Following the dusty road

Following the dusty road

Camping Trips, Namibia, Road Trips, Travel

Following the dusty road in Damaraland

If we thought that we were dirty and dusty after our week in Etosha, then we had another thought coming, we ain’t seen nothing yet! The sparkling results of our day of cleaning Chico and ourselves in Outjo (when we last updated the blog) were short-lived, but it did feel good while it lasted all the same.

To call the Damaraland region dusty would be an understatement. There was so much sand and dust that Dave turned ashen-grey in a single afternoon (no jokes please about Sharon’s already natural grey highlights which she will remedy by Christmas at the latest!). The distinguished salt and pepper look really suited Dave and now the prospect of him going grey is quite appealing!

Community Tourism

One of the reasons we persevered on the very dry, dusty and corrugated roads of the Damaraland was that we were in search of some community tourism projects that we had heard about. We wanted to show some support to locals and find out a bit more about how they operated.

All in all they were okay and surviving, but as we have found in Namibia in general, it was very hard to find information about places, there is still loads of room for improvement. One of the basic needs of a tourism operation is that it can provide a good service – this is still lacking somewhat. Still we enjoyed seeing what little there was to see – the ancient Petrified Forest, the rock paintings and engravings at Twyfelfontein and Brandberg.

Community Tourism in Damaraland

Campsites

The campsites we used were basic, but did provide good outdoor showers with piping hot water. In one site, Aba Hoab it was so windy we couldn’t put the tent up, but they did have little A-frame shelters so we managed to set up in two of them. We used one for our dining room, and in the other we laid down our mattresses for a bedroom and we were able to watch the stars at night. There were only 3 other campers in the site and they all had camper vans.

We are getting used to being the only English speaking people on campsites with a tent and in a private 2WD car (red) as opposed to white fully kitted out rental 4WD camper vans driven by German or Dutch tourists. We seem to stand out like sore thumbs and as much as we try to make conversation with other tourists we get nowhere; but we have had nice chats with locals and staff working on sites.

Driving

The drive to the coast was strange, it seemed the sea was right in front of us, but the road would continue for miles, some kind of optical illusion in the desert. Anyway it was a welcome sight when we did actually get there – Henties Bay – and we treated ourselves to fish and chips – so fresh and delicious, especially since the previous day we had probably the camping meal that ranks up there as the worst ever, wait for it… 2 minute noodles and a tin of corned beef! We usually eat well, but got caught out miles from anywhere with a limited pantry.

Apart from the fresh fish there wasn’t much reason to stay in Henties Bay so we drove the extra 70kms or so to Swakopmund, Namibia’s beach resort, and that is where we are now.

Following the dusty road in Namibia
Following the dusty road!
Wanted in Namibia

Wanted in Namibia

Camping Trips, Namibia, Road Trips, Travel

It’s not quite as drastic as ‘dead or alive’, but perhaps wanted in Namibia all the same. And it just applies to Sharon.

Since driving in Namibia we have come across many Police road blocks with Stop signs. It seems they are a dime a dozen and at first we stopped at them all, waiting for instructions which were not always forthcoming, but when they were it was just a wave from a cop in a roadside hut to drive on. That is until Sharon did not come to a complete standstill.

At one of these Stop signs a few hundred km’s north of Windhoek she just slowed way down, looked for the cop’s attention and moved off in 1st gear thinking that he would wave us on as normal. Not the case – he pulled us in and started the interrogation. Perhaps this is where he got confused and annoyed. Female driver speaking with an Irish accent, driving a South African car in Namibia, holding a British passport and a Kiwi driving licence, but now resident in South Africa, married to an English man. He couldn’t quite follow the trail of a global citizen!

Anyway he demanded an instant N$150 fine, but when Sharon demanded a receipt, his name and ID number he changed his tune. He apparently tried phoning and making radio contact with some of his colleagues somewhere, but to no avail. He told us that at the next road block they would be waiting on us and we would have to pay the fine there. Strangely enough we never came across another road block, and touch wood the Namibian Police Force have not yet tracked us down, but if anything changes we will let you know!

To be continued, or maybe not!

Living the wild life in Namibia

Living the wild life in Namibia

Camping Trips, Namibia, Road Trips, Travel

Living the wild life in Namibia

We have just driven out of Etosha National Park in north Namibia having spent the last week living the wild life there.

We got there a bit later than we had first anticipated due to our few car delays and then our change of plan to attend a local air show (more in a minute). We had wanted to get to Etosha before the rains came as apparently the game viewing is much easier and our car is only a 2 wheel drive; we made it and in fact there is still not much sign of rain.

Camping in Etosha National Park

Etosha is a massive natural salt pan and the place is just teaming with game. We camped at three different camp sites and just drove ourselves around the park in the mornings, swam in the afternoons, and then either did late afternoon drives or just sat at the camp site water holes (which were flood lit for night time viewing) to view the animals. We know how to live the wild life!

It was magic. We just loved anticipating the surprise of what we might see every day, and we were never disappointed. We saw dozens of giraffe, hundreds of zebra, springbok, oryx and impala, herds of wildebeest, several elephant, a few rhinos and lions on a daily basis. We did spot a couple of the smaller wild things and perhaps a bit too close for comfort. We had a snake go under our tent one night, and this morning Dave spotted a scorpion just as he was packing up the tent!

(We do hope to download some photos onto the blog site at some stage, but it is time consuming at internet cafes – perhaps when we settle back in SA we will get some organised.)

Otjiwarongo Air Show

Back to the air show. That was our first change of plan, and what a result it turned out to be. Dave had made email contact with some paragliders, and to cut a long story a wee bit shorter we ended up meeting up with them to see if he could get a flight. We had a great few days and got involved with helping set up and do things at the air show which was a fund raising activity for REST – Rare and Endangered Species Trust – with particular emphasis on the Cape Griffen Vulture of which there are only 12 remaining in Namibia.

Unfortunatley Dave did not manage to get a flight (condidtions were not right at the right time), but we had a great 4 nights eating and drinking at REST and met some lovely people and hope to meet up with a few of the flying guys again in South Africa.

Dave helping build scaffolding at airshow
Living the wild life in Namibia
First Change of Plan in Namibia

First Change of Plan in Namibia

Camping Trips, Namibia, Road Trips, Travel

Well here is a first, I have actually been allowed to write a Blog post! No doubt my wife will complain about it’s content, spelling and grammar. But here goes.

Despite only having made our rough travel plan 3 days ago it has already changed. Having been in touch with a member of the Namibian Paragliding Association to find out about possible flying sites, it transpired that there was going to be an airshow this Saturday in a town close to where we were. There are hangliders and paragliders here for the week, so we have decided to come and stay here – Otjiwarongo, for the weekend.

It seems that the conditions might be a bit strong for me to fly, the hangliders said they have been going up and down at up to 6 metres a second, which is fairly extreme. They seem like a nice bunch so it should be fun. Also there are some gliders here from SA so should be able to get some good contacts for future flying.

So the future plans are to be in Etosha National Park on Monday and stay until we get bored of looking at the wildlife.
I should mention of course that we were in Waterberg PLateau National Park for the last 2 days and we did one guided game drive. Saw countless Giraffes including some baby ones which were very cute. It looked like that was going to be all for awhile but at our second and last waterhole a herd of Buffalo came in for a drink followed by a couple of Roan Antelope ( which apparently are quite rare). So that was a good start to our game watching although we were hoping for a couple of Rhinos.

Well thats about all from me for now, might be quite a long time before I’m allowed to write again but it has been fun.

Dave

On the list in Namibia

On the list in Namibia

Camping Trips, Namibia, Road Trips, Travel

We are now in Namibia, and it just goes to show that if you keep somewhere on your ‘list’ long enough you will eventually get to it. Sharon has had Namibia on her ‘to do’ list since she last lived in South Africa 15 years ago!

The drive across the Trans Kalahari highway from Botswana to Namibia was uneventful, but successful as we arrived safely having avoided the ostrich, goats and warthogs. And we managed to cope in the heat, but only just! We were very glad to reach the town of Gobabis, and Ernie’s B&B with ice cold drinks.

We tried our best to make conversation with the locals at the bar, but whether it was something we said, how we said it, or maybe even how we smelled, they were clearly not interested and continued speaking in Afrikaans. At one stage during the 20/20 cricket game between SA and NZ we thought they might throw us out! We decided it was best to watch the end of the game in our room.

We have spent the last 3 days camping just outside of the capital city (and maybe only city in Namibia) of Windhoek and today have come into town to get some more information on the rest of the country. It is a little like getting blood out of a stone, but we think we have enough now to continue on our trip.

We plan to head north from here to Etosha National Park, then work our way down the west coast and central areas to the south of the country before going back into SA . We are guessing about a 5-6 week trip.

A lot of the time we will be camping in national parks so access to internet will probably be limited. We will aim to update the blog as often as we can and check our emails. Our SA phone does not work in Namibia.
Until the next time…

New Zealand Travel Diary May 2001

New Zealand Travel Diary May 2001

Camping Trips, Hiking Trips, New Zealand, Road Trips, Travel

That’s your lot!

6 May 2001, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand

We imagine that most of you will be very relieved to find that this is our last travelling update. No more long posts for you to plough through. And what’s worse is this is probably the most difficult one to write as we cannot find the right words to describe the beauty of the South Island, but we will give it a go.

After Nelson we drove south along the west coast under a little bit of drizzle, but certainly not anything close to the amount of rain that is so common in this area.

By the time we reached Franz Josef the sky was blue and perfect conditions for a heli-hike on the glacier. We had about a 10 minute ride in the helicopter before it landed on the glacier where we were met by a guide who took us hiking on the glacier for a couple of hours. It was a really strange, but good fun experience walking on the glacier going through huge crevices and even ice caves. It could have been a whole lot different if Dave had fallen any further into some broken ice – the bruises on his shin were pretty spectacular. Thankfully, the ice kept the swelling down.

Helicopter landing on Franz Josef glacier New Zealand
Sharon hiking on the Franz Josef Glacier in New Zealand

We spent the next few days taking it easy by Lake Wanaka. We managed a few short hikes with some fantastic views of the lake. The town itself was a lovely little laid back kind of ski town and it was just full of beautiful trees all shedding their colourful leaves. Some of the autumn colours we have seen en route have just been glorious – loads of deep reds and golden yellows.

Nap time in Wanaka!
Stunning views in the Wanaka area

Our next stop was the explosive town of Queenstown, probably the tourist (and adventure) capital of NZ, and of course home of the famous AJ Hackett bungy jump. Dave had jumped last time he was here 11 years ago and Shaz was not desperate for an adrenalin rush so we gave it a miss. We did really enjoy a trip on the Dart River on a jet boat – the thrills were minimal, but the scenery was outstanding.

Probably one of the best campsites we have stayed at was our next one at Te Anau, which was our base for exploring Fiordland. The standard of campsites throughout NZ is really high and far superior to those we stayed at in Australia.

The drive from Te Anau to Milford was spectacular to say the least. We had met another couple at the campsite who came with us, as the road was not an easy one for them to ride their bicycles on. We were all booked on the Milford Sound overnight cruise on the Wanderer which set sail at 4.30 in the afternoon. Our luck was in again as this time the boat was followed by a pod of bottlenose dolphins. Once the boat had anchored for the night, we both took out kayaks for a paddle.

It was while we were on the water that we felt so insignificant in this place – we were surrounded by steep sided mountains with huge waterfalls tumbling down and baby seals playing under our kayaks. It is impossible to capture the beauty and mystery of Milford Sound in words; it just has to be visited.

As if the cruise wasn’t enough to captivate us, we also flew over part of the Fiordland and Milford Sound. We had a 70-minute flight from Te Anau, and to date, this has been the best ‘tour dollar we have spent. It was just the pilot and us and the scenery – mountains, fiords, and glaciers – it was simply stunning.

Once we got back down to earth, we were off to Invercargill, NZ’s southernmost city and a very depressing one at that. It just looks like a city that is dying and is the root of many Kiwi jokes.

Needless to say we didn’t hang around, but headed off towards The Catlins where once again we had beautiful scenery and wildlife to admire. It was here that we ended up staying one night in a cabin instead of the tent – the rain was catching up with us.

We also managed to view a flock (?) of penguins, the quite rare yellow eyed variety – they were really comical to watch and we were fascinated. Since then we have visited Dunedin where we watched our first game of Super 12 Rugby in a local bar and that brings us to where we are now, Christchurch.

We have a few more days left in the South Island, but must be back in Auckland in the North Island for Friday 11 May.

For those of you that haven’t heard the jungle drums yet, we will back in the UK for a quick trip, arriving on Tuesday 15 May and probably staying about a month. The time of course will be split equally between England and Ireland! We hope to catch up with as many of you as possible.

A few of you in the UK have asked us to bring some good weather back with us – not much chance of that as we would rather leave the drizzle and winter weather here and go back to some dry sunny days – some chance eh?

So as we say that’s your lot! It has been really lovely to hear from so many of you during this trip and hopefully you have enjoyed reading about it as much as we have enjoyed the experience.

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