Day 6

Today we leave Tsumeb and head for the Etosha National Park. I have always wanted to go to Etosha, don’t know why, but I suspect it is because of the articles I have read about it as well as pictures I have seen. Also, it’s far away and seems like an adventure. Etosha is only about 110 k’s from Tsumeb on some tar and a lot of dirt, and will as we were about to find out, take about 3 hours!

And then of course the inevitable had to happen! When we were about to enter the park, the car wouldn’t start. This was an issue that had been bothering us all along as every now and then the car failed to start when I turned the key. A bit of switching the ignition on and off seemed to sort the problem and we thought it might be the immobiliser playing silly buggers, so I disconnected it. This time it wouldn’t budge. Fortunately, as is the case with most car clubs, there were some magicians in the group and soon two of them came alongside and with the help of a length of wire cable, the car was hot wired and we were on our way. The blue Beetle in the pic above was the first casualty on the run (on day 1 nogal) when it’s stub axle broke and the complete wheel assembly (RHS) came off. No trouble to them, they had the car towed to a workshop where they welded things together, found the spares they needed and by the end of the 2nd Day they were back with us. Someone else had an issue with a bearing casing and managed to fix it with a hose clip and some Pratley’s Steel. Unreal.

Soon we were on the road again and travelled over the most horrendous dirt road rattling and jolting our way over the corrugations. We saw a bit of game, mostly buck of various types on our way to Namutoni camp. It was very hot and dusty and the cars were given a good shakedown. We arrived very thirsty and before even checking in quenched our thirst with some delicious Tafel Draft and burgers for lunch. Homemade, tasty (especially when very hungry) and filling. We unpacked, spent the afternoon in the pool, the evening at a water hole and a delicious buffet supper. Pork chops, roast chicken and Kudu steaks! No room for vegans here!