African Swansong Chapter 5

 

Monday, April 8^th, 2024

A windswept bunch lining up for 
their Kiboko Adventure. 

We all bit the bullet and were ready for the bus by 8am. We loaded up, found our seats and got oriented into our new home for the next 3 weeks or so. Collen, ever the skillful manager, pointed out that we had to rotate our seats on a daily basis so that no one could commandeer the best spot.

The wind had dropped overnight, and rain and mist had set in. Because we had missed Cape Point the day before, Collen decided we would do a swoop down there today to “take some photos”. General agreement all around. Chapman’s Peak was still closed, presumably because of debris on the road, so we took the east coast route via Kalk Bay, Fish Hoek and Simonstown. It was a miserable morning, so the views and sights that Cher and I had enjoyed just two days earlier were grey, gloomy and the sea was very choppy. The inside of the bus was all misted up, so all in all it wasn’t a great drive.

A rather bedraggled bunch of penguins at the 
Boulders park, sheltering from the awful weather.

When we finally got to the gate of the Cape of Good Hope National Park, we found that it was deserted, and the gate locked. Clearly yesterday’s wind had made parts of the route impassable. We had no choice but to turn back. Drat, that just ruined my chance of seeing Cape Point. Collen decided we would check out the Boulders to see if we could find a penguin or two, to make up for what was turning out to be a wasted morning.

We found the Boulders Visitor Centre also closed, but we were able to walk along a path around the back of it and hopefully have a penguin sighting or two. We were making our way through the bushes behind the beachfront and realized that they were full of penguins sheltering from the lousy weather. They weren’t a very photogenic bunch but we made the most of our opprtunity and decided it was time to hit the road and see if we could outrun the awful weather.

Cheryl and Jane, survivors of
the great penguin hunt

While at the Boulders we had got chatting with Jane, the only person doing this trip solo. She is from UK. It didn’t take long for us to figure out that when we had been at All Nations Christian College (ANCC), from 1983 – 85 we were living in a smallish town called Hoddesdon, north of London. Jane said she lives in the next village along and that she has good friends who also went to ANCC and she wondered if we knew them. Their names were Pauline and Graham Wiggens. Did we know them? Yes, we did. They had been contemporaries of ours from 1983 -85. What a small world.

We headed north for the open road. No doubt better things lay ahead.

On leaving Cape Town, very soon the weather began to improve. We quickly came to lovely farmland. We were heading on the main road north towards Namibia. We drove for a couple of hours and then had a brief lunch stop and to stock up on our bottled water supply. We soon found ourselves in a valley travelling through the Cedarberg mountains following the Oliphants river. Citrus plantations and vineyards abounded. It was very beautiful.

Our group feeling a whole lot better, once 
the wind and rain stopped. 

Not too long after Citrusdal, as we drew closer to our destination for the day, we noticed an irrigation canal which we were following. It was beautifully built and went on for a long way. We later found out that it had been built by Italian prisoners during World War 2 and it went on for 165 kilometers. It was completely gravity fed and the farmers are allocated an amount each week. Without this canal most of the farming in that area would be impossible as it would have been too dry.

Around 3.30pm we arrived at the Highlander Camp and Lodge. We drove through acres of vineyards before arriving at a very well-appointed guest house built on the side of a hill overlooking the valley below. It was very beautiful. We were taken up some steep stairs and given a warm welcome by Rowly a very personable young man who gave us the rundown on the place. He noted that there was an optional winetasting of six wines at 4.30pm. Most of the group signed up for this. We, along with Barb, decided to observe. Six glasses of wine was more than we would be interested in.

Rowly did an excellent job in 
hosting the wine tasting

The wine tasting was on a lovely outdoor deck overlooking the valley below. It could not have been more pleasant to the eye. Rowly did the winetasting presentation, showcasing six of the best their estate produce. By the end of this the group was quite merry and the conversation was flowing freely. Dinner was served around sixish in front of a lovely log fire.

Our group at present, consists of eleven. We have four Aussies, four Canadians, one Brit and two Malaysians. We are picking up three more in Windhoek we think.  Nick and Kathy hail from Sydney and Tony and Chris from Adelaide. Both couples are relatively recently retired, or in the process of. The other Canadian couple are two friends travelling together, Barb and Gertii. They hail from London, Ontario. They are retired and both worked together pre-retirement. Barb’s husband is happy for her to go off gadding, while he is left to keep track of the sports scores. Foo and Yap are from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. They don’t have kids and have retired in their late 50s to make the most of life. Jane, hails from, UK. She has a boyfriend who still works and is planning to retire in the next couple of years. In the meantime, Jane is an avid traveler and is currently on a three month African adventure fitting in as many African countries as she can.

It's 4pm so it must be tea time. Rob is 
a creature of habit on this one. 

Tomorrow is going to be a long days’ drive to get to Augrabies Falls and have time to see the falls properly. Collen performed a masterful feat of managing our expectations. He mentioned to some of us earlier that breakfast will be at 6am tomorrow. There was a shocked silence while we absorbed that. Word travelled throughout the group in hushed whispers. He let us digest that for a while. He then stood up and said he has relented, and we will have breakfast at 6.30am. We all felt as though we had been handed a gift and went to bed thankful that we would be getting a nice sleep in after all. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Collen.

Tuesday April 9^th, 2024

Neither Cher nor I had a good night. We had been speaking about snakes with some of the others on our way back to our rooms. I never gave it another thought until I got to my dreams. I then spent the night dreaming about puff adders and black mambas – one of those recurring dreams that just stays there all night. I woke up exhausted but grateful that I had made it through the night without mishap. Cher said, she had thought there might be a snake under our bed. She couldn’t sleep until she pointed her flashlight under the bed to check. If that had been me, I would never have put my head anywhere near the underneath of the bed.

Our early morning breakfast was cheered 
up with a cozy fire. 

We arrived at the breakfast room in the pitch dark at 6.30am to find a crackling fire setting the atmosphere  up nicely. A nice breakfast and then Collen was agitating. “Every minute counts”. We got to the bus and miraculously our luggage had made it down two flights of stairs. Our job was to check that it was all there. We could manage that.

We were on our way by 7.30am as planned and soon found ourselves climbing a long steep hill, out of the Cedarberg valley, behind an even longer line of trucks.  Roadwork crews were busy repairing guard rails and so on. We could see why. There was one spot, where we counted at least two large trucks and a couple of cars burnt out and smashed halfway down the hillside. Obviously, they didn’t quite make the turn on the way down. Cher took one look and started praying fervently.

This is not a film set. Those are real wrecks. 

We eventually made it to the top and found ourselves travelling through completely different terrain, which we gather is considered part of the Karoo. Low, flat and scrubby. Very occasionally, we would come across a very simple beige colored farmhouse, with a shed or two. These are sheep farms it seems, as the sheep seem to manage with this type of bush. I reckon the original farmers settling on these farms must have been desperate for land, any kind of land. It is a pretty desolate style of living I reckon.

Our first pit stop was in the town of Calvinia at a gas station, where there were washrooms. Calvinia is a typical South African town, and it is a reasonable size. Some folks needed an ATM and others had to top up some snacks at the local Spar. Our ten -minute stop became thirty minutes and Collen was starting to get antsy.

Onwards and upwards. Much, much more Karoo scrubland. We eventually stopped for a washroom break in a one-horse town called Brandvlei. Collen had promised that we could get a coffee there. Afterwards someone mentioned that the assured cup of coffee at the gas station had not been available.. Collen was not fazed. His chuckled comment was TIA – This is Africa. This is an African Adventure Safari we are on, not a vacation. Every day has its own surprises.

Oma Miemie's Bakery was a diamond
in the rough. 

Another couple of hours of Karroo driving and we stopped in the two horse town of Kenhardt for a bite to eat at Oma Miemie's Bakery. This time Collen assured us we would definitely find a coffee. Oma’s was a proper little tea room, a rare gem amongst a sea of Karoo scrub. A few kids were harassing us for handouts. Yap went into the store to buy a bag of rusks and handed them to one of the kids with the instruction to “share them with the others”. This kid took possession of the bag of rusks and ran off  in a cloud of dust, leaving his compadres behind. No honor amongst this lot. Collen advised us not to respond to the kids requests. It creates a bottomless pit for future folks like us, passing by.

By this time we were quite a bit behind schedule. Collen was pushing hard. We had to get to the Augrabies Falls before the National Park office closed. We approached the Orange River at a small town called Keimoes. The closer we got to the river we started to notice vineyards and fields of citrus all over again. We noted that there was another irrigation canal identical to the one we had seen in the Cedarberg valley the day before. I guess the authorities had got their money’s worth out of those Italian POWs.

Augrabies Falls - quite majestic

We made it to the Augrabies Falls in reasonable time and Collen gave us a bit of a run down on the area. The Orange River rises in the Maluti mountains in Lesotho and flows westwards forming the border between the Cape and the Orange Free State and then eventually between South Africa and Namibia before flowing out to sea. The Orange River is economically significant as it provides irrigation such as what we had just observed, along with hydro power via the Gariep Dam. At the mouth of the river there are still diamonds which are mined from the Namibian and South African sides of the river.

The Quiver Tree was a first for us. 

The Augrabies Falls were quite impressive and there were several lookout decks from which to view them. We got to see our first wildlife in the form of dozens of dassies doing what they do best, namely hanging out on the rocks enjoying the sunshine.

It had been a long day. Next up was to head to the Kakamas Hotel to get checked in and get freshened up for dinner. On the way in, I noted that there was a sign outside the hotel advertising the Vergelegen Restaurant. I wondered what Vergelegen meant and asked one of the African staff. She looked perplexed and couldn’t offer any insight. When we checked in, I asked the young Afrikaner guy at the desk what it meant. Firstly he corrected my pronunciation and then he said, “Aggh….I don’t know. Its just a random word they made up” I retired to my room non the wiser. I should probably stick to asking about things that are a bit more significant.

Dinner was on us. We hadn’t eaten much all day, so Cher and I both ordered a meal each. Often these days we’ll share one meal as the helpings can be so large. I had a large curry and rice and Cher had two large chicken schnitzels. We should have stuck to half helpings as were stuffed by the end and our Scottish blood will not leave good food on the plate. Collen gave us his normal speech for the day and announced that because tomorrow we only have three hours of driving, we could have breakfast at 7am, but we must be in the bus driving out by 8am sharp. Collen waxed on a bit about how Kiboko, our tour company, prides itself on being flexible to keep its customers happy. He got a short round of applause at that.

Our next stop is to be the Kgalagadi Frontier National Park, which is pretty arid we gather and Colin spent a bit of time setting our expectations as to how much game we could reasonably expect to see in a desert. Duly noted, we all headed for an earlyish night and a sleep-in the next morning.

Wednesday April 10, 2024

The day started off as normal, with Collen holding his breath and hoping he could persuade the truck to start. There is a battery problem resulting in the starter motor not doing its job. To avoid us having to push start the bus, his modus operandi has been to park on a hill the night before and then put  the bus into second gear and run it down the hill and let out the clutch out to start it. So far, it’s worked every time, which is a relief to us Adventure Safari types who are gung-ho for any eventuality and yet are a bit averse to push starting trucks. Collen has halfheartedly been trying to find two new batteries since day one, but we have been going through such a collection of one horse towns it has been a fruitless search so far.

The broken window was a bonus we could 
have done without. 

Today was going to be different. We were heading for Upington first, which is a big town, and we were sure we would find the right batteries there. We were leaving on time; Collen was promising we would be at our destination by lunch time and all was going swimmingly until we got to the outskirts of Upington. Suddenly a rock flew up from a passing vehicle and smashed the front viewing window in the top of our bus. Glass flew everywhere. Fortunately, the folks on the front seat were all wearing dark glasses so their eyes were protected and they had one or two minor cuts. Oh dear, this was going to have to be a flexible Kiboko moment. We could see our see planned schedule heading downhill fast.

We spent about 45 minutes cleaning up the mess of glass, some of which had found its way as far as the back of the bus. Collen now, not only had to find two of the right batteries, but he also had to find a replacement windscreen. We were very glad this had happened outside Upington. Nowhere else, since departing Cape Town would have been able to fix our now double problem.

Collen instinctively knew what to do with his group while he spent what would have to be a few hours problem solving. He knew they would be happiest if he took them somewhere they could shop. Collen needed “two of the boys (men)” to go with him to help with the fixit problems, while the remaining two men, Rob and Foo, would be left behind as bodyguards for the ladies while they were let loose in the shopping center.

L-R Cheryl, Chris, Gertie, Jolene. Jolene 
was a keeper and was so pleased to show us
around the newly refurbished Upington museum. 

We waved our brave boys goodbye while they went off to do battle with the vehicle problems and then, first things first, we settled down for a coffee while we considered our options. We figured that realistically we would be there for 3-4 hours which subsequently proved to be a bit optimistic. I asked our waitress what there is to do of interest in Upington. We eventually figured the local museum was about as good as it was going to get, unless we fancied taking our chances at the local casino. Casino? How can a town this far from anywhere justify having a casino? I suppose casino owners don’t discriminate in offering their charms to the unsuspecting public, no matter how far out in the boonies they live.

Not everyone was excited about visiting the museum, so about half of us headed off intrepidly to explore the delights of Upington. It was about a 20-minute walk and I found myself having to revise my opinion of Upington. Until this point, based on nothing other than pure supposition, I had assumed that Upington is a dump up in the top far left corner of South Africa. To my pleasant surprise, it is quite a pretty town. The streets are wide and well laid out, with palm trees adding to their charm. There was relatively little litter. All to say, I’m glad I did the walk.

The view from the Old Pastor's house,
on the banks of the Orange River. 

When we got to the museum, it was beautifully painted, consisted of three buildings and the lawns were manicured nicely. The buildings used to be the old church, church hall and pastor’s house. They all enjoyed a prime spot overlooking the Orange River. Our arrival seemed to cause quite a stir. A white lady followed by a young black man arrived asking us who we are and where we have come from. Jolene, was the lady and Apiwe her understudy. She practically hugged us, as it seems visitors are a bit of a rarity. Apiwe is a young man employed by the Department of Agriculture and who is interested in tourism. Jolene gave us the scoop on the three buildings which the museum was made up of and Apiwe was given the job of taking us around. We spent about 45 minutes, exploring the museum, before being given a sad farewell by Jolene, who had been the model of a welcoming host.

Back at the Pick ‘n Pay center, the rest of the group were looking a bit jaded. Even a bit of retail therapy didn’t seem to have done much to cheer them up. We called Collen and found out that the batteries were bought and installed the and the glass people were just measuring up. It wouldn’t be long now. That was about 12.30pm. We decided lunch was in order to kill a bit of time. At this stage we had all camped out on the outside covered verandah of a pub and restaurant where we had first had our coffee earlier.

To cut a long story short, the glass guys first cut didn’t fit and it took them some time before all was fixed. Finally, around 3.30pm the “boys” arrived back victorious having defeated the evil bus devils. With great delight we all reboarded our bus and were on our way by 3.45pm. We were about six hours behind schedule, our planned game drive would not be happening today, and we would be lucky to get to our hotel by dinner time. Sigh. Such is the lot of us flexible Kiboko, Safari Adventurers.

Our late afternoon drive took us through some very remote landscapes. About 60kms short of our hotel we turned north towards the park. Apiwe from the museum had promised us that we would see a Bushman settlement as we got closer to the National Park. Sure enough, at the intersection was a group of these little folk waving enthusiastically as we swooped by. A little further up the road, Collen pointed out a concrete marker with RSA (Republic of South Africa) on one side and BOT (Botswana) on the other. A very light barbed wire fence straddled the concrete marker. Security was tight on either side of the border. Even the fleas and ticks were having to stop and have their documents checked.

Somehow the stairs to the top level 
were overlooked 

The Kgaligadi Transfrontier National Park has an open border between Botswana and South Africa, to allow for the free flow of animals to and from, as they would have done for millennia. It covers a massive area. It is great to think that we are visiting a relatively undisturbed part of Africa. The land is pretty desolate and remote, with not much incentive for people to settle down and eke out a living, so the chances of a high level of illicit cross border traffic is not great.

We arrived at the Kgaligadi Lodge, our home for the next two nights, at about 6.30pm. The parking lot of the hotel consisted of a fine red dust, almost the consistency of talcum powder. It was impossible to walk in it without acquiring a layer of it on our feet, no matter what footwear we had on. Our rooms were perched on the top of a hillside above the main reception area. There were no stairs up to our rooms. We could either walk on the road which wound its way up there, or trudge up the sandy hill and brave the potential perils hiding in the bushes. Collen, ever sensitive to his customers needs, offered to drive us up, which was gladly accepted. On the short drive, Collen pointed out an Eland quietly walking past us. This was a good start to our game viewing.

Kgaligadi Lodge - the interior decorator
has turned plain blockish chalets
into a creative delight. 

Our rooms were a delight to behold. They were quaint, cute and very artistically presented, including a TV and a fully equipped little kitchen for folks who were self-catering. It was a treat. Dinner was set for 7.30pm. We had the choice of walking the long dusty road or tiptoeing down the dunes through the bushes and hope that nothing bad grabbed us along the way. Eventually six of us chose the latter route and made it safely to the dining room where a delicious meal rounded out what had been a tough day.

We had missed our game drive, so Collen was eager to make up for it. We would not be eating breakfast at the Lodge, but they would make us up a packed breakfast and we must be in the bus by 7.15am to be first to the park gate when they open at 7.30am. Collen was back to cracking the whip, so we all retired for an early night.

Thursday April 11, 2024

This morning, we were all up bright eyed and bushy tailed. This is our first day of game viewing and we are keen. Cher and I have lucked out and it’s our turn to sit in the front seat. We have a fine view through the bus wide window in the front and two windows to the side.

Rob about to enter Botswana illegally. 

The entrance to the park was quite fascinating. One well designed building accommodates immigration control, police and the National Park offices for two countries, South Africa and Botswana. The only entrance requirement was to note our key details and then we were free to enter.

Our first game sighting was of two magnificent Gemsbok. Considering this park used to be called the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park this seemed quite fitting. The road made its way down a wide ancient river bed. Presumably moisture still collects here resulting in relatively lush growth, which in turn attracts the animals. Our sightings were scarce, but often enough that it kept us engaged. When we toted it all up, we had seen a good variety, and everyone was content with our catch for the day.

 

Immigration, Police and National Parks for 
two countries, all under one roof. 

Along the way we stopped at a rest stop for a washroom break. There was an old stone house there. The story behind it was that the house was for one of the well keepers. In 1914 the British forces in South Africa were threatening to invade the German colony of South West Africa, which is modern day Namibia. The British needed a reliable source of water for their troops and had dug a number of boreholes along the riverbed we were travelling on, following the border with Namibia. As it turned out the Brits did eventually invade, and took control of South West Africa. After World War 1, South Africa was given the mandate to govern South West Africa by the newly minted League of Nations. It became almost like the fifth province of SA until it achieved independence in 1990. 

Emu kamikaze picnic attack about to launch. 

We returned to our Lodge by noon, for a snack lunch and a nap and a swim for those who were so inclined. While we snacked our lunch on our little porch in front of our room we were visited by a large and very pushy emu which demanded his share of it. He didn’t respond to my waving of hands, so eventually I chased him off with a broom. He took off indignantly to look for someone else to mug.

At the end of our morning drive Collen had made it clear that no one was to skip out on the afternoon drive. He said the afternoon would be “different”. Clearly, he had something up his sleeve. We all dutifully pitched up at 3.30pm as instructed. Our route this time was along the other riverbed, more on the Botswana side. It didn’t take long, and we came across a collection of four cheetahs. One was sitting in shady spot, not too far from the road, posing beautifully. The other three were a hundred yards off halfway up a hill, all snuggled together for their afternoon nap. This sighting made our day.  A bit later we came upon a fifth cheetah chowing down on a baby ostrich. His mouth was all bloodied and he looked just the part. We then found two dueling gemsbok, who were really going at it, literally butting heads. That made our day, and we made our way home. There is something about the lengthening shadows and softening of colors in the evening that is absolutely magic in Africa.

It was lovely sitting on our verandah
and enjoying the beauty and peace
at Kgaligadi Lodge. 

We got back to our Lodge to find folks sitting around enjoying sundowners, which is a well-known tradition in this part of the world. A fire was going in an outside fire pit. The smell of the woodfire, the calm of the evening. It’s hard to replicate this kind of experience.  Thank you, Lord, for a good day in which to appreciate all that you have made.

Another longish day tomorrow on en route to Fish River Canyon, so we were all tucked up in bed with alarms set for an early start.

Friday April 12^th

Our group are such keeners that we beat the staff to breakfast at 6:30am. The staff were a bit grumpy as felt we were rushing them. Nevertheless, we left, as scheduled at 7.30am. Collen had a treat in store for us, which he’d been keeping up his sleeve.

Social Weavers Nest - a home
for many, not just for Weavers

We were headed south again, on the road along which we had entered the Kgaligadi Frontier Park, to get onto the best route headed west to Namibia. About 10 minutes down the road, Colin pulled over and announced that we should follow him, but be very quiet. We were headed for a gigantic Social Weaver nest. We tiptoed underneath it and Collen pointed up. Nestled very quietly on the underside of the massive weaver nest was a Whitefaced Owl peering down at us. They make their homes in with the social weavers. The owl was disturbed by us, and he flew out of his hidey hole higher up into the tree, giving us a great show of his plumage. Colin pointed out another nest opening, which one could only distinguish from the social weavers nests by a white marking in front ot it. The pygmy Falcon also makes his home here. Both these birds of prey are tolerated by the weavers as long as they don’t prey on the weavers themselves. It’s also possible that the two birds of prey provide a level of protection against snakes who might be tempted to take a shot at eggs in the weavers nests. Collen also noted that the large grassy weavers community nests make a great bed which leopards like to sleep on.  As we were about to reboard the bus, we noted three holes in the ground. Collen looked at these, weighed up the options and announced “these are Cape Foxes”. A hat trick of interest in the first 10  minutes of our day. What else lay ahead for us we wondered?   

Once we hit the main road west to Rietfontein and the crossing into Namibia. We passed the settlement of Bushmen. One of them had a tourist display all set up and he was dressed up, or should I say, undressed, in the traditional way. He waved frantically for us to stop, but we were on a mission. Places to go, things to see. Onward and upward was our cry as we swooped by.

As we passed through Rietfontein, which barely passes the definition of a town, we were amazed to see a group of folks in bright tee shirts, under a shade cover, promoting the Democratic Alliance. They waved enthusiastically. It is refreshing to see signs of opposition to the ANC in these far flung places.

The border crossing was uneventful. Previously we had thought we were travelling in a remote part of South Africa. Namibia has just raised the bar on this in dramatic fashion. The landscape was wide open, bleak and forbidding. Very occasionally we found evidence of habitation. Mainly it was just mile and miles of arid, dry, barely shrubby countryside. Every now and then we would spot a smattering of sheep or goats, or even less often the odd patch of miserable looking cows. At one point we spotted a couple of cyclists doing a cross country ride, complete with their camping gear. We drove for a few hours before we found anywhere worth stopping, so who knows where these guys planned to find a Coke or ice cream stand.

We were heading directly west before we were to dip south to find the Fish River Canyon. Our first stop was the mighty city of Keetmanshoop. Collen advised us that lunch would be whatever we could find at the local Shoprite store. We also needed to buy sufficient water to last us three days and for us to carry on our sand dune hike when we got to that. We had half an hour, so took off on our mission with enthusiasm.

First up was a much-needed washroom break. This time the cost was R2 each, administered by a lady who was a bit grumpy. We finally got the payment worked out. What our lady neglected to mention was that if you needed toilet paper you had to collect it at the entrance to the toilet, where it was prominently on display. One has to be resourceful and ever vigilant in these situations. After all, TIA.

 

A touch of home in Keetmanshoop

We were re-embarking with all of our loot from our shopping trip when Barb, one of the Canadian ladies made a comment that she hadn’t expected to find a Canadian store in Keetmanshoop. She assured me she wasn’t kidding. I went to investigate. Sure enough there it was, the “Beaver Canoe – Toronto, Canada” store. As I was taking a photo a man came out to ask if I was a Canadian. We got chatting. It turns out that a Namibian wide franchise had been taken over by the Beaver Canoe company. All the Namibians stores have changed their names. They sell clothing, which makes a whole lot more sense than selling canoes in the middle of the desert.

Our hot, dry, dusty journey on all gravel roads continued. Collen was pushing hard to get us to our hotel in time for a quick turnaround before we headed out to see the sun set over the Fish River Canyon. We eventually arrived at our hotel around 3pm. We would be departing at 4.30pm to see the Canyon.

Canyon Village - a delight in the desert. 

Our hotel was the Gondwana Canyon Village. It was a lovely oasis, literally in the desert. It was set into a granite boulder landscape. The main building was built in amongst and integrated with the natural boulders. It is hard to do it justice.  Many of the walls were painted in large depictions of various settler and indigenous scenes. 

The bedrooms were in a semicircle of duplex stone cottages. Even the duvet cover and pillowcases were specially embroidered with an African print. Oh my. The overall architecture was extremely pleasing to the eye. My camera went into overload trying to capture it all.

Canyon Village - our hotel room was
qutie uniqe with the wall paintings 
and hand decorated sheets and pillowcases. 

There was just time for a swim. The pool was situated, overlooking a stunning view of the granite boulder strewn valley below. The water was brisk but just what was needed after all those kilometers of gravel roads we had travelled. There was just time for a quick cup of tea before we were back on the road headed for the Fish River Canyon.

The road, and landscape leading into the Canyon area was very rocky. It is difficult to imagine how the original setters to this part of the world ever managed to get wagons through this kind of topography. We parked at a lookout point which is at the beginning of the 90km hike through the canyon valley. The path down looked quite horrendous. It was lined with a single chain fence which gives one a level of stability or at least something to grab onto if needed. In current fashion, the top end of the chain fence was lined with locks, rendering permanent  the memory that intrepid hikers had passed this way. The Canyon valley trail takes five days and can only be done in the winter months, when it is cooler and there is no risk of flash flooding. Cher’s Mom and Dad had done this in their seventies, which, now that I’m seeing it in person, looks to me to be quite impressive. 

Canyon Village - a swim was just what
we needed after a long hot drive. 

We walked along the rim of the canyon towards the main lookout point, about 1.5kms south. Cher and I had not been expecting to walk, so we were wearing flip flops, which wasn’t great, but we managed. At the main lookout point, the write up gave a lot of the history of the Canyon along with a reminder that this is the second largest canyon in the world, if one uses the right measurements of width, length and height.

There was another small Dutch group who were also watching the sunset. Their tour guide took off to their vehicle and returned laden with wine, proper glasses and some very nice-looking snacks. Collen was nowhere to be found and we figured he was probably digging out the supplies of sunset snacks from the truck. Apparently not. Some of our group dug deep and found some cold beers from our on-board fridge, so all was not lost for those who were in the mood.

Sunset at Fish River Canyon. 

Our evening was rounded out by an under the stars dinner, back at the hotel. It was a marvelous experience. The night was pleasantly warm, with not a cloud in the sky and we had the backdrop of the silhouette of the mountains behind our rooms, offsetting a sliver of moon. This is the kind of thing one sees on the movies. It was a perfect ending to what had been a tiring travel day.

At dinner time Collen announced the good news and the bad news. The good news, we were going to “enjoy” our longest travel day of about 530kms. The bad news was that it would all be on gravel roads. There was no way to put a shine on that. Collen generally has tricks us his sleeve to soften the blows. We would have to see if it turned out to be as tough as we expected.

Canyon Village - the hotel was built into the 
side of the rocks. Quite something. 

Saturday, April 13^th

It’s our longest driving day today, so we had to tiptoe to the main building in the dark for breakfast. For the first time on our trip mealie meal porridge was on offer. I leapt at the opportunity. After a hearty breakfast we took off by 7.30am. With the promise of mainly gravel roads ahead of us for the next 530kms we weren’t exactly relishing the prospect.

We were soon pleasantly surprised to find steady early morning sightings of Gemsbok, Zebra, Ostrich and even a couple of Giraffes, which was a novelty considering the general low height of the predominant vegetation. 

Collen attacked the gravel roads with vigor. It was best to put one’s head down and do our best to ignore the speed we were travelling. I dread to think how it must be driving on those roads when it’s been wet. Our first stop for the day was at the bridge crossing the Fish River. Collen dropped us at the one end an waited for us at the other end. It was nice to stretch our legs and get the mandatory photos under our belts. Onward and upward.

Jane testing the Helmeringhausen claim
to the best appie pie in Namibia. 

Our early lunch stop was at a little town going by the sweet little name of Helmeriinghausen. They had a coffee shop, attached to the town hotel, in a beautiful lush, shady haven. We felt like we had been transported to an enchanted garden. Considering the general featureless landscape, we were passing through this was a real treat. We all settled down to make the most of the moment and had a snack lunch and coffee.

We pressed on. The further north we got the landscape gradually became a bit hillier. Eventually we came to the Zarishoogte Pass, which we stopped at to take a brief walk and a stretch. As we came down the pass the terrain changed completely. It became a lot more treed with mountains on either side of the road in the distance. It turns out that we were following the old Zaris River bed which continues down all the way to Sossusvlei, where it eventually peters out in the dunes.

Desert Quiver Lodge - Cher and I were
at the end of a long line of chalets.
It did mean that we really experienced 
that desert experience in a unique way. 

We arrived at our destination of the Desert Quiver Lodge around 3.30pm. Our host was Angelica who came to our truck to welcome us and allocate us to our rooms. She was quite jolly and yet somewhat cavalier In her approach. She noted that the Lodge couldn’t provide us with drinking water, so, “we would have to provide our own”. Fortunately, Collen had warned us to make sure we had lots of our own drinking water. She then cheerfully noted that she has put us in the rooms furthest from the pool and reception area, as she “was sure that we would like to be on our own”. This was a dubious assumption. We were all hot and desperate for a swim. The thought of needing to walk half a kilometer, in the heat and sand, to cool down, was fine, but then we’d have to walk back. As it turned out we are in the furthest room, which puts us literally right in the desert. It’s hard to imagine any comfortable hotel room being much more remote than our room.

Most of us ended up at the pool, enjoying a nice cold drink and a refreshing dip. We felt bad when we looked over at our truck, and there was Collen laboring away in the heat and sun, giving the inside of our bus a spring clean. Our drive had been very dusty, and we and everything in the bus, had arrived at our destination, covered in dust.

We were expecting to meet our four extra additions to our group, whilst here. While we were at the pool, we noticed a couple who looked like they might be potentials. I went over and introduced myself and found that this was the Italian couple Rosita and Stefano who are joining us. Stefano speaks zero English, but Rosita tries and does reasonably well. We made introductions all around and then the two Australian ladies Penny and Dianne turned up. They had been waiting in Windhoek for four days for their luggage which had gone astray. They still didn’t have anything more than the hand luggage they’d arrived with. So now we are a complete group and the bus is about to  get a whole more crowded.

A rinse off in the pool was just the job. 

Our lodge was one of three controlled by one company. We needed to drive to the central lodge for dinner, where the main catering is done, for dinner. Collen welcomed us to the truck for the drive over. It wasn’t squeaky clean, but he had done a pretty good job considering how dirty it had been. There is a limit to what one can achieve with a cloth and a bucket of water. He has told us that Kiboko, the company running our tour, employs mainly Zimbabweans. He says they have tried training South Africans, but they are not interested in going the extra mile for the cliens which is what is needed in this type of business. I guess this is what sorts out those who win and lose in this life.

Our under the stars dinner was very special.  In front of the verandah was a lit waterhole which added an extra touch. The stars were brilliant. Dinner came complete with buffet starters and desserts, and main course to order. For the main course we could choose from Gemsbok, Eland, Kudu, Pork or Beef, cooked to order while we waited.  It was very special. Cher and I sat with Rosita and Stefano and went through the routine of getting to know a couple where language is quite limited. It’s quite a good way to spend an evening with strangers as conversation has a life of it’s own in just trying to understand one another. They are an interesting couple.

Collen had been avoiding briefing us on tomorrow’s activities which was the Sossuvlei dunes hike. When he took us back to our chalets he gave us a very thorough briefing.  We had to wear closed shoes, preferably with socks and trousers. Why? Because the dunes “may look like they are just sand but there are “other things” that live there and sometimes they like to remind us they are there. We also needed to each carry at least 1.5 litres of water each. With that in mind we spent half an hour in our rooms making sure we had ourselves set up for what was to be a very early morning.

Sunday, April 14^th

The grand priz line up ahead of our 
sand dunes hike. 

Collen had advised us to be at breakfast by 6.00 am as we had to be ready for when the entrance to the Sossuvlei reserve opened. After a hearty breakfast we headed over to the entrance gate. We realized why Collen had been agitating. To our surprise there was a long line up of buses, safari vehicles and all manner of 4x4s waiting. Clearly there is some competition involved in getting to the dunes first. Once the gate opened, we were waved through – we would pay on they way out. Right then it was all about the 65km drive to the sand dunes and who can get there first. This part of the road was properly paved, and Collen was revealing a part of his personality he’d been carefully concealing until now. He clearly considers himself a grand prix driver in the making. He revved up our bus, let out the clutch and the race was on. He drove like a man possessed. We passed vehicle after lesser vehicle one by one. As it turned out vehicles ahead of us started to peel off as we reached various different hike starting points. By the time we arrived at  the 2x4 parking lot there were only a handful of vehicles  ahead of us. We could not get to the 4.4 parking lot in our vehicle.

A quick photo while we are still smiling
ahead of our dunes hike. 

It seems that for the real achievers, the objective is to climb Big Daddy. This is the tallest dune in the area, and we could see it clearly. It did look high and far. We were glad Collen had selected something a bit more modest for us  to do. We were the only group doing the dune walk Collen had selected for us. It involved a variation in topography which made it more interesting than just mile after mile of dunes.

As we proceeded Collen did an amazing job of making a pile of dry sand into a really interesting nature walk. He really knows his stuff. We climbed a modestly high dune and when we got there  found a very steep slope in the shadow on the opposite side of the dune. This is where Collen invited us to live up to our potential as full blown Safari Adventurists. We were going to walk or run down the slope. What would happen if we fell? Well, it would be an experience that would involve a lot of sand in every nook and cranny of our clothes. What the heck. We only live once. I chose to run down somewhat cautiously. The closer I got to the bottom I wondered what one did about stopping as my momentum was up. I threw out the anchor, pulled hard on the hand brake and managed to stop before  colliding with the bottom.

Stefano and Rob - celebrating
their run down the dune. 

We were now on a flat hard crusted plain with a small amount of vegetation. Collen did a great job of showing us various life forms exist in that harsh environment. We could see pin pricks of super achievers who were climbing Big Daddy. Stefano was quite gung-ho to give it a shot, but he couldn’t find any takers from the rest of us. It was starting to get hot. Towards the end we settled on a compromise. Those who had had enough, stayed on the level path to Dead Vlei. The more energetic would do the first part of the Big Daddy. 

Our slow walk up the approach 
to Big Daddy. 

I decided, I was only here once so I’d better accept the challenge and went with the energetic group. It was a steady steep climb. Big Daddy never seemed to get much closer, but we definitely got much higher. When we ran down the slope to Dead Vlei, I’m guessing it was at least four times longer than our previous downhill dune.

We made our way from Dead Vlei back to the 4x4 parking lot, where we commandeered a 16 seater 4x4 there just for this purpose to take us back to  our bus. They weren’t cheap, but they were very welcome. We were hot and tired and needed a cool drink and lunch at  the reserve restaurant.

Collen on the left as we are shuttled back 
to our bus on a very sandy road from
the 4x4 parking lot. 

Collen was determined we’d not had enough fun for the day and insisted  we accompany him to the Sesriem Canyon even though all we wanted was a swim. What could we do? He has the keys for the truck. It didn’t measure up to the Fish River Canyon, but we did the mandatory walk in, along and out. It was shady once we were down there, and it was interesting.

Been there done that. It was back to our Lodge for a rinse off in the pool and a nice cold drink in the shade while we caught up on emails and so on, before heading back to our rooms to get cleaned up for dinner. Our hot water tank had not been working the day before, which we had reported to the office. The handyman arrived to check things out. I could tell he was a bit frustrated as he knew the  problem before we even told him, He walked straight to the shower turned the knob to the right and lo and behold, after a short wait we had hot water. Now, who would have thought that faucets are reverse plumbed in Namibia? Our handyman left and I could imagine him rolling his eyes at yet another bunch of dumb tourists who don’t understand basic Namibian plumbing.

A final swim and drink at the end of a fun day. 

Dinner under the stars was special once again, but today  we were tired  and keen to head to our rooms to pack up and get a reasonable nights sleep. Tomorrow, we head for Swakopmund. Collen has promised us that from here on our Adventure Safari gets easier and we would not be having any more breakfasts “in the dark”. I didn’t hear any complaints on that one. Mind you he had just told us to be ready for breakfast pick up by 6.30am. I could have sworn it was still dark at 6.30am this morning. I guess technically, we still had to pack the bus and drive over to the main lodge, so breakfast would be at 7am by which time the sun will have showed up.

Monday, April 15, 2024

Sossusvlei Lodge - where we enjoyed our 
breakfasts and starlit dinners. 

Today is a letter day. Our two Aussie ladies have been told their luggage which they’ve been separated from for five days, will be delivered to Swakopmund today. At the start of the day Collen bribed. It was going to be a long day on tough roads, but he promised us a beautiful hotel, with unlimited free wifi in our rooms and restaurants on every corner in Swakopmund. Civilization beckons. We just have to endure the drive.

The objective today was to get to Swakopmund in time for folks to do some optional excursions if they wished. One of the offered excursions was to see the flamingos in Walvis Bay. Colin made a throwaway comment that he would take us to a place to see 5-10 flamingos and then folks could decide if they wanted to pay extra to see more.

Solitaire Village - a warning that only the 
brave take on these roads. 

So off we went. The gravel road seemed especially jarring today. About an hour into the trip, we came across a bus similar to ours, which was broken down. There was a sad little group of tourists watching while a couple of guys were legs out, underneath the vehicle. We were in a pretty remote area. The good neighbor in the desert principle kicked in and we stopped to see if we could help. The diagnosis was that a strategic water filter had been shaken loose and it had dropped off. They were trying to refasten it. It turned out that about a kilometre up the road there was a small town with a coffee shop where the tourists could wait. We were about to offer them a ride, when a larger bus turned up and were able to fit them in. The broken down bus arrived soon after so obviously they had had success in their repair efforts.

The small town was called Solitaire and Collen had planned for us to stop there. Solitaire is quite the place. The town was really no more than a glorified rest stop. But oh my goodness, it was a happening place. Solitaire is like a magnet to every tourist bus and adventure 4x4 of every description. The town has a small church and motel, a gas station and a restaurant. That was pretty much the town. There were no signs of houses. They have made their defining feature all of the wrecks that haven’t survived the tough roads. As one drives in, there is a collection of dead cars, tractors and so on. They also advertise the Solitaire Tire Repair service displaying some horrendous looking blown out tires and broken wheel rims. The overall feel is one of a Hollywood western style movie set. It  was a fun place.

Tropic of Capricorn - worth a group photo

The road was unremittingly bleak and bare. We settled down into a stupor as we sat it out. Our next stop was at the top of the pass overlooking the Kuseib River valley for a look see. We climbed to the top of the lookout hill nearby. There was one other tour bus there. While we were there a fleet of 4x4s flew by conveying the impression that if you also wanted to be super cool, you had to travel with them. It was like rush hour in the Namib desert. We returned back to our journey and settled down for the duration.

This was our panoramic view for at least 
100kms outside of Walvis Bay. 

I may have mentioned before that the prevailing landscape has been isolated, remote and bleak beyond description. Those words don’t come close to describing the next section of road all the way to Walvis Bay. It was completely arid. It was like being on a never-ending white sand beach, for at least a hundred kilometers. We kept feeling that we must be getting close to Walvis Bay, but the sand dunes never ended until we actually entered the built up parts of the town. We had a whistle stop break at the massive  Dunes Mall for a bite to eat and then went in search of Collen’s promised handful of flamingos.

Collen promised us 5-10 pink flamingoes. 
He overdelivered on this one. There were many. 

The flamingos were to be found in a very large lagoon on the waterfront where the water seemed to have the right conditions. There was a flock of probably a couple of thousand birds, which were posing beautifully. It was our first exposure to the Atlantic coastline. The cold air coming off of the water must have dropped the temperature 5-10 degrees. After having been boiling in the bus, we found ourselves reaching for sweaters.

After that we took a quick 30 kilometer dash north along the coastal road to Swakopmund. There was a lot of newish looking waterfront development north of Walvis Bay. What was particularly surprising was the way the sand dunes from the interior were uninterrupted until they met the Atlantic. I was reminded of parts of Israel, where barrenness combines with development in seemingly quite hostile conditions. Mankind’s capacity to find potential  in adverse conditions, never ceases to surprise.

Swakopmund had a completely different feel to it. The architecture was colorful and somewhat European in look. Our hotel is called the Swakopmund Delight and it really is. The interior decorator clearly favors bold statements in red. The foyer was a delight to behold, but our bedroom was just plain fun. Everything that could possibly be red was indeed that color. This included, bed coverlets, coat rack, umbrellas, door stopper, trendy retro fridge, phone, coffee maker and the list goes on. All of this was offset by bright aqua turquoise walls. Wow. What an impression.

Swakopmund Hotel Delight - delivered big time
with their delightful touches and bold
red and deep turquoise colors. 

We went for a stroll around the town with about half the group. It was fun to take it all in. There was not a speck of litter to be seen anywhere. We eventually ended up at the African curio market. As usual the items on offer were all gorgeous and tempting. The asking prices were high, but the sellers did seem quite negotiable. By and large our group were quite resistant to the high pressure tactics and we left with only one modest purchase in hand by our Rosita and Stefano, who had driven a hard bargain.

Our whole group went to a German restaurant for supper. The staff were all German. Although our hotel was only a couple of blocks away, Collen had advised us to call for a taxi as walking back in the dark might be unsafe. We felt we would probably be safe in a big group, but the restaurant staff agreed with Collen and ordered us a couple of taxis. The streets were completely deserted on our short drive back, which makes me wonder how reliable that advice was. Still better safe than sorry I reckon.

We get to sleep in tomorrow. We leave for Damaraland at 10am. It almost feels like we are on holiday. Yiaaa!!