Botswana/Namibia tour 2006

Frankie Lane sings "Give me lands, lots of lands, with the starry skies above......", and if that is your sentiments too, consider Botswana and Namibia.

Johan, my fellow travel companion’s appetite was wetted after our South African West Coast tour two years earlier.  “Lets do Botswana and Namibia next,” he suggested and found no resistance to his idea.  Our wives were enthusiastic too!  To that effect he acquired a V8 Discovery, slapped a CampMasterTown & Country  trailer behind it, stuff the trailer full of camping gear, and off we went! That is his style. That trailer bothered me some - was it up to wild African travel?

Four o'clock on the morning after Christmas, 2006, we hit the road north from Pretoria towards Ellisras, and the Groblersbrug border post between South Africa and Botswana.

Border formalities on both sides of the Limpopo was pleasant, to say the least, and soon we were in Botswana. Nothing differed much from what we’re used to in South Africa, but that was to change.

Off to Francistown and our first night out.  The caravan camp is huge, seeming even larger with us the only occupants. Good ablutions, and everything was just dandy after a helpful camp attendant sprayed some poison around our campsite for the army of ants that have declared war on us. This was also the first time that we tried a fellow campers advice to bring plenty of Dettol along. He reckoned this stuff is the end of any creepy crawley. He was right! We never used anything else for the dreaded malaria mosquito on the whole tour.

After a refreshing night in the quiet Francistown camp we hit the long road to Kasane, close to where Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe meet. We realized that things have changed when we suddenly saw elephants right next to the road. There are no fences on the road from Francistown to Kasane. We filled up with petrol at Nata, which is on the edge of the vast Makgadikgadi pans, but we did not go in for two reasons: Travelling these places it is a good idea to have more than one vehicle, and because of the vastness of the two countries, we were strapped for time. You could easily spend two months in either Botswana or Namibia, and not see everything it has to offer.

Our campsite at Kasane was right on the river. Too close to the Hippos if you ask me, especially when they got vocal in the afternoon, and I had a look at the pathetic little fence between them and us. That night I slept lightly lest our hefty neighbors come visiting. Tiger fishing is good here too, as a passing fisherman showed us.

After breakfast we entered the Caprive strip, a thin sliver of Namibian territory wedged in between Botswana on the one side, and Angola and Zambia on the other. Skirting the top edge of the Chobe national park we saw plenty more wildlife in the lush bush. This time more buffalo than elephants.

Katima Mulilo was our next port of call, and Johan has wetted our appetites with stories of his sojourn there during the bush war that raged these parts some three decades ago. .

Dropping off all our gear at a campsite on the banks of the Zambesi, we ventured into the bush where Johan have been stationed during the war. Thirty years have passed and his Alzheimer's prevented him from recognising any of his old haunts, but the green and wet countryside, dotted with massive Baobab trees, compensated for his loss of memory.

Leaving early the next morning we tackled the long stretch through the Caprivi strip towards the northern end of Namibia.  Did I mention that the roads are in excellent condition? No need for a fancy 4x4, unless you wander off the main routes. Any family car can do it.  It might also interest you to know that, despite it being December and the height of the holiday season, we never once bothered to book in advance.

Pushing east towards Rundu, we were all looking forward to seeing the Popa falls, which are more like rapids in the Kavango river. This was the rainy season and the small dirt road to Popa was filled with puddles of water, but because of the sandy terrain it can still be easily done with a family car. Just go slowly! Lacking the drama and magnitude of a place like the Victoria falls, Popa offers quiet and solitude. We had the place all to ourselves.

With Rundu drawing closer, we headed for Nkwazi camp on the banks of the Kavango. First we were treated to a spectacular sunset over the river, where you could almost cut the silence, it was so thick.

Just as it was getting dark, we were invited to a tribal dance in the lapa. As the area slowly filled up with tourists, the three drummers were tuning their drums. This is done by heating the skin of the drum by heat from a fire. Every now and then they would test the sound before giving it more heat. When they were satisfied they positioned themselves to one side and the silence was broken by the rhythmic booming of the drums.

Hell, I was born here, but it took me 56 years to enjoy my first tribal dance. I said to my wife that tonight I feel more African than I care to admit. Those drums were talking to me.

Stopping in Rundu briefly to replenish our supply of Coca Cola, we hit the road for Grootfontein. At this stage it would have paid the driver and the navigator to stop under a tree for a few moments to study their maps, which were gathering dust somewhere. The plan was to go to RuacanaFalls in the Kunene river. We also wanted to see Etosha.

We proceeded towards Etosha via Grootfontein, Otjiwarongo and Outjo to enter the Etosha at its southern entrance at Okaukuejo. From there we would proceed eastwards to Namutoni and then westward again via Ondangwa and Oshakati towards Ruacana. That was the plan.........not a good plan, but a plan.  (I have studied the maps again in the meantime from the comfort of my couch.  It looks like you can drive straight to Ruacana from Rundu, hugging the Angolan border, roughly about 700 kilometers of dirt road. Or you can go down via Grootfontein, tarred road all the way, and the penalty would only be something like 100 kilometer extra.  Rather check it out yourself on the map because my calculations could be wrong!  Sure looks wrong when I look at the map, but I double checked.)

We parked off at a quiet campsite just outside Outjo, gateway to Etosha, to recover from the long drive. Bonnie dashed off to the inviting swimming pool and Vince scouted the campsite. I was amazed when he returned and dumped a hand full of various stones in my lap. Among them was a crystal and a Tiger’s Eye.  It turned out that he found them on a heap of building sand close by!

We hit Okaukuejo soon after the gates opened to experience the Etosha, and Johan, who frequently visit the KrugerNational Park, reckons that Etosha is much better for viewing game. At every waterhole we stopped it was teeming with wildlife.

Exiting the park at Numatoni, we did the Grootfontein, Otjiwarongo, Outjo thing again, going for Khorixas and eventually Hentiesbaai.

Second time around, we camped at Otjiwarongo, another campsite we had to ourselves. During the night the Discovery's battery decided it had enough. A large chunk of the next day went missing with us hunting another battery, and as a result we were too late to enter the SkeletonCoast park.

We turned off to Palmwag where there was no vacant campsites. The first and only time on the whole tour that it happened. But hey, friendly campers offered to share their site with us for the night!  I had a restless night after I learned that elephant and lion roam here after dark. Johan reckoned it would be a marvelous adventure if either or both these mammals visit us. I knew there was nothing romantic about  a lion chewing off your ass, and a heated discussion followed.

Well before sunrise, and the only time we experienced that glorious time of day, we were off again for Springbokwasser, gateway to the SkeletonCoastPark.  We had to wait a while for the gates to open, giving us ample time to savour the cold Atlantic air drifting lazily inland.

Up to this point we had our eyes peeled for dunes as we were in the Namib desert. Nothing. Only miles and miles of beautiful grassland, dotted with fat game. The Namib had the best rains they experienced in fifty years!

Entering the SkeletonCoastPark changed all that.  Have you ever experienced desolation?  Well, here there is plenty of that.......in large chunks. Turning up towards ToraBay and eventually Angola was not an option for us, as you need a permit to go there.  Permits are only available in Windhoek. So we turned left.

Should you get stranded on the dreaded SkeletonCoast these days, you can walk to nearest road, (or crawl if you want to be dramatic), but long ago it was another matter. That's why it is called the SkeletonCoast.  And judging by the shipwrecks on the beach, there should be quite a few skeletons buried under the sand.

Mile after mile of absolutely nothing. The road even appears to get lost in the endless stretch of sand from time to time.  Nearing Hentiesbaai the gravel road gives way to a gravel road covered with salt, making for driving as smooth as any tarred road. Of course metal don’t like salt and that is probably why almost every garage in Henties have a ramp where they spray wash  the undercarriage of your vehicle with fresh water to prevent rust.

Then it was time to turn back home. Nobody particularly looked forward to going home,.and there was an unusual quiet in the car.  After a long ride through the desert, Spitzkoppe appeared in the distance. After a long time they still appeared in the distance. The reason is because the air out here in the desert is so clean and far off objects seem much closer than they are.

After the magnificence of the desert the long road to Windhoek, capital of Namibia, seemed less attractive.  Just outside Windhoek starts the Trans Kalahari Highway.  The next substantial town is Gobabis, some 200 kilometers away, and the last town before entering Botswana. Here we spent our last night in a very nice camping spot next to a dam, where we were treated to another magnificent sunset.

Bidding Gobabis good bye the next morning we hit the Highway again for our final leg back home. For the first time in ten days Johan popped a CD into the player to kill the silence which fell over us as we headed home.

Scraping through the border post just before closing time, we drove into Zeerust as darkness settled and Johan decided to end the tour the same way we began it - invading a Wimpy!

And that, in a nutshell, was our Botswana/Namibia trip. Both Botswana and Namibia are vast, open countries with lots to offer the tourist. Our trip could best be described as a reconnaissance of these regions. We avoided many places because we only had one 4x4 and it would be foolhardy to tempt fate.

It was great!  I don't believe in post mortems, so there will be none here.  We toured Botswana and Namibia, made a few mistakes and missed some spots, but you know what?  We did it!  Our way, and enjoyed it!  Besides, having missed a few spots give us an excuse to do it again!

Oh yes…………. the trailer came through with flying colors!