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Six days off road in Kakoland and a return to Etosha West to East - A Self Drive adventure in Namibia like no other


penolva

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Let me try. The person invited would be @penolva ... because she knew the road and is a great cook :D ?!

However count me in also! I will gladly take the rear position in that convoy taking care that nothing and no-one will be left behind ... except myself ... occasionally ;) .

 

 

@@xelas I think neither you norr Peter would be able to keep up. You'd be stopping for photos all the time and @penlova would just leave you behind. I beleive she'd be to the Angolan border and back before you two got to Opuwo.

 

Just a theory.I admit I could be wrong. :D

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@@pault

 

That is quite possible. To be honest, I would not miss much the infamous Van Zyl pass, and a photo of that famous drum ... well, I can pass also this photo opportunity :) .

 

@@Peter Connan

 

That would be one seriously great company! Who now, sometimes excellent journeys started with a quick comment. I will keep my fingers crossed!

 

@@penolva

 

Please excuse us for hijacking your post. It is obvious we are seriously envying you your fantastic off-road trip. Waiting with anticipation to Etosha part.

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We have been as far as Khwoarib Lodge but no further and i have always wondered what is up there. So now I'm glad you are showing us a part of Namibia that few venture in and come out changed.

Love the Milky Way shot, did you light up the trees for this pic?

Can't wait for the ellies and more.

@@KaliCA thanks for the comments. It was mainly the camp fire and the lights around it that lit the trees. Pen

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Gosh, you're driving a long way each day. I just looked at a map and Opuwo is a long way from both Swakopmund and the Angolan border. A real expedition.

Glad you are enjoying the TR @@pault. We drove 483 kilometers to Cape Cross from Windhoek mostly on tar, 420 from CC to Khowarib Lodge and then 337 from KL to Epupa Falls where you look across the river to Angola. So we did not do the journey in one day. After this we did few kilometers each day but they often took many hours as you will see! Pen

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We retraced our route for an hour the next morning and then turned right onto a small track and that was it, off road, no turning back now.

 

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This looks OK we thought, pretty easy, as long as we don't get a puncture from the rocks and branches. Famous last words and all that! We were heading for Van Zyls campsite as tomorrow we were driving the pass. We passed some Himba villages and then a Himba graveyard. They slaughter cattle when a chief dies and the horns are placed near the grave in a tree. In this case there was a very ornate head stone. What a great age for a man living in that environment.

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Towards the campsite there were lots of Himba riding on horses and donkeys. The women are very beautiful. They all smiled and waved. We stopped for lunch and this Agama lizard was sunning itself on the rocks.

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We reached Van Zyl's campsite. There are three camping spots but we were the only ones there. A local man keeps everything clean and there is a nice shower and proper toilet, both open to the air. There was enough warm water to have a shower. Ado set up our tent etc which you can see in the photographs. It had really comfortable stretcher beds and a bed roll. Caesar said if the duvet, blanket and bed roll is not enough to keep you warm you are in the wrong place! :D we had thermals, never go to Africa without thermals, its our motto.

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Caesar cooked a great dinner. We took some milky way photographs and put a small light in our tent to add to the scene. We also took one of it sweeping overhead. Not sure if we prefer the one with more light on the trees or less light or no light when the fire had died down.

 

We went to bed at 9pm as it had been a long day and we wanted to be fresh for the challenges we faced in the morning. It was so quiet except for an owl flying around and landing in the camp site trees. What a fantastic place to fall asleep and we even saw some shooting stars through the mesh windows. We were in heaven.

 

If you would like to read more about Van Zyl's and his pass follow this link

 

http://www.dangerousroads.org/namibia/51-van-zyls-pass-namibia.html

 

(This was where John took the tent and milky way photograph's I couldn't change the first caption so its Van Zyls not Marienfluss)

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Edited by penolva
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@@pault

 

That is quite possible. To be honest, I would not miss much the infamous Van Zyl pass, and a photo of that famous drum ... well, I can pass also this photo opportunity :) .

 

@@Peter Connan

 

That would be one seriously great company! Who now, sometimes excellent journeys started with a quick comment. I will keep my fingers crossed!

 

@@penolva

 

Please excuse us for hijacking your post. It is obvious we are seriously envying you your fantastic off-road trip. Waiting with anticipation to Etosha part.

@@xelas You are not hijacking anything, its fun to hear all the comments and reactions. If you don't drive Van Zyl's you don't see the view in my first photograph. Red Drum is a signpost just like 'At the next junction exit onto the M1 North" when you find that you know your are on the right route. Very few 'real' sign posts anywhere up there as well as very few people to ask if you did get lost. Its pretty hard core, brilliant. Pen

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@@penolva

 

it seems like you "really" went off road, so did you drive in your own vehicles (which I doubt, seeing that you seem live in the UK)? If not, what did your rental contract say about that? We are in the midst of planning our own return trip to Namibia and so far itseems like all the companies prohibit "real" off road driving...

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@@penolva

 

it seems like you "really" went off road, so did you drive in your own vehicles (which I doubt, seeing that you seem live in the UK)? If not, what did your rental contract say about that? We are in the midst of planning our own return trip to Namibia and so far itseems like all the companies prohibit "real" off road driving...

Hi @@ice its true we live in UK and we drove a hire vehicle. The rental company specified that if we drove in that part of the country any damage/breakdown would be on our own account. They didn't prohibit it.

 

We discussed this with them and Van Zyl's was mentioned when we met them. They went a bit white when we said we were going there :wacko: We promised we would look after the vehicle as if it were our own, we took photographs of it all before we left their depot, including the underside and we were happy to take the risk.

 

We had Caesar with us to help in case of breakdown as he has back up vehicles etc. I don't think we would have attempted it on our own or even with another self driver this first time. We would go with other self drivers if we went back now we have the experience.

 

As it turned out we didn't even have a puncture. We returned the vehicle to them and they were very happy as it came back in the same condition as we took it. We had Ado clean it before we set off for Etosha.

 

This is only the second time we have really gone off road, the first being Moremi and Savute, and we consider Kakoland to be the real deal. We have never had any problems because we are extremely careful and don't use the off road tag to speed or drive stupidly. If we took unecessary risks its our holiday that would be spoilt. Its up to you what you feel comfortable with. Pen

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Love seeing Himba walking down the street with the other 2 girls in their trendy cuffed jeans!! Such an interesting contrast.

 

Your night shot is gorgeous!

 

Looking forward to more.

Thank you @@KathBC we were amazed how well it came out with our tent in it.

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@@penolva

 

The Milky Way is more colourful this time around; is it due to your improved skills in starts photography or due to less light pollution in Kaokoland? I assume it is D610 with 14 mm f2.8 lens? Add missing info please :) .

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@@penolva

 

The Milky Way is more colourful this time around; is it due to your improved skills in starts photography or due to less light pollution in Kaokoland? I assume it is D610 with 14 mm f2.8 lens? Add missing info please :) .

It was the D610 with the 14mm ISO 3200 f3.3 15 seconds. I think the skies were the clearest we have ever seen up there. No lights for miles and miles.

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We got to the pass at 8.00 and reached the bottom around 13.30. It was 'fun'. Ado had to walk in front of the vehicles patching the holes with rocks and sometimes we walked the pass to check out the condition on the most difficult parts. Sometimes the vehicle tipped sideways alarmingly. It was a great feeling reaching the bottom and writing our names on a flat rock to add to the pile already there. The best way to see what happend is the photographs.

 

 

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The views from the top were to die for. Done it we thought! but to be honest in the next days there were sections that were just as bad but didn't last for so long. When we got to the bottom Caesar and Ado gave John a round of applause, he deserved it. :)

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Fantastic views from high above. Good thing you were not alone out there in the wilderness. I'm surprised Peter let you drive his rental on those "roads." You should send him the pic of his car so he can use it in an ad!

Did you see any animals out there?

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@@KaliCA we did see animals pics to come. Peter said it was all down to us to pay if anything went wrong, which it didn't :)

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The Marinflus Valley

We set out across the valley. Wide open desert with amazing mountains. We saw springbox, ostritch and a rare Korhaan which Caesar said is only found here! Not being birders we have no idea if its rare or not.

There are big mountains in the distance and we will have to cross them at some point! For now we follow far behind Caesar and Ado and enjoy the drive which is very smooth across the sandy track. The sun is out and birds are singing and we feel on top of the world.

The camp site is beside the Kunene River with Angola on the opposite bank again. It is not far from the spot the Terrace Male swam across on his epic trip to Angola. Its a tragedy that he was killed by a hunter? and has no offspring apparently. Unless he has some in Angola no one knows about. I wrote his name on a stone and placed it in a tree in our camp site.

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Ado set us up beside the river with bushes behind with he and Caesar at the back of us. There are the most beautiful views across the river to Angola. It was lovely and private so we got our chairs out and had a nice relaxing hour or two. I did some washing and then John had a nap.

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The campsite is community run by some Himba. The showers were lovely and hot and the toilets, outdoor, were clean. Caesar is starting dinner and all we have to do is have a sundowner while we wait to eat. Love it! After dinner we sat outside our tent enjoying the rest of the wine and watching for shooting stars. It became cold so we put on our thermals and snuggled down in our lovely camp beds.

I fell asleep imagining I could hear a lion roar in the night.

A Ghost Lion.

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What an adventure - I love the shot on this page of the open road (track?) in the sand stretching out before you, as well as the various vistas on the previous page. And keep those night skies coming!

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The landscapes at Marienfluss are magical!

 

How different was sleeping in a ground tent in comparison to sleeping in a roof tent?

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The landscapes at Marienfluss are magical!

 

How different was sleeping in a ground tent in comparison to sleeping in a roof tent?

@xeas Glad you are still with me on this TR!

 

I have never slept in a roof tent proper!! We have always been put off by having to get in and out via a steep ladder. On our Botswana self drive we had one that got into from the inside of the vehicle and could have a portable toilet in it. I notice that lots of companies are offering to this kind of set up now.

 

Sleeping in the ground tent was fantastic and very comfortable. The scenery in Kakoland was amazingly beautiful, we are so glad we went there.

Pen

Edited by penolva
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What an adventure - I love the shot on this page of the open road (track?) in the sand stretching out before you, as well as the various vistas on the previous page. And keep those night skies coming!

@@Marks thank you for your kind comments. Pen

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We were up at dawn and walked down to the river as the sun came out. There were lots of birds and flowers. We set off after breakfast and I bought a basket from the children gathered at the gate. There was another couple there, we didn't see or hear them last night.


Up over a very rough pass again, almost as bad as VZ. Once over we were in the Hartmann valley. Its like a moon scape saw oryx, vulchers and a jackel.



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Up and down rough passes and past Red Drum which is marked on all the maps as a landmark in the area its just an old oil drum! It was our wedding anniversary and we decided to spend it at Etambura a Himba community run lodge high up on the hill with far reaching views. It was quite a climb to drive up there. Its self catering but there are a few staff who look after the rooms etc and clean up. It is the most stunning location and the views are beyond belief. The silence is so total you can hear it, we were the only guests.



Caesar set up his kitchen and prepared us a wonderful anniversary meal, steak with all the trimmings. We toasted our anniversary on the deck overlooking the valley below as the sun set. Caesar said "I could live here" it was his first visit. We agreed but he has more chance than we do.


We saw five shooting stars later as we sat outside our room.



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@@penolva

 

What a location for a wedding anniversary! Maybe not so much for a honeymoon ^_^ . The sunset colours must have been out of this world! Five shooting starts = five wishes??

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There are four of these drums in the Kaokoland, each a different colour.

In a wide-open area like that, navigation was quite a challenge in the days before GPS.

 

Really loving your photos!

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Thanks@@xelas and @ Peter Connan :) Five wishes a leopard x 5 not necessarily all at once!

Edited by penolva
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Love the vistas from your perch high above. To me, too, the desert is magical with its rock formations and colors. Glad you got to enjoy this remote part of Namibia. That's certainly traveling "off the sidewalk."

I bet you will always remember this particular anniversary. Happy anniversary to both of you and many more...

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Canadian Robin

"We love to self drive in Africa, we love to camp out in the wild, we love adventure. Our friends and family think we are nuts!"

My DH and/or I could have written the first sentence, and our family and friends would agree heartily with the second (in reference to us, not you!). :D

 

The night sky and tent is a stunning photo - quite lovely.

 

Any idea how long it took you to drive from Cape Cross to Khowarib Lodge?

 

Oh dear! We are booked to spend a night on the Skeleton Coast (Terrace Bay) in October 2016. Hopefully, we will not be in fog the entire time.

 

The view from Omarunga Camp is lovely - what a wonderful spot to camp.

 

"Caesar is starting dinner and all we have to do is have a sundowner while we wait to eat."

Hmmm - having someone set up camp and cook for me every night might make it very difficult for me to return to self-driving completely independently. The camp set up looks wonderful.

 

Well done John! Driving Van Zyl's Pass would have terrified me. I probably would have missed most of the lovely scenery because my eyes would have been closed. :blink:

 

A belated happy anniversary - it will be tough to top that celebration next year.

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