Waterfalls and cold seas

We picked Ianthe up from the bus at 01.45 am (and very prompt it was) and then stayed up until well after 3am after we had been told that there was to be a full lunar eclipse, but nothing happened. It was a lovely night with a full moon though.

After stocking up on supplies in Springbok the following morning and a visit to the Springbok Lodge and Restaurant (which Nico had compelled us to visit before we left) we headed over the Messelpad Pass towards the coast. We passed a prison a long time derelict, on the way. Apparently Italian prisoners (POW’s I think) had been shipped to the coast and then had to march inland to this prison to build the pass. Pretty hard and hot work.

The next day we passed through Hondeklipbaai. It was really quite cold in the sea mist, such a change from a few kilometres inland, as we explored the twisted and rusted wreck of the Aristea. The coastline is still very desolate but not nearly as inhospitable as the Namibian coast.

It seems that the main industry in the area is diamond mining. There are many private mines all around the area and we think that these boats are the sea floor hoovering boats (not really their technical term). I did not really expect them to be so small.


We carried on zigzagging down the Western Cape as we drove inland to the Cedarberg area. After the arid Northern Cape it was so refreshing. We found a lovely campsite frequented by families from Cape Town. It was very busy on the day we arrived (Saturday) with lots of families, but there was a lot of space for us all and we had a lovely grassy spot in the shade. The campsite had a dammed off swimming hole in the creek, the water was wonderful.


The flora must have been wonderful earlier in the year. There were protea bushes everywhere and such a variety of fynbos. Sadly, most of the cedar forest has been destroyed by fires and there is not much evidence that it is regenerating in any hurry.

The next day we took a beautiful walk up to a waterfall. On reaching our destination we just sat for ages, eating Sparkles (a treat from Ianthe) and chilling out by the rushing water. By the time we descended back down to the campsite it was almost empty- most of the families had gone home.

We are now back on the coast at Stompneusbaai watching the shags and seagulls. Yesterday I found a pool in the low tide just stashed full of shoals of really small fish. It was fascinating watching them move around and change direction en-masse with the odd fish jumping. There were a couple of seagulls around but I almost expected to see a cat on rock sticking its paw in the water, just like a gold fish bowl. When I went back this morning to take a photo, they were all gone. So I took a really cold, and short, swim in the sea instead.

Jazzy B 1 today. Daddy will buy you a nice big present, but you'll probably find the box more interesting. Love from Super Auntie and 'Special' Uncle

Happy Birthday Dad. Hope you have a day off and a beer or two. We're in the Cederberg Wilderness Area, zigzagging South.

Blue Danube? Steinfeld!

Catkin forgot to mention the dressing down she gave an unsuspecting local while we waited for the river to recede on our way into Sossusvlei.

One of the first things we had noticed when we arrived at the entrance gate was the set of recycling bins which had been installed by Raleigh International a few years earlier. We had seen a lot of broken glass on our travels, so thought this was an excellent idea.

Anyone who knows Catkin well knows that one of her pet hates is litter, and she never misses an opportunity to try an educate anyone she sees committing the dreadful act. Well, this guy had driven up in his ute to join his mate from Namibian Wildlife Resorts (who run the show) and have a look at the river. After he had finished the bottle of beer he was drinking he casually lobbed it into the water without a second thought. I don’t think he will do it again in a hurry. His only attempt at an excuse was “There was nowhere to put it…” He looked very sheepish.

As Catkin said in the last entry, Sossusvlei was spectacular, made even more so by having the whole place to ourselves.

After Luderitz we visited the Garub feral horse view point, where we spent the evening watching groups of horses come to drink. You'll have to look pretty hard to see any in the photo though.

Further east the next day we called in to Keetmanshoop to fill up with diesel and stock up on groceries. When we had been in Walvis Bay a couple of weeks earlier, an English gent had come up to talk to us about Land Rovers. He has a Land Rover garage in Sussex, although he now lives in Namibia. He gave us the name and details of the mechanic based near Keetmanshoop that he uses, highly recommending his services. Seeing as we were passing through, we thought we would try and find him. Shortly we were heading down a rough road until about 60km out of town we found what we were looking for – “Steinfeld - Johan Strauss.” We still weren’t sure that this was the right place, although the immaculately presented Land Rover parked under the tree outside the house gave us a glimmer of hope. Around the back of the house, however, it was Land Rovers everywhere, Quite a few in parts, some completely written off and many mid-restoration. He has to be the most knowledgeable Land Rover man we have ever met. We spent ages talking to him and his wife Ina about our trip and the repairs we have made. He gave us lots of advice, and was able to demonstrate on old parts what to watch out for. We considered getting him to recondition our noisy gearbox, but these things don’t come cheap so we are still hoping it will get us to New Zealand as it is. We camped on their farm that night, and after taking up even more of his time the next morning finally bade them farewell. He even managed to find in his stores the fuel line we had been unable to track down in all of Windhoek. Catkin felt justified in her claim that we have had exceptional bad luck when he admitted that he had never seen a transfer lever become disconnected as had happened to us in Kenya. Overall, our Steinfeld experience was inspirational and well worth the detour to get there. Catkin thinks the two of them should be declared Namibian National Treasures.

We had intended to go into Fish River Canyon, but when we arrived at the gate we found out that the entry fees were twice what we had expected. We were down to our last few Namibian dollars, so decided to give it a miss in this instance. Maybe next time.

From there it was only a short journey to the Orange River which forms the border with South Africa. We met a motorcyclist from Manchester on a Triumph at the border. He had left the UK in October, and it sounded like he had spent ages pushing his bike through the mud. He seemed well and truly over it and was looking forward to getting to Cape Town and then back home.

On our arrival in Springbok the other day, we were driving around trying to sort out a few things we needed to change the oil in the transfer box. We were shown true South African hospitality when Nico from Springbok Motor Rewinders let me park up in front of his workshop to do the oil change, got one of his workers to bring me a sheet of cardboard to lie on and some rags, and even took care of the waste oil. It was incredible and we were very grateful.

Now we’re awaiting the arrival of our friend Ianthe who is coming up on the bus from Cape Town to join us for a week or so. She will be our first visitor, so we have been practising our manners. No more burping after dinner, Catkin. Hopefully she doesn’t think we have turned a bit weird having just our own company for the last eight months.

Today is our 241st day on the road since leaving London on the 25th of June last year. We have covered about 40,000km so far, yet we are only just over 9000km from London as the crow flies. The distance (as the crow flies) to Queenstown, New Zealand is about 11,200km, although that is via Antarctica, and I don’t imagine many crows fly that far south. Not too many Land Rovers make it to the South Pole either, but don’t think we haven’t considered it. As Catkin mentioned, we are now out of the Tropics, and we seem to have made it safely through without contracting Malaria. We have changed the engine oil five times and I’ve had six haircuts, courtesy of Catkin. And we still haven’t made it to Cape Town yet!

Not many photos lately, so I’ve included this one from Jordan.

We finally got our flash floods

But more of that later.

We left Windhoek on a very rainy day and decided to head towards Sossusvlei, Namibia’s number one tourist destination. The route took us through yet more stunning scenery. We made a lovely bush camp that evening after a bit of track bashing to find a sheltered spot. The next morning we passed this herd of Oryx (Gemsbok) as we headed back to the road.

In Solitaire we treated ourselves to their famous apple crumble (having read about it in an article about Mike Copeland’s trans-Africa trip). It was really good to enjoy someone else’s cooking. From the entrance to Sossusvlei we could see that there had been a lot of rain in the mountains and there was much talk of a couple of roads being washed out. We took a look at the Sesriem Canyon. This is normally dry and it is possible to walk along the bottom of the canyon, not today though.



We had heard it is best to view Sossusvlei in early morning sun. Considering that the camping fees were £40 (UK) for the night (just a little out of our budget).We decided to camp down the road a bit so that we could make an early start in the morning, it was still a 65km drive in the park to Sossusvlei. We ended up camping on a bit of high ground near to where the road was flooding. We whiled away the time watching drivers decide whether or not to negotiate the crossing. We did not want to go through the flooded road in case the water increased overnight and we could not get back again as it was still raining in the mountains. That was a good decision. The waters rose considerably overnight and at some point during the night we had been completely surrounded by water. At this point, though, we did not know that the same ephemeral river makes it way to Sossusvlei.

Shortly before 6am we packed up the tent and waited for the gate to open at 6.30. Apparently the internal gate opens at 5.30, but plebs like us are not allowed in until an hour later. We bought our permits and we were on our way as the sun rose. But we did not get very far. After 25km we could go no further. Quite a few cars and tourist vehicles had collected watching the torrent of water blocking our way. I took a wade through the first half of it which was fine but the second half- NO WAY. We retired to a hill for breakfast and to wait it out.



While I climbed the nearest sand dune and Gavin did computer stuff and kept an eye on the water level from afar. The water level was dropping and by 10.30 we moved back down to have a closer look. However there was still rapids in the river.



Many people came and went and we did feel that everybody was waiting for us to make the first move. Even at one o’clock the water was still too fast. Eventually at 2 o’clock, when no one was watching, Gavin made his way on foot to the other side. The water level had reduced by nearly a metre since when I first had a look. We decided that if he could walk it then the car could definitely make it, and the old girl performed very well. Not too much water came in the rear passenger doors and we were the first through and no one else knew, so we had the whole park to ourselves. Fantastic.

After another 30km the sand became quite soft, so for the first time we decided to let some air out of the tyres and it really made a difference, especially with the extra weight we carry around. We enjoyed a wonderful few hours exploring the Sossusvlei pan (a clay pan surrounded by huge dunes) and Dedvlei.

When we returned to the car the underside was being besieged by about 20 small finch like birds trying to get to the water trapped in the nooks and crannies. In the evening there were quite a few jackals around but they did not bother us. I think that they help to keep the place clean. Only two more vehicles entered after us

We ended up spending the night there which we think may not be permitted, but there was nothing to say that it was prohibited and we did arrive quite late (bear in mind that we were sold permits when it was already known to park staff that the road was impassable).

In the morning we were up on the dunes before sunrise where it was beautifully still, waiting for the tranquillity to be broken. But no one arrived for another hour and a half. We cannot help but wonder how many experience having Sossusvlei to themselves. We did observe some water covering part of the valley in the distance but we had not brought our binoculars up with us, otherwise we may have noticed that it was moving- it was the water left over from yesterdays flooding making its way to Sossusvlei.

After more people started to arrive we made our way out, only to be met by the water as it made its way to Sossusvlei. It was very surreal to see the water headed straight towards us. We reached higher ground where we had breakfast and re-inflated the tyres. By the time we were ready to leave we heard that the water had reached the pan which was slowly filling up.

We are now in Luderitz, a Bavarian diamond mining and sardine fishing town, on the coast. It is a long, long way from anywhere here and is really rather bizarre. It is on the edge of the desert and there is no vegetation, just sand and rock. We overlook the town and it is reminiscent of a whaling outpost in Alaska (not that I have ever been to one). It is not what one would expect just south of the Tropic of Leprechaun, oops I mean Capricorn. We have not camped near a town for a very long time and it was lovely yesterday evening, just watching everything light up.

From here we will make for Fish River Canyon and then South Africa.

Essential repairs

We’ve now been in Namibia for three weeks, which is the longest we have spent in a single country since we left Egypt. It is a vast country with lots of open space and a population of only two million, and been one of the best for camping out in the wild. Some of the places we have found to camp have been absolutely magical.

We ended up spending four nights camped out in the sand dunes near Swakopmund. On the first night there we decided to walk up the dunes to watch the sunset. Walking up sand dunes isn’t easy at the best of times, but after seven months of sitting in a car with very little physical exercise it nearly killed me. My little heart felt like it was try to jump out of my chest, but it was worth it for the view. Pretty good fun coming down too.

Most of the days there were spent making repairs to various bits and pieces of the Land Rover. Each day there was a new job to attend to, but finally after a couple of days everything seemed okay for us to be able to get to Windhoek, where we knew we would be able to buy parts for the larger repair jobs we had been putting off.

On what we though would be our last afternoon there, we went into Swakopmund to get fuel and water, and to post Catkin’s blog entry which she had been busy writing while I worked on the vehicle. However, on our way back to the dunes, the occasional squeak that we had heard over the last couple of days suddenly became a loud grating noise, which after a bit of investigation we determined to be our front left wheel bearings. This was quite exciting for us, because we actually had wheel bearings and associated consumables in our very carefully considered supply of spare parts. Up until now, aside from fuel and oil filters, we had only used one universal joint of the parts we had carried all the way from England. Everything else that had broken we had either had to mend or buy en route. We slowly made our way back to the campsite, and a good part of the next morning was spent dismantling the front left hub and replacing those bearings.

After that, we decided to go into Swakopmund for a swim in the sea, then stay another night and leave early the next morning.

It was a long drive through to Windhoek, but on the way we detoured past Spitzkoppe, a massive rock outcrop.

We have now spent three days in Windhoek, and again most of the time has been taken up with repairs. We have been camping in the carpark of the Puccini Guest House very close to the centre of town, and I have been able to carry out all the work there. The guest house owner pointed us in the direction of an excellent Land Rover parts dealer who has had almost everything we have needed, including a new fuel tank and set of front coil springs. While I have been busy trying to remove old parts and replace them with new, Catkin has been traipsing around to the parts stores to get all the extra bits and pieces we need as more things break or need fixing. Now the fuel tank is in, the anti-roll bar that we took off in Botswana is back on, and the front of the vehicle is level and restored to its full height with the new springs, which just happen to be very close in colour to Rover Sandglo, the official colour of Camel Trophy Land Rovers. We even have new rubber mountings for our air cleaner housing, replacing the broken ones that we first repaired in Slovakia all those months ago. No more wire holding it all together.

So, not much in the way of sightseeing lately, and no exciting news to report, but it has been a busy week nonetheless. All our washing is done and our water tank is full so tomorrow we head out of town, into the desert again. Not fully sure exactly where we will head for yet, but we will be sure to let you know.

Sand dunes and leaks

We said goodbye to Amai in Oshikato and headed out on our own again. We had intended to buy fuel at a town close to the Angolan border. However some of these towns turned out to be more of a dot on the map and when we blinked we must have missed it. We just hoped we had enough diesel to last us to Opuwo. The one item that these towns sell in abundance is beer and there is a proliferation of bottle stores in the North West of Namibia. Often they are helpfully are combined with a builders merchant or motor spares shop.

The mopane and savanna gradually gave way to flooded sand plains and palm trees with a light dusting of new grass. Many animals were grazing in the flooded area. Most were either skinny, pregnant or tending their young, evidently just holding out for the rain. In Etosha we saw a Springbok doe licking her newborn clean. The foal was already on its feet trying to jump around.

Having journeyed north from Botswana we were again very close to having the sun overhead. The last time it was overhead we getting stuck in the mud.

The route to Epupa Falls took us along the Kunene River which forms the border with Angola. This is one of the few permanent rivers in Namibia and the road was a bit like a rollercoaster as we drove up and down all the dry river beds running into it. I had been scanning the skies in the distance hoping for rain clouds which might herald a flash flood, there was plenty of higher ground to escape to. However, despite all the rain we have seen my hopes were in vain. The rain has brought the area to life though. Many charred and sunburnt plants were giving way to blooms and trees were just bursting with leaves. Even out of bone dry sand, flowers were emerging. Each day brought more greenery and blooms.

As usual the actual distance bore little resemblance to those quoted on our maps and on road signs, with our ever dwindling diesel supply we eventually arrived at the Epupa Falls. This was a delightful area where from the surface it all just looks like a few rapids but when you walk over the rocks right to the edge all the water gushes down a 37 metre deep gash in the rock with Baobab tress clinging to the sides of the ravine.

This area is home of the Himba. The Himba women paint themselves (skin and hair) in red earth even their garments are red. They are bare breasted and wear leather skirts. The men seem to wear jeans and a shirt. There are many signs inviting one to visit their villages where one is expected to pay to take photographs, I have heard as much as 50N$ per photo is demanded. At the Falls we met a group pf Estonians who had visited a village and really enjoyed the experience until they were virtually mobbed by vendors of trinkets and souvenirs which they ended up buying many items because they felt both guilty and pressurised. I do appreciate that these cultures are very fragile and need support but we did not feel comfortable with this kind of support. Especially considering the number of beer bottle dumps co-located with the towns.

On the road to Opuwo we did find a fuel vendor so we bought 5litres from their drum after carefully inspecting it for impurities and water, just in case. We need not have been so worried. We made it all the way to Opuwo, past the first two fuel stations, through a stop sign, without quite stopping, and onto the forecourt of the BP station. Where, if Jan Toots and his truck had not been in the way we would have rolled to the diesel pump. Much to the amazement of Jan we had travelled 2030 kilometres on one tanking (including jerry cans) and had to use our emergency 5litres to make the final ten metres to the pump.

In Opuwo we were similarly mobbed by Himba who wanted to sell to us. When I politely declined, all the souvenirs are made of wood and seeds anyway which we would not be permitted to take into either Australia or New Zealand, I was accused of refusing to support their community.

Driving south to Sesfontein we drove down the steepest of roads. From the top I could barely see the bottom a few hundred metres down. It was a very slow descent for us. We saw no other vehicles on the whole stretch of road and I wondered how the trucks managed.

At Sesfontein we stayed at a local community run campsite on the hillside and attended to “personal administration”. The next morning, as I emerged from the tent, I could just make out a figure on the bend of the road one kilometre or so away, watching the campsite. As I was preparing breakfast the lad suddenly appeared with his bundle which he dropped near to the car. I greeted him and after a while he retired to the shade to watch us. As we were preparing to leave two women from the village turned up to re-connect the water supply (which the village and campsite share). The boy picked up his bundle and bolted, we never saw him again.

Hoping to spot desert dwelling elephants we took a drive down the ephemeral Hoanib river bed. We drew a blank on the elephants but Gavin did manage to complete “fiendish” sudoku puzzle he had been trying to figure out for ages. Carrying on the road south we saw these special elephants, giraffes and of course springbok.

The next morning after a windy and wet night we came across a car with four passengers and wheels all over the show. Late last night they sustained their second puncture and with no means to repair it were a bit stuck. We were the first car to pass by so we picked up another hitchhiker for a short while.

That night we made a lovely bush camp in the setting sun reflecting off Brandberg, Namibias highest mountain, nestled into some rocks for shelter from the wind. In the morning everything was shrouded in mist.

That day, whilst stopping to look at Welwitchias, which may not be traditionally beautiful they do live for 2000 years, we noticed a new leak of diesel from the main fuel tank.

Closer inspection, which involved removing the step and tank guard, which resulted in more bolts shearing off, revealed a pretty knackered fuel tank that is not really repairable. Let’s hope that our third and final fuel tank does not develop any holes now. Our jerry cans, thanks Pete, have come in really useful for siphoning fuel out of the tanks as well as increasing our range.

After a not so happy day we took refuge that night at the lovely Save the Rhino Trust Base Camp on the Ugab river. Although water was a bit scarce we did have hot showers out of a bucket. In the morning a ranger showed us the tracks of lion which had walked 50metres from our car during the night. Also, for the first time in Africa, there was loads of information about the area, the Rhinos and other fauna and flora.

From there it was all downhill to the sea. It was quite strange how the desert melts into the ocean. The very long, straight and flat shoreline is flanked by a hard salt road (not sure what happens when it rains, which is pretty seldom) and big fish fishing must be the main pursuit. Just about both of the other cars on the road had very long fishing rods attached to the front bumper like a big radio aerial.

Yesterday morning, I noticed a new fluid leaking from the bottom of the car. Oh no, it looked like brake fluid. But no the brake fluid levels were fine. It was clear salty fluid and as the sun rose higher it all dried off. It was there again this morning. All we can think is that despite spending ages washing and sluicing Etosha lime out of every nook and cranny, much of the salts still remain and is attracting moisture overnight. We think it is only happening now because there is much more moisture on the coast. Does anyone else have an explanation?

After finding tools, screws and more lovely shops to buy food from in Walvis Bay we are now camped in the sand dunes close to Swakopmund where Gavin has carried out yet more repairs to the car.