Tigers, Skeletons & Deserts! (Botswana & Namibia)

9th October – 10th November

Okay, what’s happened to the last month? It has certainly shot by and yet we seem to have packed in a years worth of activities! That’s southern Africa for you and I can certainly say we are still having a ball, with the trip delivering everything it promised! Some of the ‘adventure’ and ‘ruggedness’ of the north and east may have gone, but southern Africa can certainly deliver on excitement, scenery and facilities.

We last left you in Maun, Botswana recovering from our various ‘animal encounters’ in the Chobe and Okavango. All started well with England’s epic victory over France in the semis and boy did we enjoy that one (unfortunately no French in the bar but found a few Aussies!). Then is was off into the Central Kalahari Desert for 4 nights of desert camping which was absolutely fantastic – we saw half a dozen cars the whole time and spent 4 wonderful hours totally alone with a male Cheetah – awesome! Dragging ourselves away from the Kalahari we headed back through Maun and up the western side of the Okavanga Delta, where we found a great fishing camp called Drotskys Cabins. Camped right on the edge of the Delta we got our first taste of Tiger Fish fishing (yep, they do have Tigers in Africa after all! To cut a long story short, thanks to some new friends (who we met at the camp), I not only caught my first but an additional 2 Tiger Fish along with 3 cat fish all over 4kgs – Collo you would have been proud! We had a fabulous 4 days at Drotskys which culminated with an evening watching the final………. well at least we made a game of it and our new S African pals certainly enjoyed it – roll on 2009 and the lions!

From Drotskys we finally left Botswana and entered Namibia via the Caprivi Strip with our first night at a place called Popa Falls. Unfortunately Bula decided the roads were getting too easy and decided to throw a wobbly, literally, and it took us 5 hours to cover 50 miles! It turned out to be a stabilizer rod which fortunately the garage in Rundu was able to replace so we were not delayed too long. From here we entered the Etosha National Park for our last major ‘game foray’ and we were not to be disappointed! As we were right at the end of the dry season and it being one of the hottest months (so called suicide month), all the animals were congregating around the water holes which made for some amazing sights and gave us hours of fantastic viewing. During our three days and night in the park we were fortunate to see, along with all the general plains game (zebra, springbok etc), black rhinos, lions, leopards and elephants – also the roads were fantastic so Serengeti up yours!

Whilst in Etosha we met a nice Dutch couple, on a self drive holiday and spent the next week traveling together as we headed south. First stop was at a cheetah farm where we were introduced to 3 ‘tame’ cheetahs, quite bizarre but fun! We then headed west towards the Atlantic Ocean and traveled through the area known as the Kaokoveld or Sothern Damara Land which is one of Southern Africa’s last wildernesses and Namibia’s least inhabited area. The landscape was certainly wild and rugged with no people (a welcome change from the rest of Africa) though we did manage to find the amazing desert adapted elephants, in fact one found us and decided to join us in camp for dinner (see photo)!! We soon hit the Skeleton Coast or Coast of Skulls and it was easy to see how it earned its name; a narrow strip of land between icy, pounding ocean and the stark desert interior, with a relentless wind (and before anyone says anything not caused by me!), it certainly made for a spectacular drive! It was to defeat us when it came to camping but with a name like Mile 108 Camp you might hopefully have some sympathy!! Thankfully we had Clare’s birthday as an excuse so booked into the one and only lodge at Cape Cross where we had 2 fabulous nights celebrating in style! Sights along the coast included the Cape Fur Seals, Black back Jackals (we unfortunately did not spot the elusive brown Hyena) and ship wrecks, though the latter were not as spectacular as expected due to erosion.

We finally reached Swakopmond, a quaint old German town and a pleasant oasis in which to spend the next 3 days. Swakopmond and Walvis Bay are Namibia’s equivalent of Livingstone in Zambia ie. plenty of activities and action for the adventurous. However, we decided to go for the more ‘tranquil’ options which included a booze cruise to see the Seals and Dolphins (unfortunately no Whales) and a spot of exhilarating Dune driving (not in Bula) and an amazing Kayak trip! The more adventurous options included sky diving, quad biking and kite surfing – maybe next time. From Swakopmond we headed back inland (away from the wind) and into the oldest desert on earth – the Namib - for a spot of wild desert camping before reaching the picture postcard area of Sossusvlei and its enormous red dunes. Up at 4 a.m., an hours drive and a mad scramble up the dune almost resulting in a heart attack (sitting in a Landrover for 10 months has not helped on the fitness stakes!), we did manage to catch the sunrise and boy was it spectacular!

From Sossusvlei we continued south through the Namib – Naukluft Desert encountering some of the most spectacular scenery we have ever seen – rocky mountains and red dunes split by huge white valley floors - Namibia is certainly an impressive country. To make things even better the gravel roads are fantastic, the best by far in Africa, so along with the great camping facilities (toilets, hot water, braai and shops) traveling has become somewhat easier and it almost feels like a holiday.

Today (10th November) we are in the old German diamond mining town of Luderitz, another desolate wind swept coastal town, preparing ourselves for the final ‘off road’ section of the trip before crossing into ‘civilised’ South Africa – a 300km route along the Orange River to Fish River Canyon – and from there an easy 2 -3 day drive (on tarmac) to Cape Town and our rendezvous with Sally and Susan.

It is hard to believe that we are now so near to the end - 25,000 + miles, 10 months and plenty of adventure in between – what a trip! However, I think we are all beginning to feel a bit battered and worn; Bula certainly is, so Durban in a month’s time will surely be a welcome sight.

The weather continues to get hotter as we go into summer and with no rain now since mid October we are certainly not missing the UK winter! With probably only 1 more blog update to go (thank goodness I hear you all say) it will soon be back to reality and earning an honest wage (anyone got any jobs??) but let’s not go there just yet.

Other highlights of the last month include Penny (Clare’s older sister) giving birth to baby number 2 – Louie at 7lb 8oz, Collo P becoming a granddad and we are also heard that a third small Ratcliff was delivered in October – quite a month for new arrivals but I suppose all good news for the toy boys! So until Durban take it easy and keep smiling!

Lots of love
C & G