9 – 14 January 2010 – Swakpomund to Cape Town
We spent a couple of days at Swakopmund enjoying the Atlantic breezes and the lower temperatures. With huge breakers rolling in we could have been in Scarborough! This part of Namibia is predominantly German settlers – weird to see German architecture in the deserts sands, particularly after all the small mud rondavels we have seen along the way. Our campsite at the Alte Brucke Resort (t4a) was exceptional, we even had our own shower and loo! Everywhere we went we heard German being spoken – bizarre so far away from Germany.
Just so you don't get too jealous of me... Scarborough???????? One for Faye!!! Rob - Consort - made it by land...
Rested, we headed for Sesriem Canyon and Sossusvlei. Our route took us along the edge of the Namib Desert and across the Tropic of Capricorn. Along the gravel roads and through the desert plains with the craggy peaks of the Naukluft towering above us, we drove through narrow passes to reach the breathtaking beauty of the red dunes. These dunes are part of the Namid Desert stretching more than 2000 kms along the coast from South Africa all the way to southern Angola and reaching as high as 325metres! This was the Namibia of the picture books!
Not far to go now..................... gravel....................................or water.......................................... she loves it!..................
Picking up our permit at Sesriem N$85 per person, we reserved our camping for the night, N$250, before heading off along the 65km stretch of road to Sossusvlei. In the late afternoon sun the colours, change and the shadows constantly alter the shape of the dunes. We parked at Dune 45 and watched people at the top who looked like tiny ants walking along the top. I tried to climb up but, after 11 weeks, without a lot of exercise and at 34C, I didn’t make it to the top – it’s the gym for me when I get back. Despite 400kms of gravel road, with JC grimacing everytime his beloved Toyota hit a bad bit of “ripio”, we had another wonderful day.
By the time we got back to the campsite, thankfully the temperature had dropped a little and we prepared our camp, under a huge tree at the very edge of the campsite. We could see springbok and gemsbok in the distance wandering amongst the golden grasses at the foot of the dunes – marvellous!
Wonderful............................................................................... Headed of to find a shady campsite..............
We made an early start before the sun got too hot, with more gravel ahead of us. It was a Monday morning and we thought of you all heading out to work in the rush hour and freezing conditions at home. Here it was 29C, road conditions good – despite the gravel and in 2.5 hours we only saw 5 cars and 2 donkey carts! Through the desert the temperatures soared again – too hot to do anything but keep on driving with the air conditioning going full blast! We were heading for Fish River Canyon about 700kms away, planning to drive in the day, camp when it was cooler and see the canyon in the early morning. With Gloria still suffering from altsheimers the nav passed got us into the wrong end of the canyon, way beyond the viewing area but safely into Ai Ais Hotel & Camping Resort. As we pulled up at 6.30pm the temperature was 39C – the hottest yet. Too hot to cook (any excuse!) we headed for the restaurant. JC had Kingclip fish which apparently is so ugly the locals believe it to be so unlucky that they chop of the fish’s head before bringing them ashore! Tastes good though!
As the sun came up over the surrounding mountains we were up and away hoping that the nav could get us to the viewpoint this time. The scenery was amazing, as we have come to expect from Namibia – such a contrast from the constant flat plains and bush of many of the other African countries we have passed through.
Whilst Fish River Canyon may be smaller than Grand Canyon we had it all to ourselves – no tourists, no souvenir sellers, no barriers or health and safety men in high viz jackets to spoil our view. In the silence of a beautiful morning we had breakfast on the rim before heading for our final border after only 11 weeks and 1 day we would reach South Africa!
Fish River Canyon and we had it alllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll to ourselves...................................................................................
As we crossed the steep sided valley of the Orange River, which is the border, the temperature hit 40C!!! We experienced a bit of a delay at customs with the carnet. Because of a united customs agreement between Botswana, Namibia and South Africa it should not have been signed out of Botswana nor into or out of Namibia and should only have been signed out when we reached our exit point in South Africa. Obviously the staff at the other borders were not as clued up as our man in South Africa, however, to ensure we had no problems on the way out he did the necessary for us. At the police post we asked about third party insurance as out Comessa does not cover SA. They couldn’t help but suggested trying in Springbok – about 90kms south! When we got there we had the same problem – the local Toyota dealer tried to help but his usual broker tried several companies – none of whom would help! He told us – police don’t check for insurance and the only people who bother with it are those who buy their vehicles on a finance deal!!! Have to admit we are a bit concerned about this, particularly with more traffic on the roads now.
We spent our first night in South Africa at Vanrhynsdorp Caravan Park (t4a) – only ZAR60 per person – a very good spot with an excellent restaurant on site and with 4 beers, 2 ciders, glass of white wine, large steak with garlic snails and excellent veggie lasagne for around 22 pounds we may never come back.
As we headed South the following day, we started to see some ‘green’ and more farming, especially vineyards and citrus fruit. The town of Citrusdal (citrus valley) really lived up to its name with row upon row of orange trees. With JC still wondering when he would see some “real” farming again, we drove up and over another high pass and there it was beneath us thousands of acres of arable land. Unfortunately, for him harvest was over so he couldn’t have a go or spot any big farming gear.
We counted off the kms to Cape Town with a similar feeling as when we headed into Ushuai – a mixture of elation that we had made it and sadness that the trip is coming to an end. We passed Table Mountain and the city as we headed for the Cape of Good Hope and the most South Western Point on the African Continent – we had made it! We congratulated each other and JC rang Julian which has become a ritual from “the extremities of the world”. Sadly the photo opportunities were limited as the tour buses kept rolling in and the tourists kept up a constant scrum for the best shots by the signs, particularly the Japanese – they must have hundreds of photos to sort through when they get home. We watched in amazement as the young girls changed their poses, put on their hats, scarves, took them off, smiled, waved – how many shots can you have from one position!!! Still we satisfied ourselves with knowing that none of them would have driven there in 11 weeks and 1 day nor would they have had the amazing experiences that we have had so far. Hopefully, when we get to most Southerly point at Cape Agulas, we will have the place to ourselves!!
To Julian - "tipped"................. Competing with the Japanese for photos was difficult............ This one had at least 10 cameras!!!!!
We spent some time at the Cape, chatting to Gustav, a friendly South African and his daughter who wanted to hear all about our trip. Gustav has since sent us some good information on Cape Town – thanks for that. They also recommended a camp place just beyond Misty Bay – and through Scarborough – yes Scarborough! After a long day, we were glad of a quiet place to sit and chat about our trip so far over a cold beer.
The Cape Peninsula is absolutely fantastic with long white beaches and wonderful sea scapes. We headed up the western side towards Cape Town driving along the amazing Chapman’s Peak Road. This narrow road, clings to the side of the mountain twisting and turning around it’s contours with unbelievable views of the bays beneath.
Around the Peninsual......................................................................................................... One more for Faye............
Gloria, thankfully, has come back to life again here in South Africa and is now working fine. She guided us into Cape Town and to the Southern Star hotel close to the Waterfront. We had stayed at a Southern Star in Dar es Salam and were looked after very well. The staff here looked after us equally as well, despite our dirty vehicle, boxes for luggage and scarecrow looks they have made us very welcome. JC embarrassed me by asking for discount – embarrassed or not he managed to get 15% off! The Toyota is parked up at the front of the hotel, the washing is in the laundry, this update is done and we are looking forward to three days here and some sightseeing before we continue our journey.
Thanks for all of your messages – keep them coming it keeps us going – great to hear from Coxy’s men after seeing L10 TJH!! Gerry and Corry – no rhinos – only rhino pooh – apparently plenty of water now to keep them away from the tourists! Friendly Bank Manager – living quite cheap – don’t worry. Faye – got a couple of fridge magnets. CMC – Christmas cake all gone now – send us some more!!!!!
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