Ny side 1

1st-3rd of March We had a good two days at Hammerstein Lodge Camping. They were all so friendly and nothing was too much trouble at all. We ate in the restaurant once. It was okay, but not much choice. The G&Ts though were good. Next day on the road to Solitaire, a favourite place of ours. Tucked into their famous apple pie, but the service is not what it was once and there wasn't much you could buy in tthe shop. It changed hands four years ago and it seems to be going downhill now - shame! We met two cyclist who had biked from Capetown, one Dane and the other a Canadian. I really admire there guts to do something like this, because the roads in Namibia are 80% gravel with thousands of hills and a temperature of 39C. Good luck guys We had booked at Tsondab Valley campsite, a few kms from Solitaire. Nice site right out in the middle of nowhere, with a fantastic panorama of mountains and lots of Oryx. Met Michael, a German artist who was staying there and spent the evening chatting to him. It started to storm early on in the evening and it lasted most of the night. An early night in the camper was called for. We liked the camp, but it was too expensive we think. The owner has a small plane you can book a trip on, but the storm cancelled that opertunity. You can also book a trip in the dunes, but again the weather was against us. On the road again after one night to Rooklip Guest farm, where we can camp under an overhanging cliff on a mountain side.
	Camping at Tsondab

Camping at Rooklip
	3rd-6th of March Arrived at Rooklip after a good four wheel drive on the road in. Temperature again in the upper 30s, so we are not freezing as you in Europe. We can park the vehicle right into the cliff wall, under an overhang which keeps most of the sun off us. Went for a nice long walk in the area. The one we chose is "the leopard walk". You walk mostly in the river bed and around the cliffs and hills. Two of their dogs followed us the whole route. We were tired when we got back to the farm house after two and a half hours. The two dogs were just as tired after walking around in 36C. We could see oryx, zebra, horses, sheep and students from Germany from our camp hire up on the hill side. The students were biological students working on their masters..It was quite windy during the late afternoon and one day it was thunder and lightning with a good bit of much needed rain. We will now drive the 250kms to Swakopmund on the west coast. As we approached the temperature dropped from 35C to 21C. Tried to get a sandwich at Walvis Bay, but we couldn't find a place open (Sunday), but when we eventually did, we were harrassed by young guys who wanted to look after the vehicle. We drove onto Swakopmund and went into Antons Cafe which is famous for its cakes and coffee. mmmmm! Found a spot at the camp site after bookinga table at the Tug restaurant on the beach. Met Michael, who we met at Tsondab camp a few days ago. A cosy evening spent dining and chatting. The campsite we stayeed at in Swakopmund was called Alte Brücke and each site has it's own toilet and shower. The camp site was full.
Camping at Rooklip

7th-11th of March. We are now on our way out of Swakopmund. We kept to the coast road up to Hentes Bay, where we turned inland. We dipped our feet in the Atlantic before we did this. The trip inland was boring and long. Nothing really to look at except sand and more sand. The temperature rose steadily up to 35C. Drove into Brandburg Nature Reserve and found the camp site. You felt as though you were camping in the desert.. We drove early next morning to The White Lady parking place and were united with Thomas one of the guides. He would take us out to the famous white lady rock paintings. We took an hour to walk in to where the paintings were. Thomas was a mind of information both walking in and out. The paintings were easy to see, because they have been treated so they don't fade anymore. They are after all thousands of years old. A great couple of hours there.
	Following the GPS
	We are now letting the GPS guide us to Medisa Camp only 35 kms away, but the GPS took on a 4x4 track and it took us over three hours to reach the camp. Great friendly reception from Rikie as we drove in. We met Emilie her husband a short time after and he was just as friendly. Lovely couple who are managing the camp for Claire the owner who we met last year at the camp. She lives in Swakopmund. We had a great couple of days at the camp which boasts private toilet and bathing facilities for each site. We enjoyed talking to Rikie and Emilie who are Dutch and they gave us a tour of the lodge and facilities, plus two bull elephants who entertained us at the water tank which supplies the camp. Sometimes they drink from the swimming pool at the side of reception. Running the camp has it's frustrations, but they both have a positive approach to the problems at hand and I am sure they will make a success of their efforts. Karen and myself know all too well the problems of working with Black Africans, but you keep plugging away to get things functioning properly. We were a bit sorry to leave, but leave we must. Khowarib lodge camping was our next stop after another wonderfull day driving through passes and mountains and dales. Spent a couple of hours at the pool cooling of after eating lunch at the lodge. The camping site was nice, but a couple of birds with rather large beaks were trying to peck their way into the vehicle. I introduced my catapult to them and funnily enough they flew away. Another warm evening.

We allowed the GPS another crack at getting us to Etosha Road Camp. I think it was one of the worst 4x4 roads we have driven. It was only 118 kms, but it took us the best part of a day. We were climbing in and out of "dongers" (areas that have collapsed because of tidal flows when it rains for days) and trying to find the track when it disappeared. We were a bit worried at one point and had to get out of the vehicle to find the track again. A hard day, but we made it. Tomorrow we are going into Etosha again. Etosha Road Camp is in the process of being built. The camp site was finished, but the reastaurant had only got as far as the foundations. It was one of the best showers I have had though in a long time.
	A hole in one!!!
12th-14th of March - Etosha Five minutes and we were at the Galton Gate into Etosha. It wasn't as easy to get in as it normally is because they had to search the vehicle. This is the first time it has been necessary in all our visits to Etosha. I can understand the need now, because poachers are becomming more and more daring in their attempts to get hold of ivory and rhino horns. Everything in the vehicle was searched, but if it will help, we don't mind. Last time we were in Etosha we saw a lot fewer animals than we normally see, so we hoped there would be a few more. Well we needn't have worried at all. At the first water hole after half an hour in the park we saw wildebeest,oryx, zebra, springbuck, 4 lions, 6 elephants, a korri bustard. At the next water hole we saw wart hog, red hartebeest, springbuck, and 39 elephants who entertained us for 90 minutes. Wow, welcome back to Etosha with a bang! We camped at Olifantsrus camp site. An okay site, but only for a stop over.
Our toilet at Etosha Road Camp
	Two Germans who camped at the side of us woke up to a flat tyre. There was a lot of huffing and puffing coming from the vehicle while they were fitting the spare. We had a full English breakfast at the camp. Only 75N$. A good start to the day. We are moving towards Oukakjo where we will camp tonight. We didn't expect to see as many animals as we saw yesterday, because yesterday was unique. We came close though, 4 elephants,wildebeest,springbuck,kudu, a snake close up, ostrich, blue crane, 2 lions and 4 cheetahs. Very hot again today 35C.Eight overlanders invaded the camp site during the even. That's the main problem with Etosha's camp sites, too many people and too few facilities. More and more campers are settling for camping outside the park. Off out to see what we could see today in the park. We saw the usual plus two lots of lions. A pride of four and another of five. I think we are pleased with what we have seeen and now we are on our way out. Tonight we are staying at Tamboti camp in Oguma game reserve, just outside Etosha, because we are getting a bit tired of the price Etosha are charging for their campsites and the awfull condition they are getting into. At Tamboti we had our own shower and toilet.
We saw four cheetahs out hunting

15th - 17th of March We are now on our way to Waterburg Wilderness Camp, but we decided to take the small off road, and Karen spent a lot of time opening and shutting gates so we could get through. 120 kms of off road driving and we saw just one vehicle during the drive. We met Daniel and Samantha from Holland again at the camp aand we had a nice evening chatting to them over a fire and a couple of drinks. Lovely couple. Hope they come to Denmark at some time! In the morning we went on a hike (more of a climb) to see a bit of the area. The history hike which takes you through the battle in 1904 between the Germans and the local farmers. The Germans can't be too proud of what they did here. There were posters along the route to let you know where you were and what happend at that spot. Another hike was a combination of The Waterfall and Porqupine Hike. We lost the path at one point, but got back in one piece. Drove up to the Plateau Lodge and had lunch - what a view! We drove for an hour down to Weavers Rock camp where we stayed for two days. We even had our own guard dog until it got fed up with us. Cleaned the vehicle again after all the rain we drove through on our way to the camp. It rained in the late afternoon and during the evening, but no problem we just sit inside the camper and play cards, or read. Had a walk with the dogs round to the lake on the other side of the mountain.The temperature has fallen a bit. Only 26C during the day today (Thursday)
	Karen and the guard dog!
	18th - 22nd of March Our next stop is Erongo area. We know a great camp site called Erongo Plateau Camp and we have been coming here on and off since 2000. This time we were met with a little greeting from Samantha and Daniel - Thank you! The view from the camp is just Africa at its best. We were at the camp for two days and it was very hot. It got up to 39C, which is too much of a good thing. The campfire was lit both evenings and camping with the temperature at 29C at 8.30 in the evening was out of this world. Luckily being out in the desert area, things get cooler during the night. We were sorry to leave after two days, but our Africa adventure is coming to an end soon. We drove towards Etusis where we have stayed before, but it was too early to stop so we carried on and arrived at Tsaobis Nature Park, where they had a lovely primitive camp site down by the river. Well you can say river, but there hasn't been any water in it since 2011. Met the owner at the swimming pool with his son. Karen was trying to teach him to swim. A very warm evening again and we stayed up late. We just couldn't go to bed. We are moving towards Windhoek. We have 200 km drive today to get to Daan Viljoen a game reserve with camping. We as usual took the 4x4 route and not the tar. We could enjoy the mountains all the way on the C28 and up through the fantastic Bosuo Pass. Here we just had to stop at the top and have our lunch. We continued and on arrival at Daan Viljoen. We were told that the camping site was full. We ended up at Wineyard Country B&B camping, but we should have continued to another site we had in mind, Kalahari Inn, because the traffic noise is probably going to keep us awake tonight - hope not. A lot cooler this evening. 10 pm and only18C.- It was a cold and noisy night (traffic) - and only 6 degrees at 7.00 Tuesday morning. A good job we are going home to "warm" Denmark soon!
Another sunset from Erongo plads 3!!

	A tree growing out of rock - without water!!!
23rd - 24th of March Karen had a good idea after our cold night. We would stay at a lodge tonight and enjoy a bit of luxury. About 50kms from Windhoek Karen found a lodge that had a room, so Auas Game Lodge here we come. The people at the lodge were very friendly and gave us a room with a great view of the mountains. We saw a group of Ostriches with chicks at the waterhole. They were all in the water - never seen that before! We walked down to another waterhole they have about a 10 minute walk away. We saw waterbuck, warthog and impla. Well 66 days in our Africa playground is about to come to end. Africa never disappoints us, but we thought we could see more, but when we checked our plan through, we would need another month to see everything. The plan was revised. No Lesotho, or eastern South Africa. We will have to catch that next time. The vehicle functioned without problems and was actually a pleasure to drive and use. Definitely one to use again.

	Africa has many faces

Yes, driving in Africa is an adventure, there is always something new around the corner.