We left around 9 for the 280km trip to Aus. It amazes me how Namibia can get things right with their roads (SA needs to take a few tips). To date, except for the last stretch into Aus, we have travelled on dirt roads and encountered not one pothole. They are all smooth and well graded. 

After miles of nothing we came across a farming area; palm trees, dates I guess, grape vines and fruit trees. Lowen River and the Naute Dam are in this area and his must be how the farming area is irrigated.

The turn off to Aus and Luderitz took us onto a long straight tarred road. We drove over Naiams Pass, it was a gentle ascent and descent through a few mountains.  A welcome relief after the passes of the Richtersveld.

We then passed through sheep and cattle farms reminiscent of the Karroo.

We arrived at Klein Aus Vista at 1, having driven past the Aus, a one horse town, that has definitely grown in the past few years. I was feeling a little nostalgic as I reminisced over staying here 4 years ago.  Robs, Gray and I spent 2 nights in a wonderful camp site.  It was full moon we were awed as the rocky mountains surrounding us turned a dark blue under the light of the moon. I was a touch regretful that we were not camping, until we walked into our room. Panda you did it again. Although the furniture is old, they have modernized it beautifully – old and new working in unison.  Best of all was the huge bathroom with a big ball and claw bath. They have paid great attention to detail, gardens of indigenous plants, veigies decorating the spare toilet rolls and gemsbok, including a white one, roaming the grounds.

We had a quick bite to eat at the restaurant overlooking the swimming pool, with a view of the surrounding desert area. After an hours chill time we set off for sun downers at Koichab watering hole. Usually sundowners at a water hole implies we are waiting for game to come to come down for their evening drink …. This evening we hoping that the wild horses of Garub would bless us with their presence.

We had never seen the horses that frequent the start of the Dune Namib – north west of Aus. Along the 20km drive to water hole, overseen by Dik Willem mountain (love the name), we saw these extraordinary animals, that have adapted to the extreme desert conditions, in the distance.

Sitting patiently at the water hole, after about ½ an hour, a horse loped down to drink. Not as exciting as leopard or a herd of ellies but thrilling none the less. A while later another two horses appeared out the desert, the closer to the water they came the quicker they moved.  After drinking they ambled up to us, it was a touch disconcerting how tame they were but I think they were the exception. While being entertained by the horses a gemsbok came down to drink.

There are a few theories of where these 150 odd wild horses originated from. Some believe they were descendent of the German Schutztruppe. Another theory proposes their origins lie in the former stud of Baron Von Wolf’s farm. Recently research has revealed that the horses’ forebears were part of the South African cavalry which had set up camp in the Namib. Their horses fled into the desert panicked by shots fired from low flying German aircraft at the beginning of World War 1. My Grandfather fought in this area in WW1, I wonder what the slim chance is that it could have been one of his horses.

On our return we came across gemsbok and another horse on the side of the road. Another reason not to travel at night.

I cannot believe the number of people staying at Klein Aus Vista. The camp site, self catering units and lodge area are all full.  The sizable restaurant was full for dinner – as far as we could tell, we were the only South Africans. There were lots of Germans, some Spanish, Italians and people from other European countries. The southern region of Namibia has become a popular tourist destination since independence and many of the farmers in the area have incorporated tourism as part of their livelihood. 

I had a nice long soak in our bath before going to bed.

We had a great breakfast, the lodge is pretty self sufficient in terms of produce and bake delicious breads, make homemade jams and we had fresh fruit.

We then set off for a day of sight seeing around the canyon.

I have an irrational fear when my kids – the big one and the 3 younger ones – are at the tops of cliffs and waterfalls. All 3 were provincial springboard divers and definitely not afraid of heights, neither am I, but the hairs on the back of my neck stand up when they go near the edge of anything high. Hence our previous trip to the canyon had me a touch on edge the whole day. Today was a whole lot more relaxing, no kids hanging over the edge and Gray, as he has matured, has become a whole lot more responsible too.

The day started off with us changing a tyre on Tony’s car – we have changed numerous tyres on Namibian roads over the years. 

At the canyon we started at the view point where hikers descend into the valley of the canyon. The hike is an 85km walk through the canyon along the Fish River. It is said to but the hottest hike in the world. We watched 2 groups of hikers start their hike on the very steep descent into the canyon.  

We then wandered around taking in the view and taking pics of various areas of the deep canyon and meandering river. On our way out Gray decided we need to take a 30km round trip to the furtherest vantage point, I queried as to whether it was worth it but he was right again – we came across one of the most spectacular views of this impressive canyon.

Luckily he installed 2 way radios in the cars – a couple of km along the road Tony radioed to say he had another puncture. The boys spent an hour changing, fixing and pumping tyres.

We stopped off at Canon Roadhouse on the way back. This is an eclectic motel, also part of the Gondwana group.  It is a veritable treasure house of motor memorabilia; old cars and trucks, signs, tools and paraphernalia adorn the place, inside and out.  It is well worth a visit if you are in the area.  After afternoon tea – beers and wine – we wondered off back to Canon Village, while Tony found some guys to help fix tyres.

Today we saw gemsbok, springbok, ostriches, klipspringers and a squirrel.

We had a few drinks in the pub, built around a natural rock outcrop.  Dinner was again delicious, springbok steak and lamb curry.

I was woken by the call of a Fish Eagle, best alarm clock ever.

After breakfast we headed to the police and immigration offices on the South African border. Panda was surprisingly chilled for a border crossing day. All in order ( not that I would ever doubt it, he has a file filled with all the correct document and then some 😉).

We drove our vehicles down to the Orange and both vehicles caught the pontoon across the river onto the Namibian side.  After a painless arrival check in on the Namibian side, we checked out a ‘rock tree garden’ – rocks from various parts of Southern Africa were set atop metal poles.

We needed to set our clocks back an hour due to day light saving in Namibia. It makes a lot of sense at this time of the year. Gray joked that the whole border crossing, including the river crossing took us 3 minutes. We also received our first Namibian Dollars in cash at the border post.  Currency is not an issue as the Namibian Dollar is based on the rand and the SA Rand and credit cards are accepted throughout the country. 

The drive to Canon Village at Fish River was 180 km along flat, smooth and well maintained roads. We followed the confluence of the Orange River, with the Richtersveld mountains on our right and a more rocky type of mountain, interspersed with sand dunes, on the Namibian side.

We crossed over a very low flowing Fish River and saw it merge into the Orange River. Shortly after this we were on the opposite of the river where we had picnicked two days earlier. After 75km we exited the Transfrontier park and crossed over a dry Gamkab River.

Having left the park, the terrain changed, still mountainous but with flat areas along the banks of the Orange. The water was a dark blue and looked very inviting.  There was also more evidence of civilisation; farming, more traffic and a few building structures.

The turn off to Fish River Canyon took us away from the river and into a  proper desert region.  We still had the stark desert mountains on our left but to our right was a flatland of sandy grey/ brown nothing.

We decided to visit Ai-Ais, an 11 km detour, as we time on our hands. The road in was again through a dark mountainous valley.  Ai-Ais is a hot spring resort, at one stage apparently facilities had deteriorated quite badly but it has been renovated and improved.  They have indoor & outdoor heated swimming pools, chalets and a camp site. It reminds me of Warmbaths. In addition to the resort it is also the finishing point of the Fish River Hiking trail, a tough 85km, 4 day slog in the heat – bloody mad – there were a number of limping hikers soaking in the pools. We had lunch in the restaurant and headed back onto the dirt road.

As we neared the canyon the terrain changed dramatically. In the distance were flat topped mountains with deep valleys.

Along the road today we saw a gemsbok, Duiker, klipspringers, kudu and ostriches. There are aloes and Quiver Trees in the  Canyon area.

We arrived at Canon Village around 4. Panda did well – the lodge is Texas ranch merging with Bushman chic. The rooms are great and comfortable.  Last time we were at Fish River  Canyon we camped at Hobas, one our of less favorable experiences. It was packed with overlander campers; they were noisy, they left the bathrooms (when we could use one) filthy and we had a camp site on the edge in the dirt and dust.  Pair this up with three kids who kept wanting to peer over the canyon edge and it was not my best experience. Clearly Gray felt the same way and booked up market for 2 nights. I must say a welcome relief from the sand of the last few days.  Al and I are bok for roughing it for a few days, as long we can have some luxurious respite every now and then. 

After booking in we spent the next couple of hours sorting out comms – new country, new SIM cards, data bundles, networks…  It was so much easier back in the day when told all back home that you would be back in a month, to pay the bills, fight the home fires get on with life.

The chalets at Canon Village are set in a lager, surrounded by sandy colored boulder type mountains with 100m or so of ‘desert’ from our chalet to the main building and restaurant – the area is paved and littered with aloes, quiver trees and lantern lights. It is Arizona desert by day and fairyland at night. While crossing the area this evening to go to the restaurant we heard a noise and two wild Gemsbok galloped past us. They apparently come looking for water at the lodge.

Dinner was delicious; pea soup, oryx steak with pepper sauce and coconut pudding. The wine was good and the service friendly.

A tip for anyone staying at one of the Gondwana Group accommodations (Canon Village is one of them) – organise a Gondwana Card. You get 40% off all accomodation and meals.

The smell of coffee was too much this morning – stuff healthy lemon water.

The winds from last night had brought in wisps of clouds over the mountains. As we packed up, more ominous grey clouds swept in.

The trip to Sendelingsdrif took us 4 ½ hours.  We again experienced the full kaleidoscope of changing scenery from flat sandy plains and river beds, to the craggy sharp mountains of volcanic rock and onto our destination, the lush Orange River. 

We had been taking an easy drive along sandy roads, surrounded by mountains, it felt as though we were traveling in a crater. Then we had to ascend the ‘crater wall’ of Domorogh Pass – OMG – if I thought Helshoogte was bad, this was seriously scary. ‘Camelman’ decided half way up to try low range, clearly he wasn’t the one on the cliff side. The view from the top, however, was well worth it, absolutely spectacular.

In this harsh landscape water is a great scarcity and only the hardiest of life forms survive. We experienced a few drops of rain along the way, a rarity. Despite the conditions, the Richtersveld is regarded as the only arid biodiversity hotspot on earth,  with a variety of plant and bird life, much of which is endemic to the area. The area is also on the UNESCO’s world heritage list.

This place is a botanists dream. We were fortunate today to travel over Akkedis Pass and into areas lush with vegetation. The flora in the park boasts some 2700 species – with 600 existing no where else in the world.  My favorite plant is the Halfmens, a rare and endemic succulent. From a distance, these trees look like humans looking towards the north.

Our chalet at Sendelingsdrif, situated on the banks of the Orange River is cute and cosy. Shortly after arrival we witnessed an amazing sight – a troop of baboons, including babies, swimming across the River.

I spent a very relaxing afternoon, sitting in the sun, watching the River flow past and catching up on admin and reading.

We had a great braai in the evening. Lots of laughs and lots of red wine.

I woke at 6:30 and it was still dark.  The sun came up around 7.  Gray boiled the kettle and found the water  too brackish to drink. Kettle reboiled with Sandton Valpre (only joking) we sat outside sipping coffee (he had coffee, Kirst has talked me into starting the day with lemon and honey water – more healthy she said, good for your skin and constitution… within two days  of our new health regime I had my first zit in 30 years and my first cold of the year, but I am persevering).

Looking up at the desert mountains with the suns rays creeping over them,  we have every shade of cream, brown, pink and grey..  The only movement was a little cape bunting hopping around our feet. This is so one of my happy places.

After 2 days of travel, today was to be a rest day.  

After morning drinks I headed in for a shower – and we had hot water, often a luxury on our Africa travels.  I opened my mouth in the shower, having forgotten Grays warning about the brack water and visions from  a scene from the ‘Sex in the City’ movie hit me.

So much for a rest day…..

Al and I started off with a hike to the top of a koppie near our chalets. We each added a rock  to the cairn, like others before us that had scaled the top of the hill.  

We then set off on a drive to the Orange River. The route in was fairly easy through Sand and rocky river beds. The mountains are devoid of all vegetation here.  In some areas they are so dark, they are almost black, it looks like an atom bomb has exploded, leaving just desolate rock and mountains. 

Literally, like an oasis in the desert, the Orange River runs through, with green shrub along the banks.  We picnicked on the banks of the river. The heat of the midday sun sent us seeking shelter under a nearby tree. We added Grey  and Goliath herons, a pied kingfisher and a few other water birds to our bird list.

The route home was along a serious 4×4 off-road, ‘don’t think we should have been on’, route.  I know why Gray loves his Discovery so much – this is what she was built for – not town and highway driving. We eventually arrived back 4 hours later. This is not a place to come to for the ‘Big 5’ or any animals – we were so excited to see a squirrel, the only natural fauna we have ever seen in the park. There are a few goat herds, tended to by nomadic herders but they they are few and far between. This is a place of stark beauty and exciting flora. Numerous succulents and plants are endemic to this area. 

The relaxing part of day then started with a G & T around the fire.

EWe left Augrabies National Park at 08:00 and went into ‘town’ to fill up with diesel.  

The terrain from Augrabies to Pofadder is flat with with distant mountain ranges on both sides. The ground is covered with golden grass, as far as the eye can see, but on closer inspection, they are just tufts sprouting out of the red dry ground. From time to time, like a pop up shop in a mall, something exciting adds itself to the otherwise stark beauty of the area: beautiful little purple flowers carpeted the ground for a few kilometers and one of the mountains was filled with kokerbooms (Quiver trees), a tall branching species of Aloe that is indigenous to this Northern Cape area. Every now and then we see a few sheep grazing on the tufts of grass. We also saw a couple of Springbok.

The first town we drove through was one we often throw up in conversation, I’m not sure why…it must be the name because the town is certainly not memorable, Pofadder.

The scenery between Pofadder and Springbok was a variety of changes, the scrub bush was more sparse and grey green in color. Clearly a preferred diet of sheep in the area as the herds were more prolific here. It was great to see the wild flowers out and in patches we had carpets of beautiful orange flowers.

Last time we were in Springbok we had breakfast in a nice little coffee shop. We drove around the whole town (it took about 5 minutes) looking for it and eventually landed up at the Wimpy😝.

We have been pleasantly surprised by the great state of the roads in this area.

We passed through Steinkopf, luckily we didn’t blink or we would have missed it. The flowers in this area are predominantly yellow but interspersed with white, purple and orange – they are beautiful.

Our turn off to Eksteenfontein took us onto a well maintained dirt road for 50km. Eksteenfontein is another ‘don’t blink’ town, with a few brightly painted houses. Years ago we passed through the town and I remember it as being ‘brighter’; more colored houses and more people, more friendlier people. It kind of had a depressing feel to it now.

The next 50km over Vyfmylpoort took us the best part of the afternoon. At times we were only traveling a few kilometers an hour over mountains and through river beds on a rocky road. The scenery was spectacular, we have been so fortunate to capture the late wild flowers that pop out the ground once a year in the western and northern Cape. The side of the road, the mountains and  rocky outcrops were adorned with the delicate and beautiful flowers. 

 

We arrived at Helshoogte Gate, an entrance into the Richtersveld park around 5. We had seen two cars the whole afternoon and one was a wreck. The parks board employee said to Gray, “Meneer, jy is in die moeilikheid” (sir, you are in big trouble).  We still had 25 km to go to book in at Sendlingsdritf, 25km back on rutted sandy roads and then another 40km to our tent site in the Richtersveld. Time was not on our side – Gray, our tour director had seriously misjudged how long the off-road trip would take. He did admit to us that the suggested and preferred route was via Port Nolloth to Sendlingsdrift. One thing I have learned after 25 years of marriage to Gray is that we will always take the road least travelled. Two years ago, our route home from East London, from one of Robs’ Waterpolo tournaments, took us 3 days via back roads and mountain passes – so we could see 6 different biomes in one area.  

I have learned from him that life is about the journey – got to love the guy.

However, not so much at this point, we were already tired and travel weary, with  darkness 2 hours away and lots of difficult roads to negotiate. Panda always makes a plan – he talked the office at Sendlingsdrift into letting us drive straight into the park to Gannakouriep, shaving 50km of rutted dirt roads off the trip. They were not keen as we had wavered our indemnity but he assured them he knew where we were going.

Yeh right.  For those not familiar with the Richtersveld, it is a mountain desert region, stark in its beauty and an off-roaders paradise. Due to the mountainous region the GPS, all 3 of them,  and our cell phone google maps, had no connection. We were traveling blind along tracks over mountain ranges, with no help from the maps in the car as we were traveling into such a remote place.

The first rocky track took us to Helshoogte pass an appropriate name but it was where we wanted to be). We had been down this pass a few times before and it is scary.  Going up it was somehow less scary but then we had other problems ahead. We were traveling at about 15km/hour and on the other side of the pass we could get horribly lost in the mountains.

I was avidly watching 2 cell phones for a chance of  some signal, knowing it was pretty useless. Eventually Panda had a brainwave – Tracks 4 Africa on my ‘low on battery’ iPad (no kids, I had not been playing games). Ipad charging on one of the 3 battery systems in the car (we could assist with load shedding from our vehicle) and Tracks 4 Africa showing us the route, we relaxed at last. Sort of – we had 40 km to go and it estimated it would take us 1 ½ hours. Arriving at our destination at 7:30.  Driving at night in Africa has always been one of our no rules. Especially along Rocky Mountain tracks.

Luckily we hit a sandy track in the valley, made up time and arrived at 6:30, in the fading light.

Gannakouriep has 4 semi tent/building structures, they are very basic but comfortable. It is just the 4 of us here and it feels like we are the only people on earth; quiet, remote, surrounded by mountains and stars.

We had a braai and chatted about the day. The Purchase’s were blissfully unaware of the predicament going on in our car.  They were under the incorrect assumption that we knew exactly where we were going. We could laugh at it then. 

In bed at 9:30 after a bloody long day.

Five o’clock, still very dark, 12 degrees and we are on our way.

I have wanted to return to Namibia since our 2011 Sandton to Serengeti trip. We had planned on traveling into the north west areas but due to the heaviest rains and flooding in 40 years, the area was impassable. 

We put out the word about a year ago about our plans and had many nibbles but unfortunately most people couldn’t take a months leave or dropped out for one reason or another. So it’s Panda and myself and Tony and Al, our neighbors and fellow travelers on many of our Southern African trips. We are also fortunate to be joined by George and Sue Krafft for the second half of the trip. George and Graeme have been great friends for the past 40 years.

Sadly,this will be our first trip without Robs, her Stellenbosch University holidays don’t coincide with mine and she is very upset about missing out. She was 5 when we first took the kids up to the Richtersveld and southern Namibia – I remember packing her a small case of fairies and barbies to keep her occupied. Where has the time gone? Kirst is incensed that we are leaving her at home for a month, over her birthday. Being her first year of work, she doesn’t have leave to join us.  Gareth, on the other hand, was happy to wave us good bye – party time! Not that his work commitments will allow too much partying.

As always, Panda, our Africa Agent, has spent months poring over maps, investigating camp sites, parks and lodges. Unlike our 2011 trip, where we were not sure where we would be sleeping each night, this trip is planned and booked.  This is necessary at this time time of the year as half of Germany travels to Namibia for their summer holidays.  

We are traveling in our old and ‘trusted’ Discovery.  I suggested that possibly we needed to upgrade but Gray loves this car and can fix most problems, like replacing the broken  prop shaft on the side of the road in Zambia. I am a little concerned, however, yesterday I found his ‘vehicle recovery’ unit on the back seat as opposed to its usual spot under all the luggage in the boot 😅

We are also armed with 2 GPS’s directing us in unison – so annoying – Boys and their toys. 

Our first stop was breakfast in Delareyville. On our previous forays into this forgettable dorp, on our way to the kgalagadi, Botswana, Richtersveld or Namibia,  we had always stopped in at the Wimpy. The Wimpy has clearly closed down and been replaced by a KFC. 

So it was a KFC breakfast. 

The terrain in the Northern Cape is flat with miles of scrub bush. It always amazes me how red the soil is around Kuruman. Even the trees are red with fine dust. We stopped for a picnic lunch  outside Olifantsfontein. It’s such a treat to travel with Al – before we knew it we had the tablecloth out, matching serviettes 😉  – I was just waiting for the crystal wine glasses. 

 Upington expands every time we visit or pass through but my greatest thrill about this, town, on the banks of the Orange River, are the huge sociable weaver nests that hang like thatched umbrella on the electricity poles along the road before you enter the town.

We then passed through Keimoes and Kakemas. These little towns have their own charm but we are definitely not rushing up here to retire. There are thousands of grape vines but but judging by the state of the vines, they would be lucky to get raisins.

  

We arrived at Augrabies National Park around 3:30. To my absolute favorite – a caravan club, with 9 caravan couples all trying to outdo each other. It took us ¾ of an hour to queue up and 5 minutes to book in. 

We have 2 very comfortable cottages.

After settling in we went for a long walk around the falls. The Augrabies is a waterfall on the Orange River, around 60m in height. The name Augrabies means ‘The place of Great Noise’ and the water capacity flowing over the falls is greater than that of Niagra Falls. The impressive granite gorge is 240m deep and 18km long.

We ate at the restaurant – great kudu pie – and drank the local wine from the ‘Orange River Vineyard’ – the Chenin Blanc was great but the Cab not so much.

In bed but 9, after a long day.

Pandas in Africa 2012

Mabuasehube

Back to Botswana

It’s been just over a year since returning from our Sandton to Serengeti trip. At first it was unsettling to have to return to ‘normal’ life.  What I missed most was taking each day as it came: waking up in the morning and not knowing where we would be sleeping that night, finding passable routes and exciting places to visit and people to meet. The appreciation of finding a camp site with a warm, clean shower or eating freshly caught fish or the smell of braai bread fresh off the coals. However, before we knew it, it was back to work, sleeping in comfortable beds and all the trappings of city life. Not that it was all bad; it was great to be back with family and friends, drink wine out of bottles and have food and fuel readily available.

In the past year we have been to Cape Town and Franschhoek twice. Once to watch Robs play in a provincial waterpolo tournament and once to take our Indian exchange student, Chintz, to that part of our beautiful country. It also gave us a chance to catch up with Gareth and Kirst. We have also been to Olifants  River Game Reserve near Hoedspruit 4 times in the last year. The house there is like our second home and it’s great to be in the middle of the bush with the animals and watch them come down to drink in the Olifants River. 

In April Graeme turned 50 and refused to entertain any idea of any sort of celebration. Just the thought of it put it into the same category of going for a prostate examination. In order to avoid a chance surprise party he booked a week away with Robs and I (unfortunately Gareth couldn’t get leave and Kirst was not on UCT holidays). We spent a few days at Mapungubwe and a few days in the northern areas of the Kruger National Park.

The kingdom of Mapungubwe was a pre-colonial state in Southern Africa and is now a National Park and World Heritage Site. It is located at the confluence of the Shashe and Limpopo Rivers and pins the point where Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa borders meet. It is definitely worth a visit. We stayed in very comfortable chalets and they had a great rock pool to cool off in. The area is red sand and it looks like God has taken clay and flung it onto the ground to make amazing mountain ranges. To top off the beauty it is filled with my favourite Baobab trees.

Our Preparations

You can’t camp with just anyone, if you want to go on a fun camping holiday. You need to really be able to get on with your fellow campers as they see you warts and all. Camping with our friends and neighbours, Tony and Al Purchase and their daughter Jen (Robs great friend since the girls were 3 years old) has always been fun and it has been too long since we last went on a trip together. We were excited that they would be joining us on, this last minute, trip to Mabuasehube in Botswana.

Having only secured the booking through a cancellation two weeks prior to setting off, we still had plenty of preparation time. Graeme was like a little boy, I think he spent the whole two weeks fiddling with the Discovery, checking camping gear and sorting out routes. We had a long way to go – one and a half days travelling for 4 days in the park and one and a half days back but for Tony and Graeme was going to be well worth it.

With Graeme and Tony  sorting out the camping side of things, Al and I, armed with our camping list headed off to Manny the Butcher, Pick n Pay and Woolworths, one thing was for sure, we were not going to starve.

23 August: Home to Springbokpan

We woke up to a 5 o’clock alarm, showered, finished off last minute packing and were waiting outside the Purchases’ house by 6:00. The only scary part of an otherwise fairly uneventful 700km trip was a huge truck that flipped in the middle of the road near Krugersdorp, fortunately it was on the opposite side of the road and didn’t hold us up.  

We headed west out of Johannesburg along the N14, past Ventersdorp, Coligny, Biesiesvlei, Sannieshof and stopped for breakfast just before Delareyville. We opted for a homemade packed breakfast along the way instead of our usual oily breakfast in some god forsaken little town that leaves you feeling nauseous for the next hour of the journey. The bacon and avo rolls, boiled eggs and sausages, washed down with cream sodas went down a real treat.

We encountered plenty of stop/go road works that slowed the journey down but eventually stopped in the bustling metropolis of Kuruman for fuel. Besides ‘Die Oog’, a natural spring this town has nothing of interest to offer. We passed Hotazel, a mining area and arrived at Springbokpan Guest House around 3:00. 

Having stayed on the cattle farm before, we knew the owners, and were given a warm Afrikaans welcome by Ans, the wife of the owner of the farm. Our accommodation was in Plettenburg type caravans but it was clean and comfortable.  The surrounding area  is mainly scrub bush, littered with rusty cabs of old trucks and we had ostriches pecking around us until sunset. 

Dinner was an experience, the dining room is filled with pictures of wild animals and the adjoining room is filled with trophy heads of wildlife of every description. They must have made the local taxidermist very rich. Our starters were rock hard tuna wraps but the good old boerekos main made up for it. We had the most delicious venison stew, pumpkin cakes, potato bake and ribbetjies. Desert was pineapple Cremora tart. Drinks; no G & T’s, no whiskey, off wine but there was rum and coke.  Then it was to bed for a good night’s rest.

24 August:  Mabuasehube  –  Mpayathutwa Pan

We woke to the sounds of the farm, barking dogs, cows and ostriches. After a farm breakfast we set off for McCarthy’s Rest Border Post about 6 km up the dirt road. As usual at these small border posts, if your papers are in order and you are friendly, there are no issues and it is a fairly quick and painless exercise. We had been concerned about crossing into Botswana with our meat and fresh produce, as this is regularly prohibited due to outbreaks of foot and mouth disease. As a precaution we took the meat out our fridge and hid it in the car, fortunately no checks were done and we stopped a few kilometres from the border to replace the beers with meat (much to Graeme and Tony’s disgust).

We stopped again about 6km later in Tshabong. The main reason was to try and change currency, not from S.A. Rand to Pula, but the Botswana Government had changed their Pula notes in the past year and so our notes were not being accepted. Having had no luck we set off on a good dirt road for the next 130km to the park gate. Thefirst 90 odd kilometres were on good roads and then we hit sand and the last 40km were slow, bumpy and we were prone to sliding from rutted path to rutted path. Along the way we saw gemsbok, springbok and hartebeest. It was also fascinating to see huge sociable weaver nests balancing on telephone poles. 

The ranger booking us in warned us that we needed to be aware of lions around the pan we were camping at. After booking in, we took a slow 20km drive to our first camp at Mpayathutwa Pan. Nearing the pan we saw herds of wildebeest and springbok.

On arrival at our campsite there were 2 vehicles parked under the trees in the only shady area. It was my ‘favourite’ – Afrikaans campers. From our experiences with these wannabe Voortrekkers in Namibia and Zambia last year I was immediately irritated and they didn’t let us down. Pa asked if we wanted to set up camp under the trees where they were parked – uh yes – we had booked the camp site and it was 38 degrees outside. They then proceeded to moan about the parks board for lack of water (as it turned out this is the only camp with water) for themselves and the animals. This is a desert area in the winter months and animals have been surviving here for hundreds of years before man arrived. Additionally we were aware that we would be lucky to have water in any camps and planned accordingly.

They then tried to scare us off by telling us about the lions in the area, in reality that is what we were here for – Graeme and Tony were going to go away extremely disappointed if we didn’t have lions in camp. Clearly seeing we were not going to be swayed into moving elsewhere the posy moved on and left us to set up camp.

About an hour later we had 3 tents erected, close to each other, food boxes unpacked and were sipping on beers and shandys. After a relaxing, very hot afternoon, we went for a short drive to a small waterhole on the pan. The girls took advantage of the freedom of being in this isolated area and sat on the roof rack of the car for the game drive. There were herds of wildebeest and springbok and plenty of birds but the highlight was a bataleur that landed and pranced around for photos.

Then it was back to the camp site and my favourite part of the day – sitting around the camp fire, with a drink, chatting about the day and watching the men braai. Tonight it was Tony braaing some delicious sirloin steaks. In South Africa men interfering with their mates braai is akin to sleeping with their wife, so Graeme backed off and watched. Unlike the women, Al and I happily cut up a salad in the open, wooden, A-Frame shelter. After dinner we finished it off with an Amarula nightcap – as always, life is kak in Africa.

 25 August:  Mpayathutwa Pan

Got to be honest, sometimes I do wonder what I see in this camping lark. With 2 inches of foam mattress between my bulk and a hard desert floor I had a very uncomfortable sleep. Added to that was the wind blowing around us and it sounded like we were sleeping in a plastic shopping bag. I woke stiff and sore to what promised to be another scorcher of a day in the high 30’s.

It’s amazing how good a cup of condensed milk coffee tastes first thing in the morning. I only ever have it in the bush and no matter how bad the night is, all is forgotten when the kettle of water boils on the fire and that first cup of coffee and rusks arrives.

Being fortunate to have the only camp site with water in the park; even if it is a cold shower, it is better than nothing. The ablutions are a long drop, scrubbed and cleaned by Al, Mr Muscle would have been proud of her efforts. I have an aversion to long drops and my preference is to find a far away tree and dig a hole. 

We then headed off for a drive around the pan; no sooner had we left camp when we saw ‘our friends’ from the previous day arrive at our camp. They snooped around, showered and took water – the cheek of some people.

It’s amazing how certain animals adapt to an environment with so little water. We saw herds of wildebeest, springbok, gemsbok, a pair of steenbok and bat eared foxes.

Then it was back to camp, besides reading, doing puzzles and playing board games there are always little creatures around keeping us occupied. Squirrels, mongoose, hornbills, spur fowl, shrikes and little scrub robins hang around for crumbs and tit bits – they are tame and highly entertaining.

Tonight it was Graeme’s turn to ‘braai’ and as we watched him put together one of his Panda potjies a strong cold wind blew in and brought some relief to the heat we were experiencing. Al and the girls had been sun tanning in their costumes, enjoying the respite from the Joburg winter.

Leaving the potjie to bubble away we set off for an afternoon drive to return to mayhem in the camp site, a jackal had decided to drag the dustbin and all its contents around the camp site, much to the delight of all the above mentioned critters, who were having a field day tearing everything apart looking for food. 

After clearing up we sat around the fire, G & T in hand and boy did the potjie smell great. It tasted just as good and after our Amarula night cap we headed off to our not so comfortable beds.

 26 August:  Mpayathutwa Pan to Lesholoago Pan

One thing about sleeping in a thin nylon tent in really close proximity to others you get to hear all the snoring, farting and rustle of sleeping bags. With the wind really pumping we had the added noise of tent billowing around us, it was strangely comforting and after a few pages of reading my book I was lulled to sleep.

I was awakened during the night to the sounds of lions roaring in the distance. My two favourite sounds of the bush are the plaintive cry of a fish eagle and call of the lion. We were woken up another 3 or 4 times with the lions roaring at various distances from us around the pan.

I woke at around 6:30 to a fairly chilly morning,  obviously the wind had cooled down the earth. I decided to snuggle in and read a few pages. A few minutes later I felt a poke in my back, surely this was a touch risqué, even for Graeme, after a second prod, I turned over to see him pointing to the mosquito netting that was the entrance to our tent and there was a lion staring at us. She was huge and more that covered the entrance. We both flew up to look out and get a better view. Robs tent was 3 feet in front of our entrance and besides the lion passing in front of us there were another 2 on either side of her tent. We had put our camping chairs in front of her tent in case of such a visit but the chairs had made no difference and they just walked through them. Graeme unzipped the netting about a third of way to take pictures. Both lions looked us in the eye, it was the most amazing and humbling feeling having these majestic creatures literally 2 metres away, looking you in the eye. They were probably assessing whether we were food or foe. One got up and in order to get past Robs tent, she fell against the side of the tent. Fortunately we had woken Robs up and told her to stay in the tent. There was less than 1mm of nylon separating us all from the pride. 

I looked out the back tent window netting and 2 young males were romping about in play, growling and jumping at each other. The pride of 6 then strolled up to the outdoor shower, some drank water by the outlet and others entered the reed structure. Tony left their tent to take pictures and this was Robs opening to run 20m to our car and climb onto the roof rack for a better view. I couldn’t miss out and followed her up, we watched them finish off and then amble down the road. This was the most amazing experience and one Tony and Graeme had dreamed about.

Morning coffee tasted even better as we excitedly chatted about our awesome experience.  Then it was time to pack up camp as we were spending the next 2 nights at Lesholoago Pan.  When you have been out in the bush for a while and move every few days you get the camp pack up down to a fine art and can be on the road in no time but it is an art and does take practice. We were also in no hurry, so we had left over potjie for breakfast, packed up tents and food boxes, filled Gerry cans with water, showered, packed the cars and we were on our way. We took a leisurely drive around various pans in the area and arrived at Lesholoago Pan around lunch time. It didn’t take us long to set up camp this time.

We are in a pleasant spot with a nice grove of thorn trees to pitch out tents under, the standard A-Frame structure and my favourite long drop. No showers and no water. We had biscuits and cheese for lunch, Tony went for a walk across the pan and the rest of us settled into a peaceful afternoon of watching the resident yellow mongoose, cape crows and crimson breasted shrikes forage around the area. On the pan the springbok and gemsbok grazed and wandered off to the nearby waterhole. As the sun started to set we heard thunder and the clouds in the distance gave us a really spectacular African sunset. Our nocturnal visitor was a beautiful Cape fox. After braaied chicken for dinner,  we headed off for an early night as the wind had blown up and we were much more comfortable tucked up in our tents.

 27 August:  Lesholoago Pan

I was woken by the wind howling around the tent and then drops of rain on the canvas and then the rain started. Rain in winter in the Kalahari Desert – who would believe this. Thankful for being warm and out the elements I snuggled down and went back to sleep. We woke to a beautiful pink haze as the sun attempted to appear over the horizon, it was quickly covered by clouds and a relentless cold wind brought a few more drops of rain.

After coffee it was shower time!! We have one of those portable showers – a big plastic bag that you fill with water and stick out in the sun to warm up and then hook it up on a tree and stand under the nozzle. That is the theory, in practice there was no sun, so Graeme par boiled some water to fill the bag and hooked it up on the reeds in the long drop structure. Not taking gravity into account with his ingenious plan meant I had to go down on my haunches in order to get water from the pipe leading from the bag; this left me at nose height with an extremely smelly long drop bowl. Was the warm shower worth nearly puking throughout the process?????

Good and clean and fresh we got together all the makings of a cook up for a good old English breakfast. Nothing beats the smell and taste of frying bacon and eggs in the bush. To work off breakfast we went for a drive around the various pans in the area. Besides an inquisitive meercat that popped in and out of its hole we saw nothing new. This is not an issue for me, I have no desire to rush around looking for the Big 5, just being in the bush is sole cleansing enough. Despite it being winter the bush between the pan areas was thick luscious grass in a beautiful harvest yellow colour, interspersed with trees and shrubs.

This evening Tony handed over the braai tongs to Graeme, who had been having withdrawal symptoms. We had another ‘terrible’ dinner – pork tenderloins, lamb chops, baked potatoes and salad, washed down with red wine. Our food has certainly made up for the lack of ablution facilities. After sitting around the camp fire, we headed off to our tent, on our last night in the bush, my inch of foam was finally starting to feel comfortable.

28 August:  Lesholoago Pan to Bray

We were woken by a howling wind. No lying in today, we had 260km of dirt road and a border crossing ahead of us. After a quick coffee and rusks we disassembled our camp site under a cloudy sky. Unlike us campers, the animals that usually scurried around us in the mornings had decided to sleep late and avoid the wind; finally a few unhappy yellow hornbills arrived to see us off.

It took us about an hour to reach the park gate and then it was a long trip to the border along deep sand roads. The only town we passed through was Kohkotse, if we had blinked we would have missed it. We arrived at the border at Bray around 2:00; it was again a painless crossing.

A few hundred metres into S.A. we arrived at Tapama Lodge. Panda, the travel agent, didn’t let us down. The green grass was an oasis in the sandy desert we had been living in. Our accommodation was in a comfortable face brick chalet with a heavenly cuddle puddle bath. Before we had a chance to unpack, the farm owners, Annamarie and Gerhardt had offered us drinks. We sat next to the pool under acacia trees and were soon enthralled by Dexter, a tame warthog and his companions, a baby zebra with his constant shadow, a black and white sheep and an Alsatian dog.

Once settled we went for a walk down the road to the general dealer, here you could buy anything from chicken feet to motor oil. We bought ice creams and takkies for R65.

We returned to Tapama for a relax and a long, hot and well deserved soak before drinks and dinner. Robs and Jen left their door open while they were chilling and before they knew it Dexter, the warthog, was cuddling on the bed with them. I love those little hotels where the dogs (usually Jack Russels or labs) come and sit at your feet or cuddle up around the fire, we had Dexter.  It’s not difficult to see why some of the farmers in these areas set up guesthouses. Besides it being added income, it is company for the farmers and their families and it’s fascinating to chat to these people about their lives and the area they live in.

29 August: Bray to Home 

We had an Afrikaans breakfast, including boerewors and left Tapama around 9:00 We filled up with fuel and pumped up our tyres (we had let air out to make travelling easier over the sand roads) in Bray and set off for the 600km trip home. 

The first 180km were on sand roads, we drove through villages with names like Tshidalmolomo and Masibi. There were only 2 or 3 cars but we encountered loads of sheep, goats, cows and donkeys. Eventually reaching the tar road we went through Mafikeng and onto Zeerust. From there it was a quick trip home through Magaliesburg, so we thought. Around Krugersdorp Graeme said  “I am so hot”, not sure in what manner to take this, I opted for “shame, are you not feeling well, do you want me to drive”.  It turned out it was the car overheating. Graeme opened the bonnet to find a huge slit in the water pipe. To most travellers this would have meant a tow truck but not for Panda, we carry enough spares to rebuild the Landy and one new water pipe and with help from Tony, we were on our way an hour later. 

Instead of going directly home we planned to make a detour to my dad’s house to see my brother and his family, who are out from Dubai on holiday. A quick drink turned into dinner and travel weary we eventually arrived home around 9:30.

30 August: Home

Last night we gave our animals a love, said “Hi” to a worried Lettie and went to bed. This morning was spent unpacking and cleaning. It’s a lot of work to spend 4 days in the middle of nowhere with no water, smelly long drops and a hard mattress on the ground. Was it worth it? Absolutely, if for nothing else, the experience with the lions was amazing.

However, Panda now owes me a holiday – one where we fly in, stay in a comfortable bed with hot and cold running everything, preferably overlooking a beautiful beach with palm trees and crystal blue sea.