NAMIBIA: LAND OF RUGGED SPLENDOUR

by Terence Cotton

Following the very successful tour round South Africa in 1998 to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of Land Rover it was decided to organize another trip in 2000. The idea was to travel for eight weeks through the countries bordering South Africa to the north. The Zimbabwean leg of the trip was cancelled due to the uncertainty of fuel availability in the country and the political violence resulting from the occupation of white owned farms and the approaching general election. The game parks in Botswana were also excluded from the itinerary as the Botswana Parks Department had increased the fees of most of their parks to USD70 per person per day for camping.

Four of the seven Land Rovers that were to make up the party toured Zambia for three weeks before joining the other three in Maun, Botswana. We did not join this group as the rebuild of our ex army 2A 109 Land Rover and the fitting of a 2.5 litre turbo diesel engine was taking longer than we had anticipated; the Crossmans, with a 110, could not get extended leave and the Oppenheims from America with their three children in their twin cab 110 visited the Kruger National Park in South Africa before joining the tour.

On Saturday evening the 1^st of July we met the others at Crocodile camp in Maun, Botswana: the de Waals from Cape Town in their 109, the Kielens from Holland in their 90 and the Oppenheims in a double cab 110 (all old acquaintances from the 50^th tour) and the two new parties to the group, the Hepners in a TDI, a German couple who have retired to South Africa, and a Dutch couple Rene van Boekel and girlfriend Joke Schalk in a 2.5litre 110.

After shopping and refuelling in Maun we left in buddy groups to travel around the bottom of the Okavango Delta and up its western side to the Tsodilo Hills and Namibia. Most of the main routes in Botswana have been tarred now - quite different to the heavy sand tracks we had to negotiate in the past. We made a bush camp that night and went to sleep listening to the noise of goats and cattle in a nearby kraal.

The Tsodilo Hills which are well known for the their excellent Bushman paintings consist of four hills lying in a rough line which rise 320m above the bush covered plains. The road to the hills is through very heavy sand, the 50km taking close on 3 hours. The Series 2A vehicles found the going more difficult than the others as the track is more suited to wider vehicles. We set up an overnight camp in the shadow of the hills. After visiting the most accessible paintings the next morning, three of us left on the next leg of the trip. The others decided to explore the hills more thoroughly. They would take a faster route mainly on tarred roads to our next over night stop. Daniel Oppenheim’s exhaust pipe had broken off and he needed to get to a town to have it welded. Our route out from the hills was more sandy than the route in, necessitating the use of low range gears for long stretches. The fuel consumption of all the vehicles on these tracks increased by 50%.

We entered Namibia at Mohembo at the west end of the Caprivi Strip. Some of the overseas people in the tour group were apprehensive about travelling through this area as there was cross border conflict with anti Angolan Government forces and a party of foreign tourists had been attacked. After travelling about 100km along the Kavango River on the Angolan border we branched off to take a track that runs in a dry river bed. We prefer these slower routes as one sees the country in much more detail than high speed roads. The browns, gold and yellows of the winter vegetation, intermingled with the different greens of the of the bush along the banks of the dry river bed, were quite beautiful. Although we had a GPS and a detailed map we were unable to locate the track we were looking for out of the river bed and eventually followed one that headed in the right direction. Long stretches of thick sand and the encroaching bush made progress very slow. The road wound its way through colourful deciduous forest with a variety of beautifully shaped trees. Seed pods were hanging from the leafless branches of the teak trees and the yellows, rusts and browns reflected the winter sunlight.

We met up with the others a day late after travelling on good gravel roads through farm lands where we saw kudu, steenbok, duiker, jackal and warthog including one group that decided the other side of the road was safer and ran across the front of my vehicle necessitating the rapid application of the brakes. The next day the party again split into two groups one group deciding to take the longer but faster route on tar and gravel roads through Ovamboland to Opuwo which is the gateway to the beautiful and remote Koakoveld. We, with the Crossmans and Hepners, took a shorter route through the sparsely populated area in the south of Ovamboland.

After some difficulty we found our track and were soon rewarded with sightings of springbok, wildebeest and ostrich as they raced away from our approaching vehicles. The route was very varied with slow thick sand, fast smooth surfaces across dry pans that stretched for kilometres in all directions, and rocky gradients into and out of the pans. We crossed some plains and pans at high speed and were very confident that we would meet up with our colleagues that evening. Our confidence was short lived. Some of the pans we had to cross were dry on the edges but got progressively wetter and softer towards the middle. On several occasions we had to make speedy withdrawals by reversing back in our own tracks before the vehicle became too bogged down in the soft and sticky mud. We were forced to make 10 to 15 km detours around the edge of the pans to cover a forward distance of 2 to 3km. The pans were irregular in shape with sand islands everywhere and tracks leading off in all directions and careful navigation was required to find the right one. Our GPS proved to be an invaluable tool. As the track became less used we found that in many places the bush had encroached to such a degree over the road that at 5m the vehicle in front or behind was not visible. This is certainly not a route to follow if one has sympathy with the paint work on the vehicle! A third problem we encountered was travelling along tracks that had been used by elephants during a wet period. Anyone who has had the experience will confirm that driving along such a track is the most uncomfortable of any off road surface. A 750x16 tyre fits neatly into an elephant foot print and no two wheels ever seem to be in or out of the footprints at the same time. Other than an Etosha game guard vehicle on a good road on the other side of the fence, we saw no other vehicle or person in the two days that we were on this track. That night we camped in a mopani forest with the sound of many different species of birds roosting for the night. At the camp fire we spotted what was probably the tiniest rodent we had ever seen. It was round and fluffy, appeared to be fully grown and was a bit bigger than the nail of a man’s thumb.

The next day I had a major problem. The pipe between the master cylinder and the brake booster sheared off. As we did not have the necessary fittings to carry out a repair in the bush, I was forced to travel without brakes for 70km along the bush track and a further 120km along the gravel road to Opuwo where I was able to get the pipe repaired the next day. We were now a day late and our friends had already departed for our next meeting point, the Epupa falls in the Kunene River on the north western border with Angola. The Oppenheims accompanied by the de Waals and Kielens had opted to take the gravel road to the falls while Rene and Joke followed the planned route along the Kunene River which we took the next day.

This route is one of the most beautiful and longest 4x4 tracks that I have driven. The 118km took us 9 hours. There were steep rocky inclines and descents, dry river beds with thick sand and perilous approaches and very often fine dust which infiltrated every crack and hole in the vehicle. The height of our vehicle caused us a number of heart stopping moments when the lean of the track was too much for comfort on the river side. We had lovely vistas of the green and wide fast flowing Kunene with large trees and waving fan palms lining its banks. We spent a night on the river bank where our camp was visited by three Himba children. The Himba are a nomadic tribe that move around seeking grazing for their goats and cattle. They are naked except for two cloths which hang front and back from their waists. When it is cold they will occasionally wear a cloak or blanket. They smear their bodies, (and also their clothing), from head to toe in fat and a red dye obtained from grinding a particular rock. The women wear an elaborate head piece also coated with the dye mixture. One seldom sees a woman with a firm bust as they start having and suckling children at puberty. However, they are never fat. Classically, their igloo type huts are made of sticks and are about 1 to 11/2m high. They desert these huts from time to time but return again later.

The campsite at Epupa with its rustic reed enclosed toilets and showers, is right on the edge of the falls and was one of the more agreeable of the formal campsites that we stayed in. Ina and Sylvia caused some hilarity amongst the local ladies when they joined them in one of the side channels of the river to have a bath. They did however not go topless as did the local women.

From a good gravel road the district road we took south to Etosha deteriorated very quickly and we were soon driving along a track which we kept on losing as heavy rains in the summer had washed away any semblance of a road. We were constantly backtracking and driving through the bush at right angles to our direction of travel to pick up the correct track. We saw no traffic along this road except for the odd donkey cart. However at one point three carts, our three Land Rovers and an oncoming truck met at the same time. It was a job sorting out this traffic jam as the bush was quite thick making it difficult to maneuver the carts and vehicles out of the track. Further along, Clive got a puncture while driving through a village. We changed the wheel with an audience of Herero women in their elaborate (but patched) dresses looking on. In contrast to the Himba the Herero women dress in Victorian dresses with wide skirts and petticoats. They also wear elaborate headwear.

We met up with our other group in the Etosha Game Park and spent four nights game viewing on the plains, at the pans, or at night at floodlit water holes in the camps. At a pan one morning we were watching elephants drinking and washing. They moved off on a course which took them very close to our Land Rovers and one large cow decided to walk between us and the Crossmans who were parked right behind us. When I looked out the rear window which is two metres from the ground, all I could see was a large elephant eye!

Just out of Etosha a loud noise at the back of the vehicle brought us to a quick stop. An inspection of the rear axle revealed that the back differential had two small holes punctured in the casing from the inside and all the oil had leaked out. We removed the prop shaft and the side shafts and proceeded to the town of Outjo which was 70km away. The second person we asked put us in contact with a local inhabitant who had some Land Rover parts in his garden. For R800 (80 pounds) the deal was done. A mechanic was found who welded closed the holes in the casing and fitted the replacement centre to the differential. Once again the ready availability of spares for Series Land Rovers in remote areas was demonstrated.

Our next stop was for two nights at the campsite near Twyfelfontein on the banks of the Aba Huab river bed. Everybody went their own way to look at the local attractions. Due to his son’s illness, Daniel Oppenheim and his family had left the tour in Etosha. The Crossmans and we decided to head for the Burnt Mountain. Weathering of its surface had given the mountain the uncanny appearance of a huge pile of burnt ash and cinders. A track leading off at the end of the gravel road which had brought us to the Burnt Mountain was an open invitation to us. Eighty kilometres and five hours later we arrived at the other end of the mountain after some good navigation by Ina. It was an exhilarating track over some very rough, rocky terrain with deep gullies, steep ascents and scary descents. The scenery was spectacular and typical of the western part of Namibia with its almost vegetation free jagged hills, rocky plains and multicolored rocks.

Our route from Tywfelfontein was to take us for some distance along the Huab River bed and then across to Brandberg Wes in the south west. We followed tracks using GPS readings and a 1:500 000 map. For a long way the track ran in the river bed where the sand was course and deep making progress very slow. We spent two nights on the bank of the Huab at a point where the water was flowing above the ground. It was very pleasant stripping down and bathing at a secluded spot upstream. At this point we were only 60km from the Atlantic Ocean to the west and one morning we awakened to find a heavy sea mist covering the surrounding hills and plains. The western side of Namibia is very dry with an annual rainfall of less than 100mm. Most of the plants, insects and animals, other than those in the river beds, survive on the mist which rolls in overnight.

As we had reached a point near the boundary of the Skeleton Coast Park to which there is only limited access, we had to change direction and make our way south. We crossed the river and found the track on the other side which wound over a couple of kilometres of small dunes with very awkward ups and downs and some quite precarious angles. The route we followed to the south was not difficult to drive but because of the rocky and uneven surface with its gullies and angles we drove in four wheel drive or with diff lock engaged. The Damaraland and Koakoland area in the west of Namibia is desolate and magnificent, every turn in the road or vista from the to top of a rise presenting a scene which seemed more spectacular than the previous one. The rock formations and their variable colours are quite stunning. We saw gemsbok, springbok, kudu, ostriches and other small animals along the route but were not fortunate enough to see the famous desert elephants. That evening two vehicles, the first that we had seen since leaving Twyfelfontein three days earlier, appeared at the edge of the canyon in which we were setting up camp. They set up their camp out of sight and hearing from us. On our way to Brandberg Wes the next day, we stopped to look at some excellent examples of very large fossilized trees. These trees were conifers that had washed down from central Africa 1.6 million years ago. Conifers? Central Africa? Makes one think. The pass to Brandberg Wes following a tributary of the Ugab River is narrow and spectacular. We found pools of clear water but they were encrusted with thick layers of salt at the bottom. After Brandberg Wes the group split, the Crossmans and us going on to the coast while the others went to the Brandberg to look at the "White Lady"; the only known Bushman painting to have been painted in white.

On the coast we visited the Cape Cross seal sanctuary; the largest colony of the Cape fur seal along the Southern African coast. We spent that night at the Mile 72 Camp. This is one of the several camping sites established by the authorities to accommodate the thousands of people who visit this coast for its excellent fishing. The cold Benguela current flows from the Antarctic up the coast bringing with it lots of plankton and almost permanent cold sea mists. There is little else to do as it is very inhospitable without trees or shelter; a cold, dull and dreary place unless you are a fisherman.

After meeting up with the rest of the group in Swakopmund we went on to the Namib-Naukluft Park via the road along the Kuiseb River. This was a big disappointment to us as 12 years previously we had travelled through this area along a track next to the Kuiseb River bed with the Namib desert sand dunes towering above us to the west on the other side of the river. The area has now been turned into a public attraction and a new wide road bulldozed across the desert plain well away from the river and dunes, so that one sees nothing except dust.

Our final destination in Namibia was Sosussvlei which is well known for its beautiful high sand dunes. The road to Sossusvlei from the campsite at Sesriem is a 60km tar road over a flat wide river bed between sand dunes. The last 5km is through heavy sand which requires four wheel drive. The dunes at Sossusvlei are amongst the highest in the world and are quite spectacular with their colours and shadows constantly changing with the moving sun. The vleis with their dry white bottoms are in startling contrast with the red sand of the dunes.

After Sossusvlei three of the party headed south for Cape Town while the other three headed east via Windhoek, Gobabis and Botswana for the northern part of South Africa. Instead of crossing Botswana along the Trans Kalahari Highway we took a track to the south a couple of kilometres after crossing the border. We were aware that the Botswana authorities had declared all the sparsely populated areas not in a Game Reserve as Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) and that they were selling concessions in these areas. We were under the impression that as long as one did not camp in these areas one could pass through them. This is not the case. We were stopped 30 kms into this area at a small village and a fee of P80 (approximately 11 pounds) per vehicle demanded from us. Although the pamphlet given to us stated that the area was home to "vast herds of game" we only saw two springbok and two ground squirrels. A semi desert like the Kalahari through which we were travelling cannot and never did, support vast herds of game. Further along our route we passed through another WMA. A notice on the side of the road stated that as tourists we would be prosecuted if we entered the area without a permit. We made ourselves legal by visiting the Mabuasehube section of the new Kalagadi Trans Frontier Park established in conjunction with South Africa. The park itself was a disappointment. The taps and showers at the campsite were dry, there was precious little game and they were very skittish, running away into the bush as we approached. We did however find11 lions at a kill, but the track had been scraped so deep that we could only glimpse them from the viewing turret in the roof of our camper.

Since entering Botswana we had travelled four hundred kilometres on thick sand tracks by the time we reached the South African border. We arrived home two days later. Over five weeks we had done nearly 8200kms of which 2000kms were on 4x4 tracks through sparsely populated areas. I recorded an average diesel consumption of 13.4 litres/100kms (21mpg) for the trip. Except for my broken differential and brake pipe none of the vehicles had major problems that could not be fixed in the bush. We had a total of 5 punctures between all the vehicles, two clutches which stopped working due to a faulty slave cylinder seals, door locks which became jammed because of ingress of dust, a loose carburetor, three broken speedometer cables and a few other small problems. One tyre was lost because of under inflation. We found that several of the less experienced drivers tended to drop the pressure of their tyres when they came anywhere near sand or rocks because classically this is what is done. On the types of roads we travelled this was a big mistake as sharp sticks and stones do a lot of damage to the side walls of the tyres.

We are now planning the next long trip in a few years time.