In September and October 2024, we travelled 4,200 kms in twenty days from Victoria Falls, through Chobe, Moremi, Kgaligadi, Fish River Canyon and Richtersveld to Cape Town. I was travelling with my cousins, Karen and Michelle Stodel from Cape Town and my nephew, Gordon Lycett from Brisbane, Australia.
All the good photos in this article were taken by Gordon on his Samsung Galaxy Ultra 23S phone. Subjects that I failed to photograph properly with my 300mm lens were beautifully photographed by his phone.
We were travelling in my 1999 Land Cruiser 105. We started the trip with 378,000 kms on the clock so it was inevitable that there would be a few maintenance issues en route. We were pulling my Echo 2 off road trailer with a roof tent. Karen and Michelle slept in the roof tent and Gordon and I each had our own ground tents.
When I quote prices, I use the original currency. At the beginning of my trip the exchange rates to the GB pound were: South African Rand 23.27, Botswana Pula 17.37, Namibian Dollar 23.27 and US$ 1.28. I have used these rates throughout this report, irrespective if rates changed or the actual conversion rates differed.
Karen and Michelle arrived yesterday by plane from Cape Town and Gordon arrived from Brisbane via Johannesburg. We started their first visit to Victoria Falls by having beers at The Lookout Café overlooking the gorge below the Falls.
We spent a few hours unpacking the trailer and cleaning.
In the evening, we had a great meal at The Three Monkeys.
This morning, we were at the gate of the Zimbabwean Victoria Falls at 06h00. I had thought that we would have the Falls to ourselves at that time, but two hundred others had the same thought. Fortunately, we were soon dispersed and so our viewing pleasure was not disturbed.
In November 1855, David Livingstone was the first European who saw the falls, when he travelled from the upper Zambezi to the mouth of the river between 1852 and 1856. The falls were well known to local tribes, and Voortrekker hunters may have known of them, as may the Arabs under a name equivalent to “the end of the world”. Europeans were sceptical of their reports, perhaps thinking that the lack of mountains and valleys on the plateau made a large falls unlikely. We took the obligatory photo beneath the statue of David Livingstone.
The advantage of seeing the Falls in October, rather than in March, is that the water is low, the spray is low, and one can really appreciate the Falls. This was particularly true as the sun rose creating wonderful views.
We stopped at all eighteen viewing points. At the last viewing point, we had a view of the bridge over the gorge which links Zimbabwe with Zambia by road and rail. The bridge was the brainchild of Cecil Rhodes, part of his grand and unfulfilled Cape to Cairo railway scheme, even though he never visited the falls and died before construction of the bridge began. Rhodes is recorded as instructing the engineers to “build the bridge across the Zambezi where the trains, as they pass, will catch the spray of the Falls”. The bridge was prefabricated in Darlington, England before being shipped to the port city of Beira in Portuguese-ruled Mozambique and then transported on the newly constructed railway to the Victoria Falls. It took just 14 months to construct and was completed in 1905.
As we watched a freight train crossed the bridge with baboons trying to access their cargo, which was presumably something the baboons wanted to eat.
We had breakfast at Brooks Café and Deli in the Elephants Walk Shopping Centre, shopped for provisions at Pick n Pay, collected the trailer from Cresta Sprayview Hotel and headed to the Zambezi National Park which is close by.
As we made our way from the Park gate, we saw a few buffalo hiding under a bush, two sable and a dazzle of zebra at a waterhole.
I had booked the hide at Chamabondo Pan 3 not really knowing what it was about. We found it to be a raised platform, one metre off the ground measuring about eight metres by six, with a roof over it and the sides covered with wire. A nearby lookout platform, at a height of five metres, provided a view over the pan. We moved our table, chairs and camp beds into the hide and relaxed in the afternoon heat.
Animals passed by the waterhole including many elephants.
The night was colder than I expected. Lions roared in the distance.
Day 2 – Thursday 26th September 2024 – To Ihaha Campsite in Chobe Riverside – 125 kms
It was lovely to wake up in the hide as the sun rose over the waterhole and an elephant drank.
We exited the Park at the nearby exit (seeing a ground hornbill on the way), drove to the Botswana border and passed through both border points quickly.
A dashboard warning light had been on for a few days, and we were lucky that a mechanic was quickly assigned at Halfway Toyota in Kasane to solve our problem. A broken wire to an engine thermostat took a while to find and repair. We also ordered a replacement pipe to our air filter and a replacement air filter to be delivered to their Maun dealership to await our arrival. We left three hours after arriving.
We shopped at Mr Veg and Sefalana and filled our jerry cans with petrol.
We no longer had time to meander through Chobe Riverside to Ihaha Campsite. My Garmin told me that there was a gate to Ihaha off the transit road. When I arrived at the apparent gate there was no gate but an open road. I ignored the no entry sign, and we quickly arrived at Ihaha much to the consternation of the Park officials, who confirmed that we should have entered by one of the two official gates. We confirmed that we would pay the Park fees on our exit tomorrow at Ngoma Gate.
We set up camp for the first time, all the time aware that elephants were passing nearby.
Day 3 – Friday 27th September 2024 – To Thobolos– 173 kms
We backtracked along the river and quickly came across a pair of sleeping lions, a few elephants and a kori bustard.
We were told about and quickly found a pride of lions finishing off a kudu kill. Oh no! Gordon is now going to expect lions at a kill every time we go out.
A feature of Chobe is the large number of elephants, and we quickly saw many. There were plenty of impala, a few giraffe, vultures on a tree and a yellow billed kite on the ground.
At the Ngoma Gate we were admonished for entering the Park the day before at a place that did not have a gate. They dragged the registration process out and when they finished, I grabbed the receipt and our passports and returned to the car. The others had inflated our tyres.
We filled up at Muchenje, knowing this was our last petrol until Maun. We left Pula 200 in an honesty box as we took eight bundles of wood from a roadside stand.
We laughed at the cheeky notices of Thobolos warning of the soft sand.
The property at Thobolos on the Barangwe Pan has been owned by Mike Gunn since 1981 and in 2013 was expanded to include chalets, camping and a restaurant. They have a first-floor bar that looks out over a waterhole that they pump 15,000 litres of water to each day. We entered the bar to see no animals at the waterhole. Within fifteen minutes ten elephants were drinking and over the next two hours another sixty elephants came to drink. Most other animals were too intimidated to approach the waterhole including three wild dogs who kept their distance.
The campsite is outside the fenced area and Gordon was fearful to see that the elephants that had just drunk at the waterhole were wandering past our campsite.
We had dinner in the restaurant looking on to the flood lit waterhole where yet more elephants were drinking.
The night was noisy with the sound of plenty of animals.
Day 4 – Saturday 28th September 2024 – To Savuti – 156 kms
I realised when booking into Thobolos yesterday that I did not have my folder with all the booking confirmations for the trip and importantly, also, my car registration documents. We called the Ngoma Gate who confirmed that they had not seen the folder. I was clear in my mind that the only place the folder could be, was the Ngoma Gate, so Gordon and I left at 06h00 to return to the Gate.
We made good progress without the trailer and arrived at 07h20. The gate official confirmed that they had received my phone call and that they had not found the folder. I looked at the counter and there it was! With great relief I grabbed the folder, and we headed back, filling up again at Muchenje.
As we arrived back at camp a dust storm was engulfing the camp site. Fearful that our tents would be blown away we struck camp in record time, spitting out sand as we worked.
We travelled slowly through the heavy sand through the Ghoha Gate to the Savuti Campsite, arriving at lunchtime. Gordon and Michelle were hoping for interesting snacks at the tuck shop but were left disappointed. The day was the hottest so far, so we sought the shade.
In our afternoon game drive, there were no animals to be found in the bush, but the Savuti Waterhole was busy.
We had a bad night in the heat. Lions roared and hyenas laughed.
Day 5 – Sunday 29th September 2024 – Savuti – 107 kms
We were on the road at 06h00. There were a few impala at the Savuti Waterhole.
We were heading towards the Marsh Road when we saw several cars at a rocky outcrop. A leopard was making his way through the rocks. We caught a few glimpses.
At a point we stopped and then could not restart the car. Gordon quickly identified that the previous temporary repair of the pipe to the air filter had failed so he taped up the crack and we were mobile again.
At Marabou Pan three lionesses were seeking water from a dry waterhole. A large solar panel installation suggested that water was normally pumped to the waterhole, but it was clear that it had not been working for a few days.
We followed the Marsh Road for a good distance, stopped for a snack and then headed back to camp.
We sweltered in the heat in camp.
In the afternoon we returned to the Savuti Waterhole to find plenty of cars but few animals. We took a lovely road that curved eastwards and crossed a riverbed and brought us back to the camp.
We returned to the Savuti Waterhole and then took a track westwards which took us over a pan where we took photos of the car.
A stork was sitting on a branch as the sun set.
Day 6 – Monday 30th September 2024 – To Mbudi in Khwai- 105 kms
We were headed to the Marsh Road to leave Savuti when we were directed to a gathering of twenty lions who had fed themselves full on an elephant. What a unique sighting!
We passed by a herd of blue wildebeest, a dead giraffe and then some live giraffe.
A little while later we came across a magnificent eagle on the ground. It has been variously identified as a golden, tawny or juvenile Verreaux’s Eagle.
An hour later we came across a wild dog mother with three pups with an impala kill. They were initially difficult to see under a bush but then moved around.
The road was bad. The sand was soft. The going was slow. Just before the Mababe Gate we passed a waterhole which was a few hundred metres off the road. It was impossible to count all the elephants approaching, at and leaving the water hole. It could easily have been two hundred.
We exited the Mababe Gate of Chobe and soon arrived at the main pool at Magotho Community Camp at about 13h00. The hippos in the pool were such a delightful sight that we opened our awning and had lunch. Karen later described this as one of her favourite moments of the trip.
After lunch we came across a lion and lioness that looked like they were about to mate. Lions mate every fifteen minutes for three days, so we waited for them to perform. After 45 minutes we concluded that things were slowing down for this pair and left them. (We later met people who had camped close the lions the night before and had been kept awake by their growls of pleasure.)
We meandered along the Khwai River seeing elephant, hippos, buffalo, ground hornbills and a crocodile.
The Mbudi Campsite was the delight that I had remembered, being next to the river. I was, however, concerned when I noted that the showers were fixed into a wooden floor that was rotting around the shower bases. Someone will fall through soon!
Day 7 – Tuesday 1st October 2024 – To Xakanaka in Moremi – 65 kms
In Khwai village we bought 5 litre bottles of drinking water at double the price payable in Maun and were directed to Patrick who sells petrol from jerry cans also at twice the rate payable in Maun. I checked that the first jerry can was full but did not check the second and am convinced that I was given ten litres from the second can when I had paid for twenty!
We crossed the wooden bridge to Moremi North Gate and turned west towards Xakanaka. There were few hippos in Hippo Pool. The stairs to the viewing platform are about to collapse.
Our campsite number 9 at Xakanaka was next to the water of the Okavango Delta. We immediately realised that this was a camp where elephants had become habituated to man and were unafraid of getting very close to us to eat off nearby bushes.
A red lechwe emerged from the reeds in the water.
At the boat station we were told that both boats had been booked that afternoon but that the 16h30 two-hour departure only had four passengers despite capacity of twelve. We found the people who had booked the 16h30 boat in the campsite and agreed to split the hire fee of Pula 1,400 per hour.
In the boat we passed by two Desert and Delta Lodges which looked very smart. We crossed the Xakanaka Lagoon and disturbed a hippo and later a crocodile. The boatman took us into channels passing close to many birds and a few red lechwe. It was an absolute delight to be on the water.
Day 8 – Wednesday 2nd October 2024 – Xakanaka – 53 kms
Gordon was up at sunrise and photographed the sun reflecting in a pool and then in the car windscreen.
We headed to Third Bridge and saw zebras, a tsessebe and ostriches .
We crossed the replacement wooden Third Bridge and explored for a few kilometres beyond.
On our return we came across ten vehicles all trying to get a view of a leopard. After trying to hide in the open for a while the leopard walked past all of us and disappeared into the bush.
Relaxing at camp I was foolhardy. I stayed sitting in my chair as an elephant browsed closer and closer until he was three metres from me. There was tension as we looked each other in the eyes. I remembered a guide who had spoken softly to an elephant in a similar situation. I spoke softly urging him to move on. He hesitated and then turned and lunged for the shallow water nearby, breaking a bucket that was in his way.
In the early afternoon we were alerted by others in the campsite to a pride of lions that had killed a buffalo one kilometre from the camp. A traffic jam surrounded the lions who, over time, moved from their resting place back to the dead buffalo. Eight cubs kept everyone oohing and aahing!
Day 9 – Thursday 3rd October 2024 – To Audi Camp in Maun – 177 kms
We struck camp, checked if the lions at the buffalo kill were doing anything else but sleeping (they were not) and followed the road out of the Park.
As our road joined the road from Mababe the corrugations increased. Last time I used this road in my Fortuner two of the supports holding the roof rack to the car had broken. Keeping up the tradition the front two roof rack supports broke. We limped into Audi Camp on the outskirts of Maun, pitched camp, handed in laundry and enjoyed lunch at the bar.
The mechanic at Audi Camp directed us to the auto electrician, Folie, on the far side of Maun. Folie identified that a fuse had blown. That explained why the fridge was not working but did not explain why the fuse had blown and why the fridge had worked intermittently for a few days. Folie’s colleague plugged the fridge into the electrical mains, and it worked perfectly.
The tyre that had been side wall punctured at Baines Baobabs on my previous trip was replaced at TyreMax.
We arrived at Halfway Toyota to collect the air filter pipe that we had ordered in Kasane to be told that it was wating for us in Kasane. It was agreed that it would be couriered to Maun, but I had little expectation that it would arrive by tomorrow.
We enjoyed an Indian feast at the Tandurei Indian Restaurant. Gordon was bullied into having a Bunny Chow! (Bunny chow, often referred to simply as a bunny, is an Indian South African fast-food dish consisting of a hollowed-out loaf of white bread filled with curry. It originated among Indian South Africans of Durban.) He loved it.
Day 10 – Friday 4th October 2024 – Audi Camp in Maun
We dropped Karen and Michelle at the new Mall of Maun to do food shopping at Checkers. At 08h30 we were at the welding workshop of McKenzie who had welded my roof rack in October 2022. He welded the two roof rack supports and Gordon did a great job removing them and replacing them.
I bought airtime from a nearby stall. We collected Michelle and Karen, filled up with petrol and dropped my boots at the shoe cleaner. I popped into the two recommended hair studios near the Tandurei Restaurant and in the complex by Marc’s eatery for a haircut. I was firmly told by both hairdressers that they were fully booked today, and neither was open to cutting my hair after hours. In fact, one was reluctant to give me her telephone number because she did not want any new customers. This is a business opportunity for a hairdresser to move to Maun!
We enjoyed our lunch at Marc’s Eatery.
Later in the afternoon I returned to town to collect my shiny boots and approached the Parts Department of Halfway Toyota with some trepidation. I need not have worried because the parts I had ordered from Kasane arrived three minutes after I did. Gordon fitted the new air pipe to the air filter and replaced the air filter.
Day 11 – Saturday 5th October 2024 – To Kalahari Rest near Kang – 573 kms
Today was a long drive on good roads with little traffic and occasional animals on the road. We passed through two veterinary checkpoints, picked up petrol and Magnum ice creams in Ghanzi and stopped for lunch at a roadside picnic table.
We were pleased with the campsite at Kalahari Rest, happy to have cold beers and soft drinks and delighted that there was a swimming pool.
I was surprised by the noise all night of trucks on the main road. If animals wandering on to the road is a problem when there is good vision during the day what happens at night?
Day 12 – Sunday 6th October 2024 – to Thupapedi Pan in Kaa section of the Botswana part of the Kgaligadi National Park – 157 kms
The road to Hukuntsi was fast tar. We shopped at Sefalana and bought warm vetkoek (deep fried dough balls) which we sliced open in the car park and slathered with jam.
We filled up the tanks and jerry cans. We chatted to a Dutch couple who had been travelling for a few months each year for the last twelve years in their 4×4 campervan in South America, Canada and now Southern Africa. They were on their way to the Kaa section of the Kgaligadi Transfrontier Park (as were we), had been before and told us that we would see many lions there.
The road was now gravel and quickly became very sandy, so we deflated our tyres.
Just past Zutshwa there was a board requiring us to complete a permit and leave cash to access the community land before we got to the Kgaligadi Transfrontier Park. There, however, were no blank permits so after a moment of hesitation we continued. We were now travelling on a single lane track.
The Tracks4 Africa forum had suggested that we camp at Name Pan. When we arrived there at 12h30 the pan was dry, and the campsite was hot. We had lunch under the car awning and moved on.
At the Kaa Gate of the Kgaligadi Transfrontier Park we discovered that we were the first car though there in twelve days. (Today was going to be a busy day with the Dutch couple expected soon.) On Friday I had called Botswana Wildlife in Gabarone and had booked a campsite at Swartpan for tomorrow night. When the confirmation had not come through by midafternoon, I called again to be told that the system was down but that the gate would be advised. Needless to say, the gate had not been advised of the booking and could not confirm the status of any bookings on a Sunday afternoon. We eventually persuaded the gate official to allow us to pay for two camping nights in the park without reference to which campsite was to be used.
A small winding track took us 30 kms to Sizatswe campsite which was not attractive. A few kilometres further was Thupapedi Pan Campsite which was attractive, so we pitched camp. Although we had seen no game, I was conscious of the Dutch couple’s warning that we would see many lions. I tried to line up all our tents and the car to form a barrier, but Gordon disturbed my plan by moving his tent right next to the car so that the tent door was directly next to a car door. In the event the night was completely quiet except for crickets.
The first rains of the season arrived in the early hours but there were not many raindrops.
We followed the twisting track to Swartpan arriving at 11h30. The solar water pump at the pan was not working so there was no water in the pan. The thought of spending the afternoon here was not attractive so we pushed on, not knowing where we would land up tonight.
We had lunch at Gnus Gnus Campsite. My Tracks4Africa map showed that the route to Nossob in South Africa was via the Kaa Gate which we had passed through yesterday. I had seen on a different map that there was a track from Gnus Gnus Campsite to the main track from Kaa gate to Nossob. The gate official had acknowledged that there was such a track when I mentioned it to him yesterday. The track from Gnus Gnus Campsite was obvious and 6.5 kms later we were on the track from the Kaa Gate to Kannaguass on the South African side of the Park, having saved 110 kms of driving. There was a ‘No Entry’ board to our track although there had been no such board at Gnus Gnus. I am puzzled why the authorities do not want this shortcut to be used?
In the twenty-four hours that we were in the Kaa area we saw ten oryx, a few springbuck and steenbok and no other animals. The area was incredibly dry, not helped by the nonfunctioning pump at Swartpan.
The road was now relatively straight and thirty kilometres later we crossed the Nossob River into South Africa. We still had one hundred kilometres to go to Nossob which took us just over two hours.
At 18h00 we presented ourselves at the Nossob Reception asking for accommodation for the night, knowing that this camp is booked out a year in advance. After much sucking in of breath, searching of computer records and physical checking of campsites we were told that they could not offer us accommodation and we should go to the Mabuasehube side of the park (10 kms away) and wild camp there (which would be against Botswana Wildlife regulations.) I objected strenuously that that was unreasonable. A second official took pity on us and further search produced the keys for two one bedroomed chalets for the night.
I have previously stayed in the conventional chalets and found them to be incredibly basic. They have now been upgraded and provide modern comfortable accommodation. We bought ice from the shop for our whisky and Karen and Michelle produced a lovely pasta beef mince meal.
Day 14 – Tuesday 8th October 2024 – Nossob – 41 kms
Gordon and I were awake before dawn and saw the sun rise from the hide overlooking the waterhole just outside the camp. Birds crowded the water’s edge until thirty wildebeest arrived. We were surprised at how quickly they drank and disappeared into the dust.
We picked up our pre ordered, freshly home baked, still warm bread from the shop and enjoyed it with scrambled egg.
We moved into our Premier Campsite and were delighted by the facilities of a private bathroom and kitchen.
Gordon and Michelle enjoyed the swimming pool.
At 16h00 we headed north but saw very little game. Everything was dry.
At my request a hairdresser arrived from the staff but when I realised that he could only cut with a razor and I would have a very close cut, I declined his offer of a haircut.
The wind howled early in the evening and after midnight a few raindrops fell.
Day 15 – Wednesday 9th October 2024 – Bitterpan Wilderness Camp – 151 kms
At 06h30 I realised that I could not find my car keys. We spent the next two hours looking in every nook, cranny and bag, without success. I called Upington Toyota to be told that they needed an original key and the car to be able to duplicate a key. The alternative was to replace several parts of the car’s ignition and immobiliser systems. Upington Auto Tek told me that they could probably find a work around the Toyota system but needed the physical car and were uncertain how long the job would take. I started to realise that the best solution would be to courier the spare key from Cape Town to Upington. The SAN Parks receptionist suggested that I courier the keys to their Upington office and when the bus went through on Friday to collect the children from their weekly boarding schools, the key could be collected and brought to me. She confirmed that they had emergency accommodation that they could offer us for three nights. This was going to spoil the end of this holiday.
I was saved from my misery by my travelling companions arriving in the car, having found the keys lodged between the stone breaker bars on the side of the car, next to the driver’s door. Hallelujah!
As we packed up our camp site a bat fell off the roof of a tent and a scorpion scurried from under a tent.
We drove 50 kms south of Nossob and left the trailer at the Dikbaardskolk Picnic Site. We are not permitted to take our trailer to Bitterpan, so will pick it up here tomorrow.
Back at Nossob the staff opened the gate to the Bitterpan road. The road went west for 27 kilometres on a roller coaster over the dunes. This is a lovely road to drive. The road then turned south and ran along a valley for another 20 kilometres.
We arrived at the delight that is Bitterpan. It is one of five wilderness camps in the South African side of the Kgaligadi Transfrontier Park. Four small cabins each contain two single beds and a walkway through. Four shower rooms are close by. There is a communal kitchen and dining room with four fridges. Each room has a small outside area containing a braai stand. All the buildings are on stilts and are all fenced from visiting animals. The complex overlooks a small, pumped waterhole and the large Bitterpan Pan.
We met the other two couples and then all retired to our rooms to relax in the afternoon heat.
At about 17h00 a call went up for us to see ten red hartebeest drinking at the waterhole. They were relaxed in lovely condition.
The other two couples used the braais in the front ‘garden’ of their rooms while we lit our fire in the communal area just outside the fence. As it got dark a black backed jackal crossed the pan and drank at the waterhole.
By 21h00 we were all asleep except for the couple at the far end of the complex. They were rewarded at 22h00 by a leopard drinking from the flood lit water hole and then walking past their cabin.
Day 16 – Thursday 10th October 2024 – to Keetmanshoop, Namibia – 451 kms
We saw no other animals at the Bitterpan waterhole, but we all agreed that it was a special place. The road out was shorter than the road in. We saw a few oryx and melons besides the track.
An hour after leaving we were back at the Dikbaardskolk Picnic Site to collect our trailer. Two hours later we were in Twee Rivieren where we inflated our tyres, filled up with petrol, formally checked out of Botswana and checked into South Africa.
At Bokspits we turned west on to the R31 heading for the Namibia border.
We stopped to look at Hakskeenpan which is a mud and salt pan in the Kalahari Desert and covers an area of 140 square kilometres and is 19 kilometres long. British driver Andy Green in Bloodhound LSR in November 2019 on the pan, achieved a top speed of 628 miles per hour (1,011 km/h), the eighth vehicle to attain a land speed of over 600 miles per hour (970 km/h).
We were hungry for lunch as we entered the small border settlement of Rietfontein. We swung into a small hotel and the owner, Hendrik, offered to quickly prepare us a small lunch. Our mistake was to not agree precisely what we were getting, at what price and in what time period. After a thirty-minute wait we were each presented with a plate with a small piece of fried fish, a piece of cooked boerewors and a toasted cheese sandwich, none of which were very appetizing. We revolted when Hendrik charged us R150 each and we settled on R100 each.
We expected to fly through the South African border but were pulled up by a policeman who was concerned that we might be exporting restricted goods. After trying to do a search of our packed car and trailer we were let through after ten minutes. We did not have a chance to relax because a Namibian official confiscated our lamb chops intended for dinner and then also initiated a search of the car and vehicle. We were released after another ten minutes unhappy at this behaviour on a border between two countries in a customs union.
Keetmanshoop was 200 kilometres from the border on a long straight good gravel but dusty road through the arid countryside. It still took us nearly three hours to get there.
We found good rooms at Gesserts Guesthouse who recommended we have dinner at Schutzenhaus Restaurant, where a good meal was consumed.
The Guesthouse detained us longer than planned because their breakfast was so splendid.
We dropped Karen and Michelle at Super Spar to buy provisions for the next few days and headed to the workshop of Southern Tow In who had the right equipment to weld our holed stainless-steel exhaust.
The work was going to be a while, so I took directions to the Martha & Esther Beauty Salon where Naldo (short for Ronaldo) cut my hair far shorter than I wanted.
I returned to the workshop to find that the exhaust work was finished and that they were about to replace the broken electrical plug of the trailer. I fetched the long waiting girls, we hitched up the trailer and left town at about 11h30, later than I had planned.
We turned off the Luderitz road on to the good quality gravel C12. Our attention was drawn to an ostrich that had one leg caught in a fence. Gordon cut the wire strands around the bird’s foot, ensuring to stay away from its sharp claw. The bird fell free and tried and failed to get up. It was not clear if her leg was injured or if she was exhausted. There was nothing more we could for her, so we continued on our way.
We passed by Naute Dam, and I bored the others by describing how I had proposed to Tibby in 1975 on the shores of the lake.
We entered the fantasy land that is the Gondwana Canon Roadhouse with memorabilia from decades ago. We had a quick lunch.
Next stop was the viewing platform of the Fish River Canyon. It is the largest canyon in Africa and is the second most visited tourist attraction in Namibia. The canyon is a lot smaller than Grand Canyon in the USA, but it is still the second biggest canyon in the world. It features a gigantic ravine, in total about 160 kilometres long, up to 27 km wide and in places almost 550 metres deep. The view over the canyon is spectacular.
We moved on to the trailhead for the five-day, 88-kilometre hike along the canyon floor to Ai-Ais. There is a steep two-kilometre descent from the trail head to the canyon floor. Karen and Michelle both completed the hike as teenagers.
Karen found photos from her hike. She was just 15.
We now had 200 kilometres to the Sendelingsdrift Border post and my SatNav told me that we were going to arrive 25 minutes after the border closing time of 16h15. The gravel roads were good, and I slowly reduced the time deficit. My passengers were exclaiming at the beauty of the countryside, and I had to agree that it was very special. We passed through flat desert, a desert mountain pass and then past the green vineyards near Aussenkehr on the Orange River.
We arrived at the Namibian Border Post just before 16h15 and while we completed their forms they checked if the South African officials would wait for us. We later realized that we were the first people to cross the border in two days. The message came through that the South African officials would wait for us, so the Namibians let us go.
The small pont was waiting for us on the shore of the Orange River and we quickly did the hundred metre crossing of the river.
The South African border officials processed us quickly. This was a very different border crossing from Rietfontein yesterday.
We had booked to camp at Sendelingsdrift, but the Parks Receptionist suggested that we might prefer to camp at Potjiespram, eight kilometres away, near the Orange River. There were no other campers at either site. She was right. Potjiespram was a delightful place to camp.
Day 18 – Saturday 12th October 2024 – to Kokerboomkloof in the Richtersveld – 98 kms
We returned to Sendelingsdrift to fill up with petrol and then headed into the Park. We stopped at the Hand of God which is a two-metre-high formation in a rock that looks like a hand.
Our route took us over Penkop Pass and then the impressive Akkedis Pass.
Two groups were camping at De Hoop Campsite on the Orange River, trying to shield from the heat in the shade of trees.
We pushed on along the eight-kilometre track along the river to the Richtersberg Campsite. The going was slow and very rocky and at one point our way was obstructed by 200 goats. We lunched and relaxed at Richtersberg.
The view near the peak of Tatasberg of the oxbow of a riverbed, where the water stopped flowing centuries ago, is impressive.
And so, we arrived at the rocky wonderland that is Kokerboomkloof in the heat of the early afternoon. Campsite 2 is dominated by a fifteen-metre-high rock which had a lovely cool shadow. I set up my camp stretcher in the shade and was soon asleep.
Karen and Gordon climbed a rock mountain behind the camp and enjoyed amazing views.
The ablution block has a flush toilet and a shower area but there is no water in the shower. There is water in a sink on the veranda and handy Gordon created a shower by connecting a hose to the tap and leading the hose end through the slatted roof. We were all delighted to cool down in this makeshift shower even if there was no privacy.
This is a lovely campsite and as the sun set we enjoyed a good dinner near a lovely fire.
Michelle, Karen and I decided to sleep outdoors on our camp stretchers although the mosquitoes drove Karen into her tent at 22h30. This was the only night of the trip when mosquitoes were present in large numbers. I certainly wasn’t expecting mosquitoes in this dry, desert environment but I suspect that water from one of the four bathrooms has created a pool for them.
Day 19 – Sunday 13th October 2024 – to Skilpad Rest Camp in the Namaqua National Park – 423 kms
We were on the road early and enjoyed going over Hellskloof Pass before exiting the Park.
The gravel road turned into tar at Alexander Bay. It took me a while to realise that I was not travelling as fast as I wanted on the tar because there was 50 kph headwind impeding my progress.
We managed to get into the Spar at Port Nolloth just before Sunday midday closing. With full tanks we took the road east towards Steinkopf but after fifteen kilometres we turned south on the good gravel road to Kleinzee.
In Kleinzee we stopped at the Kleinzee Bakery and were delighted to find them baking bread on a Sunday for delivery tomorrow. Cornell and her husband and two daughters moved from Polokwane three years ago and bought the bakery. They are now supplying mines and other shops in the area. We were delighted to buy hot bread and although Cornell was convinced that her rusks are wonderful, we found them lacking when compared to, more expensive rusks from Woolworths.
We stopped along the road, in a place protected from the wind, to have lunch that included Cornell’s wonderful bread.
We passed through Koingnaas and Hondeklip Bay and arrived at the gate to the Coastal Section of the Namaqua National Park. I had been looking forward to camping at the beach at Varswater, but I was now worried that the wind would be too much for our tents. The gate official arranged to change our booking from camping at Varswater to a chalet at Skilpad. We turned away from the coast and travelled 66 kms inside the Park, via Soebatsfontein to Skilpad.
Our chalet had great views and was comfortable and to my amazement, had a built-in braai unit in the lounge allowing us to escape the wind.
Day 20 – Monday 14th October 2024 – to Cape Town – 511 kms
We had breakfast at the Garies Tourist Café and hit the N7 going south.
The Clanwilliam Dam was overflowing and the fields irrigated from the dam and river were beautifully green.
Lunch was at my favourite Kardoesie Restaurant, south of Citrusdal.
And so, our trip ended in Cape Town after twenty days and 4,200 kms.
Conclusion
This is a classic trip in Southern Africa. We saw a lot of game including lions at three different kills. The scenery was beautiful from the Victoria Falls, along the Chobe River, through the grasslands of Chobe and Moremi to the desert in the Kgaligadi and the Richtersveld. Not forgetting the awesome Victoria Falls and the Fish River Canyon. We camped in beautiful and wild places. I was fortunate to have Karen, Michelle and Gordon with me who significantly enhanced the trip. Thank you to them.
Description of my vehicle and equipment
I drive a 4.2 litre, six cylinder, petrol 1999 Land Cruiser 105 which I bought in 2024 with 370,000 km on the clock. At the end of this trip it had done 382,000. The vehicle is equipped with the following: Front bull bars, bash plate, snorkel, enhanced coils and shock absorbers, secondary battery system, 45 litre built in extra diesel tank, purpose built rear bumper and carriers for two spare wheels , Front Runner roof rack, a pull-out awning fixed to the roof rack, a 40 litre water tank on the roof, Front Runner stainless steel/aluminium camp table, four petrol jerry cans and a 72 litre National Luna fridge/freezer.
For when I get stuck, I carry a box of towing and snatch ropes, a high lift jack, two other jacks, an ARB portable compressor, two Desert escape sand tracks and a spade.
The Echo 2 Trailer was bought in 2018 and did a return trip to Livingstone via Botswana in that year. I have used it less than I hoped but did use it on my previous two trips. The reason to use the trailer is so that I can accommodate more than two people on the trip. There is not enough space in the Land Cruiser to carry four people, all their luggage and all the camping equipment that is needed. The trailer has two cubic metres of general storage, a kitchen compartment containing crockery, food and a two-plate gas stove, two gas containers, a 120-litre water tank, two jerry cans and a bed on the roof with a tent that opens over the bed and extends to the side of the trailer.
On this trip we camped most nights in relative luxury with an Oxtent RV4 ground tent, anOztent RV5 ground tent, camp beds, Oztent Goanna chairs, a selection of pots, pans and cutlery and a braai grid.
I used Garmin InReach technology on this trip. Travelling alone in remote areas might be risky. Garmin has several hundred devices intended to help a wide range of sportsmen, including hikers, runners, boaters and overlanders, to monitor different aspects of their activity, often including the route that they follow. Many of these devices use the GPS satellites, just like the Garmin in your car, to track your route. Garmin developed the inReach system which allows one to communicate with others, using text messaging, through the Iridium Satellite network. The most important feature is a SOS function which sends a message to, a Garmin operated emergency centre in the USA, which then tries to exchange messages with the sender of the SOS and begin coordinating a rescue. They also have details of your emergency contacts who are advised that you have initiated a SOS signal. The inReach facility is integrated into some devices, particularly those used for hiking and marine activities. They also have a device called an inReach Mini which has minimum functionality (besides the satellite communication) and is cumbersome to use alone. It can, however, be Bluetooth paired to other devices, which makes it very powerful. I have the inReach Mini. I have set my inReach mini to send my location (when on) every five minutes to my Garmin MapShare page and internally log my position every 30 seconds. The MapShare page is a website page which others can see, and which includes my current location (when my Mini was last on and out of a building) and my track using the locations sent every five minutes. In an emergency this will be enough for rescuers to find me. When I have access to the internet, I can sync my Mini with my MapShare page allowing the 30 second logs to fill out the track of where I have been, thus providing a full record of my trip. To use the inReach facility one needs to subscribe to a Garmin satellite communication package which has three different levels from emergency use only to unlimited messages. (On all the plans there are unlimited SOS messages.) One must then choose between an annual plan, paid monthly, or a plan which is only activated for the months when needed. The cheapest emergency use monthly plan is £12.50 per month and the most expensive unlimited messages, occasional use plan is £65 per month. I used the latter plan for the period covering the period of my trip.
Fuel consumption
We travelled 4,180 km, consuming 1,240 litres, with an average consumption of 3.37 kms per litre. The total cost for petrol was £1,150 and the average cost per litre, in £pence, of petrol, in the countries I travelled in, was Botswana 86p (excluding the black market petrol in Khwai), Namibia 91p and South Africa 92p.
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