The Long Way Home
" It's not the destination, it's the journey."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Well I expect you thought that was the end of the Angola blog but I have decided to add a travel addendum this time. Many people will not travel to places if they are too far away. It feels like too much effort, maybe it will take too long, travelling can be exhausting and tedious, especially overlanding in Africa, the distances can be quite intimidating and disheartening. So it is with Angola, it's a solid 4 -5 day drive each way. You could be forgiven for feeling, by the time you get home, you may need another holiday. So when we popped out of Angola we were not really looking forward to the long way home, although we had, at least, allowed a little over a week for the trip.
In the event our meanderings home were filled with such fantastic experiences, unexpected and familiar, that this part of the trip just emphasised the fact that travel is a destination in itself and you should never be put off by how far away a destination is. Just give yourself time and enjoy the moment.
This is the story of the Long Way Home.
Etosha, You Beauty!
The Northern reaches of Namibia are surprisingly heavily populated. A string of forgettable and unpronounceable towns span the area. We call them the O towns, Oshikuku, Outapi, Oshakati, etc, memorable only for being the only place we ever suffered grand theft larceny in Namibia when someone lifted all our warm clothes from the back of the truck when we were en route to drop our daughter at a little airport in 2008.
On the whole we move through this area fast but it does have the advantage of being the gateway to the back door of Etosha park, allowing you to run down the east side of the park on the way south. No one who has ever visited Etosha can pass within a 100 km of it without swinging in for a visit and we were no exception.
Using some creative calendaring I decided we could spare 4 nights.
We entered the north gate early in the morning. It was dry dry this side of the park and we meandered down the waterholes. The heat shimmered across the pan as the sun rose higher. It was going to be hot in Etosha
We were lucky to get a night in Namutoni and 2 in Halali. This late in the season you can usually get accommodation in Etosha without a booking. They are also flexible and you can move camps on the day, and without penalty, if there is space available. The various camps don't really communicate with each other so we could not find out about the camps further west until we got there. Unfazed we settled in and jumped into the pool.
In the afternoon the game was lethargic. Even the lion only got up to drink and then fell over again. I knew how he felt. Etosha was cooking.
It is our observation that Etosha camps have phases, sometimes all the action is east and sometimes west or central. You cannot always tell where to head and it pays to move around. Next day we set off West. We found black rhino, cheetah and lion en route but the elephants were scarce. So was their food. They had flattened the vegetation.
At Halali the pool was a welcome relief from the laser beam heat, and that afternoon the plains were again empty, but the heat of the day resulted in wild action at the night waterhole, rhino, elephant, lion and hyena laughing, trumpeting and roaring the night away. We even heard the noise a rhino makes when warning off elephant. There are so many layers in nature, many of which we miss as we ramble through the bush. No one gets to go to bed early in Etosha.
Supper at the Halali restaurant for Ians birthday
The campsite at Okaukuejo
Next day Ian and Carmen, sure that Etosha was not going to perform, made the decision to leave for Windhoek to see some friends. We turned our noses west again and headed for Okaukuejo where we secured 2 nights. I even managed to persuade them I was a Namibian pensioner. I am not sure how that happened but we got a discount. No complaints.
This was our last throw of the dice for Etosha magic. Our favourite waterhole in Etosha is M'Bari which is 60 km west of Okaukuejo It is the only water in over 50 km in all directions so it often attracts huge herds, but it's a long drive to get there and you will usually be out all day in the blazing sun. We decided we would spend our day at Okaukuejo at M'Bari. A decision we did not live to regret.
M'Bari
We found the motherlode on the route. 4 prides of lion and the M'Bari waterhole filled with every animal. The dust was flying and twirlies crisscrossed the plain. Huge groups of elephants came and bullied their way to the best drinking spots, ostrich with trains of tiny babies, panting springbok and fighting zebras. We had it all. We had to keep turning the car to give one of us respite from the sun. Our eyes were red from the dust but we could not get enough of this incredible story unfolding in front of us. We spent a full 13 hours out that day and regretted not a second. That is the magic of Etosha that keeps you coming back for more. It never gets old.
That night we fell into bed exhausted although Sonia and Mike managed to out last us at the night waterhole. Giraffe, rhino and lion all visited. Etosha, you beauty!
Goodnight Etosha
Mount Etjo
Leaving Etosha our next stop was Mount Etjo, just north and west of Windhoek, where we planned to meet up with Ian and Carmen again. If you throw your mind back to our early adventures at the Angolan border, we had met a couple, Annette Oelofse and her partner Rudi there who had sold elephants to Stefan. They had told us of their lodge and casually invited us to visit them. We decided this would make a great stop just before we turned east for Gobabis. A last hurrah if you like.
Of course we did not book, nor did we inform Annette and Rudi we were coming, it felt the acquaintance was still a bit tenuous to take advantage of them.
When we arrived it turned out that it was a busy weekend with accommodation in short supply.
We managed to get a campsite for 1 night but then we had to move into the lodge for our second night. A bit expensive in our terms, but after all our trials and tribulations it felt like a bit of a reward before the last push home.
There is no self drive in their small reserve so we booked a game drive the next day. They also told us we could not access the sunken photohide as they were too full. That was a blow. We swallowed our disappointment. We would see what we would see.
The camp site was beautiful and situated away from the lodge. There were 6 sites each with kitchen, bathroom, firepit, electricity and a small fridge. As it was outside the main game area there were walks and trails from the campsite, one along a cliff to a koppie with convincing dinosaur footprints
The scenery was breath taking, eagles soared over head and we felt lucky to have found such a lovely spot. The Damara Dik Dik skidded between rocks. Reunited again for the last leg of our journey and even dinosaurs thrown in!
Who could ask for more?
Dinosaur Footprints
Next day the truck pitched up to collect us for our drive. As it was loaded to capacity it was challenging holding on to all the cameras but everyone was friendly. The road was rough but we saw loads of animals and birds. There were so many rhinos and we were told that Annette runs a rhino orphanage at the lodge.
There were many patrol vehicles around, some with mounted weapons so they clearly take their antipoaching activities seriously. On one particularly rocky road, we met another vehicle driven by Rudi. He had been out scouting lion. Initially he looked at us clearly puzzled so I smiled at him and said " don't worry we are still wearing the same clothes" and he broke into a huge smile. He had actually recognised Dudleys clothes. You may have noted as these blogs progress that we carry very few changes of clothing. Anyway he remembered us well, was really friendly, and he said he would let Annette know we were here.
After breakfast we packed up to move into the lodge. There was a notable increase in warmth towards us from the lodge staff. Annette had left a message she would meet us for tea that afternoon. We had turned from dirty ragamuffins to VIP guests.
The lodge is very pretty , set in lush gardens and rolling lawns with a waterhole right in front. Waterbuck and hippos were out grazing and lots of birds including flamingos and pelicans. The rooms were spacious and comfortable.
That afternoon we met Rudi and Annette for tea and cake on the terrace. The lodge was started by Annettes husband, a man called Jan Oelofse, an icon in game capture circles. He worked in Hluhluwe in the 60s and pioneered the use of helicopters and plastic tunnels to capture herds of game, a conservation friendly alternative to culling. His vision initially encountered a lot of resistance from the Parks Board bosses, but turned out to be so successful it is still in use today, the Oelofse Method. After he left Parks Board he started his own game capture business and he first rented and then bought the land which he eventually turned into Mount Etjo. Since his death Annette runs the lodge and reserve with her children. Although it was initially a hunting lodge, it seems now to be mostly conservation based as well as breeding and selling animals. Rhinos are one of her passions. She is on standby for orphaned rhinos all the time and will go and collect them when the call goes out. When we were there she had word of a possible baby rhino in need and immediately put her holiday plans on hold while waiting to hear.
She was delighted with the recent success of the elephant translocation to Angola. She has moved elephants before, to the DRC, an interesting and challenging relocation, which has been made into a documentary called Paid In Blood. Not yet available but we are waiting with keen anticipation when it is released.
We spent a fascinating 2 hours chatting with Rudi and Annette. It again reinforces the amazing random encounters you experience when travelling. Encounters which inspire you and enrich you and fill you with gratitude for the kindness of strangers and the wonder of the world.
As a final gesture of generosity Annette said of course we could use the photohide the next day and arranged for the transport to take us there for our own session early in the morning. Wow.
We rounded out the day with a delicious meal in the restaurant with lots of game meat on the menu.
So for our final morning we were collected before sunrise and taken to a waterhole where a small sunken hide was perched on the edge of the water. This area is kept separate for some of the bull rhino because if they are all together with the females the bulls fight too much. It was a small hide and they had bought extra chairs to accommodate us. It was a bit of a squash but no one minded. A white rhino at the water hole ran when he arrived and then all went quiet for a bit.
Just when I had given up hope a black rhino appeared and walked curiously right up to the hide before falling down under a tree and falling asleep. White rhinos started to come out of the bush and collect at the waterhole. First 2 then 3 and eventually there were 9 or 10 just grazing around the waterhole. In fact there was a fine dusting of alfalfa at the waterhole which probably explained their congregation. Annette had told us they supplemented the food in winter with alfalfa, a major cost for them and one of the reasons they sell off game, including the Cuatir elephants, during the Namibian drought cycles. This dry land cannot support high densities of game.
We had a fabulous couple of hours with the game at this waterhole, shooting from ground level. It's a great photographic find, especially for up close and personal rhinos. When we left we tiptoed out but the rhinos did not take much notice.
If you ever find yourself heading through Namibia, or in Windhoek at the beginning or end of your adventure, this place is a gem for a stopover, refresh, reset or just chill.
And so just like that we had to get going. Our days now were all used up. Sonia and Mike had to make Johannesberg airport in 2 days time so we turned our noses east and hit the familiar Transkalahari highway.
Tyger Tyger Burning Bright
Our last night together was on the Botswana border at Lobatse, overlooking SouthAfrica on the far side of the Limpopo river. Mike emptied his truck and we were the beneficiaries of numerous bits of kit he had bought for the trip. He also found enough toilet rolls and soap for another 3 months, squirrelled away by Vicky. It was a bitter sweet parting. 3 months living together, laughing together, sweating together and memories to last a lifetime.
" Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down"
Oprah Winfrey
I think we just spent 3 months proving we have found our companions on the bus of safari life.
Ian and Carmen accompanied us back south towards home as they were driving Bessie. They would fly out of Durban in a week or so. From the Botswana border we cut south west on the smaller roads and found ourselves in the late afternoon outside Kroonstad. Struggling to find camping we eventually drove into Boskoppie Lion and Tiger Reserve.
What a surreal experience. Their campsite was full of school kids so they opened a chalet for us to use overlooking the reserve.
Behind us, in huge fenced enclosures, were the most beautiful bengal tigers, some white and others golden, sharing space with lionesses. They all got on fabulously.
Just before dusk they brought a whole cow carcass into the enclosure on a tractor and the cats raced off to feed. Going to get things out of the car in the dark was nerve wracking as the roar of the cats was right by your ear and the fence felt short and very fragile. I have personally seen lions jump higher than that. Not your usual wildlife experience.
The Last Hurrah
From Kroonstad we continued south down to the edge of the Drakensberg. The sun shone, the air was crystal clear.
We still had a few days before Ian and Carmen had to fly so we pulled into Giants castle for a last hurrah.
All the Drakensberg is a delight but I have a soft spot for Giants, not least because of the amazing Vulture hide.
After 3 days driving we were hoping for a hike or 2 and time to reflect on the amazing trip we had shared.
We hiked the trails, swam in the sparkling streams and generally enjoyed a change of pace and scenery. The camp was practically empty so we had timed our stop perfectly. Sadly the bushman paintings were closed after a flooding the previous season. Still the landscape was spectacular and the spring flowers were scattered across the slopes.
I was able to book the vulture hide for a day and we rolled up the stony track before dawn with our bucket of bones. The goal was to find the beautiful and conservationally threatened bearded vultures and to tempt them down to land with our bucket of bones but this neat bird hide up on the escarpment is always a good spot for eagles, vultures and birds of all kinds.
The hide and Dudley on jackal duty!
As we left the main road to climb a lone jackal observed our progress. It was no surprise when he made an appearance at the carpark. He knows the roads and the habits of human visitors and he was going to give us a run for our money on the bones. Every time Dudley put the bones out he would either steal them or roll them over the cliff with his nose. It was a fraught situation and we desperately needed a catapult before we ran out of bones!!
Still, in the end there was enough to go round and although the bearded vultures did not land they gave us some fabulous flybys and we enjoyed the kites and buzzards and opportunistic visitors.
And so we reached the end of our trip and after 3 full months on the road the weary travellers pulled in at Mtunzini. We had navigated such a wealth of experiences it was hard to compute it all, indeed it has taken us many months to put this story together and with each episode I am more amazed by the wonder and overwhelmed by the gratitude I feel.
The companionship of good friends, the kindness of strangers, the wonder of our world. I hope you enjoyed our story in the telling as much as we enjoyed it in the making.
"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, narrow mindedness and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all ones lifetime."
Mark Twain