Highlanders


Leaving Orange River we drove further into South Africa. The scenery was changing again as we left the mountains and rocks and suddenly started to see grass and flowers. Driving through the area known as Namaqualand we were looking forward seeing the wildflowers. There were some patches of pink and yellow that really stood out against the green hills. One of the party goers the night before told us that we were about 10days late. The wildflower season had been a couple of weeks early this year.

A slightly different perspective of the truck

All of us were looking forward to our next camp site. We were going to be staying at Highlanders winery and having a wine tasting. The owner (Sparky) was originally from Scotland and also used to be an overland guide. His vineyard is situated on the side of a hill and it was one of the best afternoon's spent tasting wine overlooking the valley. Sparky's grapes are combined with those of his neighbours in a co-operative to produce the wine which is exported to various countries in Europe including England. The view from the tasting

Early morning with the mist rolling in

During the afternoon, the other members of the group realised that we had not had our hen's and bucks days for our wedding so it was decided that tonight was the night. We were both banished from the bar while preparations were underway. When Claire returned she discovered that she had become 'Mrs Africa' and the boys had obtained some interesting clothes for Steve. We didn't manage to get any photos of Steve but he did look fetching in a white and pink bikini with black tights.

It is amazing what you can do with bin bags, masking tape, and alfoil!!

Sparky put on a fantastic Braii (aka BBQ) for us that night and it was definitely a great way to spend the last night of our trip. We can recommend the Trevino but suggest steering clear of anything called Little B.....

Orange River

Today it really hit home that we were nearly at the end of this amazing trip. Crossing into South Africa = 3 days left.

We camped alongside Orange River just a few kilometres up the road from the border. The afternoon was spent attempting to play volleyball with a very flat ball. It was made harder by the resident dogs who thought it was just a difficult game of catch. In the end we gave up and headed down to the river where we all took up the challenge to swim back across to Namibia. Luckily for us there is a 'grace' zone of about 10m of the river bank. If we went further ashore we could be arrested. Considering we were only 5km upriver from the border we all stayed at the water's edge!

Looking at Namibia. You can't see it very well, but there is a surfboard anchored at the halfway point.

Another amazing sunset

4 of the other 6 that we started this trip with.

There happened to be a 21st on at the bar that night so decided to join in with the celebrations. A few were lucky and managed to acquire a cupcake or too. I am sure the birthday girl wasn't expecting to come across 20 foreigners attemping the overlanding tradition of 'the springbok dance'. All in all a great night and it was good to meet some some other locals who had tips for our time in Cape Town.

Sunrise

We not only had to deal with the extra friendly dogs, but also the pet pig!

Fish River Canyon

Our last stop for Namibia was at Fish River Canyon. The canyon is 160km long and up to 27km wide and is one of the most popular multi-day hiking trails for those adventurous ones.

We arrived quite early to the campsite and spent the afternoon relaxing. Another overlanding company was in the site next to us and were having problems with their truck, so when we decided to head out to the canyon edge for sunset we took them with us. We were all dropped off at a small viewpoint and then had the opportunity to walk the couple of kilometers back to the parking area along the canyon edge. The view was spectacular.

Loo with a view!

Lighting conditions were quite difficult. The river only flows for a couple of months a year.

The canyon is up to 500m deep

Back at the truck JP had set up a surprise of champagne and nibblies while we waited for sunset. We then discovered that our truck was going to be staying at the canyon for dinner and some stargazing. Luckily for the other group, Jacques had managed to get their truck working again as we didn't have enough food for them. Apart from that, as soon as the sun set the temperature dropped to near freezing and the other group didn't have any warm clothes.Trying to keep warm. TIA - This Is Africa!!

We finished the evening back at camp with an 11 person game of cards (with glow in the dark cards!!) held inside one 2 man tent. I think it was the first time we had felt warm since the sun set!

Believe it or not but all 11 people have at least one body part in this photo...

It was also here that we realised our trip was nearly at an end as the next morning we were crossing the border into South Africa.

Dune 45 and Sossusvlei

We were up before dawn to be at the National Park Gates when they opened, ready for the race up the dunes for sunrise. Dune 45 is named because it is the 45th dune from Sossusvlei and coincidentally 45km from Sesriem. While its not the biggest of the dunes (170m) it is the most accessible to normal vehicles.

Full credit to JP, as we were the first vehicle to arrive and we all sprinted up the dune in time for sunrise. When the sun appeared it was quite mesmerising. There are dunes all around and each one become a different colour as the sun hit it and the shadows are created from ridge lines. It is important to remember to turn around and look away from the sun as the colours on the dunes behind us were some of the most dramatic.Our tracks from the walk up

Leading the charge
First group to reach the top and as you can tell it was a little cold

A bit of perspective. Steve is still on the dune taking this photo of the rest of the group

While Steve was at the top of the dune with most of our truck, Claire and one of the other girls weren't feeling 100% so decided to sit halfway up. As they started to make their way back down after sunrise, they met a group of cyclists walking up. One of the group was having a panic attack with the height. Between them Claire and Cara helped the lady back to ground level while the rest of the cyclists continued up to the peak. It turned out that this lady was doing a similar trip to us but doing a mix of cycling (1ookm) and driving each day. Makes our trip seem very easy.

Even though these people had missed sunrise they were still making the trek up

Once we were all back on the ground, we discovered that Jacques had cooked us omelette's for a champagne breaky. You may be thinking 'how do you do omelette's for 20 people on a single gas burner stove?' Well the answer is, that you make the mix in a big bowl and then split it into 20 snap-lock bags, seal and boil in really big saucepan. Not the traditional way, but tasty all the same. The same has to be said for having champagne out of a tin camping mug.

Popping the champagne!

After breaky we drove another couple of kilometers down the road to a carpark where we met Bushman. He is a former member of the Namibian army and had learnt survival techniques for the desert from the Kalahari bushmen. We all piled into the back of his ute where we were driven to an area surrounded by dunes known as Dead Vlei.

This is a standard size ute, and yes we did all fit

Bushman was one of the most interesting guides that we had of the entire trip. Firstly he suggested we take off our shoes, which most of us did with a bit of apprehension. Surprisingly the sand wasn't hot. At the end of his first talk he said "i walk fast, don't try to keep up". Naturally that was just an invitation to try. We are sure he would win gold at the Olympics. He was gone over the dune before we knew what had happened.Waiting patiently for us to catch up

When we finally caught up to him the sight was stunning. There was an area of white salt pan is surrounded by dunes that are up to 200m high. Dotted around the pan are fossilised remnants of trees. He explained that some of the trees had been dead for 900 years, and because of the lack of water they can't decompose. It was a little eerie walking around it. The cracked and dried ground of the Vlei

Some of the useful tips that bushman taught us included: getting a spider to open its 'trapdoor' in the sand; catching a lizard without running; and tracking the small antelope. Since the temperature was heading back to the high 30's we all piled back into the ute and headed back to the truck.

These are the spider tracks and the outline of its 'door'

Door is open. We stayed and watched while it pulled it back down and resealed it

This poor lizard was caught and released around 10times. Apparently this is the best source of water if caught in the desert.

Sesriem Canyon


We were all feeling a little down at having to leave a friend in hospital in Swakopmund, so the drive to Sesriem was pretty quiet. Scenery wise the sandy desert was replaced by rock and slate mountains.


Suddenly the truck stopped and we realised that it we were about to cross the 'Tropic of Capricorn' (the big sign gave it away). It looks quite different to the scenery around Rockhampton and Gladstone that Claire usually associates this 'line' with. We all took the standard photos and the mood started to lift immediately. The whole Kwando crew

The next stop was for lunch at Solitaire. We were told that it is the smallest town on the Namibian map. There is a petrol station, general store and bakery all run by the same family. It didn't look like the 'town' was any bigger. The apple strudel is mentioned in the guide books as a 'must taste' so that is what we did. It was definitely worth it. A word of warning though, we arrived at nearly 2pm and there were only a couple of pieces left. No worries for us, as the pieces are massive and easily shared between a few. Oh and the guide books are right, it is really good! Our compliments to chef Moose.

Talking of food, possibly our most interesing meal of the trip was served up for lunch. We can't remember the name but the ingredients were condensed milk, peas, mayo and banana. No we aren't making it up and it didn't taste that great. Everyone on the truck gave the 'delicacy' a try and we still don't know if it is a true South African dish as Jacques and JP insisted or a big practical joke!

When we made it to Sesriem we only had a couple of hours before sunset. JP drove us out to the Gorge and took us on a tour of geology of the area. His first instructions were 'walk carefully down the path into the gorge and DO NOT TOUCH ANY OF THE PLANTS'. He brought up the rear and then explained that many of the small bushes were a natural producer of Strychnine.

Sesriem means 'six thongs' which according to the Lonely Planet is how many ox-wagon thongs were needed to reach the bottom and collect water. These days the canyon is 2km long and about 30m high. Inside the canyon you get a real appreciation of how powerful the water must be. The sides are quite crumbly and you can see where pieces have recently broken off. The canyon is still a part of the Namib desert so the dry riverbed of the Tsauchab River that forms the gorge only has running water every 10yrs or so. Surprisingly there was a small pool of water at one end containing a baby python (that we noticed after we'd walked through)! We decided to delay the return to camp in favour of watching sunset on the edge of the canyon.

Steve doing the gentlemanly thing. The snake was in the water behind us.

One of the narrower sections of the canyon

With a little imagination you can make out 'Acacia Africa' in the next 2 photos

Sunset on the canyon edge

To make up for the lunch 'delicacy' Jacques had cooked some fantastic Ostrich steaks for us. Camping definitely isn't all bad food.

The sky was really clear so we tried for a 'star trail' photo. For perspective it was a 10min photo and the lights are the shower block.