1st - 5th of March  Cape Town

Carried out a service on the Hilux, while Karen was hard at work in the garden. (she loves it) Had a trip down to Waterfront. We parked the vehicle at the Mount Nelson Hotel (we were meeting Laura there later) and walked down through the centre of Cape Town and then out to the Waterfront area. The centre of Cape Town is full of small pavement restaurants where you can get more or less anything you want, at a reasonable price. More or less everywhere you walk in Cape Town, you can see the mountains which surround it - especially Table Mountain.

Met Laura at the hotel and had a couple of enjoyable hours with a group of Danes who work and live down here. 

An evening with the Selanders

Karen checking the vineyards in Slanghoek Valley

At Jorgen and Sonjas in Hout Bay

6th - 7th of March

Time to leave Cape Town. It doesn't get any easier to say goodbye - we feel we are saying goodbye to close family. We called into to do some shopping and fill up the diesel tank. Drove towards Stellenbosch and then climbed up into the mountains at Bains Kloof. Simply fantastic - mountains on both sides as we drove through the wine producing valleys. Temperature only 32 degrees today, so we are lucky. Drove to Slanghoek valley where we camped at Slanghoek Mountain Resort.

The campsite was down in between the vineyards, with a fantastic view of the mountains on both sides. We were the only campers. Nice place. Maybe we will stay here a couple of days. Had a walk/climb up a "small mountain" at the side of the camp. What a fantastic view from the top. It was a hard climb and we were both tired when we got back after two hours in the burning sun. We jumped straight into the pool!!!

Being here, right in the middle of a wine making area, you can't help but be facinated by the whole process which is going on around you. South African wine is finding its way into many corners of the world now and is being appreciated for what it is - a very palitable wine. The whole process is not quite the same as in Europe. Here most of the vineyards do not press their own grapes, but send them to a winery in any form of transport they have. Outside the winery you see all the different forms of transport arriving, to be weighed, unloaded, weighed again, then off to collect the next load. I found it very interesting indeed.

I rang to Home affairs in Nelspruit to hear if our visa had arrived. It had and we could use the paper we had already received to travel to Namibia and we could collect our visa when we come back. It wouldn't be a problem getting back into South Africa again. Wow, that saves us a 4000 km round trip to collect the visa now.

8th - 9th of March

On the road towards the coast. We drove to Tulbagh, an old town with some beautiful houses and a what you could call a special church, which had been built again after the previous one had been destroyed by an earthquake some years ago. We reached the coast after driving through Porterville and Picketberg. After looking at one camping site that we didn't like at all, we moved on to Paternoster, where there was a camping site right on the beach at Tsitsibay. We were only yards from the water. A fantastic sunset and G&T, then the temperature dropped to 16 degrees C, which is cold when it is windy as well. Up into the tent was the only answer, if we were going to prevent frostbite!!!

Tsitsibay as the sun goes down

10th - 12th of March

On our way to Springbok. Karen persuaded me to take the "off road" route through the mountains. Glad she did, because in keeping with the last few weeks, it was fantastic. High mountains on either side, dotted with Quiver trees, some of which grew out of sheer rock. We found the Springbok caravan park and decided it was good for one night.

We had been having a few problems with the "gas lifts" on the side doors on the canopy, so I decided to drive into the town and see if I could get some new ones. At the same time I could get the front tyres renewed. They have now done 60,000 kms on some of the worst roads Africa can throw at you. Got both jobs done in under an hour. Got back to the camp and Karen thought I hadn't got anything done at all. We are not used to Africa moving so fast - but it's great when it happens. Met a young Belgien couple on the camp who had just arrived in Africa and were just getting used to their vehicle. They asked us if they could buy some bread, because they hadn't managed to get any. Of course they could have some - but not to buy. We can still remember our first time down here - we didn't always manage to buy food.

Namibia

On our way now to the Namibian border. Shopped in Springbok and checked our mail and a couple of hours later we were in Namibia and on our way to Ai Ais at Fish River Canyon. As we didn't have our visa for SA at the border they made a few remarks about fining us and other things, but they stamped us out anyway. Lets hope it is just as easy to get in again.

The temperature in Ai Ais at 7.0pm was 29 degrees C and it didn't get much cooler during the night. This is where the advantage with the roof tent shows itself. You are so high up that there is always a breeze you can direct into the tent. We slept okay.

Next day was a lounging day. In the warm pools and then the cold. The cold dip was necessary, when the outside air temperature was 35 degrees C. Reading, eating and sleeping on the agenda as well. As I sit outside the tent writing this, I have birds and friendly rats running under my chair and table. I can't really get them to leave, but I don't really mind here on a campsite. It would be another story if it was in my own back garden in Silkeborg and the rats came to say hello!!! Saw Manchester United v Arsenal on TV with some of the locals - United won, so that was okay

13th - 15th of March

Left hot Ei Eis and we were now heading north, calling in at the Roadhouse lodge to see if Iver and Solvej were there, or had stayed there. They are friends from Denmark who are down here at the moment and our comunications in trying to meet each other haven't been helped by bad cell phone reception generally here in Namibia. They had stayed there a couple of nights earlier, but where they are now - who knows? Maybe we will bump into them in Etosha later on.

We decided to drive the 600 kms to Sesriem and drop the camp about halfway up that we had decided to stay at. It was hot driving all day, but we have never seen Namibia so green. We saw lots of Springbuck, Oryx and Ostrich during the drive up, something that we have never experienced before. Yes, we have seen one or two scattered animals before, but not big groups as today. I saw a notice in Ei Eis that said they have had as much rain in January and February as they normally get during a whole year. So it was easy to understand the water we could see everywhere. 

A wet and green Namibia

Lunch in Solitaire

Next day we drove into the dunes and we had to admit that half green sand dunes, because of grass growing up the sides, were an unusual sight for us, having seen them in their natural state - without grass. Then onto Solitaire where we stayed at the Solitaire Guest Farm, after of course we had had lunch in Solitaire.

Me with dog and Springbuck going around the mountain

Here at the camp they have a tame Springbuck that doesn't like women much. It has "plaster of paris" on the end of its horns, but it loves giving the girls a head but. They also have a tame Oryx, but we didn't see much of it. Went for a walk around the nearby mountain and the Springbuck came with us, plus a dog from, but the dog gave up before we got halfway - but not the Springbuck! Now just imagine walking around in the African savanna with a Springbuck walking at your side, just as you would expect a dog to do. Probably the first and last time we will experience that.

I have to say, though that the springbuck was a bit annoying, hanging around the camp, giving Karen the occasional headbut, eating, or trying to eat our books and just about everything else. We also had a Bat Eared Fox coming into our camp and it did this several times. Never seen one of those before. It had a beautiful coat on it and was quite comical with those long ears. Enjoying life at this camp, because the view over the savanna and the mountains in the background are literally breath taking.

16th - 19th of March

Left Solitaire and drove up towards Speetshagt Pass and Glansberg pass. The drive up on the way from Solitaire was fantastic. The rate of accent was 1-4.5 meters.We could see for about 50 miles, right across the savanna from the top, where we stopped for lunch. They were repairing the road after the damage done by the heavy prolonged rains they have had, so we had to wait while they were finished.

Arrived at Rooiklip Guest Farm after negotiating a bad road for 18 kms after leaving the main road. They are not able to keep up with the damage the rain has and is still doing to the roads. You have to be careful, because some of the roads have become narrower after the edges have disappeared, leaving deep - deep holes. The campsite is about a 1km away from the farm and up under a cliff. We have stayed here before so we just relaxed and enjoyed the 360 degree view we had of the mountains, savanne and the superb sunsets we were treated to.

Rooiklip Farm is situated about a thousand meters above sea level in the mountains and is roughly halfway between Walvis Bay and Windhoek. It rained during the evenings, but we didn't get wet because the vehicle was parked right under an overhanging rock. Here we enjoyed Namibia at her best and didn't really want to leave.

We did after three nights and headed for Swakopmund. There was an Independence celebration in full swing there, but we found a hotel room for the night, because everything was booked up for the long weekend of partying. Shops closed as well, which was a nuisance, but we will manage. The town was full of holiday makers and there was a nice atmosphere down on the beach where they were playing some serious beach volley. I resisted the temptation to join in!!! Had something to eat at one of the restaurants, where we had a good view of what was going on.

20th - 22nd of March

Managed to do some shopping at the local supermarket and obtained a permit for the Nimib section of the Naukluft Park. On our way to the park we had to go back through Walvis Bay, because the Swakob River had closed the road just outside Swakopmund. It meant a 60 km diversion - but what the heck! The drive through the Namib was breathtaking. It literally resembled the surface of the moon. We were pretty high up and had a fantastic view stretching at least 40 kms to the horison. Camped  right up against a high stone cliff formation. I got dizzy just looking up at it. As usual the sunset was out of this world and we couldn't understand that we are still so facinated by the sun disappearing over the horizon. next day we drove out to a rock formation called the "Arch". A rock formation ressembling the "arc de triumph" in everything but size. The park is very dry, or it seems that way, in spite of all the rain Namibia has  been having.

Had a bit of a mishap on a narrow gravel road in the park. Pulled over into the side to let an oncoming vehicle pass, when all of a sudden bang, we had hit a rock hidden in the deep grass. The only real damage was to the fuel tank which had developed a small leak. The skid plates fitted under the vehicle did their job, protecting sump, steering and gearbox. We decided to stay one more night in the park and then head for Swakopmund to get the tank seen to.

In Swakopmund we booked in at the Bush Baby Inn instead of the camping site which we didn't like that much. Dropped the vehicle off at AC Motors who would repair the tank. We decided that the best course of action was to have the tank removed and a specialist would build it up again with a thicker stainless steel bottom to make it stronger. It would be expensive, but it was the best course of action. The repairs would take two days.

During the evening I got onto the net and we received the e mail we hoped we wouldn't get down here. My mother-in-law had passed away earlier in the day. We were not in doubt. We would travel home for the funeral, which was on Friday. We contacted our insurance and during the evening they had arranged our trip home, returning again on Monday th 28th of March.

28th - 31st of March

Arrived back in Swakopmund after the trip back to Denmark. Picked up the vehicle and booked in at Bush Baby Lodge again. We were tired and needed to sleep.

Next day, shopping, a bit of a walk around in Swakopmund and out in the evening to eat at the Tug restaurant. Had a nice bit of fish after the usual G&T overlooking the ocean and the sunset.

Left for Erongo where we stayed at the Erongo Plateau camp. The camp overlooks the savanne for miles and is a superb place to set up camp. Israel, the guy who looks after the camp is still there after all this years. He was there when we first visited the camp when it started in September 2000. Investigated the walking trail, enjoyed two superb sunsets and ate some good camp food.