26 replies to this topic

[dikdik]

Initially I tried to write a trip report, but got very self conscious about my writing after reading Lynns reports.
I decided to just post a (few) pictures of the recent road camping trip to Namibia. NB I have reduced these pictures as much as possible.

Our equipment



Drove from Cape Town to Orange river Lodge. Arrived midday and wished we had planned to drive further. We were supposed to stay there for two nights, but booked out after the first night wanting to get further into the holiday.

We took the Rosh Pinah road to Aus where we stayed the night.. Aus us close to where the desert horses are.

We stayed at the Banhof hotel in Aus and were very comfortable.






Next day Luderitz. We got caught in a sandstorm which totally pitted the windscreen.




After the sandstorm we had a stone flick up off the trailer and smash the back windscreen. Dust poured into the car. Lots of it.

[dikdik]

We stayed at Naukluft campsite… but we actually stayed at the wrong campsite, as Nelly (the GPS) had made a mistake. We were two days ahead of schedule now. We called the new GPS Nelly, so if we were to ask “ are we there yet” the answer was we Nelly there.

To make the bad day worse, pitted front windscreen, smashed back windscreen, we had a puncture and the tow hitch came lose. We fixed that at the dry pan.

By the time we had finished fixing the car, Jenny was very tired!!!



We tried to let the artist in us out.. But it was quite funny watching everyone with cameras trying something different.

Some more energetic folk prefer to climb the dunes and slide back down.

Next night we stayed at Agama… Highly recommended. There are lots of farms on the route and often you can rock up unannounced. Like we did.


Next day we drove to Swakopmund. We were still a day ahead of schedule.


Where is the tail?

OH there it is.

We really enjoyed Swakopmund. There is so much to do and we ended up staying an extra day. Here I managed to make a better temporary repair to the back windscreen. Here we met a couple who had also smashed their back windscreen. We got on well and they accompanied us for the rest of the trip.

To be continued

[dikdik]

From Swakopmund it was to Terrace Bay. It was not the best season for fishing and they were offering good discounts for accommodation at the time. Our new friends decided to join us for three nights here and they even bought a fishing rod with. Not enough can be said about the skeleton coast…. One really has to go there.



Old oil rig

Why we were there



The one that didn’t get away.


As we had to make it to Etosha in one day we had to leave the skeleton coast very early in the morning and arrived at the Springbok Wasser gate before it opened.

[Atravelynn]

Great pics Dik dik and please don't be self conscious. However you want to convey the info and your experiences is your choice. The missing snake tail photo is one of the weirdest I've ever seen and the bones on the beach one of the most haunting. Those giant red dunes have to be spectacular. You ate well for at least one meal. I can tell by the fish photo. I may be asking you some Nambia questions some day hopefully if I go.

I don't know about where you live but in the US skeletons are the fashion rage and all the kids have them on their t-shirts and other clothes. Those big skeletons look like they are right in style.

[dikdik]

I need to mention the Roads.

They are graded dirt roads which vary from time to time. You will find that if you drive too slowly the car rattles too much, so you have to drive above a certain speed. Once you find that speed....Lookout!!! we found ourselves comfortably traveling at 100 or more kilometers per hour, and with the glare, you don't always see the dips and you do a whoooop de whoooo.

Initially I found the traveling on the roads not too much bother, but after a few days of the dust and rattling you look forward to a tar road like you look forward to a dip in a swimming pool.

At this stage we joined the tar road that took us to Anderson gate.

Etosha will continue.

[dikdik]

FINALLY




Now we began to do game viewing Etosha style. Clearly the best way to see the animals in Etosha is just to sit at the waterhole at the campsite. It felt rather strange as hundreds of people sit around with cameras photographing the same animals in harsh daylight. Started making us think about being a bit more creative and to see if we could produce a picture that would be different from what others were doing.

[dikdik]

Okaukeujo was by far the most active watering hole of all the camps. It was a bit like a conveyer belt with animals coming and posing for photos, and leaving. We were only booked at Okaukeujo for one night, and had to move to Halali for the next three nights. If you want to see lion, leopard or cheetah, you have to drive around a bit. We did see lion, but they eventually moved off. But by driving around we got a better idea about this extraordinary place.





The actual pan was fascinating. Animals trekked across this pan for miles.





To be continued.

[Atravelynn]

Some more great shots. Those giraffes look familiar. Did you do that scissors movement with them? The ele in the water with the gazelles in the foreground and the drinking zebras are wonderful perspectives. So is the zebra snout and the tusk closeup. I'll have to remember the conveyer belt analogy.

[dikdik]

Thanks Lynn you very kind.

[madaboutcheetah]

Hi Dik Dik,

Don't know how I missed your trip report until now........ Some beautiful pics out here and some stunning scenery. Etosha always seems a winner from all the galleries I have viewed.

Welcome back!!!

Hari

[dikdik]

Last night was

And guess what we found????

what do these critters hunt???

We must have done the drive about six times.
This tree had a branch where I wanted to set up camp, so when I jumped to break off the branch, the whole tree fell and nearly crunched me.

It made a good bonfire for the night.
We left Etosha after one last trip through Dik Dik it was time to head home. We had a few stops on the way.

[dikdik]

Although I did swim in the hot spring, it was a bit hot and Managed to do a few laps of the bigger cooler pool.

[dikdik]

Quiver tree lodge

The last night in Namibia was in Keetmanshoop at quiver tree lodge. This is the place where you see the quiver tree forest and giants playground. It was quite comical watching all the visitors running round franticly taking the sunset pictures. It was sometimes difficult to get a picture without someone else in it.




Giants playground

Quiver tree lodge had a few other things to entertain us.

some cheetah

Jenny was getting a little too close!!!

to this very big pig.

[Atravelynn]

Nice cheetah. What was the story with the warthog? Was it being friendly, inquisitive? Those are some big tusks? Yikes!

[dikdik]

Final day…
We woke early as we decided that night that we would swing round Fish River Canyon on the way back to Cape Town. We already had 1000kms to do. But we had changed our itinerary from the start and missed one night in Ais Ais.. This meant that we had a bit more dirt road driving..
One last Namibian sunrise..


I lacked photographic ability to fully harness the canyon.

Something happens when you pass from Namibia back into South Africa. Suddenly we saw green grass, and the flowers were out. It was even raining a few kilometers from the border. It was like we were in another country!!!!!!

[dikdik]

Some info; total kilometer’s 6222 and 856 liters of diesel used.
Then Nelly had some interesting information stored.
86.38 hours driving (including some in Etosha)
Average speed 71km/h
Maximum speed 156km/h
Maximum speed on gravel road was 139km/h

Costs

Fuel R9944
Accommodation R8000
Rear windscreen R14 000
Front windscreen R5000
So guess where I will make the saving next time.

[dikdik]

The windscreen was a huge surprise. The back window fits onto the hard top, and is small and flat. Insurance paid.. But I neglected to tell them where it happened.

The photographic experience was good for us, in that in so many instances I realized that many many people have taken photos of the same thing... especially the quiver trees. The one evening I was there and all the guests were clambering around the rock to find their perfect shot, often getting in the way, it forced us to try something different or break the rules a bit.

We took hundreds of pictures of the dikdiks, but for a good picture you need to get lower to the ground. I just liked the one licking his lips. They came so close to the car, I was tempted to grab one and take it home with me..

[ZaminOz]

dikdik

Nice photos!

[dikdik]

Thanks for the compliments. Still a lot to learn, but when I compare with the photos in Kenya, we are improving.

I say we here as my wife and I share photos... We basically take them together, and when we criticize them, its like we criticizing our own as opposed to criticizing each other. Keeps the marriage together. And we can coach each other.

One or two notes that I want to make.
One mistake we made was arranging the entire itinerary before we left. We should have just jumped in the car and driven. The whole route to up and down had rustic farm accommodation that we didn't even know about. If you just pull in and check, they will usually be able to accommodate you, especially if you going to camp.

We did need to book in to Terrace bay, as there was only one place to stay there, but the couple we met on the way, simply called the day before and managed to make a plan. By the way the staff at Terrace bay were great. Its truly like the end of the earth, but they corrected me when I said that.. I now know its the beginning of the earth.

Etosha... they say that you have to book for camping. They even told us that they were fully booked as far back as four months ago. Even if you call them and ask if they have space the answer is no, yet the camps were never full. The couple that joined us just arrived and said... here we are what can you do for us, despite being told that they were full. I met a few other travelers who did the same thing.

Lake Otjikoto is an interesting place to stop. Its just outside Tsumeb. No one knows how deep it is, as many people have died trying to find the bottom. There is s story that the Germans threw masses of arms and ammunition in there, and even some money!!!!

Do you know what "Gluck Auf" means Nyama?