Day 8
After waking up early we left the nondescript NWR campsite in Khoriaxas around 9.30am for another day of driving. We were headed another 200 miles north to see the famous desert elephants in the Hoanib valley.
The drive was stunning, again. It was mostly driving along flat plains surrounded by low mountains. The first area were all flat-topped mountains similar to those in Cape Town.
The next area after the small settlement of Palmwag the mountains were more rounded. We were told that there was no fuel ahead in Sesfontein so we topped up the main tank and for the first time filled the 2 x 20l Jerry cans that were mounted on the roof rack. With the long range tank full we now had 180 litres of fuel, 70 litres of water, loads of booze and food.
We passed through Sesfontein and headed through 10 miles of easy sand tracks to the entrance gate, behind which was perched a campsite overlooking the plains. We had to wait a while due to a family of elephants drinking from a waterhole in the riverbed, blocking our route to the campsite.
The campsite is called Elephant Song. It is fantastic and in a superb position, the views are great. Each pitch has its own toilet & kitchen block and a shaded porch overlooking the plains. 580 NAD per night for camping and 450 NAD for 2 days in the valley. Roughly £50 so not exactly cheap, but what a view! It’s the best campsite of the trip so far, and has made it into my top 5 campsites ever. The one at Sesriem takes some beating, but this is better.
Day 9
An early start again, just a cup of coffee for breakfast and we were greeted by a lovely sunrise…
We had another big day planned: a short-ish drive down the Hoanib then a big drive north in the direction of Epupa falls on the Angolan border.
We had a good long chat with a fellow camper Rowan, who has travelled extensively all over Southern Africa and gave us some great tips about our route onward through Namibia, Botswana, and Zambia. I already had a rough route planned and lots of areas with unanswered questions – he was able to give the route a fine tune based on his experiences. We may well catch up with him in a few days in Ruacana.
The Hoanib drive was great. You can follow this route all the way to the skeleton coast if you want, but we were on a limited timescale so just a quick in and out would have to suffice. The trail was a mix of gravel and alternating hard-packed & soft sand. Second gear high range 4wd kept us plugging through it with no problems, although I had to watch out for the patches of softer sand that needed some extra throttle to gun it through.
We did stop to let more air out of the tyres: they were at 25psi so I dropped them down to 17psi. It may have helped, but a downside was lower ground clearance. I could feel the front bash plate acting as a sand-plough and slowing us down in the deeper rutted sections. Speed and power wins the day, and we didn’t get stuck whilst using this mantra.
I noticed a 4wd trail on the map leading up a side valley that went all the way to the Purros road. Taking this would give us a nice 50km loop back to Sesfontein. It looked well used, so we took it and had a great time on the sand trails.
Suma spotted some giraffe under a shade tree ahead of us so we slowed down, expecting them to bugger off as per usual. But they didn’t sprint away, so we managed to get a couple of nice photos before leaving them be. We didn’t see any other wildlife on that morning drive, but there were plenty of signs of elephants.
The Purros road was in bad shape: very rocky and slow going: the sand was faster, more fun and easier on the vehicle. After a failed half-arsed attempt to find some hot springs near Sesfontein we headed north on the long gravel road to Opuwo. We reached there around teatime, surprised that it is quite a large town.
There are a lot of topless Himba women here wearing their really cool traditional dress. Nice to see them going about their business and not trying to flag down foreign travellers to perform for. We stocked up on fuel and snacks at the local Spar, but instantly got mobbed by loads of kids begging for money and food. Not what I wanted after a long drive. I gave a couple of them 10 NAD (about 50p) when they came good on their promise to look after the car while I was in the shop. I was parked next to a truck full of policemen, but it never hurts to double up on protection.
Suma found Kaoko Mopane lodge / campsite just outside of town so we stayed there. It’s fine as a stopover. It has better facilities than the previous night camp and a very nice view across a dry river bed. Fuel-wise we are using around 50 litres per day.
There have been no major issues with the truck, but a couple of niggles with the camper conversion. The main one being dust finding it’s way into the rear canopy, covering everything. Our clothes are in sealed ammo-boxes, the food is all tucked away in the fridge and drawers, so it’s not a major issue. The fridge thermostat is also acting up, but the food & drinks are staying cold, just -5 to +5 degrees C.
It’s feeling more like an expedition than a holiday. Good stuff.
Day 10
Quite a relaxed and slow drive north from Opuwo to Epupa, the road being all smooth gravel with countless dry stream & river bed crossings that we had to crawl through in 2nd gear.
There were loads of traditional Himba villages along the route. Two ladies flagged us down at the side of the road so we stopped. The older one wanted a lift to Epupa, so we obliged. The younger one was wearing traditional dress and kindly allowed us to take her photo.
Arriving at Epupa we had a look at a couple of campsites and settled for a stunning campsite with pool, raised bar and a riverside pitch, all for the princely sum of about £8 each per night. This afternoon I’ll be mostly sitting by the river sipping cold Windhoeks, doing sweet FA.
Day 11
A lazy start to the day, doing work emails and chatting with other campers. We then headed for Ruacana, hoping to find a nice riverside campsite near there.
The road was quite rough and slow going: mostly 3rd gear with plenty of second or first gear rocky or sandy river crossings. A few times we went into low range.
The drive was quite fun with occasional views of the river and across into Angola. There were very few signs of human activity over the border, it was deserted. The Namibian side was more populated. Lots of Himba settlements, cow and goat herds. Always there were small children holding out their hands begging for food and money. It seem like a habit they learn from a very young age.
The lifestyle out here has changed little in thousands of years. The Himba are semi-nomadic: growing crops in the wet season and rearing livestock in the dry season. They all look healthy, and so do their livestock.
We tried a few campsites along the riverbank, but none were anywhere near as nice as the ones at Epupa falls. We have become a bit spoiled with spectacular campsites.
I turned the car into a tree while reversing. Bummer, the dent in the door will pull out easy but the wrap is damaged. Easy fix for a later date.
After failing to find a suitable site, we pushed on to Ruacana, finding the EHA lodge & campsite near the town centre. It was getting close to teatime: they had a bar and a functioning restaurant so we decided to stay there. It was quite posh being a service hotel for the nearby power station. My steak was great, my first decent meal since the last steak in Swakopmund.
Day 12 – Olifantrus campsite
There was a bit of a faff in the morning, after re-inflating the tyres for the smooth tar road ahead. I lost a tyre pressure management sensor that I had left on the rear tyre and then drove off, burying it forever in the sand.
Fortunately the system still works without constant beeping from the missing one.
The drive from Ruacana to the western Etosha National Park gate was lovely smooth asphalt, so we quickly smashed through the 300km distance. No roadside begging kids to be seen. Just loads of sheep and cow herds crossing the roads. Even on the tar, you can’t drift off into a daydream. But it was a nice break from almost 2 weeks of constant corrugated gravel, rocks and sand.
Entering the western gate we wanted to stay at the new Oliphantrus campsite about 70km inside the park. Since booking ahead requires too much effort, i asked about availability at the new campsite at the gate (as per the advice from other travellers). The lady at the desk was very unhelpful, and could only tell me the distance to the camp. Her colleague on a different desk was far more helpful: he phoned ahead to the camp. confirmed there was space for us and sent us merrily on our way.
As we are more used to the hugely expensive Tanzanian Parks ($75 USD pppd) I was chuffed to pay only $1050 NAD, approx. £40 gbp for 3 days & nights for 2 people!
On the drive to camp we stopped at a couple of waterholes and saw the following:
Elephant, Greater Kudu, Blue wildebeest, Red Hartebeest, Southern Giraffe, Plains zebra, Mountain Zebra, Springbok, Vulture, Black faced jackal, Ostrich, Oryx.
The park is very flat in the western part with mostly short, parched, widely spaced trees and some more open plains.
The camp is fenced, keeping the wildlife out and the missus happy. There is a waterhole with raised wooden hide/viewpoint. Zebra are skittish but they come close, scampering away at the sound of the camera shutter. Its the closest I’ve been to Zebra. It’s pretty nice here.
Day 13 – Halali campsite
We had a 170km drive across Etosha ahead of us. From west to east heading to Halali camp.
Enormous waterhole with far more animals than you could count, then a large zebra herd marched in, well over 100. Loads of activity: Jackals hunting small birds, Springbok fighting, Oryx fighting, zebra squabbling and jostling for position around the waterhole, wildebeest too. Plenty going on and very entertaining.
We then headed to okakuwejo for lunch. It’s more of a town than a campsite. Continuing on the road was very corrugated, so we just blasted across them, reaching Halali camp at 3pm but pretty tired. The camp waterhole was really nice, there were some elephants when I had a look in. Had a beer and a nap.
A few people had reported Rhino sightings in the area, so I was keen to get back out. I booked a night time game drive (3 hours for £30). The nights are cold and the game vehicles are open. 3 T-shirts and my only 2 hoodies just about kept me warm. The game drive was a bit disappointing. A brief glimpse of a distant Hyena and some snoozing lions. No rhino unfortunately. The lions did break out into some load roaring which was impressive.
Halali campsite does seem to be the best for wildlife at the waterhole. Rhino are regularly spotted there.
Day 14 – Namutoni campsite
Next day I was determined to spot a rhino, so we spent all day winding around the roads, re-checking the same water holes over and again. But without success. Plenty of other animals, but no rhino.
Namutoni camp was our next stop, on the far west of the park. It’s approx 320km wide. We arrived at camp pretty tired again after a long day of driving. Suma had read that the camp was built around an old German fortress. And the Germans didn’t let us down. The fort has amazing 360 degree views across the whole area. The plain and Etosha Pan are flat, so from atop the 100ft battlements you can see for many miles in every direction. There are a number of natural waterholes surrounding 2 sides of the camp.
You can also walk the perimeter of the campsite, they have left a good margin of dense bush separating the fence from the site. Walking the perimeter past the waterholes and through the bush feels as close as you can get to walking in the wild African bush.
After a wash and some beers we will walk the perimeter again when it’s dark. Its a half moon tonight so we won’t need a torch.
So I scared off some giraffe who heard me approaching long before I saw them. We went back to the waterhole later on and there was a lone bull elephant, and 2 spotted hyenas skulking along in the distance.
Rant time…
I chatted to a Namibian guy on the neighbouring pitch on the campsite, and he said they lost 18 Rhino from Etosha in the last year to poachers. This is entirely due to massive demand from the Chinese herbal medicine market. For such a technologically advanced society (world leaders in EV’s for instance) to still believe in such utter bullshit astonishes me.
I did a quick google search to find out why they like Rhino horn. It has very many completely fictional health benefits. In 2018 the Chinese government reversed a ban on Rhino horn being used. They now allow if for ‘scientific research’. Words fail me.
Understandably, the Chinese are not popular in Namibia. When Namibians talk about Chinese, they lead with: “I’m not being racist, but…’
