Month: April 2019

After the peaceful seclusion of Sterreprag, Sesriem campsite was quite a shock to the system. It is the hub for tour operators and overlanders…swarms of them. I felt my enochlophobia kick in. Mercifully, it was only for one night. There is an advantage to staying there, though- you get an hour’s head start to Sossusvlei in the morning, so you can climb the dunes at sunrise before the hordes descend- or ascend in this case.

Going down was much easier:

After emptying a dune of sand from our shoes, we packed up and headed for Swakopmund. There was an essential pit stop in Solitaire for their apparently world-renowned apple tart. Clearly apple tart is a big thing in this neck of the woods – a delicious cultural remnant of German colonisation.

And then the bone-shattering journey began…200 km short of Swakopmund we heard a strange sound and our hearts sank. Yep, another puncture. And so, in the searing heat and dust, we unpacked (yet again) the contents of the boot in order to access the spanner and the high lift jack.

All was going swimmingly at first…

…but then we hit a snag: the jack would not release. So there we stood, with the Jeep cocking its hind wheel in the air in an undignified fashion, trying to figure out the mechanics of the jack. Why wouldn’t it release, dammit? What to do, what to do? I suggested we “call a friend”. We phoned Stew. Ai, die ou ballies! All to no avail – no amount of cranking and fiddling would budge the stupid thing. Then, enter Hulk Hogan and Helga: two well-meaning but equally clueless German tourists, who stopped to try and assist us. I thought that he should just lift the car for us, but was hesitant to ask.

The next dramatis personae to enter the comic drama were a local sheep farmer and his dog. He took a look but also stood scratching his head.

Eventually, we used a regular scissor jack to release the high lift jack, and we were finally able to change the wheel. And so, after much dust, sweat and gevloek, we were on our way again.

Ever since buying a series of photographs of Kolmanskop at the Hout Bay market, I’ve wanted to visit this ghost town on the outskirts of Luderitz. I have a fascination with ruins – I love to imagine what life must have been like in their heyday. We visited Kolmanskop this morning. At its zenith, it was a testament to what can be achieved with lots of money and ingenuity.

It was quite incredible to see how those wealthy German diamond prospectors were able to recreate an almost hedonistic European lifestyle in the middle of the desert. Bear in mind, this was the early 1900s and there was absolutely no fresh water. A million litres of potable water was shipped from Cape Town to Luderitz every month to sustain the town. But don’t think that life was an arduous struggle for survival: they skimped on nothing. There was an ice factory, bakery, butchery and general supplies store which imported luxuries like Camembert cheese and salmon from Germany. Furthermore, to ensure that life was not dull, the quartermaster arranged for European opera singers to perform for the Kolmanskoppers. There was also a bowling alley, restaurant, casino (!), champagne room for the ladies and a whisky room for the gentlemen. A massive saltwater swimming pool, complete with diving board, was yet another indulgence in this bizarre European outpost in the African desert.

Bowling Alley

Now, all that remains are derelict buildings filling with sand, slowly being reclaimed by the desert.

Originally a guano mining area, the deposits on the stairs of one of the former mansions suggests that the wheel is turning.

Sterreprag certainly lived up to its name. There was just a sliver of a moon and no artificial light for kilometres. The night sky was breathtaking. This is a troglodyte’s heaven: if quiet solitude is what you like, this is the place. It was just the two of us and a few cows.

We lit the donkey…

…and, hey presto, we had hot water in the wilderness!

We may have been some of the last people to enjoy this secluded gem of a place as the owner has plans to develop self-catering chalets too. More’s the pity.

Next stop: Sesriem to camp and then up for sunrise over Sossusvlei.

 

Today was another long day in the car, but the exquisite desert landscape and the interesting and unusual sights it offered made it an enjoyable drive.

We stopped off at Mesosaurus Camp where Oom Giel Fosiel (really) entertained us with fascinating facts about the mesosaurus fossils found on his farm. This little amphibious creature became extinct some 250 million years ago. As I applied yet more lip ice to my chapped lips, it was hard to imagine this parched landscape being tropical at one point in its geological

Cast in stone 250 MYA, and in plastic in the last decade.

In order to prevent power outages caused by sociable weavers’ nests built on power lines, separate poles have been provided for this purpose. Got me thinking: could we not entice Eskom officials to feather their nests elsewhere? Poles-moor, maybe?

I’ve seen plenty of biltong shops, maar wragtig, ‘n hele plaas?

These horses (below) may look like your average farm horses, but this was actually a serendipitous sighting of the seldom-seen feral horses of the Namib. There are various theories about their origin, but colonists, from various countries, brought them here- and abandoned them.

Our last stop was Shark Island where we spent the night. It is a beautiful, if windy, place to camp – with spectacular views of the Atlantic Ocean.

Travel Info:

1. The drive from Kalahari Game Lodge to Shark Island, Luderitz was 600km and took us 8 hours – including a two hour stop at Keetmanshoop for supplies and brunch.

2.Keetmanshoop:

1. For SIM cards, go to the “China” shop (in the same street as the information centre.

2. The Illy coffee shop has great coffee. It’s next door to the info centre.

3. There is a Pick n Pay and a Shoprite for supplies. There is a TOPS liquor store too. The butchery isn’t great.

4. BE VIGILANT. We learnt this the hard way when our spare cell phone was nicked out of our car while we packed a few groceries into the boot.

After a hot, blustery, grit-in-the-teeth kind of day, (great for getting laundry dried quickly, though!) the wind finally subsided at sunset.

Staying an extra day here allowed us to take a breather from life on the road. We’re now re-charged and ready for the next leg of the trip. Next stop, Keetmanshoop for provisions, and then on to Kolmanskop to camp.

Some travel tips so far:

1. If you’re intending to cross the border into Namibia at Mata Mata, you need to get your passport stamped at Tweerivieren. Remember to take your permit with you to the border post.

2. If you stay over at Nossob, don’t miss the hide and waterhole. It is lit up at night and seems to attract many animals. We had a spectacular sighting of a brown hyena there.

3. Pack lip ice and heel balm. It’s dry here!

4. Deflate tyres to at least 1.9 kPa for your own comfort and to prevent punctures.

5. Kalahari Game Lodge is a great place to stay. It is 16km from the border at Mata Mata. Campsites are private and facilities well maintained. There’s a beautifully cool swimming pool for some respite from the heat.

We were up with the birds this morning. With coffee packed in our rucksack, we made our way to a lookout point, on top of the highest dune, to watch the sun rise.

From there, we went on a long hike across the red sand dunes of the Kalahari. Walking in that soft sand was quite a workout!

We came across this clutch of ostrich eggs on our walk. Where, I wondered, were the would-be parents? They certainly wouldn’t take kindly to interlopers. I imagined having to beat a hasty retreat with an irate pair of breeding ostriches on our heels. We would have had more than egg on our faces, for sure! However, given the random configuration of the eggs, we reckoned that they had probably been abandoned. We left unscathed. 🙂

There is a 4×4 route on the property so three guesses what we’re doing when it cools down?

I made the foolish error of leaving my slops outside the caravan last night…

We had a beautiful drive to Mata Mata today. The border crossing was quick and easy and we are now at The Kalahari Game Lodge – another gorgeous stop. The campsites are private, set far apart from each other and have plenty of shade. Looking forward to the sunset – and the night sky.

Our timing was a bit out today. On our way to Nossob, we saw a cheetah lying somewhat out of breath under a tree about 50m from the road. We heard from a fellow traveller that we had just missed an abortive hunt. Damn! Later, at Melkvlei picnic site, we ran into our physio, Michelle Swart, who’d been driving a little way behind us. She told us that they’d seen the same cheetah calling her cubs who had then come gamboling over the dune to join her. This must’ve happened just after we’d left.

We felt cheetahed.

Breakfast at Melkvlei: huevos rancheros

Apart from the cheetahs (2 sightings), we saw an enormous Cape cobra winding across the road. As we approached, it reared up and spread its hood to show it meant business. It was quite an intimidating experience. Later in the day when we were both feeling drowsy from the heat, we spotted an African wild cat who had the right idea. It was taking a siesta in the nook of a tree. It reminded me so much of a domestic cat that I attempted to strike up a conversation with it, much like I do with our pet cats back home. I was met with a look of disdain, both from the cat and my husband.

As I type, I can hear the jackals calling as the smells from the camp fires draw them closer. To me, this is the quintessential sound of the bush.

2 April

The day started on a painful note – a loud howl of pain, to be precise. Anton dropped a heavy box of wine on his toe. The good news is that no bottles broke. The same cannot be said about his toenail, however. Eina.

This little piggy had a long soak in the cold swimming pool.

The road to The Tankwa Karoo National Park has sharp teeth!

Despite the precautionary measure of deflating all the tyres…we still got a puncture. Luckily, my co-traveller is a mechanical whizz, and we were on our way again in two shakes of a lamb’s tail. 😉

During our New Zealand road trip, the first thing Marion, Em and I would do on our arrival at a new campsite was to check out the ablution facilities. They ranged from pretty basic to a glamper’s fantasy. Great was our excitement – especially given the sub-zero temperature outside- when the Milford Sound campsite provided private bathrooms with heated towel rails!

What has this got to do with this road trip, you may be wondering. Well, I certainly was not expecting the glamping experience that awaited me at the Tankwa National Park. It was my birthday surprise from Anton Take a look:

Bloody lookshury! Our own private bathroom and scullery!

3 April

54 years old today!

The first dim glow of daybreak woke me, and I watched the looming mountain change colour through my bedside ‘window’. There was a soft, cool breeze on my face, and utter silence – except for the occasional scratch and cluck from the resident covey of Cape spurfowl in the thorny brush surrounding our site. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to enter my 55th year on this planet. I dozed off and was awoken by the shrill whistle of the camp kettle. Coffee was on its way!

Birthday dinner: Moroccan lamb shank potjie. Lipleklekker – Jan Braai kan sy ou skoene agterna gooi.

April 4

Early start today: up at 4.30. We have a long drive ahead and must get to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park before the gates close as well as fitting in a provisions stop in Upington.

So far, the caravaning experience has gone pretty smoothly for greenhorns like us. We have made a few rookie mistakes like forgetting to fill the water tank before we left Cape Town, and almost driving off with our tent roof still raised. No doubt there will be more.