3. Central Kalahari

20.04.11

Up and away early,yet more all day driving, 280kms of little used bad sand tracks. The Central Kalahari is one of the largest, untouched wildernesses in the world and whilst the game viewing was poor the vastness and solitude was still a moving experience. So few vehicles pass this way that the grass in centre of the road is waist high. 

We fitted our seed nets to prevent the radiators blocking and stopped every two hours to check for grass trapped around the exhaust. A bit of a trial but necessary and we passed two burnt out wrecks of modern vehicles who didn't bother! Richard manfully led the way in his hired (insured) vehicle and we followed in his wake. 

The next campsite at Xade,the western side of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, where we were all alone, we had the luxury of hot showers and flush toilets !!

21.04.11

Today we hit Deception Pan in the middle of the CKGR where we saw Cheetah and Lion in August. 

Deception was very different now as there has been a lot of rain here too, so, like the rest of the Cantral Kalahari, grass is tall and there is water everywhere. The animals dissipate and the preditors follow. We did see a beautiful single male lion crossing the road as we left the park for the night. We were able to follow him for a while until he lay down in the bush and peered at us through thick vegetation. 

It rained again that night but had stopped by the time we rose at dawn.

22.04.11

We set off at first light back to Sunday Pan and Deception, spending most of the day parked at various vantage points watching animal and bird behaviour. 

We seldom see snakes but over the last few days have seen the Cape Cobra in the social weaver's nest, a metre long Puff Adder slowly crossing the road and today a huge Python in a tree overlooking a water hole. By late afternoon we decide to call it a day and we went back to our camp for a shower and an early night. Richard stayed on for a last look around. 

When we got back to the camp site there was a UK registered land there with three young guys touring Southern Africa. We chatted for a while then the heavens opened so we decided to use the time for a hot shower only to find that there was no water again. 

As dusk fell there was still no sign of Richard and we began to worry that he was stuck in the "black cotton" mud somewhere on the pans. Almost an hour after dark Richard arrived back in camp, his persistence had been rewarded by his "best ever" sighting of a female leopard and had followed her for half an hour. His drive back to camp had been slow and tortuous through the black mud and flash flooding.

2. Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

17.04.11

Met Richard in Upington and travelled on up a new tar road to Twee Rivieren at the Southern tip of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park where we stayed the night in Parks Board chalets.

The next morning we were up before dawn and surprised not to see much game. They have had rain in this desert park so the grazing is very good and the game is scattered.  Our too tight schedule (hindsight is a wonderful thing) meant that we drove on to Nossob Camp to our next chalet,still little game apart from Wildebeest, Gemsbok, Springbok plus we spotted a Capre Cobra raiding a Social Weaver Nest, and watched him for a while.

We Stayed the night at Nossob where there was a hide on the edge of the camp overlooking a small water hole. Nothing there when we looked at 9.30pm, but 5.30 next morning we heard lion roaring nearby.

18.04.11

Big mistake not to get up as others had and had seen a pride of 2 big males a few females and lots of young, drinking and playing. The big male apparently wandered under the decking where the people were sitting and licked his lips! We saw the pride as we left about 1 km up the road but they were about 100metres away so we were disappointed. 

Drove on across the Botswana side of the Transfrontier park. This was very slow driving along narrow, sandy, badly corrugated tracks, over dunes, with scrub like vegetation and the odd ostrich or gemsbok just to remind us that we were in a game reserve!. We eventually reached Mabuasehube Gate, where we camped for  the night, they were sorry but they had no water in the ablution block, so wet wipes came in handy. 

At about 2 am there was a proper African electric storm which lasted for about an hour, thankfully the tent didn't leak and the sun was up as we rose the next day and packed a very wet tent.

19.04.11

This is beginning to feel like the Great Trek all over again! 

Actually today we did go through a couple of towns as we needed cash and fuel. Then we left the tar roads again at Jwaneng where the biggest diamond mine in Botswana is. We drove alongside a new pipeline for about 80 kms and then through villages 'til we reached Khutse Game Reserve.Overnight camp out in the bush (longdrop loo (clean!) and bucket showers), with no-one else around, so all we could hear were the crickets and the odd far away lion roar.

1. And we're Off!

Late setting off but now on the road - twas ever thus! Springbok, then Karahari Gemsbok National Park before heading towards Maun via Central Kalahari National Park.


Maun will probably the next time we get reliable access to the internet.


You can follow live progress on this map!

16.04.11

We left Mike and Val this morning,after celebrating their arrival yesterday evening, putting the world to rights, and sharing some really good SA wines with a braai, not to mention the Fig Mampoor. Strange to think that they are close neighbours from UK and that they were there to wave us goodbye as we really set off. 

More goodbyes and huge thanks to Mike and Adrienne, for their kindness and hospitality whilst we stayed in this lovely city.

On up the N7, retracing our steps from last year through wine lands, past berry farms, and further north the striking landscapes as we drove through the citrus growing area around Citrusdal.We passed though Springbok and eventually pulled into a tiny place called Kamieskroon which is in the centre of Namakwa, the province where the desert bursts in to bloom after the rains in late July or August, hence Namaqualand daisies. That evening we discussed again the bravery of the Voortrekkers as they forged their ox-drawn way through what must have then appeared to be most inhospitable country to eke out a living on the farms that they established. The evidence is everywhere in the names of towns and hamlets on the way, Bitterfontein, Soutpan, Kliprand (Stonebridge) Wildeperdehoek Pass (Wild horse pass) and Sweetwater. This was our first night camping under big African skies. 

At 2.30 in the morning we moved the LR into the lea of a building on the campsite as the tent was flapping so much that we couldn't sleep!.

It could have been a disaster!

12 April

An update, which could well have been a disaster, but all's well that ends well.

We went on Sunday to the local Rotary Club of Hout Bay 25th anniversary celebration. On the way there, after driving from Noordhoek to Hout Bay over the famous Chapman's Peak Drive the LR steering suddenly refused to work. We were stuck in a 35 degree right hand lock, at a junction in a busy car park on a Sunday afternoon!

A bit flustered but undaunted we directed traffic around us and Terry puzzled over how and why the steering had suddenly failed. After a few minutes and some judicious right only 3 point turns to get ourselves away from the main traffic he was able to have a proper look. There was the electrical cable that powers the winch, which he had securely fastened to the chassis in the UK, wrapped around the steering column!!! It dawned on him that the garage who had replaced the worn front shock absorbers the previous Friday had cut through the cable ties and had forgotten to retie up the wires. We remembered that this is after all Africa (TIA)!!

It was only afterwards that we realised that the implications of this could have been horrendous, especially as the Chapman Peak Drive winds its way around the side of the Mountain and teeters high above the ocean and takes about 10 minutes to drive. No point in even thinking what if-----. And now the cables are fixed back down, so alls ok, a DIY job.

The Rotary do was lovely, even more so because the joint project between Howden and Hout Bay about 11 years ago was given a mention.

Cape Town - our home for a while

6th April 2011

We arrived in Cape Town last Tuesday and spent a few days staying with our old friends Mick and Adrienne. Now staying at Val and Mikes place in Noordhoek where we parked the LR last Oct at the end of the last trip. 

The trusty steed

We were thrilled that the old thing started on the button and have a couple of jobs done on it already,--for the mechanically minded, the front shock absorbers, the transfer box seal and the steering drop arm!!!!???All Dutch to me!  Terry is working on it as I write this.

He was sitting behind the wheel when I took it off!

Cape Town has to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Mick, Terry and I hiked for the morning up to St Cecilia's waterfall on the back of Table Mountain, the changing views of the city as we climbed were awe inspiring. We have also taken in a few vineyards in the Stellenbosch area for old times sake and made a couple of little purchases there too.

The view from here is of Chapman's Peak across the lake which is at the bottom of the garden, this makes sitting soaking up the sun all the more pleasurable, tho it is a bit windy today! I have been watching a Pied Kingfisher catching his lunch - memories of bird watching last year and hopefully of more to come when we leave to drive north next weekend.

10th April 2011

We spent Friday and Saturday exploring the Tulbach area up in the Swartland. Tulbach suffered a substantial earthquake in the late '60s and much of the town was destroyed. The government took this opportunity to re-build all the houses in their original, glorious Cape Dutch splendour so now it is like a little piece of history and we were able to stay in one of the cottages. Had a fabulous lunch at a quirky restaurant called Bar Bar Black Sheep, an odd name especially for this country! The heroic passes carve their way through the dramatic scenery. We found ourselves imagining the bravery of the Voortrekkers with their ox-carts 300 years ago. Some of those Dutch families still own and farm the land, much of which is down to grapes and therefore, more wine tasting!

Today we've been to a 25 year celebration of the local Rotary Club, whose community projects Howden Rotary Club supported 15 years ago. They still remember Howden fondly. 

We are expecting Mike and Val to arrive on Friday for their holiday in Cape Town, to share a meal with them before waving us off on Sat morning.


Some photos of what we've been up to so far can be found here.