Lap of Namibia

Day 14

Regrettably we have reached the last day. A wonderful, amazing, exciting, adventure is drawing to a close. We leave Grunau this morning and head for the SA border. In a way it’s a relief to be going home after 14 fun-filled days. I haven’t worked out how many kilometres we’ve done, but it’s over 5 000 and I have enjoyed driving every centimetre. Jill and I are both very pleased we entered the Lap as it has taken us to places we wouldn’t normally have gone to, introduced us to some wonderful people we wouldn’t otherwise have met, exposed us to all sorts of experiences, some hilarious, some trying, some educational and some just plain good fun. We left the hotel in Granau after breakfast and headed off down the road towards the border. We can thoroughly recommend the Granau Hotel as well as the Cottages at Vastrap farm, owned by the same family, delightful people, well organised and good cooks! The road to the border, in fact all the way to Upington, is tarred (410k’s) and typical of a B road through the countryside and is what you make of it. We were accompanied most of the way by a railway line and as is normal in these parts is virtually dead straight.

We did discover however, that Namibia, Botswana and the Northern Cape regions of SA are home to the Sociable Weaver, endemic to the area but mostly concentrated in the Northern Cape and we were fascinated by their nests. Major feats of birdie engineering and home also, so my bird “professor” tells me, to the pygmy falcon, who clearly is either lazy or not as good an engineer as the weaver. The number of nests we came across was mind boggling and in some areas there were “avenues” of nests.

Note the entrances to the nest. It must be pretty dark in there!

This is what the little guy looks like – courtesy of Dr Google.

We carried on the long and straight road and soon saw signs of our impending re entry to SA and we were eager to get to the border and our next stop.

Great border experience. Friendly efficient staff and spotlessly clean.

As we could only check into the hotel after 2, we drove alongside the orange (Gariep) River to Bezalel winery a beautiful spot, family run, where they produce some great wines, brandies, witblits and Mampoer – 80% proof.

The food was excellent, Jill said her best meal of the trip. Now that’s an accolade if ever there was one! I can also vouch for their chocolate milkshakes! Jill had Bobotie and I had a delicious mutton pie – all homemade. The gardens were also beautiful and we spent a couple of hours there savouring the peace and chatting to our new found friends.

A short drive, 20 k’s to our hotel and we were so presently surprised. Absolute luxury and good service were an absolute joy after some of our more recent humble(?) rustic(?) abodes. Protea Hotel Upington is the best!!

A welcome rest, shower and we were ready for our final dinner of the Lap of Namibia, a great affair with lots of fun, stories, anecdotes and camaraderie, food and wine. These Classic Car Peeps can drink!!

Plans are afoot for an East African Lap next year around September and if all goes well, we’ll be there at the start!

19th May 2019/0 Comments/by Barry Pringle

Lap of Namibia

Day 12+1

Today promises to be a great adventure. We leave Keetmanshoop behind having managed a trickle shower and head for Grunau via the Fish River Canyon. Another place I’ve always waned to visit, but I don’t really know why. Same reasons as Etosha I presume. The trip to the canyon was proving to be exciting. We were once again on gravel roads, this time good gravel and it was fun. Wide, smooth, secure surface and not too many ruts. In fact just ruts every now and then. Sudden dips were there though and I had to keep a sharp look out otherwise we bottomed out! Tougher shocks I think!!

An interesting thing, was the sudden appearance of water! We had to ford a low level bridge and before we knew it we were driving through healthy looking vineyards and fields of date palms.

A little further on we came across another gem and a must visit for anyone travelling nearby. Even if you don’t want too go to the canyon, take a turn and get to Canyon Roadhouse. Delish cheesecake and Apple Strudel, but what an atmosphere. Everyone in these parts seems besotted with old cars – particularly wrecks and it would be fascinating to know the story behind each one. Here’s some pics of the place and some of it’s many exhibits.

Beautiful old Caddy – bet it has some stories to tell.

I think it’s a Ford truck with wooden body.

My favourite – imagine turning that into a camper!

I think it’s a Chev – packed and ready to join us on the Lap of namibia!

A very original and desirable Willy’s Jeep.

having feasted our eyes and sated our hunger and thirst we pushed on along the dirt highway, clouds of dust billowing behind us as everything was powder dry. When a vehicle passed us going the other way, we virtually had to sop because the dust was so thick and we couldn’t see a thing. Worse than dense fog. After about half an hour we reached the Canyon view site and what a site lay in store for us. We spent about an hour there just soaking it all in – the silence, the enormity, the barreness, the depth, the sheer magnificence of the canyon which extended for as far as the eye could see.

The car did us proud. What a gem, just purred along, soaking up the bumps and ruts, taking it all in her stride, never complaining and always ready to give more.

There’s a 5 day hike one can do through the canyon – could be an interesting challenge! The temperature in the canyon reaches 50 deg C during the summer months!

An unpleasant but stark reminder of how harsh the environment can be. This poor foal was probably the victim of a snake bite or thirst.

JD and Dean sussing out the canyon. Gives you the idea of the size.

We left the canyon full of wonder, lost in our thoughts and headed for Grunau, our overnight stop. It could only be better than our accommodation the night before. We were hot and tired an needed a shower and a chill before the next event a braai at Vastrap Farm which was owned by the parents of the couple who owned the Grunau hotel.

We arrived at Grunau hotel around 2 and settled into the open air dining area. The food was good – Game pies and tomato sauce, but the beer was extra special. The hotel had limited accommodation so we, along with about 6 other couples were put up in Grunau chalets just down the road. We arrived there and opened the boot to unpack – and thats where our restful afternoon took an unexpected turn. The boot was full of dust and so was everything else! There was no option but to take everything out and wash it, including the inside of the boot. That took the best part of an hour and a half. When we were finished we were going to shower and then have a rest – but – there was no water!!! The owner discovered that her water had been switched off by mistake and that it had been turned on again. All we had to do was wait for the pump to fill the tanks – which took about another hour. Eventually we showered and had about 1/2 an hours rest before going to the farm for our dinner.

Vastrap farm was beautiful in a minimalistic sort of way. No grass, no trees to speak of, just sand. How these people cope with that is incredible, but they love it. We watched a beautiful sunset, had a delicious dinner of lamb everything – chops, wors and other cuts of lamb which I am not qualified to identify, but it was a really tasty meal with proper veggies. The pudding was ice cream and chocolate sauce or brownies and custard. I had ice cream and custard!!!!! We left happy and contented with all thoughts of the water and dust issues long forgotten. Tomorrow was our last day and a certain kind of sadness permeated the air – we’d had such a wonderful time, met some really nice people and had a great holiday, visiting parts of Namibia and Botswana we would never have seen if we’d done it via a “tour” or holiday package. Tomorrow would be just a drive down the road, on tar, to Upington, 410 k’s distant

Our last sunset in Namibia. I love these Quiver trees.

18th May 2019/0 Comments/by Barry Pringle

Lap of Namibia

Day 12

After a good night’s sleep we left our hotel and were on our way. Windhoek is a lovely looking city, but unfortunately we didn’t have time to look around. Had to get back on the road again……..

The smudges on the pics are bugs on the windscreen!

This time we didn’t miss the Tropic of Capricorn and stopped for a pic.

The road was quite monotonous but the scenery was changing constantly. We were travelling straight down the length of Namibia heading for South Africa and Keetmanshoop, our overnight stop.

The road is straight forever we went for over 10k’s before rounding a corner!

This range of mountains was with us for a long time. At first we thought it was a huge mine dump it was so dry, but it was a range of mountains.

We had a hilarious happening when we reached Keetmanshoop. We stopped at a “craft market” which looked quite shady and were deciding what to do when a police van pulled up. We thought “what now” but the policeman had stopped to admire the cars. He asked us what we were looking for and Jill explained we wanted a “mall” as we needed to buy a thank you pressie for the guy who organised the trip. He said I’ll take you – follow me. He put his flashing lights on and we followed behind in single file. Know I know how it feels to be a politician!! We went straight through robots and stop streets, with the public looking on in amazement as four rather dirty Mercs followed behind the very proud policeman like obedient subjects. He dropped us off at our destination, which was right next to the hotel, bid him farewell and he drove off happy, smiling from ear to ear>

A quiver tree outside Schutzenhaus a restaurant where we had a delicious dinner. Our hotel was the only place in the area big enough to accommodate our group and clearly they couldn’t cope. The service was extremely slow and they were totally overawed by the numbers. We had quite an issue with water as well and struggled to get enough to shower. We later found out that there was one geyser to every 4 rooms and if you tried to shower when someone else was showering – you got no water!! Apart from that the rooms were clean and comfortable and the food was fresh and nicely cooked. We were pleased we were only there for 1 night.

18th May 2019/0 Comments/by Barry Pringle

Lap of Namibia

Day 11

Swakopmund to Windhoek today – 380k’s. We started the day with a great breakfast, followed by Oohs & Ah’s as the pelicans arrived to scavenge on the rocks, exposed by the low tide

The sea was beautiful and the first clear morning we’d had. It was also freezing!

We left for Windhoek and planned a stop for petrol. By this time the CE had sprung a slow puncture so we had to wait at the garage to have it fixed. This was done surprisingly quickly and we were soon on our way. The car going like a dream.

A few of the Mercs in the parking lot at the hotel in Swakopmund.

The journey to Windhoek was uneventful and we soon left the desert terrain behind in exchange for greener and more dense vegetation. We stopped at Okahandja for a break and bought some delicious biltong and dry wors. had coffee and a cake (with ice cream!!) and Jill had a cheese and tomato toasted sarmie ………….and a coke!

I’ve learnt that the Namib desert, I think all deserts, consist of gravel pans, dunes and mountains. This was typical of the scenery until we got much closer to Windhoek.

interesting tree in Okahandja – still can’t turn the bloody pic!!

A twister we saw just outside Windhoek. Travelled quite fast.

View of Windhoek from our hotel window. Note the green vegetation. Lovely city.

We had a good swim in the pool this afternoon – well Jill did, I sat and watched. It felt too cold to get in so I opted for a shower. We needed to get ready by 6 as we were going down to the local Motor Club – Old Wheelers for supper and a Rock ‘n Roll party. The place was incredible as the pics will show. Typical German efficiency and attention to detail. The club is huge and has a bar, outside area, kids play area – festooned with old cars and motor bikes instead of jungle gyms, private function room where we had our supper and a huge exhibition area. The club owns the property and it is a must visit for any motoring enthusiast.

We had a fantastic meal consisting of traditional German meats, Eisbein, a variety of sausages, Chicken and Apple Strudel and custard. The music wasn’t half bad and we had a bit of aerobic exercise. Some of the people went out of their way to get dolled up in 60’s clothing and there was much fun had by all. We ducked early as we have over 500k’s to cover tomorrow and I’m not keen to do that tired and or with a hangover!

I’ll post some pics of the exhibitionists tomorrow.

15th May 2019/0 Comments/by Barry Pringle

Lap of Namibia

Day 10

Today would turn out to be a highlight of our tour. We were to spend the day in Swakopmund and go on a trip into the desert. We had no idea what to expect. We woke early for breakfast at 7 – service is slow – as we had to meet the tour operator outside the hotel at 8. The morning was quite cold and the town covered in a thick fog, so much so, that if you didn’t know where you were going, you were in trouble as you could see nothing around you, so there were no visible landmarks. WE travelled a short way out of Swakopmund and into the concession we were to explore. There are 5 operators allowed in the desert, 3 vehicular tours, like ours, a quad bike tour and a tour on camels! We were glad we were in vehicle.

Our first stop was an introductory chat which told us what not to do – like pick up stones or examine plants with our faces too near as we were likely to encounter a snake or some similar creature. our guide then demonstrated to us how much wildlife there was around us – which we couldn’t see. All the creatures were hidden under the sand or under bushes and only once pointed out to us did we become aware of their presence.

After having studied a couple of different beetles we were introduced to this little guy – a pinkish gecko totally transparent – you could see his bones and organs quite clearly. he buries himself under the sand to keep cool.

We then met this guy, a horned viper of sorts who was discovered in the shade of a shrub. not too friendly looking.

This guy wasn’t too bad – a miniature beaked something or other – can’t recall the correct name. I should have written them down, but I’m not really a snake person.

This is where we found the horned viper. If you look carefully you’ll see him.

This guy was less threatening – a blind legless skink.

I was surprised we saw so few birds. Another sideways pic!!

This little lizard was an amazing guy. Ran sooo fast. Check the feet. He’s the kind you see in TV documentaries that lifts is feet off the ground when it get hot.

Our guide Tommy, feeding the chameleon worms!

The dark patch on the ground is metal particles.

Crystals drawn from the sand by moving a magnet across the area.

I have some videos of us driving in the dunes. Will find out how to post them so you can see the fun we had! After getting back from our jaunt and the inevitable cold beer and more food, I went and collected the car from the auto electrician. Everything looks good at last and we’re ready to hit the road again in the morning as we travel the 375k’s to Windhoek and some more adventures.

14th May 2019/0 Comments/by Barry Pringle

Lap of Namibia

Day 8 cont’d and day 9.

Well we continued on our way to Swakopmund with things getting more and more deserty. ( I think I may have said that before!) We finally reached our hotel, again, tired hot and thirsty! A lovely hotel with wonderful beds, spacious room and bathroom with a shower that had hot water. The view from our room was great and the cold Benguela current that runs down this coast certainly made it a bit chilly. We sat and watched a beautiful sunset, had a fine dinner and then went to bed.

We woke to our first experience of fog. We couldn’t see anything and it looked like it had been raining as everything on the veranda was wet. We had a brilliant breakfast and Dean (the SL owner) and I decided to take our cars to the local Merc agents to have them looked at. I was still concerned with the overheating and starting issues and Dean needed his exhaust checked, number plate and valance trim put back. We made contact with Margie’s cousin, Kallie, who lives in Swakopmund and he kindly came and collected us and we followed him to the Merc dealership where we left our cars. He then took us back to our hotel where Jill and some of the ladies were having peddies and whatnot as their mother’s day treat and we waited for them to finish. Then headed off to a local restaurant to test the Namibian craft beer, which passed the test with flying colours. As we were finishing lunch the Merc dealership phoned to say our cars were ready, so Dean and I set off in the hotel shuttle to collect the cars. when we arrived there it was typical Merc service – shocking. They had found nothing wrong with my car so they washed it, they put Dean’s bits and pieces back and washed his car and charged us both R 160!! Disgruntled, we set off to a private garage we came into contact with earlier in the day and the owner there, a Merc “expert” listened to our story and made contact with an auto electrician he was sure would be able to fix my car. We drove it to his workshop and left it there overnight. Back to the hotel where the rest of the group had started trickling in. Reports of shocking roads, broken shock absorbers, overheating cars, oil pump breakdowns, brake failure, and alternator woes were the top topics of conversation. We were so pleased we’d made the decision we had. Shower, supper and to bed.

View from the restaurant where we had lunch

I have to find out how to sort these bloody sideways pics!! I wanted to include this one as its an anthill we see often. The anthill eventually engulfs the whole tree and it dies. The anthill then collapses and presumably the ants move on. (Termites)

14th May 2019/0 Comments/by Barry Pringle

Lap of Namibia

Day 8

Day 8 was supposed to be a drive to Twyfelfontein, but because the SL & SLC had taken a bit of a pounding on the rutted dirt roads we decided not to follow the rest to Twyfelfontein, but instead to head directly for Swakopmund, where the rest of the cars would join us a day later. This meant a trip of 530k’s in one go, but because the roads were all tarred we decided this would be the most sensible course of action. The SL had bottomed out a few times the previous day and had lost it’s number plate and some trim. The SLC had a stone stuck in the left front brake and we had to take off the wheel and coerce the stone out of where it had lodged itself, between the disc and cover plate. The driver who has bad sciatica, was also suffering. The 230CE was doing fine, but had a slow puncture and a battery that was flat every morning and the co driver had a “bad back” and wasn’t keen about travelling on more rough stuff. The 280 was starting to use water and overheat a bit as well has having selective co operation when it came to starting, especially at the most inconvenient times – like on a garage forecourt just after filling with fuel! The occupants of the 280 were in very high spirits.

We left the camp after a leisurely breakfast and headed for the gate 17 k’s away. We got there without incident and waited our turn in the queue. We passed the initial inspection, but when we were asked to produce our permit and proof of payment the document was nowhere to be found. No amount of pleading helped. My persuasive powers failed me and even Jill in her sweet way couldn’t persuade the fat authoritative all powerful woman in charge of the gate to let us out. The only thing we could do was head back to the camp and sort the problem out at the “office”. So, back we went and after a five minute wait left with an official piece of paper and headed back to the exit gate. They were ready for us when we arrived, the guard said, “they have paid” and the fat, authoritative, all powerful woman, after studying the map on the side of my car, incredulous we had traveled “so far” in an old car, wished Jill Happy Mothers day and waved us on our way!!

The official piece of paper that allowed us to leave the park!

Our route to Swakopmund – I don’t know how to change from landscape to portrait!! Through Outjo, Hartseer, Kalkfield, Omaruru, Erongo, Rossing and Swakopmund.

As we progressed the landscape was getting decidedly more like we expected Namibia to be like – sandy! The road was tar all the way and we made good time.

I’ll carry on with Day 8 later – I’m being hounded to go to lunch!

13th May 2019/0 Comments/by Barry Pringle

Lap of Namibia

Day 7

Still in Etosha and eager to move on to the next overnight stop, Okaukuejo, about 120k’s away. Well, the road was something else! Very rutted and the day was hot. Thank goodness for aircon and power steering. We tried going slowly and we tried going faster, but we couldn’t find a comfortable speed to iron out the ruts and at the same time preserve, or at least not wreck the cars! We just carried on. It was definately getting a lot drier and “desserty”, with the drought they are experiencing taking it’s toll on the water levels. All of the rivers were sandy expanses and we couldn’t see any water in the pan. Don’t know how the animals survive here. The Pan is vast and I took a pic of a map at our “welcome break” to keep as a reminder of the vastness of the area. Pete, your rusks were a real life saver and our group really enjoyed them. (they are now finished!!)

View of the Pan going off into the distance.

This road doesn’t wind! Its a long and dusty road.

The animals are in surprisingly good condition.

This one’s for you Stu. One of the very few birds we saw.

having left our welcome break we came across a waterhole and spent 1/2 hour watches a very large herd of elephant, comprising old and young ellies, having a sand bath. It was amazing to watch. This is a shot of a small part of the herd.

Eventually we reached our destination. Again, hot thirsty and hungry. Again we solved the issue with cold draft, burgers and a swim in the resort pool.

13th May 2019/0 Comments/by Barry Pringle

Lap of Namibia

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!

Entrance to Etosha National Park and Namutoni camp, our first overnight stop in the park.

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.

Explaining the finer points of getting a car started to Jill.

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!

The shelter at the watering hole. Jilly on the left. We didn’t see anything other than buck, although some later claimed to have seen an elephant and a lioness.

A bird on the head of our outdoor shower. We had a beautiful hot shower “out in the open” a wonderful experience. Every room had an outdoor shower. One inside too as it is a bit cool in the morning!

13th May 2019/0 Comments/by Barry Pringle

Lap of Namibia

Days 3,4 & 5

Internet Connection was very poor on these days so I have decided to post a whole lot of pictures and say something about them by way of a quick catch up. Then I’ll be back on track.

Our hotel at Maun – very comfortable and very good food.

Wherever we went there were animals crossing the road.

The daily pit stop – there were a few each day, with the group studying the map on the side of the car to see where we were.

Typical Botswana scenery, flat sandy and lots of bush!

Botswana is streets ahead of SA when it comes to potholes! You can’t see too clearly from the pic but these were deep!

We found an amazing place for lunch Sepopa Swamp Stop. Sounds like something out of the deep south but it was great. We had delish toasted sarmies, chips and beer there. Stayed for at least ans hour.

At long last we made the Namibian border and made it with minutes to spare! we even had to endure a power failure and rebooting of the computer!

Straight after the border we entered the Mahango game Park where it is alleged there is more game than in Etosha! Hope not – we are going to spend 2 nights in Etosha.

The road and a Baobab growing sideways! No wonder it had no leaves!

Sunrise at our overnight stop, Day 4 Rainbow River Lodge – Divindu

No idea why these pics come out sideways

Bloody big croc – looks like he’s just eaten!

In a pool out of the hurly burly of the rapids. Fish came and nibbled on our feet.

Sideways again – starting to think its the beer.

Supper Table all laid out at Nunda River Lodge – next door to the dump we stayed in.

Sideways shot, again. of the dinner table. Brilliant 3 course meal.

Tsumeb was a welcome intervention. I felt a bit like them!

Our Hotel in Tsumeb – Very cheap great draft (R21 for 500ml) great food – we had a braai and it was excellent then we went on to win the quiz! Proof that beer increases one’sability to recall long forgotten facts. Our prize – free dinner tomorrow night!

The pool. Water was chilly despite the hot day.

The view of the courtyard outside our room

9th May 2019/0 Comments/by Barry Pringle

Lap of Namibia

Day 2

Clearly our trip through Botswana is just a means of getting to Namibia, evidenced by the 2 nights we spend in Botswana compared to the twelve in Namibia. That should have been obvious from the start, but never having traveled to Botswana before, I expected a bit more. Today’s leg is the longest one we’ll do (in excess of 600k’s) and it served to get us within striking distance of the Botswana/Namibia border, which we’ll cross tomorrow. the scenery en route was much the same as yesterday, although some lucky peeps managed to see some elephant about 100k’s outside of Maun. The most exciting thing I saw was a monster truck! I thought of the Durban beachfront when I saw it and had images of what it could be used for flashing through my, at times, over fertile imagination.

There was nowhere to stop for a meal or drinks on this rather sparsely populated route so we had to rely on our snack provisions, ice cold coke, thanks to ice from last night’s hotel and of course Peter V’s amazing rusks. I reckon he could make a business out of selling them! we stopped numerous times for a water break and to empty our bladders. Always interesting to stop on the side of the road because others on the tour generally tend to stop also and chats about all sorts of things take place.

We came across our first Salt pan about 120k’s after Orapo and wondered at it’s extent and the aridness of the area. It was patently obvious that nothing grows on a salt pan! I later heard from a Botswana resident, who is on our trip, that years ago that salt pan was covered with water and he and his brother used to have endless fun boating on the river!

Maun seemed to take forever to reach but we eventually got there. And to my absolute joy, we turned off onto a sand road. It didn’t last long, maybe a kilometre or two, but it was so good to be off the tar and I hope a taste of more to come. Our hotel is great and after an “interesting” dinner – goat curry and a R 600 bottle of red wine – we are headed for bed and an early start tomorrow to allow for time at the border post and arrival in the Caprivi. Maybe I might just catch a Tiger!!

6th May 2019/0 Comments/by Barry Pringle

Lap of Namibia

Day 1

Day one kicked off at the Olivedale Corner Shopping Centre where we met some of the folk who were coming along on the ride, the rest having left directly from their various homes. A few cars set off and I decided to go after them. By the time we reached the main road they were out of sight and with sketchy route notes we turned right instead of left and headed off in entirely the wrong direction. Great start!! Anyway we soon realised our mistake and did a u turn doubling back the way we had come. After a couple of tense moments we were back on track and heading for Pretoria happily chortling along the N1 trying to make sense of some not so clear route instructions. After an hour or so we were passed by the sweep vehicle and relieved we were clearly on the right route we settled into their slipstream. After another 1/2 hour or so we pulled off the N1 for the breakfast stop at the designated Wimpy. Well, this was another surprise as the Wimpy was undergoing major reconstruction and meals were being served out of a makeshift kitchen! The only breakfast available was a Wimpy cheese burger and chips.

The burgers were surprisingly good – trust Wimpy to get that right – and the coffee was great. Jill had a coke with ice in a glass, so was very happy. Soon after we arrived three other Mercs pulled in to refuel and have breakfast and our day suddenly got a whole lot brighter. They had also had a delayed start to their journeys for a variety of reasons and we soon concluded that it was just as well we had all been delayed otherwise we wouldn’t have met up! We all clicked and decided to travel in convoy for the rest of the journey, mainly because one car knew where they were going and the rest of us had no clue.

The Merc brigade getting ready to leave.

The rest of the trip to the Botswana border was uneventful.The vegetation mainly bushveld with a lot of thorn trees. The main pastime of everybody in Limpopo seems to be hunting and we passed many game and or hunting lodges. The roads were lined with game fences. We saw a number of baobab trees of varying size and quite a lot of anthills which I haven’t seen for quite some time. Most of them seemed to be attached to smallish trees, some reaching to the top of the tree and others totally engulfing the tree.

A highlight was passing through the Tropic of Capricorn, which I didn’t know passed through South Africa (duh!) Alas a bit too quickly and unexpected so I missed out on a photo opportunity. The countryside was surprisingly flat – not sure what I expected it to be like!! We also passed by Zuma’s investments the twin huge power stations at Mendupi – plus a coal mine nogal.

The SA border post at Grobler’s Bridge was a breeze as was entry into Botswana with, for once, rather pleasant officials in attendance.

Jill dabbing her feet to cleanse them of foot & mouth disease before proceeding into Botswana. We had to take all our shoes out of the car and “dab” them too!!

Once in Botswana the terrain was very like Limpopo but a lot more domesticated. We saw stacks of cows, sheep and goats as well as our favourite, donkeys, plenty of them all in good condition and boasting coats of a variety of colours. We even saw a few baby donks – doals???? or are they just foal.

After about an hours drive we reached our overnight stop, the Majestic Five hotel. Really nice very comfortable, large spacious rooms, aircon, cold beer and coke! A very raucous evening with great food and good company. To bed, tired and happy wondering what tomorrow will bring.

5th May 2019/0 Comments/by Barry Pringle

Lap of Namibia

And so it starts.

So, we’re off! We left a drizzly misty Hillcrest at 9.30am heading to Jo’burg for the start of our trip tomorrow. On the way we stopped off in Hilton to wish Lea a happy birthday and to say hi to the girls. After something warm to drink we set off up the N3. The trip was uneventful as we passed through some of our favourite parts of SA. The beautiful KZn Midlands – all rolling hills and lush green meadows, so reminiscent of parts of England, and on through Northern KZN where things are quite a bit drier with thorn trees and scrub land becoming dominant. The weather had become decidedly warmer after Mooi River and the climb up Van Reenens pass, as a result of roadworks, gave us an idea of what it was like to travel the N3 at the speed the huge truck trailers travelling this route have to contend with.

Reaching the top of the pass all we could think of was the Wimpy on the outskirts of Harrismith, our usual halfway pitstop, and the milkshake and coke didn’t disappoint!

We pushed on through the Free State, the landscape changing to a mix of dry mealies, wheat coloured grassland and a sprinkling of exotic trees that should have been pulled out long ago. The Cosmos in their final throes of spectacular splashes of pink and white blooms didn’t disappoint either. We always wonder at the number of beef cattle grazing in the fields adjoining the national highway and this time also saw a flock (?) of Ostriches. The Free State also gives us a laugh as we chuckle at the road signs warning “drive carefully when wet” and we wonder how many drivers pass through the Free state wet, or how in fact they get wet. We still haven’t come up with an answer!

Then across the Vaal and we are in Gauteng and altogether different scenery. Greener than the Free State but not as green as KZN. Ochre coloured kopies and rocks carpeted with green grass and the inevitable thorn tree. More beef farms, more haste on the road, more speed traps, more evidence of human existence, more built up, towns, landing strips, open cast quarries and then the City skyline appears and before we know it we are in Jo’burg, settling into the hotel, sitting next to the pool, drinking beer and wine, watching the sun set, eating supper and in to bed. Tomorrow the Lap on Namibia begins and we need to wake early. Can’t wait to discover what the next few days have in store for us.

4th May 2019/0 Comments/by Barry Pringle

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