Today we enjoyed a great adventure in the dunes.
Ulf, an experienced dune driver from Walvis Bay gave us a course on how to drive in the dunes. Something we definitely can’t practise at home.
We drove up and down on all kinds of different dunes, small ones, big ones, steep ones, long ones and managed to get stuck only once! Yihaaa! Sandra sure had the time of her life =)
While travelling on the Rock Arch 4×4 route we suddenly heard a loud metally “CLUNK”!! So we stopped and looked underneath the car to investigate. Apparently those few off-road kilometers were too much for one of our front stabilizers. Lucky for us: We have a spare! Finally something breaks that we are prepared for.
But…of course… it wasn’t as easy as we thought. =) We tried and tried but we just couldn’t manage to get the screws off. DAMN!
So we went to the closest garage on our route, the Toyota in Okahandja. Where we met the most unfriendly reception ever. The whole place looked like a building site and was almost deserted. When turning around in the courtyard we saw some movement at the Parts and Services counter and went in. After waiting several minutes for the reception lady to finish her private call she immediately informed us that they are all extremely busy and wont be able to help us. Oookay…
So we took our business next door to a small tyre and fitment centre.
The guys here really made an effort but the old stabilizer was completely stuck. In the end we even had to follow one of the mechanics home to get the grinder. After a few kilometers we stopped at a small workshop in the middle of one of the informal settlements. People here were definitely not used to tourist visits and we kind of stuck out.
The workshop had several old cars in the yard and an amazing collection of spares in a shack. The stabilizer was no match for an original Bosch grinder finally came off in a cloud of sparks. The new part was fixed within 5 minutes and now we are good as new again. Right on time for some dune bashing on the weekend!
Before we spoil our Patsy with some much needed repairs and maintenance in Swakopmund we went off into the bush for a last, last time.
We went to the Namib Naukluft to take a closer look at the Blutkoppie and the Rock Arch and we really liked it a lot. We enjoyed the silence and solitude of being out in another almost empty National Park. We were the only people camping at Rock Arch and enjoyed the amazing views climbing around on the various boulders. We saw some Oryx, Zebras, Springboks, Giraffes, Suricates, some cute unidentified rats and even two more snakes.
The only girl who ever managed to talk her way into our luxury rooftop suite.
Jo-Ann is a lovely little dachshund, also called sausage dog, that lives at Harmonie farm near Windhoek. She joined us immediately after our arrival at the tiny campsite and stayed at our side all evening. When the time came for us to climb up our bedroom ladder Jo-Ann swiftly disappeared in the dark and, we assumed, went home to bed.
But at 2 am we were woken by soft crying. And after investigation found little Jo-Ann shivering at the foot of our ladder. We tried ignoring her at first but as she persistently kept up the noise we realized this could be a long night and made alternative plans…
Sandra climbed down the ladder, found our fleece blanket and made a little doggy corner right up in the rooftop tent for our surprise visitor. Jo-Ann immediately snuggled down at this luxury spot. She rolled up tight and was already asleep before we could get back in our sleeping bags.
Somehow we think she might have done this before! =)
We are currently camping/parking in the courtyard of Backpakcers Unite in Windhoek and are really enjoying the basic luxuries (comfy living room sofa’s, a real kitchen and a slow but free wi-fi) on offer.
Up until this trip we both only ever stayed at backpackers during our student years and weren’t very impressed with the facilities then. But coming back with our own bedroom strapped to the car (our rooftop tent) gave us a different, more favourable impression. Especially when it rains the kitchen and living room commonly available at any backpackers add a nice comfortable living space.
Saturday nights are braai nights here at Backpackers Unite and at 7 pm a nice selection of guests gathered outside at the poolside terrace for a cosy evening. Dean, the current Backpackers Unite guy for everything (manager, receptionist, repairman and agony aunt) set up a nice big fire and before we knew it the buffet was set up with delicious chili steak ala Freddie and Angolan prawns.
A night to remember!
At lake Oanob Resort you can book campsites that set a new standard to luxury camping.
For 150N$ (~15€) pp you get a little house with a complete kitchen, an extra floor and fold down walls right at the side of the Oanob Dam. There is even a small lawn and private stairs leading down to the water. WOW!
Yep, we did it. We visited Sesriem canyon and Dune 45 and Dead vlei. Another one of those been there, done that experiences.
We didn’t really want to go to this tourist trap but as we are here…. and we dont have anywhere else to be…. and… etc we decided to drive the few extra kilometers and go form our own opinion. We even joined the 5:45 traffic jam at the entrance gate to see the beautiful sunrise within the dunes.
Due to the rainy season we had lots and lots of big puddles on the road to Sesriem. Instead of carefully treading our way around we decided to have some fun!
YIHAAA! Our car looks awful, but we enjoyed the trip very much!
Pfffft.
After being offline for 3 weeks our first goal after leaving the Kgalagadi NP was to find an internet connection. Mariental seemed the closest location possible so we started asking around immediately and there seemed to be two options.
1) The telecom shop
2) A newly opened independent internet café that everybody had heard about, but nobody really knew where it exactly was
Always in for a challenge, we decided to look for the independent shop first. And after asking around in town (at our accommodation, at the filling station, at the spar supermarket, at Mariental’s top range hotel and even the butchery) we finally found the right courtyard, only to stand in front of the closed doors!
Next we decided to try out the Telecom shop. This was a whole lot easier to find and the lady at the counter happily sold us a 50N$ voucher for their Wi-Fi. After 30 minutes of trying we still couldn’t connect to the internet and our list of possible solutions ran out.
When we asked to use the other available pc that was connected to the landline we realized that the Telecom network itself had a problem and the Telecom employees started calling in their IT support. It then turned out that the whole network was down and they were working on a solution.
Hmmm. As our two available options in Mariental were not working we decided to drive to the next town en-route. This was Maltahöhe, approximately 120 km away.
We arrived in Maltahöhe around 2 pm and first tried the local Telecom shop again. But due to renovations they did not have their internet set up at the moment. Next stop was the local hotel that had a big sign promising free Wi-Fi but also here there was no connection available. New owners had taken over and were still waiting for Telecom to setup their connection….
But the hotel manager knew of one other place that offered internet. The Woestijnkombuis, a filling station café on the main road, a place we would never have looked at twice for a Wi-Fi. We got back in the car and drove up to the Woestijnkombuis and were finally able to download our emails! Yippie!
From Maltahöhe we continued towards Sesriem as our overnight destination was the Betesda Lodge. A Christian retreat that advertises with their free Wi-Fi. But with our internet luck we happened to arrive in the middle of a powerful thunderstorm. At the moment there is no power and therefore…… no internet! So we are currently sitting in the lobby, writing this text as a preparation for the next connection opportunity =D
This is Africa!
Travelling Patsy 