankie, dit was nou regtig n PUIK trip report. MOOI fotos !!
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Re: CTown, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, C

Post by JohanM »

GI Jane wrote:
Royco wrote:Thanks for sharing, Val. :thumbup: :thumbup:
Makes me envious!!
3000km, in 3 days
that is insane!! :blackeye:
Tell me about it... the Nissan got a sniff of Gordon's bay harbour as we left Vic Falls, and the rest is history...
Val excellent pictures and a nice report on your trip. :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

I can relate to your short but long drive home. Did last year 2200 km with 4 hours sleep in between the two days coming back from Quelimane to Parys.
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Re: CTown, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, C

Post by HennieO »

:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

Fan-frikkin-tastic!!!!
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