A Driving Dream – Namibia Pt 2 7th May 2010

Date: Tuesday 15th June, 2010 | Country: Namibia | Tags: africa, blogsherpa, Brandberg, Etosha, Namibia, Naukluft Mountains, Petrified Forest, Skeleton Coast, Sossesvlei | 13 Comments »

Ok I am going to start with my least favourite place leading to my most favourite place in Namibia that I visited with my reasons behind this:

Petrified Forest

This site near Khorixas has a few dozen petrified tree trunks that date back to around 260 million years ago. We had a guide who could churn out his spiel in his sleep he has done this 15 minute walk that many times, I found the whole experience dull and realised there are petrified logs in various other parts of Namibia that you don’t have to pay to see!.

Hoba Meteorite 

Still on the subject of rocks/geology we visited the Hoba Meteorite which is a gravel road not far from Grootfontein/Tsumeb, it was discovered in 1920 and named the ‘fallen star’.  I read that every year something in the region of 10,000 meteorites fall due to the earths gravitational pull, not many are investigated and those that are not many of them are that large as a lot are broken on impact.  This meteorite is 60 tons in weight and is the largest recorded meteorite on earth.  The meteorite comprises 80% iron, 16% nickel and small amounts of other minerals and is around 80,000 years old.  It’s worth a visit if you are in the area as we were but after seeing the meteorite for 5-10 minutes I got bored and so it felt like a tick in the box that I had seen the largest meteorite but nothing more than that.

Above: It came from outer space    

Sossesvlei

Situated on the eastern side of Namibia near Serisem  we heard that the dunes of Sossesvlei was the place to be.  A place of towering dunes that form part of the Namib desert which stretches 2000km along the coast the Oliphants river in South Africa all the way to Southern Angola.

When we arrived at the entrance to the national park there is a campsite and a number of rooms that are expensively priced for long distance travellers.  The camping area was 125 Namib dollars (£12.5) per person which is double the price of a normal campsite and you are herded into a small area if the campsite was fully booked like it was when we rocked up as it was overrun by overlanding trucks and coach loads of people.  Luckily after paying for the campsite and then realising that we were assigned an overflow area with other vehicles when asked for a refund the staff didn’t bat an eyelid so we ended up camping in Solitaire around 80 km north from here.  The park itself costs xx to enter and you are then on a straight tarred road in the middle of copper red dunes either side of you.  This was bizarre for me to be in such a remote place but to see coach loads of people racing down the road all following each other to be able to climb one of a handful of designated dunes.  We ended up at a point 60km into the park whereby only 4×4 could drive beyond that point and drive a further 5km to a place called Dead Vlei.  The road wasn’t tarred anymore and instead was thick sand that had several paths that people had driven over the years and it made for an enjoyable drive trying to avoid the possibility of getting stuck which one vehicle had done so along the way.  The timing of seeing the dunes is important and stupidly we had arrived at the dunes at the peak sunshine hours during the midday and in flip flops trying to climb a dune that is scorching hot to touch is something that I wouldn’t advise, it would have been better to be here during the early hours of the morning or around sunset but such is life.  Don’t get me wrong, the setting is stunning but with the excessive crowds of tourists whizzing down the road it felt like the wilderness of this area is slowly being taken away but each to their own.  I worked and lived in the Kalahari and I suppose I am comparing what I have been too and seen to before and this wasn’t my cup of tea.

Above: Sossesvlei  

Brandberg

The Brandberg or Fire Mountain is named for the effect created by the sunset on it’s western side, it is Namibia’s highest peak at 2573m.  It’s a pleasant drive to see the mountain and we stayed in a nice campsite called the White lady that was very busy due to a school holiday.  It’s also in this area that you sometimes might be able to see Namibia’s desert Elephants that sometimes show themselves. 

Above: Brandberg   

Naukluft Mountains

Again as with most places that have amazed me, I haven’t really searched for them but they have simply been on the way through my travels and the Naukluft Mountains was no exception, this area is a high-plateau area cut around the edges by a complex of gorges.  It’s an area popular with hikers as there are a few walking trails within the Namib-Naukluft park and some trails are for people wanting to do a 4-8 day hike and has simple facilities for people to be able to do this but looks highly worthwhile if that’s your thing.  From the gate to get to the campsite you are privileged to drive through some spectacular scenery and along the way to the camp we were lucky enough to see mountain zebra, kudu, springboks and some klipspringers which was a welcome surprise to an otherwise already beautiful place.  The camping area was basic but perfect for the setting and we even had a resident Genet check out our food at night.  Highly recommended for those that want a chilled drive through some rocky scenery without getting in peoples faces.

Above: Naukluft Mountains

Namib-Naukluft Park

The drive through this area is absolutely magical and the land is full of slate formations that you can get out and investigate closer and is highly recommended for a different type of drive through something that is a little wilder than most places on this earth.

Above: Location, Location, Location      

Etosha National Park

To those people that have been to many Southern Africa national parks they will have either heard of Etosha or will have at some point visited this park.  I had heard many people tell me about Etosha from their travels through to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier National Park when I volunteered there several years ago.  Etosha NP takes in around 20,000 sq km of land that forms part of the white coloured Etosha pan.  It was setup as a reserve in the 1900’s to protect the diminishing animal numbers and over time the boundary had been altered from a 100,000 sq m to it’s present 23,000 sq km.  The entry fee per person was 120 Namib Dollars or £12 and is reasonable for a National Park.

Above: Etosha

I have to say that I have mixed feelings about this park, in one respect as the park is one massive pan (mainly dry) with little or no bushes or trees in the majority of areas you are guaranteed to see some wildlife in all shapes and sizes and that is never a bad thing.  We saw some beautiful herds of springboks and zebras together with many different bird species such as the Lilac breasted roller and the black shouldered kite (the last 2 photos above).  I have visited many national parks in Southern Africa and East Africa and I think that this park is perfect for the novice nature lover that has never seen many animals in their own natural habitat before but for me the park never changed in it’s terrain as you drove from one gate to another and so was not so special for me because of that.  We did have the luck to see a cheetah about 50 metres away stalking a couple of springboks in the tall grass but sadly for us the springbok were onto him as they stood still for a good hour and the cheetah wasn’t going to rush his attempted dinner so he patiently waited in the long grass enough for us to make a move before the gate closed and not see what actually happened in the end.  Moments like this are rare but exciting if you are lucky enough to see them and that’s why visiting any national park is always a matter of luck but you can be treated to some very special moments.

Above: Cheetah Hunt            

 

Cape Cross Seal Reserve

We visited this breeding reserve which has on and off several thousand cape fur seals.  You pay a small entrance fee of 60 Namib dollars (£6) to enter and you are then treated (depending on how you see it) to a view that you would normally only be likely to see on a documentary of seals, gazillions of them all sounding like goats believe it or not and if you have the time you can see all sorts of behaviours amongst them.  Yes it’s bloody smelly but getting close to several thousand animals of any species is not going to be a bed of roses!  Hopefully you’ll get the idea from some of these photos.

Above: Having a Sealy good time (poor I know)      

Skeleton Coast

Around a 100km north of the cape cross the road passes through into the Skeleton Coast park.  It’s a magical stretch of coastal wilderness that I cannot speak more highly about than you simply must see this place if you ever visit Namibia.  It’s like driving through part of the moon but to one side you hear the roaring sea in amongst all this darkened brown sand.  It’s free to enter and at there is a free camping site at the springbokwater gate with toilets and shower so no need to worry about accommodation if it gets late like it did when we were there.  It’s a gravel road that is in an ok condition but my wheels had taken a beating over the last seven-eight months and it was inevitable that a puncture would be round the corner only having one previously in Ghana.  It happened at around 4pm in the park and we had a couple of hours to change the tyre and get back out the gate which sounds easy but the puncture happened on a sandy road and the wheel had punctured so badly that Maggie was deep in the sand on the punctured side, the high lift jack was getting buried when we tried to jack her up and so we eventually had 2 jacks on the go and after several attempts and a few scratches later we were able to change the tyre around, again like most issues they are learning encounters and this was no different!

Above: Skeleton Coast           

After a good nights rest in the nearby campsite we set off again within the park and this time I was in search of a ship wreck which this stretch of coast was meant to have many of from years gone by, it’s something I have never seen before and was always curious as to what you might find depending on the ship, some are signposted and others not so it’s all about how much time you have in the park determines how much exploring you are willing to do.

Above: if you enjoy remoteness, you’ll love this place!      

…Oh and the Tropic of Capricorn!

We passed through the Tropic of Capricorn and nothing changed in my life from one step to the other but we did manage to graffiti the board as have several hundred others (before anyone tells me off!).

 Border with Caprivi at Ngoma

Absolutely no problems here, the border office is chilled and after submitting our Vat returns and a paper of info as to where we were heading we were able to leave.

A couple of helpful hints for those travelling through Namibia:

1) Keep all your receipts for goods and services that you have bought as you are able to claim the VAT at the Border when exiting Namibia, so camping, food, new tyres, battery etc is all claimable and at the border you fill in a sheet with all the amounts and the vat as separate items and submit this to customs with the receipts themselves.  They said that the VAT will be transferred to my account within a couple of weeks.

2) Drive to the speed limits as unlike West Africa the traffic officers and drivers stick to the actual limits!

3) When crossing into Botswana make sure if you have meat bought at supermarkets or a butchers that this is hidden as at the border they check the contents of your fridge and vehicle as meat is not allowed into their country, or don’t bring in any at all

4) You can change all your Namibian dollars for South African Rand at any bank at the border, we did this in Katima Mulilo and it was a 1-1 exchange, there is an ATM at Kassane in Botswana for Pula, we didn’t encounter any money changers at the Namibian or Botswana border here.

Conclusion

We drove over 3000 miles in Namibia and I have to say that every mile was worth it, it’s a country that seems to be gaining an ever increasing number of tourists whether it be by Overland truck or a self-drive hired vehicle.  This country has an amazing array of places to visit and this is matched by the friendliness of the people that live here as well as the varied camping sites that you’ll find along the way.  Many people might have visions of camping being a very formulaic place but the only common factor I found in all the camping sites I stayed in were the cleanliness and sometimes luxurious bathrooms whereas everything else seems to be the personal choice of the owner as to how the layout works and this makes every night an experience, also the cost on average of camping in Namibia is around £6 per person a night which is very reasonable I think.  After travelling through West Africa and Central Africa which sometimes didn’t always offer up a wide range of food depending on where you are to be confronted by some of the best cuts of pork, goat and beef that I have ever tasted before and at a reasonable price is something that I’ll never forget, braaing (bbq’ing) them over some hot coals. I did see that many of the big business owners where white Namibians/Germans and this I found a little strange but then again independence from South Africa wasn’t that long ago compared to most countries so there plenty of time for this to be a bit more balanced.  I cannot say anything except churn out superlatives for Namibia and if you never go then you are simply missing out!  Oh and I got my camera fixed in good old Tsumeb so happy days!

Look forward to hearing from you if you enjoyed this blog, thanks

 

Noel

 

 

Reka – HUN: Ahogy azt az angolai blog vegen emlitettem, altalaban nem tul szerencses a hatarra pentek delutan erkezni, bar ez esetben pont ez volt a szerencsenk. Ugyanis en, naiv azt gondoltan (nem tul megbizhato forrasokbol), hogy mint EU-s allampolgarnak, nekem sem kell vizum Namibiaba. Noel volt a soros a hataratlepesben, ugyhogy miutan fel oras varakozas utan sem jott meg ki a hivatalbol, elkezdtem aggodni. Mint kiderult, a hataror eloszor mindkettonknek beutotte a 60 napos pecsetet, de sajnos utana tuzetesebb vizsgalodas utan rajott, hogy az enyem nem brit es sajnos Magyarorszag nem szerepel a vzummentes orszagok listajan, ugyhogy ugyanazon laza mozdulattal ervenytelenitette a pecsetet. Pentek delutan leven mar senki nem volt, aki a vizumot ki tudta volna allitani, igy hat azt javasoltak, hogy menjek vissza Angolaba, persze ez nem volt kivitelezheto, miutan a vizumom aznaplejar; vagy varjak a hataron hetfoig…Majd hosszas gyozkodes utan sikerult egy hetes belepesi engedelyt kicsikarni a bevandorlasi hivatalnoktol, de csakis azzal a feltetellel, hogy egy heten belul a windhoek-i bevandorlasi hivatalban beszerzem a rendes vizumot.

Sajnos ezzel az a tervunk, hogy rogton a hatar utan az Etosha nezeti parkba tartunk egy kisse megvaltozott. A hatartol nem messze vegre egy igazi kempingben toltottuk az ejszakat. Meleg zuhany es fott etel vegre egy het utan! Aztan masnap elindultunk a park fele, mert ugy dontottem, hogy majd a parkhoz kozeli varosbol en elbuszozom, megszerzem a vizumot a fovarosban, es csatlakozom ismet Noelhez a parkban, mert nem akartam, hogy feleslegesen autozzunk 800 km-t… Uton a park fele egyszer csak egy kek ruhas no rohan ki az utra es idegesen integet utanunk, mire a tukorbol latom, hogy a kollegaja mar kovet is minket szirenazo rendorautoval. Noel kb. 2 km-rel lephette at a sebesseghatart, amit parsze miutan visszakisertek minket a tett helyszinere sehogy sem tudtak bizomyitani, mert az itteni elavult rendszer csak a szamot rogziti, de nincs hozza fenykep, hogy az tenyleg te voltal-e. Meg is akartak birsagolni, de Noelnek ott kellett volna hagyni az utlevelet, amig mi visszamegyunk a 40 km-re levo rendorsegre es fizetunk. Na azt mar nem, ugyhogy a mar jol bevalt laminalt jogsit hagytuk inkabb ott helyette. De mivel az utlevel nelkul nem akarta a buntetocetlit kiallitani, igy papir nelkul vartunk a rendorsegen vagy ket orat, mire a jaror is befutott es kovetelte az utlevelet ismet. Mi meg gondoltuk, hogy ennek soha nem erunk igy a vegere, ugyhogy megigertuk nekik, hogy elmegyunk a 120 km-re levo fokapitanysagra, hogy tiszta vizet ontsunk a poharba, ugyanis nem vagyunk hajlandoak fizetni olyasmiert, amit nem tudnak bizonyitani hogy elkovettunk. Igy hat hatrahagyva a hamis jogsit olyan gyorsan hajtottunk el ellenkezo iranyba, ahogy csak tudtunk. Hal’ Istennek (igy utolag), a hataron kifele sem volt semmi gaz, tehat nem csinalt nagy ugyet belole a rendor es adta le Noel nevet…

Az ejszakat Grootfontein mellett toltottuk az “orult nemetnel”, ahol olcso kempingre es igazi bogaras tulajra leltunk, a pasibol kb. egy oramba telett kicsikarni a kemping arat, mert folyamatosan csak azt mondogatta mindenre, beleertve a bemutatkozast is, hogy “ja, ja”. Aztan masnap reggel Noel ugy dontott, hogy megiscsak egyutt menjunk Windhoekba, mert a kocsit is meg kellett nezetni, mert szegenybol mar megint csopogott valami. Az ut a fovarosig gyonyoru volt, es vegre nem kellett azon aggodnunk, hogy az ut egyszer csak elfogy vagy eidami sajtta valik, ugyhogy igazi elmeny volt vezetni. Windhoek-ban a Cameleon nevu hely mellet dontottunk, mert az isszes tobbi szallas vagy nagyon draga volt vagy csak egy betonozott udvaron satorozhattunk volna; mig itt volt uszomedence, meg bar hideg sorrel es billiard asztal is. A tarsasag is igen vegyes volt, taklalkoztunk egy amerikai vesedoktorral, egy nemet “utazo asztalossal”, aki a hagyomanyok szerint Europan belul nem fizethet sem etelert, sem utikoltsegert, minimum 3 evig es egy napig kell utaznia, minden varoshazan bepecseteltetnie az utikonyvebe, es alkalmi munkakbol tartania el magat. Ja, es egy meglehetosen nevetsegs nepviseletet kell hordania minden nap. Ugyhogy a mi kis szines tarsasagunk ugy dontott, hogy este 10-kor, amikor a bar bezar, mi meg nem voltunk eleg faradtak, ugyhogy nyakunkba vettuk a varost es az egyetlen fellelheto diszkoban kotottunk ki. Masnap meglehetosen neheznek talaltam a bevandorlasi hivatalnokkal alkudozni; aki szerint nem kellett volna az orszagban lennem es mindenfele papirok beszerzese utan, majd talan 2-3 heten belul megkaphatom a vizumomat. Aztan masnap visszamentem a kitoltott papirokkal, es elmagyaraztam neki, hogy legalisan nem varhatok ket hetet, mert akkor mar tenyleg illegalisan tartozkodnek az orszagban, ugyhogy megigerte, hogy masnapra meg lesz a pecset. Igy is volt, ugyhogy megkonnyebbultem. Ido kozben megkaptuk egy Swakopmound-i szerelo szamat, aki allitolag az egyik legjobb az orszagban, ugyhogy delnek indultunk.

Az az igazsag, hogy Namibiaban kozel 5000 km-t autoztunk, igy a sorrendre mar nem igazan emlekszem (es lusta vagyok kimenni a kocsihoz terkepert), meg nem is egyszer korbe-karikaba jartunk helyeket, ugyhogy tobbek kozott Tsumeb-ben kb. otszor is megfordultunk… De egy tucat csodas elmenyben volt reszunk. Mindenek elott, minden este friss hust sutottunk, meg hajaban sult krumplit vagy sutotokot salataval, meg hideg sorokkel, ugyhogy szerintem mindketten igen hamar vsszaszedtunk majdnem minden egyes kilot, amit eddig fogytunk.

A Naukluft nemzeti parkban lattam meg az elso zebrat, meg kudut (bocs, de a vadallatok nevet csak angolul tudom, mert Noel rendes, es megtanitott rajuk, meg vettem egy konyvet is, de a forditas sajnos ratok marad – kiveve persze az egyertelmueket pl. elefant hahaha). Aztan vacsora utan egy genet is hozzank csapodott, illetve sokkal inkabb erdekelte, hogy mi a maradek.

A “kove dermedt erdo” is erdekes allomas volt, ugyan meg most sem ertem, hogy is kerult ide egy kisebb erdonyi fa Del-Amerikabol es maradt meg az ocean alatt es valt kove. Sossesvlei szinten igeretes volt a csodalatos narancssarga homokdunekkel, de amikor az allitolagos majdnem vilag vegen is aszfaltos uton vezetsz 60 km-t, hogy ott leparkolj es csak ugy odasetalj az egyik megmaszhato dunehez a tobbezer elotted ott jart turista labnyomat kovetve, akkor mar mindjart nem annyira romantikus az egesz. De szerencsere meg idoben rajottunk, hogy nagyon nem szeretnenk eleg sok penzert az igen zsufolt helyi kempingben maradni, ugyhogy miutan visszakaptuk az elore kifizetett dijat, egy kevesbe latogatott szallashely utan neztunk. Egy Solitaire nevu helyen taboroztunk, ahol a kempingben egy felig-meddig szelid springbok ugrandozott, csak a tulaj elfelejtette az egyik szarvat megszerelni (leesett rola a gumigolyo), ugyhogy egy kicsit veszelyes volt, amikor az amugy jatekos bok felenk bokott egyet-kettot.

Swakopmound a masodik legbagyobb varos Namibiaban es a konyvunk szerint nemetebb, mint Nemetorszag maga. Szerintem meg egy afrikai varos, ahol nagyon sok a nemet leszarmazott, meg egy-ket epiteszeti elem is megtalalhato, de a vizpart meg a lakossag miatt soha nemhasonlitanam Nemetorszaghoz. Miutan elkepeszto arakkal szembesultunk – szallast illetoen – a helyi onkormanyzat bungallojainak egyiket vettuk ki. Ket szoba, furdo konyha kb. 9000 Ft egy ejszakara. Masnap meg elmentunk a szerelohoz, hogy Maggie-t megggyogyitsa. Az elozo beszamoloban talaltok kepet a kedves hazasparrol, meg a muhelyrol is.

Mivel meg mindig nem adtuk fel, hogy megnezzuk a legnevesebb namibia parkot eszakon, visszafele indultunk, de most a parti utat valasztottuk. A “Csontvaz partra” eleg keson ertunk, de az or szerint meg eleg idonk volt, hogy megnezzunk a kb. 100 km-re levo hajoroncsot es visszaerjunk a bazisra naplemente elott (Afrika deli orszagaiban ez egyebkent altalanos szabaly, hogy a parkok nepkeltekor nyitnak es naplementekor zarnak). Az ut meses volt, bar egyeseknek ugy tunhet, hogy az eg vilagon semmi sem volt ott a homokot es vizet kiveve, de eppen ez az, amitol elkepesztoen csodalatos. De nem jutottunk tovabb, mint 30 km, amikor a bal hatso kerek egyszeruen lefoszlott az abroncsrol. Homokban meg egyikunk sem cserelt kereket, es ez sajnos meg is hozta az eredmenyet, mert az emelo (mindketto) egyszeruen csak belesullyedt a homokba. Mire aztan rajottunk, hogy talan eloszor is ki kene ekelnunk a kerekeket, hogy Maggi ne mocorogjon miutan megemeltuk, meg az emelo ala is elkene valami stabil (mondjuk a falap, amit pont erre a celra tartottunk). Igy aztan kozel ket oranyi kuszkodes utan sikeresen feltettuk az uj kereket es irany vissza a kemping.

Masnap aztan nem csak a hajoroncshoz jutottunk el, de a Cape Cross-i foka rezervatumba is, ahol tobb, mint 200,000 foka el. A kepek magukert beszelnek es hal’ Istennek nem szagos kepek; irgalmatlanul budos volt, de megerte. Egesz nap el tudtam volna nezni ezeket a csodas lenyeket.

Uton Etosha fele vadsztunk is. Ne aggodjatok, nem allatot vadasztunk, hanem Noel satorfedojet, amit ket falu kozott valami csoda folytan sikerult a szelnek lefujnia. Az 50 km-es szakaszt ketszer is vegigpasztaztuk, de nem jartunk sikerrel. Aztan a legkozelebbi nagyvarosban a kemping boltban kiderult, hogy ezek a satortakarok majnem £100-ot ernek, ugyhogy egybol vilagossa valt miert is tunt el az utrol nyomtalanul. Rendeltunk tehat egy ujat, amit egy par nap mulva Tsumeb-ben vehettunk at.

De nem jo meretet kuldtek, ugyhogy meg egy-ket napig idoztunk Tsumeb-ben (illetve annak kornyeken kulonbozo kempingekben), itt talalkoztunk Ian-nal es Mik-kel (angol es dan motorosok), akik ket honap alatt tettek meg az utat Europabol. Es meg mondjatok, hogy nem semmi az, amit mi csinalunk! Ja, Noel fenykepezogepet is sikerult megcsinaltatnunk, ugyhogy vissza a minosegi fenykepekhez.

Az Etosha park varakozasainkon alul teljesitett. Illetve inkabb Noelet, hiszen nekem ez volt eletem talan harmadik nemzeti parkja, ugyhogy ne szoljak egy szot sem, csak oruljek annak, hogy mennyi csodaszep allatot lattunk. De a szakertonek abban igaza van, hogy a kornyezet nem tul valtozatos, vagyis annak ellenere, hogy nagyon konnyu meglatni a vadat, nem annyira izgalmas, mint ha a terep nem csak nyilt magasfold lenne. Viszont az elmeny leirhatatlan, nagyon kozel voltunk zsirafokhoz, zebrakhoz, lattunk nagyon sok antilop-fajtat (springbok, impala, wildebeast, gemsbok, ealand stb.), meg madarakat (ne nevessetek ki, de kipipaltam a fajokat, amiket lattunk a madaras konyvemben… ciki?)

Namibiabol mar csak az 500 km-es eszaki sav maradt, a Caprivi strip, ami Angola es Botswana koze ekelodve eri el Zambiat a nyugati hataron. Olyan volt, mint ha egy masik orszagban jarnank, a hagyomanyos vajogkunyhok es a zoldello folyoparti taj egy kicsit Nyugat Afrikara emlekeztetett. Utolso namibiai szallasunkon egy bebi hippo majszolta a fuvet iszonyatos tempoban olyan kozel a satramhoz, majd az asztalunkhoz, hogy ha nem lett volna meg igy bebikent is irgalmatlan meretu, ezert veszelyes, akkor meg is simogathattuk volna. Masnap aztan irany a hatar, uton a 18. orszag, Botswana fele.

Remelem, hogy a beszamolo hossza ellenere elveztetek. Udv. mindenkinek! Reka

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