Namibia

26th November 2010 - 27th November 2010 - Divundu

We drove most of the day and found our usual campsite full so we thought we'd try out the famous Ngepi Camp.  It's famous for it's loos with a view (over the river) and it's swimming cage (to keep you and the hippos and crocs apart).  Sadly we didn't really get the chance to appreciate all it had to offer as we were there late and on the road early.

We reached the border in good time and handed over several hundred thousand kwacha and a fistful of dollar bills.  Two hours later we were back in Zambia.


19th November 2010 - 25th November 2010 - Etosha

We had promised ourselves we would return to Etosha as we had such a good time here last time.  And whilst being out in the wilds is great it's also nice every once in a while not to worry about getting stuck, running out of fuel etc etc.

We were just as lucky with the game as we were last time around.  Possibly more so.

One of the highlights was the waterhole at Halali, one of the official rest camps. We had avoided spending time in these as they were so expensive (£40 pn) but we ended up staying for two nights as the action at the waterhole was so fantastic.  On the first night we had four black rhino and several hyena,  Seeing their interaction was fascinating.  This inspired us to spend the entire next day there.  We saw elephant, more rhino, more hyena, lots of antelope and in the evening a leopard came to drink.

Other highlights included a mating pair of lions that we went back to three days in a row and a fleeting glimpse of another leopard feeding on a kudu. This was also the first time we'd ventured into the north of the park where the scenery was stunning scenery and the roads almost deserted.

 

15th November 2010 - 18th November 2010 - Windhoek

We had always planned to stay in a guest house in Windhoek (camping is never easy in a city) and just as well we did because the rain has well and truly arrived.  It has bucketed down for the last few days. The Namibians are thrilled ... us less so...

We have comforted ourselves with a bit of retail therapy.  New tyres (mud terrain!) and a new Cobb oven, which should considerably extend our culinary repertoire.  It is not cheap and Jerry has only agreed because he thinks he will get pizza every night. 

We are also picking up an awning which should mean we don't have to eat our pizza in the rain.

12th November 2010 - 14th November 2010 - Eronga Mountains

This wasn't exactly on our way to Windhoek but we missed out on this area when we were last here in August/September due to the leaky fuel tank.  We stayed two nights at a place called Amieb Ranch and took a walk over the rocky landscape one morning to see a cave containing some impressive rock paintings. Jerry also found a beautiful wasps nest but they turned out to be a little camera shy and he got a couple of nasty stings (which drew blood!) for his trouble.

9th November 2010 - 11th November 2010 - Mahango to Erongo Mountains

We were sad to leave Botswana after a wonderful month or so but we needed to get to Windhoek to buy tyres and other equipment more easily found (for reasonable prices at least) in Namibia or RSA. We spent a couple of days camping alongside the river at the Mahangu Safaru Lodge. We didn't go into either of the parks that border it on this occasion but we did hear lions and hyena calling on the other river bank