Day 30 to 31 (15 th to 16 th AUGUST 2015)

Wilma will be adding  to the blog from now on so it will obviously be much more interesting . Wilma now adds the following : I was introduced by my husband Max , the master of national and international travels, as ” my Wife ” Wilma born 1954 and will be contributing to the blog from now on .  Preparing for a journey like this is not an easy task, books have been written and journals exist but finding what works for you remains personal. I aged considerably in the weeks before leaving, planning and packing for the journey and the possibility now exists that I will be introduced as “my old wife” in future. I had the privelage and joy to spend time with our youngest family member, another Maximilian just 2 months old, our other Daughters, sons, grandsons and family before leaving Nelspruit to join Max in Windhoek :

Left Windhoek after buying provisions on route to Etosha . We arrived at Otgiwarongo town centre late afternoon at municipal campsite and for obvious reasons decided against staying .A campsite was recommended to us 15 km out of town on a farm. Westrand is a small campsite privately owned and all that a tired camper could wish for.We drove the next day to Etosha via the Anderson Gate and on to Halali Camp and experienced the true meaning of the word OKAY when referring to the condition of a road.

 

 

 

 

 

DAY 20 to 24 (5 August to 9 August 2015 )

We drove to Swakopmund and booked in to the very Awesome campsite Alte Brucke with own ablutions and GRASS. We spent the next 4 days visiting Walvis Bay , Henties Bay and the interesting Desert Golf Course just outside Swakopmund. The flamingos was a highlight in Walvisbay and Restaurant wise the TUG Restaurant in Swakopmund is not to be missed even the German Restauranteur Jorn had good words to the chef.The German Architecture and food is very apparent in Swakopmund but the sheer cleanliness of the town is what catches the eye.

 

 

Day 14 to 15 (30 July to 31 July 2015)

Left Luderitz for Windhoek and drove the 11km to Kolmanskop. Did the usual guided tour and found it most interesting. The town Luderitz was founded by Adolf Luderitz and diamonds were discovered at Kolmanskop and consequently the town was built by the Germans in a mere 6 months with numerous houses, schools, hospitals, shops abattoirs and even a ice making factory. The workers were paid by means of 0,8 carrots of diamonds per day which would presently amount to tens of thousands of Rands per day. The town was deserted almost as quickly as it was built after a larger diamond field was discovered just north of Oranjemund. The town is today a ghost town with sand filling almost all the rooms of the buildings.

I then drove a further 100 km to the well known wild horses of the Namib. There are literally hundreds of these wild horses in the desert and I watched some of them drinking at the waterhole. One interesting fact I found out was that a colleague of mine in Nelspruit Cristo Greyling’s daughter Telane did her Phd on these wild Horses.

I drove a further 350 km and slept in a small village called Asab .

The next day was a 400km drive to Windhoek. The change of vegetation from Desert to green grass and trees was very apparent. After arriving at Windhoek and booking in  at Arebusch Lodge and Campsite I went to Joe’s beerhaus on my scooter ” yammy “. This Beerhaus is not to be missed in Windhoek.

DAY 11 to 13 – Luderitz – ( 27 July to 29 July 2015 )

The Camp site is situated on the Atlantic Ocean on Shark Island between the sea and the bay which forms the port called RobertHafen.  The camp site is situated on the point of the Island and must be one of the most stunning which I have ever seen especially at sunset. Luderitz is an old fishing and diamond mining village dating back to the 1900 and has awesome German Architecture as well as very pleasant people.

A place worthwhile the 330 km detour from Keetmanshoop through the Namib Desert and the Sperrgebiet( Forbidden Area)

 

DAY 9 to 10 ( 25 July to 26 July 2015 )

I left Upington en route to Namibia via the Nakop border post.  All went well and with my “Carne Passages’ of Bhejane and my Scooter (Yammy) duly stamped I drove to Karrasburg just in time to watch the Springboks vs All Blacks Rugby Test (which the Springboks lost) at the newly renovated local Hotel.  This is where I parked and slept the night.  The next day I travelled via Grunua, Keetmanshoop and Aus to Luderitz.

DAY 5 to 8 (21 July to 24 July 2015)

I spent the morning in Krugersdorp repairing a water leak and 14h00 hoping to get to Vryburg that evening.  At about 18h00 I was so tired and decided to find a camping site as soon as possible.  Near Ottosdal signage net to the road indicated a lodge and camp site some 70 km further which I followed with the last 15 km dirt road.  Upon arriving at the farm house gate the place seemed absolutely deserted.  A faded cell phone number at the gate is what I called and the farmer kindly said that he would open the gate for me. Upon his arrival at the gate I got out of my vehicle to greet him and all of a sudden I heard the loudest roar of a Lion I have ever heard.  I nearly @#$% myself and the next second I found myself back in the driving seat of my vehicle with the farmer almost killing himself with laughter.  I got out and asked if it was really a Lion – to which he answered “Yes – one of a 110 of them”.  To my disbelief I had arrived at a Lion breeding farm with the most amazing camp site and lodge with a 110 lion roaring within 15 metres of my vehicle all night – AMAZING.

The next day I travelled to Kuruman and camped at Red Sands Lodge after which drove to Upington and camped for two nights at a wonderfull resort called Oranjerus Holiday Resort and Camp Site on the Banks of the Orange River.

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