Namibia
Day 184 05/07
Dan Viljoen Nature Reserve, Nr Windhoek
16 953 miles
We enentually made it out of Angola after 10 days and didn't even have to pay a fine. So to celebrate we stopped at Pick 'n' Pay and stocked up on boerewors and wine and had a great braai - a welcome change from tuna and pasta. We needed some serious r and r and everything needed a good clean so we decided to head for Windhoek first before touring aroun Namibia. In Windhoek we also applied for new British passports as the old ones were nearly full. We had to wait a few days so instead of hanging about town we went out to Dan Viljoen. A nice little place to relax. It's been really cold at night in Namibia - we even had ice in the tent one morning and all the water taps had frozen.
Day 192 13/07
Palmwag Lodge, Palmwag
17 568 miles
We eventually got out of Windhoek and went to Swakopmund. We spent another few days there just getting chores done and enjoying some walks around town and along the beach. The batteries recharged, we are now exploring Damaraland and Kaokoveld. We spent two nights in the Spitzkoppe as we found a great little camp spot and enjoyed some bird watching and a walk. We the went to the Brandenberg, we found a great campsite on the Ugab river in the hope of seeing some elephants. We didn't see any but think we heard one during the night. Today we came up the back tracks to Palmwag and it turned out to be a bit of a game drive. We spotted ostrich, springbok, giraffe and even an elephant just off the road. An elephant also wandered by our campsite just after we arrived. Palmwag Lodge is a beautiful spot. The camping is a tad on the expensive side - but worth it. There's hot bush showers, well decked out campsites and all situated right on the river (no water) where animals wander by.
Day 198 19/07
Nakambale Community Camp, Ondangwa
miles
What adventure we've been having. We ventured into the Kaokoveld which is a true wilderness area. There is not a lot out there except for a few Himba and some wildlife. The Himba are a real hardy lot living on next to nothing in the desert and the women are very striking in their red clay body paint and goat skin skirts. The highlight of our excursion into Marienfluss was spotting 2 cheetah wondering across the road, unfortunately they were on a mission so did not hang about for a photo call - but we've seen wild cheetah at last! Getting to the Marienfluss was a hair-raising experience. Leaving Opuwo you travel on a grav el road which gets narrower and rockier the further you go until eventually you hit the top of van Zyl's pass - an awsome experience but not for the faint-hearted or inexperienced driver. There are huge rocks and holes all while trying to negotiate a very, very steep downhill on the edge of a mountain. The pass is so steep that you can't drive up it! We're now heading for the Caprivi and Zambia - sticking to tar for a while.