Kaokoland

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Trip Start Apr 01, 2008 Previous
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  Opuwo, Namibia
Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Last time you heard from the team, we were on our way into Swakopmund to gather supplies for the road ahead. We finally left Swakop on the Monday with the intention of driving via the Petrified Forrest to Sesfontein, our last chance to fill up before the Kaokoland. The drive up the west coast was not particularly attractive, and the road inland towards Uis was even worse. The lunar landscape made both drivers tired, as if hypnotized by the monotony in the surroundings, and the two-way radios further proved their worth in keeping the troops awake. Needless to say, the going was tougher than anticipated, and we decided to call Uis home for the night. Given that most of our camping to date has been in the bush, it was nice to have a proper shower and clean up. Uis is really an insignificant chapter in this journey as there is nothing really to say about the town, except for the fact that this is where the Larium Diaries were founded. The Dups's decided to play it safe and go the Doxy route, the Husteds decided to take Larium for the first three months, and Doxy thereafter

View

. The first diary entry reads as follows:
 
"Lara was on her way to the toilet during the night, when three bears jumped her. The first one cut her off from the ablutions. Then, as she turned to make a run for it, the second blocked her from behind. Finally, there was a third bear, and he jumped on her first, with bears one and two following suit. The escape unfortunately cannot be recalled."
 
The petrified forest was very very hot. Margret was our guide, and she's been taking people on the 800m route for nine years now. She impressed us all as she really knew her stuff, proving very knowledgeable of the area. At R50 per couple for the tour, Franci confirmed the goodness of the deal by reminding the team that we were getting 16 meters for each rand spent. Not even Bonnie has seen a buy this good. Other than the petrified trees which were naturally impressive in every sense of the word, the Welwitchias were equally impressive. In 40 plus degree heat, where almost nothing dare grow, these desert wonders flourish and can grow to hundreds of years old. 
 
We bush camped in a dry river bed just shy of Sesfontein, another beautiful setting

Chris at work

. God's creation truly is amazing. The aim was to get an early start and make our way to our last stop before the final frontier. Frodo prefers the rougher juice, namely LRP, but only unleaded petrol was on offer. After a call to a forum friend back home who gave his approval, Franci filled his car with the smoother drink, hoping he would acquire the taste and adapt well. Diesel was no problem for the Husteds. Whilst refueling, we met a team of Americans who have been visiting the Koakaland every year for ten years. Their main guide was incredibly knowledgeable, and he apparently has scrolls of maps which they use to navigate this wilderness. We had a temperamental GPS, and some fairly decent maps, and a hunger to explore. He gave us our final tips before we hit the road.
 
We drove quite a distance to our campsite, roughly 20km past Puros. The drive took us through some of the most beautiful scenery any of us have ever enjoyed before. Our setting was a massive grassy plain, and massive doesn't nearly seem big enough, with mountains in the background, and roughly 50 Gemsbok as the extras in the foreground. There was so much for the antelope to eat, one almost expected to see them the next morning all lying on their backs with legs up in the air, bellies bloated, and regretting haven eating that last tuft of grass.
 
Next morning's highlight was a jackal chase. Chris and Lara left camp first and ran into (not literally) a jackal immediately. The little bugger was running ahead alongside the vehicle for a while, and then left the road and cut into the plain. To see an animal enjoying such space and such freedom, with no fences or other man-made obstructions to restrict it, was incredible. It seemed like he could run forever and never fall off

Camping

. From time to time his black back and ears would reemerge above the silver grassy sea, only to disappear again. The plains were impressive because of their size. One instance saw the crews driving up a road that split a plain in two. One Gemsbok occupied the left hand-side plain, and one the right. They seemed to book their plains like kids book their sides of the back seat of a car. After the team was reunited, they made their way to Red Drum. The vastness of this great space, with little records in terms of navigation, has meant that some intuitive trekker has placed three different colour drums around the area serving as landmarks. We were after the redder of the three. The drive was long going and tough, taking the day to do roughly 130 kilometers. Low range became a familiar friend for the drivers, traveling jeep tracks, sand roads, gravel beds, and rocky hills. The only consistent factor throughout the day was the sheer beauty of the area. The vegetation and surroundings change without your noticing, from massive plains, through dessert fields, to hills and valleys. Our GPS proved more faithful and reliable than any of us had dared imagine, and our feeling upon finding Red Drum was similar to that of Dr Livingstone finding the Zambezi. Jubilation and surprise all round. Frodo and Rose had done their bit, and we were a touch closer to the northern parts of the Kaokoland. Larium Diary entry for the day:
 
"Chris saw a man in an ostrich suit, in about 40 degrees, alongside the road

Kuneni

. He used a clearly visible lever to maneuver the head of the big bird (thus giving away the fact that it was a man in a bird suit), with his legs sticking out the bottom. It was believed that he was using his creativity to attract tips. Chris was considering how much to give until his dosage wore off."
 
The Kuneni River was flowing healthily when we reached her. The campsite we found was one run by the Himba people, and for their benefit. Water and sanitation was no longer operational, despite books informing us otherwise. Nonetheless, men are men and Franci and Chris thus went looking for water. Braving croc infested waters, they used rope and bucket to catch the precious resource and carry it back to camp. There really is nothing at the top end of Namibia. The number of animals lining the roads as been surprisingly many, the beauty indescribable, noon is from 10am to 5pm, no other travelers to share stories with, and a few Himba villagers pop up from time to time. The Himba's seem to be a very quiet and peaceful people as we have no war stories to write home about. It was quite amusing however to hear them bid us farewell with "dankies" all round after a brief stop. The Afrikaaner really has reached the ends of the earth.
 
We have all been surprised at how untouched and remote this part of the world really is

Mechanics 111

. Only a handful of vehicles have been spotted throughout our almost 10 day Kaokaland tour so far. This scarcity of help became that much more real when Rose decided to play a tiring joke on Chris. Each vehicle has its customary sounds when traveling corrugated roads, but Rose had developed a new noise which Chris quickly picked up on. After reading through the Hayne's Manual, it was agreed with Franci that the universal joint on the rear propshaft needed to be changed. Chris read from the manual as if reading out instructions from a recipe book, then the two men added the ingredients and beat the batter. This job was marked three spanners out of five and was thus for "Competent DIY Mechanics", a status which Franci and Chris can hardly pronounce let alone claim. After removing the entire prop shaft, replacing the UJ, and refitting, our work time stood at around five hours. Quite a big job in some heavy heat.
 
Rose did not give up there though, she decided to discard one of her rear brake pads. Chris and Lara again had to apply some bush mechanics, but this job was only rated two spanners out of five according to Haynes. The couple both read the manual inspected the calipers. Given that the retaining pins were missing, they decided to use wire to suspend the pads in the caliper as an interim solution. After 100 odd km's things still seem to be okay.

Palms and no water

 
The team is now in Opuwo, and the main objective is to get Frodo's clutch seen to. Fixing the clutch is a major job, and it's not so much the repair that is frustrating, but rather the fact that the Dups's paid over R10k not so long ago and it all repaired in Cape Town. One should possibly expect these kinds of aches and pains with vehicles that are nearing 300k to 400k, and add to the joys of traveling if the Glad Game is applied.
 
Next up, we're off to Epupa Falls, and will fill you in again as soon as possible. Adios amigos.      
 
   

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Fishing for water	...some more	Bathroom view	The route
Camping again	More view	Dust	Morning hike

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