February 2005
Where
are we: Date: End GPS: S28 39.602 E29 01.984 Total Kilometres: 45, 716km Weather: Sunny daytime, MASSIVE thunbderstorm in evening Camping: Hlalanathi Campsite Yesterday we hiked right to the bottom of the amphitheatre; a route entitled “The Gorge”. Not as challenging as the “Crack” and “Mudslide” which required a lot of scrabbling and climbing of rope and chain ladders. The route takes you along the river with the Devil’s Tooth and Amphitheatre as your spectacular view ahead. The day was hot and we sweated our way up the path, to reach the gorge required a hike of 11 km up and 11km back down, so whilst not as demanding technically, it was physically draining. The whole hike took us a total of 5 hours and was worth the effort as the views we got of the amphitheatre were stunning. We felt like ants as the shear rock face rose over 1500 metres above us. We opted to return through the gorge tunnel, this required us to strip off our shoes and socks and to drop 6 feet into a pool of cold mountain water after which we clambered our way through the narrow gorge that the water had carved over centuries. After our walk we decided to have a few rest days and moved to Hlalanathi campsite which was a fraction of the cost of the official Royal Natal park and came with much better facilities, including a pub and restaurant, swimming pool, laundry, and golf course. We were pleased that the pub and restaurant were there as we fell victim to a massive thunderstorm which had us hiding in the landie as the lightning struck around the camp. The rain was torrential and once again threatened to snap the side awning from its mounting brackets. Kat made a dash into the rain to drop it down and we then decided that as a river was running through the back awning to give up on our attempts at cooking dinner, a pub meal and a beer would be just fine until the storm abated……..which it finally did 3 hours later……after having cut off the electricity which had us sitting in a candle lit bar……..very romantic……naturally we stayed for a few more beers after the storm moved on. Tagebuch Gestern hatten wir wieder einen anstrengenden aber schoenen hike, “The Gorge” (Die Schlucht) unternommen, wobei wir bei einem Abschnitt, direkt bei der Schlucht, durchs Bauchtiefe Wasser, mit den Rucksaecken und Boots ueber unseren Koepfen, wandern mussten. Das war cool und schoen erfrischend. Heute haben wir dafuer einen Ruhetag eingelegt und unsere Waesche gemacht und David hat am Landy gefummelt – wie immer…. Der Campingplatz hier war unter privater Leitung und wunderschoen gelegen mit Blick auf die Drakensberge oder The Berg wie die Einheimischen das nennen. Ausserdem war er billiger, hatte saubere Sanitaeranlagen und einen schoenen Swimmingpool. Abends hat David gerade angefangen zu kochen als ein gewaltiger Sturm auf uns zu kam und es aus Eimern geregnet hat. Wir befanden uns ploetzlich mitten in einem Fluss und haben uns kurzerhand entschlossen das Kochen aufzugeben, uns unsere wasserdichten Klamotten angezogen und sind bei Blitz und Donner zum Pub gelaufen. Hier war der Strom schon ausgegangen und ueberall waren Kerzen und Camper die sich vom Wetter verstecken wollten. Also hat man sich unterhalten, ein paar Weinchen getrunken, Steak und Salat gegessen und gemuetlich unterm Reed gesessen als draussen im Nassen….
Where are
we: Date: Weather: Sunny day Camping: Hlalanathi Campsite Ah we’re on holiday so what’s one more rest day? A day spent sunbathing,
reading, swimming and washing. I ended up reading the whole of Richard
Leakey’s auto biography on his time running the Kenyan Wildlife service.
I finally put the book down at Tagebuch Wir haben uns entschlossen unseren Muskeln noch mehr Ruhe zu goennen, und haben den Tag mit Lesen und Schwimmen verbracht.
Where are
we: Date: End GPS: S29 39.724 E29 27.368 Total Kilometres: 45, 997km Weather: Hot and sunny, blue skies Camping: Sani Lodge Backpackers We
shall enter Tagebuch Heute sind wir lange gefahren. Wir wollen Richtung
Where are
we: Somewhere in
Date: End GPS: S29 35.747 E28 43.383 Total Kilometres: 46,133km Weather: Cloudy, cold as we are at 3000 metres Camping: Bushcamp, quarry We
drove the 5 km down the track to the border post, all very straight
forward. The SA border is at the bottom of the pass and The pass starts at about 1000 metres and the first few kilometres
are gently climbs and turns. It is only in the last 1000 metres from
the top that the pass then starts to twist and turn tightly and the
gradient increases. The pass is very accessible and is by no means as
dangerous as the incredibly steep Van Zyll’s pass nor tight and sheer
drops as the Swartberg pass, but nethertheless it is the highest and
even better has a pub at the top where one can rest and enjoy a We continued on over the track, stopping briefly at a hut to buy some bread from a local lady. The track led us ever higher and we were soon above the cloud and in bright sunshine again. We reached the lofty heights of, a staggering, 3257 metres, a new height record for the DuK who as ever performed without any complaint. We are on the track to Tsaba Teseka, whether we took a wrong turn
or if the track is always in such bad condition, we found our speed
dropped to 15kph for 10 kilometres as the track became deeply rutted
and washed away. The Duk rode the way well and we dropped in and out
of wash outs and heeled over at mighty angles as we twisted our way
onward. The track eventually rejoined a more graded piste that carved
its way through the mighty mountains of The herders wave and smile as we pass them by, however The
road to Tsaba Tseka is proving more enduring than we at first thought.
What is a relatively short straight line distance magnifies over 10
times as the road follows the contours of the mountains and valleys.
We reached the settlement of Molumung where there is a basic lodge where
we can camp. Bushcamping in Lesotho is quite difficult as the road is
normally cut into the hillside with seriously steep slopes, as such
there is little in the way of flat land where one can pull off and set
camp. They wanted 60 Rand to pitch up, there is little facilities and
the attitude of the lady managing the place stunk so when she told us
we couldn’t use the kitchen or sitting room as we were camping (we were
the only guests by the way) we broke camp and hit the road again. We
drove another hour and a half without finding anywhere to bushcamp,
then we rounded a corner and found a small quarry where we drove in.
Not exactly hidden from the road but it was getting dark. As we started
to cook dinner some local guys came upon us. They told us a story that
the local Chief wanted to know who we were and then went on to tell
us a cock and bull story about it not being safe and how other people
had been attacked when they stayed here. They angled for a fee to be
our security for the night, but we told them that the people obviously
didn’t like outsiders and we would drive to the next village where we
were sure the Chief would be more accommodating. They laughed as we
drove off into the pitch black of a moonless Tagebuch Nachdem
wir leckeres Fruehstueck gegessen haben wurden wir von Charles und Tina,
unseren neuen Amerikanischen Freunden, ueberfallen und haben noch eine
Weile Reisegeschichten ausgetauscht, bevor wir losgefahren sind und
um 10:41Uhr bei der SA Grenze waren. Von hier windet der Pass wunderschoen,
und steil in einigen Abschnitten, den Berg hoch. Leider hat sich der
Himmel schon wieder zugezogen und somit koennen wir vor lauter Wolken
den Ausblick gar nicht richtig geniessen. Um Wir sind dann weiter gefahren und es war erstaunlich wie bleak und kahl die Berge waren. Die Landschaft war wunderschoen immer Huegel rauf und runter auf Schotter- Sand- und Matschpisten, aber es gab nichts ausser schoene gruene Berge! Bis zu 3254 m sind wir hochgefahren, ein neuer Rekord fuer DuK! Wir
sind in der Molumung Lodge angekommen, die das typische Afrika Syndrom
erlitten hat – die Besitzer waren nicht da und die Managerin hat sich
nicht wirklich fuer Touristen begeistert und das hat sich auch an der
Lodge gezeigt, somit sind wir weitergefahren….und immer noch weitergefahren.
Letztendlich haben wir einen Platz zum Campen gefunden, haben gerade
angefangen zu kochen, und wurden dann von einer Gruppe Jugendlicher
darauf aufmerksam gemacht, dass der Chief gerne gewusst haette wer wir
waeren und was wir hier wollen und dass vor kurzem auch Aussenseiter
hier waren und von den Schaefern belaestigt wurden und die Frau fast
vergewaltigt wurde….. Man konnte mit denen nicht wirklich verhandeln,
also haben wir unser halbgekochtes
Where are
we: Date: End GPS: S27 48.035 E28 25.870 Total Kilometres: 46,622km Weather: Sunny, cloudy later Camping: Royal Hotel The day started early
as we found it difficult to sleep in the cramped conditions of the back
of the DuK. We had our usual spector as we packed up camp. A charming
lady who sat inquisitively and waved and smiled as we departed. The
journey to Thaba Tseke took another hour, here we refueled with much
needed diesel which was good news as it meant we could detour to Katse
Dam. The day was sunny and our mood was good. We arrived at the dam,
quite impressive and its initial size was hidden as the waters filled
the valleys hidden behind the hills that surrounded us on all sides.
We stopped made something to eat and a Café Latte and discussed what
to do next. We reached the border back into SA at We drove as far as Reitz where we stayed at a cheap hotel with clean
rooms where we cooked ourselves dinner and watched a bit of Telie. We
are anxious to get out of Tagebuch Wir sind aufgewacht wie die alten Leute – steif und aechtzend tat
uns alles weh! Wir sind sofort weiter zum Katse Dam gefahren wo es angeblich
ganz toll sein soll. Der Damm war schon riesig und beeindruckend aber
nicht unbedingt eine lange staubige Wellblechpistenfahrt wert! Hier
haben wir endlich angehalten und Café Latte und Fruehstueck gemacht.
Alle Menschen die wir bisher in Heute haben wir viele wilde Sonnenblumen gesehen – das erste Mal in Afrika, schoen! Beim Damm gab es keine Unterkunft. Da wir nicht sehr beeindruckt von Lesotho waren, obwohl es wunderschoen ist, aber die Tatsache, dass es kaum Moeglichkeiten zum Wildcampen gibt und die Menschen so nerven zusammen mit dem Stand der Strassen, haben wir uns kurzum entschlossen wieder nach SA zu fahren und endlich gen Norden zu reisen…. Somit haben wir es wieder geschafft, dass wir keine Campingmoeglichkeit gefunden haben, da wir nicht gut geplant haben und man in Suedafrika auch nicht bushcampen kann…Um 20:00 Uhr sind wir in Reitz angekommen und haben uns dort ganz feist ein Zimmer mit Fernseher genommen. Fuer 180 R mussten wir nicht im Regen campen, aber haben dafuer gemuetlich auf unserem Bett vorm Fernseher gesessen und es genossen! Richard und Denise haben uns angerufen und wir haben einen schoenen Abend gehabt.
Where are
we: Date: 6th – 7th February 2005 End GPS: As before Weather: Overcast, grey and humid Camping: Heildelberg, Aventura Resort Heidelbergkloof Back to Heildeberg for an overnight stay; turned into 2 nights!! It is so peaceful here and we enjoyed a day catching up on things before going back to Jo’berg. Tagebuch Wir haben wieder mit unserem Kocher im Zimmer Kaffee gekocht und
David hat leckeres Fruehstueck gemacht, dann sind wir um
Where are we: Jo’Burg, Date: 8th – 10th February 2005 Weather: hot, humid, thunderstorms Camping: In Africa Backpackers and camping at Rocky’s of Fourways A few days spent in Jo’berg as we get the roof tent zippers fixed by Eezi Awn, the fridge fixed by Outdoor Warehouse and the Awning Fixed by 4X4 warehouse. Thanks to Toni and all the crew at Eezi Awn who repaired and serviced the roof tent free of charge, your generosity and after sales service are excellent and we highly recommend you to all other overlanders. We DO NOT recommend however Hannibal who charged us 150 Rand to fix the awning (a job I would have done myself had I known they intended to charge for what is a design error in there product). Sorry but Eezi Awn 10 points Hannibal Null Piont!!!! Very very Special thanks to Claude at Outdoor warehouse, not only did he work on our fridge for a day changing all the components for new ones free of charge, but when the fridge still insisted it was a Freezer he arranged for us to have it sectioned and replaced by a brand new fridge free of charge. What’s more he threw in spare cables (as I keep shutting them in the door) and a insulation jacket to improve performance. What amazing after sales service. Where else does a company exchange your broken product, with which you have had for 3 years intensive use, for a brand new one. To all at Outdoor Warehouse a big thankyou and to Claude….”You’re the Man” we shall enjoy many cold (rather then frozen) beers and toast your good health and prosperity. Thank you so very much!!!!!! Tagebuch Wir haben unser Januar Tagebuch und Photos fertig gemacht, versucht unseren Kuehlschrank reparieren lassen, aber leider war der total schrott…. Die Jungs beim Outdoor Warehouse in Boksburg waren super! Die sind der Vertreiber von Waco in Sued Afrika und haben uns so einfach einen neuen Kuehlschrank gegen den alten ausgetauscht! Claude war sehr hilfsbereit und hatte unseren schon total auseinandergenommen, nur um rauszufinden dass er voellig kaputt ist. Dann hat er kurz mit seinem Boss gesprochen und ploetzlich hatten wir einen nagelneuen Kuehlschrank, zwar 2 L kleiner, aber dafuer funktioniert er, ist ein neueres Modell und wir haben noch Kabel und eine Isoliertasche so umsonst mitbekommen – echt cool! Ansonsten waren wir schon wieder zweimal im Kino – wir koennen es
einfach nicht lassen….. Und in
Where are
we: Date: 11th – 16th February 2005 Weather: Hot, humid and dry Camping: a bed in Marc’s House It
seems we owe much to many people on this trip, but none more so then
Marc and Kerrie. Not only did Marc arrange for us to stay at his families
flat throughout the duration of our stay in We arranged our permits to allow us to drive north through the Central Kalahari Reserve, this will take us back out into the bush that we have so come to enjoy on this trip. There is something about being in a place where few people venture and where you hear mother nature all about you. We will be totally self sufficient for the next week or so as we traverse the expanse of bush and sand tracks that’s shall lead us to the Pans of Botswana and then Chobe. It gives us a renewed feeling of adventure and a new challenge along the road. Look out Kalahari here comes the DuK!!! Tagebuch Heute
ging es endlich weiter nach Marc und Kerrie wohnen mit ihren beiden Soehnen, Russel (2 Jahre) und Rourke (5 Wochen!) in einem Vorort, 20 km ausserhalb von Gabs. Hier sind wir ueber das Wochenende geblieben und haben schoen gegrillt, viel gelacht und gekloent und ich wollte sofort Babies haben… Am Montag haben wir unsere Erlaubnis fuer den Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) beantragt und auch gleich bekommen und konnten somit am naechsten Tag weiterfahren.
Where are
we: Date: End GPS: S23 22.062 E024 37.800 Weather: sunny and hot with hot desert wind Camping: bushcamp just outside Khutse Game Reserve So
after a refreshing stay in Gabs we are heading north, homeward bound.
We cannot come through The What is left for the San, they have been relocated to New Xade, a barren area where water has to be pumped from over 40km away, a land where there is no indigenous herds of Antelope, where little grows in the soil, a place of little hope and dying traditions and customs. The San’s original home at Xade is however a fertile land, a place where the antelope grazes and the grasses and root vegetables, upon which the San use to hunt and gather, are plentiful. What is in Xade now? It is an entrance gate to the reserve!! A place that is polluted with the rubbish of the rangers and staff that manage the gate, a place in which the government is building modern housing for its staff along with accommodation for wealthy tourist to come and spend their money. Xade and its traditional balance between man and nature, like the San, I fear shall slowly fade and die. Where is the equilibrium between a husband and wife sipping G&T’s on a sundeck overlooking the azure waters of a chlorinated swimming pool of a luxury lodge, as a lone Impala walks across the grassland. Sadly the parasite has started to infect the Kalahari reserve and I am sure that after the building of the nice entrance gates, staff accommodation and initial government run lodges, shall come the tar or gravel roads and the private luxury lodges. This like the Delta will effectively signal the exclusion, not just of the indigenous San people, but of the average citizen who cannot afford to visit modern managed mother nature. Let us hope my pessimistic outlook is just that. The Kalahari is often mistakenly thought of as a desolate land of sand and desert, it covers 1.2 million sq km and is a mix of low veld scrub and trees. The rivers that use to flow across the sandy deposits dried from the surface many moons ago, but life to the land is maintained by ephemeral rivers that burst into life with the coming of the summer rains. Our journey through the Kalahari shall take us from south entering via Khutse game resave, then north across the sandy tracks of the Central Kalahari reserve, before we enter the Makgadikgadi and Nxai pans and then exit the north of Botswana having traversed the Chobe Game reserve. We stopped just outside the gate to Khutse reserve and found a bushcamp in a clearing in the scrub for the night. The reserves here are unfenced and the animals free roaming so we made ourselves a nice fire to ward off any unwanted predators on their night shifts. We enjoyed a wonderful evening under the stars enjoying the solitude and silence that is the Kalahari. Our evening was only disturbed by a ranger who came past and stopped to warn us of lion whom he advised us were roaming the area. We chatted for a while and on his departure stoked the fire a little higher, later in the evening we did indeed here the territorial cry of the lion near by but alas they chose not to pay us a visit. We found out the next day they had been 2 km up the road at the staff camp and entrance gate to the reserve. Tagebuch Nachdem wir uns verabschiedet und bedankt haben sind wir zur Apotheke gefahren um noch mehr Doxycycline (antimalaria Tabletten) zu kaufen. Dann haben wir Marc in Gabs bei Worldfood, ein Supermarkt mit Waren aus der ganzen Welt, insbesondere viele Deutsche Waren, getroffen. David hat ganz erfreut Gruehnkohl aus der Dose und Bratwuerste eingekauft, Marc hat uns Toffifee gekauft und dann sind wir endlich losgefahren. Wir haben noch zwei plastik 25L Kanister von Marc bekommen und somit ueber 200 L Diesel getankt und Wasser aufgeladen und sind dann zur Kalahari gefahren. Wir waren so super schwer auf dem Dach, fast schon beaengstigend; DuK ist wie ein Schiff durch die See geschaukelt… Der Asphalt hoerte irgendwann auf und kleine Huetten und Laeden haben moderne Haeuser ersetzt und ich wurder wieder “Mama” und “Sister” genannt. Wir sind um
Where are
we: Central Kalahari
Game Reserve (CKGR), Date: End GPS: S22 22.252 E023 30.318 Total Kilometres: 48 134 km Weather: hot and sunny, 44 C Camping: bushcamp in CKGR, 60 km before Xade An
early start for us today. The tracks leading us north are sandy and
in a poor state and we are expecting to make passage at a mere 15km.
We entered the gate to Khutse reserve, paid our 350 Pula (about £40)
for a day and camping (not cheap by any stretch) and set off into the
reserve. We were rewarded with Gemsbok (long time since we saw these
guys), wildebeest, heartebeest, springbok, ostrich and a large tortoise.
The openness of Khutse soon gave way to denser foliage as we crossed
the imaginary line between Khutse and We made much better progress then expected and reached our proposed
camp at Bape at The driving was fun and we had a good day exercising the DuK and her 4 wheel drive. We stopped just 60km from Xade and made a bushcamp. Very quiet night and good spag bol for dinner with a good fire to illuminate the land. After dinner we adjourned to the roof terrace for a night cap and we were visited by a lone Duiker as he foraged his way through the bush. Tagebuch Heute sind es 2 Monate ohne zu rauchen – herrlich! Nachdem wir die
Loewen so nahe gehoert haben konnte ich gar nicht mehr richtig schlafen….Wir
sind um Sobald wir von Khutse GR zum CKGR gekommen sind haben wir kaum noch
Tiere gesehen und die Wege wurden auch noch schlimmer! Trotzdem sind
wir schon am Bape Bushcamp, wo wir fuer registriert waren, um Um
Where are
we: CKGR, Date: End GPS: S21 47.569 E23 12.880 Total Kilometres: 48 256 km Weather: hot and sunny in the day, BAD Thunderstorm and heavy rain at night Camping: Pipers Pan Campsite It’s beautiful out here. Solitude, nature, and tranquility, the sound of the DuK seems alien and amplified in this land. The landscape is changing again going back to more open grasslands and dry pans from which the sunlight shimmers casting illusions of refreshing lakes of water that entice you to speed toward them like Sirens of the sea. The sandy tracks betray those that trod their path in the dark of the night, they are long gone but their impression shall saty until the next rains wash them clean. We saw spore of many antelope and then very fresh spore of a Cheetah walking toward the Xade pan, sadly we didn’t get to see him. As we drove the sandy track I had another close encountger on my side with a very hissed off snake, bright green and black he reared up as we went past. I thought it was a large green mamba but upon reaching Xade gate and speaking with the ranger we were advised it was more likely a Baumslang. Whatever, it stood up pretty damn tall. The landscape from Xade heading north is beautiful, a mosaic of grasslands,
scrub and open ghost pans. The wildlife is becoming more abundant and
we are seeing large herds of Gemsbok, Springbok, Heartebeest and Wildebeest.
Still we are unlucky and haven’t seen the famous brown hyena, Kalahari
lion or cheetah. We are approaching Tagebuch Ich
hab supergut und tief geschlafen und wir sind erst um 9 Uhr aufgestanden,
haben Tee und Kaffee mit unserem Kelly Kettle gemacht und sind dann
um 11 Uhr weitergefahren. Es hat ein bisschen geregnet und war sehr
drueckend. In Xade mussten wir wieder 350 Pula! bezahlen und die Strassen
waren alle schlammig und rutschig wie die gelbe Strasse in Hier oben in den Salzpfannen sieht man endlich mal mehr Tiere, Antilopen und noch mehr Schildkroeten und es kommt einen eher wie die Wueste und nicht wie der Busch vor. Das Buschcamp hier war schoen und wir haben unser Zelt aufgebaut
und es mit Wasserfestiger eingepinselt. David hat viel Holz gefunden
und wir haben es uns so richtig schoen am
Where are
we: CKGR, Date: End GPS: S21 17.532 E23 42.535 Total Kilometres: 48 396 km Weather: sunny, overcast, humid, and WORSE Thunderstorm and HEAVIER rain at night! Camping: Leopard Pan Campsite We left camp and continued our journey north. The sandy tracks give way to a combination of hard baked clay and soft bogs as we cross the pans. We are now on Deception pan and the going has been made a little harder going from the rains of yesterday. We slip and slide our way over the pan and then enter an innocent looking stretch of water, the water starts shallow and then suddenly we are diving down, not knowing what lies further we abort and make a sharp turn to the right, leaping us from the water and into the bush where we bundi bash our way back to the track where the water has subsided. This is rainy season and so we can expect a lot more deep encounters like this. The pan is home to a variety of antelope, wildebeest, gemsbok and predators but sadly we never saw the lion, cheetah or hyena. We pushed on past the pan and headed to Leopard pan where we made a nice camp with a spectacular fire. It was lovely to sit and watch the animals on the pan as the sun set. We enjoyed a good meal and then retired to bed. We heard it coming before it hit us, a roar in the distant night that raced through the bush toward us, then it hit. The rooftent rocked violently and the wind ripped at the rain cover, tearing the metal supports from their housing. Then the rain came, not a gradual escalation but rather a cloud burst. As the torrent beat at our door the tent became illuminated by bright light that buzzed and hissed for 5 seconds or more, this was followed instantly be an earth shattering burst of thunder that had us scrabbling from the tent. The storm had circled us earlier in the night but not threatened, but like a hungry lion it approached as we retired to bed. It took us perhaps 15 seconds to rech the sanctuary of the back of the landie but in this time we were soaked and another 3 bolts of lightning struck around the camp. The rain was so intense that the roof hatch was overcome and we had a waterfall in the cab. The storm raged above us for about 30 minutes and then decided to leave us alone. It moved of south, the rain stopped only to then return 10 minutes later. It stayed all night not as a drizzle but as a torrent. We eventually returned to the rooftent and thankfully slepted through the remainder of the storm. This was truly the worst storm I have ever endured and to be honest I hope it shall be the last as it was truly frightening. Tagebuch Wir
sind um Wir haben Daenen getroffen, die schon seit 4 Jahren um die Welt fahren – die ersten Menschen die wir im Park getroffen haben und nicht hier arbeiten! Wir haben ein paar stories ausgetauscht und dann weitergefahren. Ueberall sehen wir Loewenspuren und hoeren sie nachts, koennen sie aber nicht sehen. Deception Pan ist beruehmt fuer seine ganzen Tiere, aber wir haben nur ein paar Oryx, Gnus und Springboks gesehen. Als wir weiter zur Leopard Pan gefahren sind haben wir “bat-eared foxes”, kleine Fuechse mit riesigen Ohren, die sind sehr sues, und Schakale gesehen. Bei dem Campingplatz haben wir wieder Holz gesucht und Wir waren schon um Um
Where are
we: Date: 20th – 21st February 2005 Weather: sun, clouds, rain, thunderstorm Camping: Audi Camp We
woke to a very wet camp and a flooded Kalahari. The rains were relentless
only stopping at We drove the 160km to Maun and returned to Audi camp where we stayed nearly 6 months ago. We shall have a couple of days here to get the hose and to restock on fuel, food and water. Tagebuch Wir
waren so angenervt vom Regen und Gewitter, dass wir alles nass zusammengepackt
haben, ein Brot fuer die Fahrt gemacht haben und dann weiter gefahren
sind. Die Wege waren einfach nur unglaublich und jetzt haben wir auch
noch einen Riss in der Luftleitung entdeckt! Somit koennen wir eigentlich
nicht durch Pfitzen fahren, aber die gibt es hier reichlich…David manoevriert
den Landy sehr gut wie immer durch diesen rutschigen Match, Schleim
und Wasserloechern. Um Am naechsten Tag hat David eine neue Leitung besorgt und angebracht und ich war im Internet. Abends haben wir dann unseren Gruenkohl mit Wuersten und Bratkartoffeln gekocht und David war sehr happy!
Where are
we: Baines Baobabs,
Date: End GPS: S20 07.072 E24 45.888 Total Kilometres: 48 986 km Weather: hot, sunny, 36.4 C, lovely no rain! Camping: Bushcamp across the salt pan from Baines Baobabs, beautiful spot! With the air intake fixed a full load of fuel and water and a larder
stocked to the brim we drove the 136 km back to the turn off that will
take us to Nxai Pan. We first made a detour to Baines Baobabs. The track
is again sandy but at least dry. The drive was rewarded with sightings
of Gemsbok and then Elephant. They were pretty agitated so we kept a
distance and allowed them to go at their pace as they crossed the road
ahead of us. Baines Baobabs proved to be a fantastic bushcamp. The baobabs
sit in a cluster atop a small island in an ocean of dry pan, they were
formerly known as the Sleeping Sisters and were immortalised in paintings
by artist and explorer Thomas Baines during his ventures through Tagebuch Wir
haben ein paar Kaffee getrunken, und dann unsere Visa fuer In Maun haben wir noch schreckliche Passphotos machen lassen und
draussen ist kurz mal die Elektrische Leitung angebrannt….Wir mussten
ca. 150km auf Asphalt fahren, dann kam ein Abzweiger und die Strasse
wurde wieder sandig. Um Wir haben alles aufgebaut und den Nachmittag damit verbracht zu relaxen, die Stille und Aussicht zu geniessen und Photos gemacht. Es war traumhaft und so entspannend! Die Sonne hat silbrig auf der Pfanne geschimmert und abends der Sonnenuntergang war ein Traum. Dann haben wir mit dem Potje auf dem Feuer gekocht, mit Mami und Papi vom Satphone gesprochen, und hatten fast Vollmond, der auf der Pfanne schimmerte, und der Abend war perfekt!
Where are
we: Nxai Date: End GPS: S19 56.207 E24 46.606 Total Kilometres: 49 115 km Weather: mixed – sun & thunderstorm Camping: South Camp, Nxai Pan The pan is speckled with umbrella Acacias and resembles in some way a small Serengeti. The pan provides excellent close encounter sightings of herds of animals. Gemsbok, Zebra, Springbok, Impala and much more; they are all here, as are the lion, cheetah, bat eared fox and wild dogs. The elephants and giraffe are absent from the pan at the moment as they seem to have gone on holiday to Baines Baobab. Our first game drive took us around the pan bringing with it sightings of many antelope and herds of zebra. We returned to south camp and enjoyed a nice evening before the thrunder and rain once again cut short our evening. Unbeknown to us the next morning would bring with it a marvelous and inspiring sighting. Tagebuch Um Um
Where are
we: Date: Total Kilometres: 49 359 km Camping: Audi Camp We
rose early to get a game drive in before leaving the reserve. We headed
up the western road leading us north, 3 km from the gate Kat caught
sight of something in the bush to our left. We stopped and to our absolute
delight spotted a cheetah, then another, then another and another and
would you believe another. We had stumbled upon a mother with her 4
offspring on an early morning stalking lesson. They weren’t at all bothered
by us and walked right up and past us. It was such a beautiful thing
to watch 5 Cheetah walking across the open plains of With the northern exit to Chobe apparently no more we have to retrace the 136km back to Maun where we can pick up the road north to Chobe. The short circuit is back as our oil light is stuck on. I tested to ensure we had oil pressure and oil. After pouring a lot of fresh water over the connectors and sender unit and 10 km down the road the light finally went out. Thanks to Gritt und Lorenz, overlanding in an EFA truck, for stopping to see if all was OK. Tagebuch Wir sind heute um Das
war natuerlich ein supertoller morgen und danach sind wir auf Loewensuche
gefahren, da wir sie morgens gehoert haben, konnten sie aber nicht finden.
Dann gings zurueck zum In Maun haben wir erstmal Mittag gegessen, getankt und waren bei
der Bank und dann war es schon wieder so spaet dass wir uns entschlossen
haben wieder zum Audi camp zu fahren und morgen dann frueh los Richtung
Chobe und Wir haben wieder Gritt und Lorenz hier getroffen, die in ihrem Ifa Truck (wie Andreas im Senegal) von Wiesbaden die Ostkueste runtergefahren sind, und haben uns lange mit denen unterhalten und Reiseinformationen ausgetauscht.
Where are
we: Date: End GPS: S17 48.533 E25 08.696 Total Kilometres: 49 711 km Weather: hot and sunny Camping: Chobe Safari Lodge Heading north toward Chobe we had about 20 km of good tar and then the road went to a sandy track. We made good progress but then the track started to deteriorate not too bad at first but we did have to negotiate puddles and deeper sand and mud, then the track just went to hell. The puddles and swamp land increased to the point that we couldn’t avoid wading through them. Fine but the water was getting deeper and the mud more slipper and we weren’t even at the gate of Chobe. When we did arrive at the gate we found nobody there, just a sign saying to drive to the next scout camp. Chobe south is not very frequented by tourists in the wet season and the road through the south park in the rainy season is the reason why. Our challenge for the day was to drive through water splashes that came over the bonnet, drop into deep mud filled gullleys and avoid herds of seriously territorial elephants that dominate Chobe. Believe me try to navigate the DuK through mud and deep water and outrun elephants is not as easy as it may sound. It was great fun but at one point we really did consider turning around as at the rate of progress we were making it would take us near 12 hours to transit south to north through the park, our average speed was a wonderful 15km. We persevered and after submerging the nose of the DuK on 2 occassions the water started to subside and our progress improved as the track became more solid and reliable.
Because it is the wet season all of the game parks are thick bush which means seeing game as you drive the main tracks is hard, we did however see a lot of trumpeting elephants that made the journey exciting. Chobe is a nice reserve the south being quite inaccessible as the the main tourism comes in from the north gate. Our progress was swift as we hit the soft sand and DuK blasted her way through. We ended up transiting the park and arriving in Kasane at 18:30 where we stayed at the Chobe Safari Lodge with its superb facility that caters for all budgets and is set right on the rivers edge, indeed in the night we were visited by a friendly hippo as he came out to graze by the Duk. We have arranged our visas for Zambia via a backpackers in Livingstone, this is excellent as it saves us having to spend nearly $100US on visas as the lodges get the visas free of charge, so come the morning we will be off to Zambia and Livingstone to visit the Vic Falls, go white water rafting on the Zambizi, bunji jump, microlight over the falls and have a good time. Tagebuch Nachdem wir die ganze Nacht Esel, Hunde und Haehne kreischen gehoert
haben sind wir endlich um Na-ja, nachdem wir mitten in einem Elephantenstau steckten und immer wieder von den grossen gewarnt wurden, die ihre kleinen schuetzen wollten, haben wir es nach ueber einer halben Stunde endlich durch geschafft. Ausser noch mehr Elephanten und zwei grosse Schildkroeten haben wir nicht mehr Tiere gesehen. Wir sind aus dem Park rausgefahren, an ein paar Doerfern vorbei und dann wieder auf einer geteerten Transitstrecke von Namibia kommend, durch den Chobe Park durch bis nach Kasane gefahren. In Kasane sind wir um 18:10 Uhr angekommen und haben uns zum Camping in der Chobe Safari Lodge eingecheckt und waren genau zum Sonnenuntergang ueber dem Chobe Fluss an der Bar – traumhaft! Die Chobe Safari Lodge ist echt cool, bietet Unterkunft in allen Klassen an und alle duerfen sich mischen und Pool und Restaurant benutzen. Wir haben Spaghetti gekocht und die in der Bar gegessen, da ueberall Warnschilder von Krokodilen war. Mitten in der Nacht sind wir beide aufgewacht weil wir es im Busch knacken gehoert haben – ein Hippo war direkt vor unserem Kuechenzelt und hat schoen am Grass geknappert….
Where are
we: Date: 26th – 28th February 2005 End GPS: S17 50.875 E025 51.242 Total Kilometres: 50,100 km Weather: hot and sunny, rain at night Camping: Jollyboys Backpackers “Doctor Livingstone I presume?” So
here we are in So what are we doing here, well we did the white water, Kat did the bunji, we did the microlight and who knows I may even do a canyon swing……..hah ha and then again maybe I won’t. Here are some of the highlights of the time in Livingstoner and Vic Falls……….enjoy the photos Tagebuch Wir waren wieder in Afrika – Huehner werden lebend am Strassenrand verkauft oder ueber Kopf hinten auf dem Mofa mitgenommen! In Livingstone sind wir zu Falty Towers Backpackers gefahren, die unser Visa fuer uns umsonst organisiert haben, konnten dort aber leider nicht mit unserem Auto campen, obwohl wir dies vorher gecheckt haben….Also sind wir ein wenig herum gefahren und letztendlich in Jollyboys Backpackers gelandet wo wir fuer 4US$ pp im Parkplatz campen koennen. Das Campen ist nicht das Beste aber der Backpackers sehr nett und relaxed mit einer coolen Bar und Reisebuero die alle moeglichen Aktivitaeten organisieren. Ausserdem sind da Yoda, die Katze, die immer auf unser Dachterasse liegt und Stellung haelt und morgens zum Kuscheln ins Zelt kommt, und Mole, der Hund der unsere Schluesselanhaenger liebt und glaubt das sind die besten Spielzeuge auf der Welt, insbesondere wenn David ihn immer im Kreis dreht bi ser nicht mehr gerade stehen kann – der Arme…. Und das haben wir die naechsten Tage gemacht: -
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Wir sind durch die Zambische Grenze und
auf die Bruecke nach
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White River Rafting auf dem Jetzt sind wir noch hier und wuerden am Liebsten noch den Helikopterflug
und das Fallschirmspringen machen, aber das ist ziemlich teuer und Fallschirmspringen
wird nur in Heute und morgen werden wir unser Tagebuch fuer Februar zu Ende machen und vielleicht nochmal zu den Vic Falls gehen, vielleicht ins Livingstone Museum, dann noch zu Foleys Africa (die Firma wo wir in UK unseren Landy gekauft haben), und heute Abend zum Sundowner ins Royal Livingstone Hotel mit einem Paar das wir hier kennengelernt haben, Flavia und Michael. Angeblich ist das hier das absolute Luxushotel und man fuehlt sich wie Karen Blixen in Jenseits von Afrika oder wie David Livingstone selbst, wenn man da hingeht. Brauch wohl nicht zu erwaehnen dass mein bestes Kleidungsstueck, mein alter Leinenrock!, draussen haengt um faltenfrei zu werden und dass ich jetzt erst mal meine Flipflops waschen werde…..mehr davon koennt ihr naechsten Monat lesen (ist naemlich schon der 1. Maerz!)….
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