BOTSWANA / NAMIBIA MAY 2014

Part 2

Being a road trip that lasted 30 nights and 31 days in the remote

wildness of this continent of Africa that we love so dearly.

"Storms in Africa (II)" (ENYA)

Though I walk through

Warm sands in Africa Winds will grow soon

To storms in Africa.

How far to go I cannot say.

How many more Will journey this way?

Dark skies fall on

Black earth and ivory. Far from your sun

Clouds now close over me

How far to go I cannot say.

How many more Will journey this way?

Storms have come!

Rains wash the earth away Dark skies fall down

Into another day. Rains have now come

From storms in Africa Time will go on

Through Storms in Africa

5 May 2014: Mabua to Nossob via the Boso Trail

Distance Covered: 207 km – 10 hours

Up early (sort off!) and after a quick coffee and a rusk we finished packing and got going. We have not yet settled

into a good camping routine and it still takes a while to get going, but then, we are on holiday!

We make a detour to Mpayathutlwa and again watched the Sand Grouse for a while before setting off in a southerly

heading for Bosobogolo Pan. At Bosobogolo Pan the road turns due west for about 170 kilometres to join the R360

that runs from Twee Rivieren to Nossob and beyond.

It's a long way to Nossob!

The sandy track is mostly corrugated and at times the racket in the Cruiser makes any conversation impossible.

Boso Trail

We see few animals other than Gemsbok and a light coloured snake. Shortly after noon we reach Matopi 1 where we

pull in for a much needed coffee and a sandwich.

Matopi 1

The fun starts when we are about 20 kilometres from joining the R360 that leads down to Nossob. There are a few

dunes in that stretch that requires a bit of momentum to get over (especially since I have the Bush Lapa on tow). On

two of these dunes I could not get the Cruiser over the crest. In spite of reversing as far as possible and attacking the

dune with an almighty roar from the 4.2, the diesel ran out of momentum just a meter short of the top of the dune.

We then pulled out our newly acquired Grip & Go sand ladders and after scraping away as much sand as possible

from in front of the tyres, we placed the ladders in position. Low range 1st gear and both lockers engaged…… much

to my surprise the sand ladders worked as advertised! It gave just that little bit of traction to the rear wheels so that

we could get over the dune. (I think I will invest in another set – makes sense to place them in front of all four

wheels)

Stuck! - see how deep into the sand the front wheels are pusing!

When I saw the next high dune on the road, I knew this was trouble! The dune has four different sets of tracks that

was obviously the result of travellers failing to get over and then going for alternate lines in an effort to crest the

dune. I first of all just tried to keep to the main track, but got stuck about a third from the top. Reversing and trying

one of the other tracks had more or less the same affect, although I got a bit further up the dune. This time the Grip

& Go’s had no effect, the sand was so deep and soft that the sand tracks merely disappeared in the soft sand leaving

the Cruiser just where it was to begin with.

Well, it was time to try out the brand new T-Max 9500 pound winch. I pulled out the synthetic rope on the winch as

far as it would go and then used my 3.5 ton pull strap to get a loop around an Acacia tree that was conveniently right

next to the track and on the other side of the dune!

Winching!

With Helen behind the wheel, the Cruiser in low range, both lockers on and the winch sounding like a Tom cat in

heat, the Cruiser and Bush Lapa combination crawled up the last few meters of the dune. What a relief! If I did not

have the winch fitted before we left, it would have been a different story getting the Bush Lapa over the top!

Recovering the Grip & Go!

We reached Nossob just 30 minutes before gate closing and as we were off to Rooiputs the next morning, we made

a basic camp, braaied a piece of wors and had an early night after 10 hours on the road.

Nossob Gate

Nossob Camping

6 May 2014 – 8 May 2014 KTRO 04 Rooiputs camp 4

Campsite 4 is situated to the furthest south easterly point of the Rooiputs camp and shares a long-drop and (non-

working) shower with site no3. The site has a great view over the valley and a large dune to the north eastern side

that hides the newly built lodge from view.

Rooiputs Campsite 4

For the next two days we explored the area north of Twee Rivieren. Although the park was fully booked (according

to the ladies at reception) we enjoyed a quiet Rooiputs.

Life in the Kgalagadi

Beauty and the Beast (and me!)

Cheetah on the lookout

8 May 2014: Rooiputs to Kaa Gate

Distance Covered: 318 km – 9 hours 45 Minutes

Today I get the travelling companions out of bed early and by 08:10 we are on the road and heading for Kaa Gate by

way of Nossob. We make good time and have a number of good sightings and by 11:30 we pull into Nossob for a

coffee and lunch. We again have a quick chat to the fellow Bush Lapa owners (Paul & Tilda - BL 264) from the Eastern

Cape. (We also met the owners of BL 91 the evening that we arrived in Nossob, but I can’t remember the names

now)

I decide that the remaining diesel in the Cruiser’s long range tank will be more than enough to take me to Kang so I

do not fill up. I was to rerun my calculations (in my mind) a couple of times the next day! When you drive in sand

with an off-road caravan in tow, the fuel gauge seems to go on its own mission. Of course I had to do this without

causing concern with the travelling companions! Eventually, when the fuel light came on, we had less than 200 km to

go to get to Kang. With 40 litres in the long range tank and at 5.5 km/l this should have worked out fine. In any

event, we were able to get diesel in Hukuntsi, so all’s well that ends well!

To get to Kaa gate, you have to stay on the main route from Nossob to Unions End and then pick up a twee spoor

about 30 km’s from Unions End. The trail is known as the Kannaguass/Kaa twee spoor.

Kaa Gate turnoff

When we left Rooiputs earlier that morning, there was evidence of a shower on the main road to Nossob. On the

tweespoor, we soon found that the rain had compacted the sand to such an extent that it was really effortless sand

driving for a change!

Storms in Africa!

The clouds to the north where really stunning and I was quite sure that we would be driving in rain soon. It had just

started drizzling lightly when I noticed what I assumed to be seeds or something that had been blown into the

tweespoor trail by the wind. Imagine our surprise when we stopped and on closer inspection realised that it was

hail! The stones where small, but the surrounding veld was covered in a thin layer of hail.

Hail

More hail

The beautiful yellow grass and the dark rolling clouds against the settings sun called for many photo stops and we

eventually pulled into Kaa Gate at around 17:30. Only campsite number 2 (of two campsites) was available and we

had to deploy the bush wing in order to keep out of the rain. The rain however did not last very long and made way

for a beautiful evening.

Sunset again was a stunner and we made ample use of the beautiful opportunities that was presented to us by

nature in all her glory!

Sunset after the rain - Kaa Gate

It's a tough life in the bush!

Kaa Gate

9 May 2014: Kaa Gate to Ghanzi

Distance Covered: 552 km, 11 hours 45 minutes

Once again we are up early and on the road by 07:30. We want to get into Namibia now and we also need to restock

the fridges with meat and fresh veggies. The initial plan was to get into Namibia via the gate at Dobe, but I now

realized that this was just too far to do in a day. Calculations showed that we would get to Ghanzi at about 17:00, so

the plans was adjusted accordingly. Life on the road becomes a whole lot more relaxed when one is traveling

without a set itinerary.

Gecko shredding skin

On exiting the gate at Kaa, there is a twee spoor that runs in a north easterly direction to join the graded cutline that

heads north east and eventually gets you to a gravel road that runs between Ngwatle in the north and Zutshwa in

the south. There is also an option of taking the “Scenic Road”, a twee spoor that goes directly towards Zutshwa.

Early morning yellow veld grass

So beautiful, so difficult to express in words!

Checking out fresh tracks on the Scenic Route

We initially started off on the “Scenic” road, but for some reason the twee spoor caused the car and trailer to

develop a wicked see-saw motion just as you get up to speed. We endured a couple of kilometres of this and then

decided to turn around and make use of the “Transit Route”. This is the graded cutline that I mentioned earlier, but

it is soft sand for probably 80 of the 100 kilometres before you get to the gravel road that heads towards Zutshwa.

This road is mostly used by the Botswana Military and the tracks on the road are so wide that you can only get either

the left or the right side of the car’s and Bush Lapa wheels in an existing track. I tried to use low range where the

sand was really soft, but the car sounded like it was struggling a lot more than in high range 4x4. I eventually just

kept to high range 4x4, third gear and 40 km/h which seemed to be the best combination (where the road allowed,

of course!).

Transit Route

I think the traveling companions had a few anxious moments when the Cruisers front wheels would select a different

track and the car and Bush Lapa would bounce madly over the deep tracks in the middle of the road as I fought the

steering wheel just to stay in the road. Inevitably I would have to slow down, get the trek under control, gear down

to second and start the whole process again. This, coupled with the fact that I was keeping an anxious eye on the

fuel gauge, did not make for a relaxing drive!

Graded Cutline / Transit Route

I stopped a couple of times to check for grass accumulating underneath the Cruiser, but this never seemed to get

problematic.

We saw a few black backed Jackal and some smaller deer on the road. There were plenty of tracks indicating a lot of

animal activity.

Red Hartebeest on the transit route

From Zutshwa to Hukuntsi is a gravel road in fair condition. From Hukuntsi to Kang is a tar road.

Where the cutline intersects the road to Zutshwa

We eventually reached Ghanzi by late afternoon. Helen and Liske took on the Spar in Ghanzi and I doubled back on

the A2 to check out a possible camping spot.

Thakadu Camp

Camping that evening was at Thakadu Lodge, nothing to get excited about, but the amenities where clean, and we

enjoyed a warm shower after going without the previous evening.

Helen spotted a beautiful owl on the way into Thakadu. Really no idea what is was.

Thakadu Camp Owl

Thakadu Campsite

I bought three excellent beef fillets at the Spar in Ghanzi at 69 Pula a kg! The travelling companions were of the

opinion that the Choppies in Ghanzi was a better bet than the Spar. Both shops where well stocked. We also refilled

the water tank in the Cruiser with 25 litters of drinking water.

A word of advice: do not shop for your Windhoek Draught in Ghanzi! I am too ashamed to say what I paid for six

draft beers. I will blame this lapse in spending on fatigue from spending the previous 11 hours on the road!!

While on the road we discussed our options for crossing the border into Namibia. I really wanted to go to Khaudum,

but was unsure that I would be allowed in as a single vehicle. I called a friend in SA who has been to the Caprivi on

many occasions and he gave me the GPS position for Mavunje Camp on the Kwando River. We then decided that we

would have to spend an additional night on the road before getting to Mavunje. The final decision around this was

left for the next day, but we would be heading for Mohembo border post in the morning.

Iconic Kgalagadi Image

10 May 2014: Ghanzi to Ngepi, Namibia

Distance Covered: 523 km, 11 hours 45 minutes (including border crossing at Mohembo)

Driving was mostly uneventful and boring on the A3 and then the A35 up to Mohembo. From where the road

becomes the A35, it has a few serious potholes to contend with. Again, not a road to be driving at night.

Lunch Break on the road to Mohembo

The Mohembo border crossing was a pleasant surprise: painless process and friendly personnel on both sides. I think

it took us less than 20 minutes to get out of Botswana and into Namibia.

We continued on the C48 into Namibia and it did not take a lot of convincing to turn off for Ngepi just after 17:00

that evening. We had covered just short of 1400 kilometres in the last three days and an early night was on the

menu for us all.

Next up: Ngepi, Caprivi Strip and Kwando river………………………

Ngepi Humour