As the gates to the Skeleton Coast park closes behind us we still can not believe our luck! The Bushmen called it "The Land God Made in Anger" and the Portuguese knew it as "The Gates of Hell" but we call it Heaven!
The Skeleton Coast is normally associated with famous shipwrecks and stories of sailors walking for hundreds of kilometers through this barren landscape in search of food and water. The well known and documented crouching skeleton found buried near the wreck of the Dunedin Star is one such example, but the Skeleton Coast's name actual came from the whale and seal bones that lined the beaches from whaling operations and seal hunts.
As we drive further into the park we come across some ship wrecks and further on we come across the abandoned oil rig. This oil rig with its massive V16 Cat engine dates back to the sixties and was de-commissioned in the early seventies. Today this old oil rig is home to all kinds of desert life.
Further on we pass the old Toscanini mining site and another ship wreck. Late that afternoon we reach Torra Bay where we plan to camp that evening. We pick a spot on the beach where we pitch our tent and as the sun sets I take a picture of Paddatjie tucked for the night.
The next morning we try to get the permits required to carry on along the coast to the mouth of the Kunene, but this time we are out of luck. Permits are only available to a select group of tour operators and that is not our cup of tea so we decide to reroute.
Epupa Falls seems to be out of our reach on this trip. To get there from here will mean that we will have to drive some very difficult routes and from what I recall from my army days these roads can slow you down to a crawl. We don't have the time to attempt this 500km+ stretch where we can very likely be slowed down to only a few kilometers per day, so we scrap Epupa. We are now going to Etosha via Khorixas after some locals told us about the 3 million year old petrified forrest. They direct us to a small private forrest way off the main route and off we go.
From Torra Bay we drive back on the road we came with for about 8km and here we turn left. The road sign at this crossing has a crows nest on top of it with two baby crows staring down at us as if they are asking us what we are doing here in their home. As we go further the sandy desert gives way to a black rock desert. Later we arrive at the other gate to the Skeleton Coast National park. This gate is not as impressive as the first one, in fact this is just a simple farm gate. A young boy runs up and opens the gate, his face lights up when he receives a packet of sweets and he waves as we drive off.
The C39 takes us into the mountains where it starts to snake through the kloofs. As we come around a bend in the road I realize that this is no normal bend, its a sharp left with a sheer rock wall on the left and a 50m plunge on the right, I went in too fast!! The trailer breaks away and tries to overtake us, but Paddatjie digs deep as my right foot presses the pedal to the floor and pulls the trailer back in line as she drifts around the bend. I get the normal earful from both Lizel and Zandre and I slow down a little bit for now. Silently i thank Mitsubishi engineers for increasing the ASC re-activation speed to 120km/h on this model. If the ASC was on we would have ended up next to the road in that kloof!
At Khorixas we fill up both Paddatjie's tank and the Jerry cans which I had to use the previous day. After that we carry on on the C39 towards Outjo for about 29km and then we turn off on a small dirt road leading to the petrified forrest we were told about. The road turns into a two spoor road and eventually we arrive at the "office" that is nothing more than a rock kraal with a shade cloth draped over it. The "tour guide" is very glad to see us since we are the first people he has seen in the last 3 weeks, or so he says. He charges $20.00 to "look after our vehicle" another $20.00 per person and another $20.00 to show us where to go on the trail. Well, he made his $100.00 out of us and because of his friendliness we did not mind. Fact is when he left with us to show us the trail, I wondered how he managed to also watch the vehicle?! Ha-Ha...
Later that afternoon we arrived at Sophienhof, a private game farm just outside Outjo. We got a chalet and while Lizel unpacked I unhooked the trailer. The plan was to stay here for two nights and drive to Etosha for the day.
As I got back into Paddatjie and tried to start, the key refused to turn! I pulled the key out, put it back and tried again and again. An hour later and I reached a low point, I had to call for help! I called Imperial in George where I bought Paddatjie and the lady said that someone from road assist would call me back. Well, I knew that if I did not get this sorted out our trip would be over. I went for a swim in the pool trying to get my head back in the right place and while I was waiting for Road Assist to call me. The call never came, but then I worked out that the only reason why this would happen could be that dust somehow made its way into the lock and jammed some of the pins. I then took a can of Q20 and flattened the little plastic tube that comes with it so that it slides into the key hole. Then I started to spray, and spray and spray into the lock trying to wash it out. Every now and then I would try the key and then persistence paid off, the key turned. With the lock now working I used the compressor to blow it out, some more Q20 to clean it and I worked it until I could hear all the pins clicking freely as I insert and extract the key. One can of Q20 and 3 hours later and the problem was solved. I called my secretary and told him to call Road Assist to tell them that they don't need to bother, that is if they were bothered in the first place but we will never know...
The next morning we were off before sunrise to Etosha. We arrived at the gates just as the sun rose. I got out and filled out the permit document. The woman at the gate tore out my copy and gave it to me while talking on her cell. I got back into Paddatjie and the woman kept on talking, clearly forgetting about us sitting at the gait waiting for her to press the button so that the gait can open. Eventually I got out and asked het not so nicely this time to open the gate! This is the type of behavior we found throughout Etosha and this is why we decided to never go back there again.
The animals in the park are beautiful, but then how can an animal not be beautiful? Unfortunately I have to say that you can find all these animals just outside Etosha in private reserves where the guest is still respected. We should have gone to Epupa and scrapped Etosha, but; sould have - would have - could have; is useless if you made the wrong decision.
The following morning we hit the road to Windhoek. The city was buzzing when we got there and we decided to drive past. We saw a town called Rehoboth on the map and thought that we would sleep there, but when we got there... That night we ended up in Keetmanshoop at the Quivertree forrest. On the way there Paddatjie's bed was used by both Zandre and Lizel. This was the first time in this whole trip that the distance got to Lizel. We were on the road for 12 hours and when we got to the chalet at the Quiver tree forrest she just wanted to lie down.
The next day we went on the Quiver tree hiking trail and later that day we went to the valley of giants. The afternoon was spent at the chalet, resting and swimming in the pool. Tomorrow we will drive straight through to Oudtshoorn.
At 2:30am we were back on the road. We reached the border post at Nakop at 7:20am. About 90km from this border post we took a dirt road that would eventually lead us to Prince Albert. As we descend the Swartberg Pass at 5:45 that afternoon we look at the place where we live and we realize once again how lucky we are to live here in the heart of the Klein Karoo.
6545km Namibia trip 2012 part 2
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An
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6545km Namibia trip 2012 part 2
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- Jannybee
- Country: South Africa
- Vehicle: 2000 3.0 SWB Pajero (blister fender)
- Location: Johannesburg
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Re: 6545km Namibia trip 2012 part 2
I agree on Etosha - NWR staff are disgusting and they drive waaaaay too fast on their roads and blame tourists! Huge thumbs down to them all.
One is inclined to forget how far things actually are in Namibia. I have yet to work out why the same map distance in SA is not as far as it is in Namibia
Thanks for sharing trip report.
*sigh* to get back on the road to anywhere
One is inclined to forget how far things actually are in Namibia. I have yet to work out why the same map distance in SA is not as far as it is in Namibia
Thanks for sharing trip report.
*sigh* to get back on the road to anywhere
The journey is the destination
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Ki
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Re: 6545km Namibia trip 2012 part 2
What an amazing time you must have had. Found your information very usefull. We are in Kuruman and plan to go to Namibie in December this year.
Was in your town for Christmas and New year. What a beautiful and CLEAN place. Wouldnt mind moving there. So if you hear of a job for an electrician I'm there.
Regards
JOhn
Was in your town for Christmas and New year. What a beautiful and CLEAN place. Wouldnt mind moving there. So if you hear of a job for an electrician I'm there.
Regards
JOhn