Hentiesbaai – 11 maart 2024

Today, Friday 8 March, we are staying at Toshari Lodge, the campsite then. Small campsite with many cottages and a luxury hotel where we are about to start the buffet. We are quite tired of driving here and both are not 100% either. The buffet consisted of springbok kebab, moose sausage and oryx steak with gratinated potatoes and broccoli in addition. Nice…. The campsite is beautiful again with its own toilet and shower ‘african style’ so in the open air with some tree trunks around it. Along the way it was dill and hot. We followed the main road from Rehoboth to Windhoek and from there north to Outjo. Tomorrow we will visit Etosha and have just decided that we will just drive through it and try to get a place in a private game reserve just outside the park. Are we going to do a little crazy too! 

We were surprised by Windhoek. That place has become modern with a complete highway as a roundabout. There are also beautiful houses and everything looks very modern and new. Those Namibians are doing much better than those South Africans. 

We slept badly because of the heat (30 degrees) and humidity ( occasional rain). In the morning I woke up because a bird (parrot-like) tried to mole my wipers. The day before yesterday we were also disturbed by shry cats around our tent. This is Africa. 

We are now (09:45, Saturday) in Etosha and are going to drive a bit in the park. No idea if we continue to that private game reserve or if we drive the same way back. We’ll see 

It’s now 11:30 and we’re in the Halali camp, in the middle of Etosha. Along the way we saw a lot of small game, jumping bucks, zebras and wildebees. The road was incredibly bad, full of holes and ridges. I have to drive over it at high speed with the 4×4 on to minimise the driving forces. These are, by far, the worst roads this holiday. Etosha has deteriorated since 2016. The signage is difficult to read, maps with information are not provided and I don’t want to talk about the roads. You really can’t drive over it here with a regular car, without damage. 

Meanwhile, we drove out of Etosha and via Tsumeb to Otavi where we have a campsite (thanks IOverlander) between the vineyards. Lisa immediately asked if they had wine and of course they have. It has rained quite a bit here and the road to the campsite was muddy and full of deep puddles but the place is very dry with a nice shelter and of course electricity and water. Tomorrow we will drive on to the coast and then the next day probably to Skeleton Coast. Then we can be in Swakopmund on Wednesday evening. 

It is now Sunday morning, half past nine and how well you sleep under 20 degrees! The shower was big but cold and the campsite owner is missing so we can’t pay. I think it will be fine, we just wait a while. The intention is that we go right west towards Skeleton Coast and drive into the park via the eastern entrance. You can’t sleep anywhere I read so we will drive out the same day, probably tomorrow again direction Swakopmund 

We are now waiting for the campsite owner near Twyfelfontein to lead us to the campsite after a long drive of more than 400 km. To begin with, I was stopped shortly after Otavi at a police check. They are random and they just keep everyone on because they can do it. I was now ethnically profiled. A white man in a car with a South African license plate means money. First setback, my Dutch driver’s license. Second setback, I didn’t intend to pay anything. According to the agent, I had to pay $500 because I didn’t have my lights on. That’s right, I forgot. About 50% of cars have their lights on during the day just like my predecessor on the road. I had to put the car aside and then the story began. After 5 minutes of talking I had to go to his car and there I asked if he was really going to fine me. The answer was affirmative to which I said I would do that at the police station in Otavi. And then we agreed about a bottle of chilled coke….and I could continue driving. 

Furthermore, the ride was just long on mostly good roads with rising temperatures (42 degrees now). I had a nice conversation with a pump attendant in Outjo about women and children but also about his future as chief of his birthplace. You experience something on such a day. This campsite is called Twyfelfontein Elephant Drive & Camping and we are the only guests. The campsite is located in the middle of the desert (2 km from the road) with beautiful spots and clean toilets. Lisa is a bit agitated how I was able to figure this out again, so lonely and quiet. Well, I told her where we were going and this is the only way to the Skeleton Coast. I’m curious if there are any elephants coming along. 

At 18:30 there were another 2 guests so Lisa is now relaxed. We are now hiding in the car because there is a fantastic rain shower that drops the temperature wonderfully. We listen to a podcast about the history of South Africa. Our neighbours to the campsite turned out to be two young Swiss who travelled through Africa for half a year. They had to go home because their money was depleted. 

Last night was a very bad night. Humid and warm so we slept very badly, at least I did. We left early, unwashed, because the flies thwarted us and the temperature quickly rose. The road ran westward through a completely deserted country where even the navigation failed. After 40 km we turned left towards Torra Bay and it became even more lonely. The park access was after about 50 km and we were allowed to enter for free because we were in transit. There is no accommodation in the Skeleton Coast park open now. After 40 km we could turn left and drove more than 250 km along the coast. We have both never seen such a completely insane landscape as in this park. The colours ranged from brown to black, yellow or red but it was completely dead although Lisa did discover some live succulents. We saw hardly anyone on the way. What a landscape…. 

We are now on a campsite in Henties Bay that we knew from 5 years ago. Here we sleep for two nights and then drive to Swakopmund for the service of the car. Friday we will then continue