Hobas, Namibia –
Namibian border crossing – Kalahari Trails camp site, near Kgalagadi
transfrontier park, South Africa
We were up early, and had some small for breakfast while watching the sun
come up. Our first stop was the roadhouse, and we thought we might just get a
cup of coffee, but when we found out they didn't serve coffee on its own, but only a very good value
breakfast buffet, including coffee, we went for that. Esben definitely gets his
value for money when eating at a buffet. They had everything on offer – it was
such a change for us, as we usually just have porridge and museli. They had all
the standard cereals, yoghurt, fruit, meats, cheeses, sweet buns, toast and hot
food including bacon and eggs. And to top it all off, the best coffee!
The roadhouse itself was great to walk around
and to take photos. They had numerous old cars parked in the eating area, and
many old signs from railway stations, and the like. They even had a Murphy’s
sign by the breakfast buffet. One of the locals (the cat seen above) seemed to like to hang out on or in the old cars :o)
An hour and a half later we were back on the
road. Luckily, the drive wasn’t too bad. We knew that we would be on C roads,
but they were in good condition. We passed through Keetmanshoop, and then
headed east towards the border. When we reached the border, we got our
passports stamped on the Namibian side, and as we were heading back to our car,
the border police asked us some questions. And then he said: do you have any
firearms you want to declare? This question seems so alien to us, as we would
never be carrying a firearm. So we said: no! And he said: are you sure? Us:
Yep, we’re sure! Him: okay then, have a good trip! Phew, passed that one.
Got
to the other side and got the passports stamped no problem. Next task –
customs. We saw the police looking through another car in front of us, and it
all seemed very serious. They took some firewood from them (not sure why you
aren’t allowed this), and were a good 15 minutes going through stuff. Our turn,
and we answered all the questions. Then Esben had to show him around the car,
but before he did, he asked Esben: do you have anything illegal in your car?
Esben: no. Police: are you sure you have nothing illegal in your car? Esben:
eh, no! Police: okay then, let’s take a look. 10 minutes later and we were on
the road. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to border checks – I’m nervous each
time, even though I haven’t done anything wrong!!
The road from the border in South Africa was very
nice, and we made good time getting to the campsite, given that SA is an hour
ahead of Namibia. We were just about hungry when we got there (given the size
of the breakfast), and the lady at the campsite suggested bringing a drink up
to the dunes to enjoy sunset. And that’s exactly what we did – South African
red wine, naturally! The campsite we booked into is only 30km from the
Kgalagadi Transfrontier NP, so the plan is to drive there tomorrow and to stay
the night, and then to come back to this campsite and do a game drive and
morning walk. It’s nice to be back surrounded by wildlife once again.
Day 27: Sunday, 19
August 2012
Kgalagadi
transfrontier park, South Africa
We arrived at the Kgalagadi NP early, checked in, pitched the tent
and then started to drive around in our own car. It’s handy that the roads in
this NP are suitable for a 2WD, although we think that we might do a night game
drive later with an organised tour. We haven’t done a night drive before, and
there might be a chance that we would spot a leopard or other predators. Given
that this NP is very near the Kalahari desert, there are many red dunes about,
and given that it is very windy at the moment, there is a lot of sand blowing
everywhere. You can tell that the animals aren’t too impressed with the sand
either! While driving around today we spotted numerous ostriches, sprinkbok and
wildebeest. And then we came across a few cars parked on the roadside, and they
said that there were lions up on the side of the dune. We could just about see
them, as they were lying down, sleeping, of course! But then all of them got up and moved
location, by about 10 meters. It was great to see an older and a younger male
lion, and two females. And then they all sat down again and relaxed in the sun.
We headed off up the road to visit a few more waterholes, and it was great to
see an owl in an tree – I am convinced that the owl turned his head 360 degrees
– can this be right? The sand was annoying him too!
The NP is very big, and
given the 50km/h speed limit, you can’t get too far in one day. So we turned
back at around 2.30pm, and enjoyed looking at the numerous animals wandering
across the veld (most of whom we had seen on the way out). We stopped again at
the lions, and they were all sitting in the same position. I love watching any members
of the cat family, and it was a joy to watch them again. When we were almost
back at the campsite, we drove over (the car, not the tyre) a puff adder (snake),
and drove back to take a look. It was really impressive to see one, and read
about how dangerous this species can be. Then it started moving under our car,
and we were afraid that it would attach onto the car. But the people in the car
passing us by directed us away from the snake, and we saw him move quickly into
the undergrowth. I’m not sure I would like to find him anywhere near my tent!
Once we got back, we were able to organise a night drive (starting at 8.30pm),
and cooked dinner while watching the lovely sunset. The night game drive was
brilliant. We were the only two on the trip, and we had two guides, Sarah and
Mariska. Esben and I had a spotlight each, and we were advised to shine it up
high at the ridge, and down low to try to spot some animals. The animals’ eyes
would reflect in the light, making them easy to spot. During the trip we saw
springhares (they are mix between a hare and a kangaroo – adorable!), bat-eared
foxes, elands, springbox, genet, African wild cat, black-backed jackals, and mongoose.
The springhare in particular is a nocturnal animal only, so we wouldn’t get to
see it at on any other trip. We didn’t see any predators like the lion or
leopard on the night drive, but it was very enjoyable all the same. We slept soundly
that night after a long day.
Day 28: Monday, 20
August 2012
Kgalagadi
transfrontier park, South Africa - Kalahari Trails camp site
After packing up the tent, we set off again today driving
around the park in our own car. We went back to the spot where the lions were
the day before, but there was no sign of any today. By the way, we could hear
the lions last night – makes you realise you are staying in the wild! Today we
took a different route across the park, where the landscape changed quite a bit
from grass to red dunes. We spotted many birds, wildebeest, springbok, gemsbok
and ostrich. We also saw a whole group of suricats and mongoose. There were
also quite a few black-backed jackals mingling among the wildebeests. We didn’t
see any lions today, and still never spotted a leopard, but it was a very
enjoyable day of watching wildlife. At about 4pm we got back to the Kalahari
Trails camp, and went on a sunset game drive around their farm.
As it is a
restricted area, and there are no predators on the farm, so we were able to get
out of the vehicle to take a closer look at bird nests (the sociable weaver
builds a really cool nest, and there is a network of entrances and exits), and
tracks in the dunes. We saw evidence of an African wild cat, a mouse, a
secretary bird (and saw some of these on the farm too), and a hare. Some of
these are nocturnal animals, and you can get of an idea of what’s going on
during the night from the trails. We also saw about 10 vultures sitting on top
of a tree at one stage, and also some of these in flight. It was interesting to
hear about the vegetation, how the animals get water, how the aardvark builds
his various homes, how they return snakes to the wild if they catch them in the
house, why some trees are really green, how the animals breed and about the
mating dance of some birds. We tasted some springbok sausages with our dinner,
and set up camp for the night soon after 9pm. Tomorrow, we are going on a
walking trail with Prof. Anne Rosa (a zoologist) to learn more about the activities of the
wildlife in the area, and to learn more about the flora and fauna. Back to
watching those twinkling stars….
Day 29: Tuesday, 21
August 2012
Kalahari Trails camp
site – Upington – Kuraman
Woke up early to see sunrise and to get ready for our
morning walk around the dunes of the Kalahari Trails camp. Prof. Anne Rasa has
been living here for over 25 years, and has many more years experience, researching in the area of zoology. She was a guide for the morning, and we were joined by another
couple staying at the camp, Andrew and Tamara from Jo’burg. This guided walk
was to investigate the tracks that had been left the night before by wildlife.
From the minute we left the main house, Anne spotted a trail – an ant hill that
was built and moved the previous evening, most probably due to the fact that a
predator had disturbed them. The walk was simply fascinating – we saw so many
different tracks across the dunes. While we were sleeping, so much was
happening around us, and we never even knew :o)
The geckos were out in full
force, and from the tracks left, Anne could work out that they were mating
during the night. The dancing lady spider was also busy during the night – she leaves a really pretty imprint in the sand, kind of like the shape of a daisy.
We saw the footprints of a spotted pole cat, an African wild cat, and a striped
genet. A thick-tailed scorpion was very active, as well as the beetles and mice
(pygmy and large-eared). And all over the dunes, we saw footprints of the spring
hare. This walk allowed us to join all the pieces of the puzzle together, and
we were now able to identify the tracks of many of the animals which we had
seen during the night drive.
We also learnt about the vegetation of the
Kalahari and how it was formed. It was a great end to a visit to this part of
South Africa. Anne printed off a certificate with a list of all the trails we
saw, which is a very nice souvenir to bring back home!
We got on the road at
about 11.30am and headed in the direction of Jo’burg. It will take us two days
to get back, so the plan was to drive as far as possible and then stay in a
campsite, before driving to Jo’burg the next day. The drive to Upington was
pleasant, on a nice road, and we saw some salt pans on the way by. Anne had
told us that we would pass some, and 60km east of Upington there is a working salt
mine. Over 90% of the salt made in SA is exported, with a lot of it going to
Europe to use on the roads during winter. We made a quick stop in Upington to
grab some lunch and a few supplies for meals over the next two days. We managed
to find a throw-away BBQ, and bought some braii (BBQ) meat, and coupled that
with a bottle of South African red wine. The final destination ended up being a
campsite just east of Kuruman, and we should make it to Jo’burg by tomorrow
lunchtime. It will be nice to spend some time in Jo’burg, before flying out
Thursday evening. That reminds me, we better check-in online tomorrow, or else
Virgin will re-allocate our seats :o)
Day 30: Wednesday, 22
August 2012
Kuruman – Germinston
(suburb of Johannesburg)
When we were going to bed last night (at around 10pm), the
party in the bar at the campsite was just getting going. The music started to
blare out, and it was like we had pitched our tent in a nightclub. I fall
asleep quite easily, but this was seriously over the top. The campsite was a
little strange, to be honest. And it was super expensive! We think that most of
the tents there were pitched the whole time, or all through the holidays, and
that families or older couples spent the weekend or longer socialising with the
rest of the people at the campsite. When the music got to an intolerable level, Esben headed
up to the bar to find about 15 middle-aged people singing their hearts out to
hits from the 70s and 80s. He wasn’t their favourite person when he asked if
they could lower the music a bit.
And then the next morning at 6.30am, we were
woken by loads of people chatting outside our tent, and the noises coming from
the work yard next door. I chatted with a lady who worked there, and she
wondered if we were staying for the weekend – the look on my face probably said
it all, but I smiled and said, no, we had to get to Johannesburg.
The drive to
Johannesburg was constantly disrupted by road works, which involved stopping at
a stop/go sign for 15 minutes at a go, and then driving about 4km, and then
stopping at the stop/go sign. We weren’t sure if we would make it all the way
to Johannesburg the way things were going, but eventually we did. We entrusted
the planning of the journey with our GPS, and all was ok until Vryburg, a big
enough town on the way to Johannesburg. Then we wanted to know how to get out
of the town, and as I was driving along a narrow enough road with numerous
potholes, I mentioned to Esben that the road was quite narrow for the main road
to Jo’burg. And then it dawned on us – our GPS had directed us along a
secondary road, filled with potholes (there were signs to tell you that there
were potholes) and at random intervals on the road, the tarmac would disappear,
and we were on a bumpy gravel road, and then the tarmac would reappear. So we
had the chance to drive through provincial towns along the way. While driving
through Kleindorf, we saw a sign for the same ‘doctor’ (Dr Mama-Fatuma) as the
one in Zeerust, who is willing to deal with many issues, including penis
enlargement, promotion at work, solving court cases and bringing back lost
lovers. This is the kind of woman to call in an emergency!
And so the drive continued
through the ever-changing landscapes of South Africa. It’s amazing to see large
open spaces, with no people or houses for miles and miles, and just the
mountains in the distance. We had no idea where to stay in Jo’burg, and didn’t
have a guidebook to help us out. So we just picked an area south of the
airport, and asked the GPS to recommend names and addresses of B&Bs. We wanted
to stay in a B&B so that we could get our things organised, pack everything
away, and to clear the car out. So I saw one listed called ‘Museum B&B’ –
sounded interesting, and off we went. We arrived into Jo’burg via the motorway,
and had a really good view of the CBD on the way in. We pulled up outside the
B&B – Esben went in to check about accommodation. 10 minutes later we were
checked in to a lovely apartment with two rooms, a kitchen, a bathroom and a
sitting room. Everyone was very friendly, and while we were unpacking the car,
one of the owners (they are a couple) came by and said we were very welcome to
join them for dinner. There was a big group staying (who come back frequently,
so we assumed they were passing through on business), and the BBQ was lighting.
It was a really warm evening (22 degrees), so we were more than happy to join
them for dinner. They set up a table for us in the courtyard, and we enjoyed a
lovely dinner, comprising of soup for starters, BBQ meat, rice and vegetables
for main, and ice-cream to finish off. This was all washed down with great SA
red wine. After dinner, the husband asked us if we wanted to see the museum. Of
course; this sounds very interesting. He is a doctor, and his surgery is
situated in the building that we were staying in. There are three parts to the
building – the main house, and a wing on the right and a wing on the left. It
is a house built by a Greek couple in the 30s, so it has a lot of the features of a palatial Greek home. Our
apartment opened out onto a lovely balcony, and when we were brought on the
tour of the house, we saw the most interesting pieces all over the house. It is
a museum based on donations from people who come to see the doctor. He has a
plate that was used by Napoleon Bonapart, a piece of Elizabethan cloth, which
is over 300 years old, the first Bible that was brought over to South Africa in
the 1600s, and he even has a shillelagh from Ireland. The collection also
included old typewriters, telephones that you need to wind up, and old china sets.
The list is endless. It was one of the most interesting things to come across,
and he said that they are in the process of declaring the places as a World
Heritage Site. We spent over an hour going around looking at the collection,
but we could have spent much, much longer. The doctor and his wife had to go
home after a long day, so we also turned in for the evening. We couldn’t have
asked for a better B&B – the people were so welcoming and friendly; it
really made our last night in South Africa special.
Day 31: Thursday, 23
August 2012
Germiston (Johannesburg)
– London – Dublin
We both slept soundly (the novelty of sleeping in a bed),
and were served a lovely breakfast at around 9am. The staff had said that we
could take our time packing, and could stay on longer if we needed to. We
weren’t sure how long we needed to get the packing finished, and in the end, by
the time we were finished, we didn’t have enough time to go and do anything in
Johannesburg. We hadn’t even planned to be in the city, so this wasn’t
disappointing at all. With the help of the GPS, we did a little tour of the city
(this is the home of seriously crazy drivers; I thought Vietnam was bad), and
opted to head out early to the airport. You never know how long a short journey
will take, and with all the road works and traffic on the roads, this was the
best option. All went well at the car rental place – yes, we had a damaged hub
cap (from a pothole on day 2), and there was a dint at the side of the car (we
have no idea how this happened and never saw it until the guy pointed it out to
us), but as we had full cover, so there was no issue.
8202km later, and we had
arrived back in Jo’burg airport. And so the trip ends….well, we still have a
few hours of films to enjoy on the plane :o) We have so many great memories
from our honeymoon – how on earth are we going to pick out the best photos?!
Inside Job: want to know how the crisis all started? Well, this is a real eye-opener
