After a 4 day break in Windhoek we set off tomorrow for Swakupmond and then will drive up the Skeleton Coast to the edge of the remote northern region of Namibia called Kaokoland.  There are no proper roads up there.  Neither are there any people, apart from a few Himba tribesmen living in simple villages. Nor are there any re-supply points for water, fuel or food for 700 miles.  If we break down or have a medical emergency we will be on our own. 

Kaokoland is one of the last remaining strongholds of the rare desert black rhino and the desert elephant. For the first time we will find ourselves in lion country and we will have to sleep in tents for safety at night.  The desert elephant live mainly in the dry river beds, feeding off the vegetation there, and we are told can be aggressive.  We have been warned to stay well away from them so we will camp some distance from their feeding grounds and venture in with caution to view them.



After we leave Swakupmond and head for the interior we will lose all mobile phone contact and will only be able to communicate through the rather expensive satellite phone I am carrying for emergencies.  Updates on my blog therefore may be infrequent but I will try to get my family in England to update the blog for me from my occasional and brief satellite phone calls to them as I travel through the area.

21 July

After a lie-in (well until 6.30 am!) we were up and stripping out the Landrovers.  Nigel spend most of the morning in overalls under his vehicle checking oil leaks and Ian got out his angle grinder to cut an offending bit of metal off Nigel's front wheel arch.  With all the kit out of the vehicles, we cleaned the dust off everything and repaired various bits that had become loose from the unrelenting corrugations of the last few days.  The heavily laden Landrovers have stood up remarkably well to the punishment they have taken but switches were loose and nuts needed tightening.  A bit of masking tape was used to cover up the holes where the dust is getting in.

This afternoon we drove to a local Landrover garage and booked the vehicles in for tomorrow morning for minor repairs - a new door hinge, a rattling exhaust, a rubber door seal and a repair to Nigel's propshaft rubber boot.  Tomorrow afternoon Tony Howgrave Graham arrives at the airport.  We will pick him up and then go to Russell Taylor's house for a relaxing weekend.

20 July

We were up with the cold light of dawn, having slept in the open - no tents, just the stars shining above us for company.  A local farmer said there was a 12 foot black mamba near a spring in the gorge behind us so we did not venture up there!  Springbok grazed nearby as we left and began the rough drive 200 miles north east toward civilisation, crossing a beautiful mountain pass with baboon on the side of the road as we drove under a hot morning sun. 

At last, after 4 days and 800 miles of rough, corrugated dirt roads we reached the tarmac again and headed north for Windhoek.  There we met Dr Russell Taylor, an old friend of mine, for tea before driving out towards the airport to find a campsite for the next couple of days.  We and the Landrovers are all covered in dust and it is time to have a shower and spend a day cleaning out the vehicles.  Some rattles have also started to appear as well as a drip of oil from Nigel's gearbox and my Landrover back door is beginning to sag - I think a new bolt in the hinge is required!

18 and 19 July

Over the next two days we drove another 300 miles north on rough roads at slow speeds, finally reaching Sossusvlei at lunchtime on 19 July.  This is an area of enormous sand dunes, rising up to 3000 feet in places.  As we got into the desert the going for the Landrovers became much tougher and we spent a lot of time in low ratio four wheel drive,   Our all terrain tyres, designed for mud and rock, were digging into the sand as we drove.  It was also very hot with temperatures well over 30 degrees centigrade, a stark contrast to the near freezing temperatures we experience each night at this high altitude of nearly 5000 feet.

17 July

We got up at dawn and drove to the upper reaches of the Fish River Canyon to view the massive cliffs dropping down into the river below. The Fish River Canyon is the second deepest canyon in the world, second only to the Grand Canyon in America.  Around us were black backed jackal, a troop of baboon and several springbok. We drank wine on the cliff edge as the sun went down.  On the way back to the campsite at dusk we saw mountain zebra and ostrich. There was nobody around and we had the whole place to ourselves.

16 July

After a good night’s sleep we set off for the Namibian border, arriving there at midday. What a country! Namibia is totally barren, no domesticated animals or people for miles around. As we drove through the dry countryside we only saw a mongoose and a few birds. One can understand why this country has the smallest population in the world; it has a very inhospitable terrain with a similar surface to that of the moon, or how I imagine it to be. The stars by night however, are incredible.

After a long 300 mile drive we reached Ai Ais, a national park campsite on the edge of the famous Fish River Canyon.  This time setting up camp was quicker and, after a few cold beers we settled in for our second night under canvas.  The scenery around the campsite was stunning.

Monday 15th July

We finally left Capetown at lunchtime and drove 200 miles north until the sun began to sink over the horizon.  We then stopped at an Afrikaner campsite for the night.  It was a fairly basic place but suited our purpose.  Being our first night of camping it took some time to erect the tents and prepare a meal.  The comfort of our beds at home are now just a distant memory!

Thursday 14 July

What a day!  We raced into town early this morning to do some last minute shopping for the expedition and then drove round to the shipping agent at 10.00am.  He said we had to return at 1045 as the customs slot for clearing the vehicles was at 11.00.  When we returned he told us to wait on the main road where he would meet us with the customs man.  At 1130 he still had not appeared so we telephoned him to see what was happening.  He said the customs man was having his morning tea break.  Finally, at 1145, a very large and rotund customs man appeared and we set off for the dockyard.

On arrival at the dockyard, there was mayhem.  Lorries and containers were everywhere.  At last, we found the container with the Landrovers in it and with due ceremony the seal on the container was cut-off.  After a detailed inspection of the vehicles and contents we were told all was well.  The customs man then departed to his office in the centre of town to stamp the documents and a minion came back an hour later with the signed documents.  We sighed with relief and got ready to go, only to realise we did not have the shipping company’s clearance certificate!  Another hour went by and eventually another scruffy individual appeared with yet another signed document and at last we were free!  We drove off into the Capetown traffic with a great sense of relief and went off to fill up with diesel which is half the price of English fuel.

Tomorrow we set off for Namibia!

Capetown

Yesterday was a day of exploration to the southern most tip of Africa - the Cape of Good Hope.  A desolate and windswept area of great beauty with enormous waves crashing against the cliffs below the lighthouse and the next land to the south being the Antarctic.  We saw two whales half a mile offshore spouting and rolling on their backs in play. A penguin colony nearby (see picture) had young chicks.  Eland and ostrich roamed the heavy scrub in the valley below.  It was humbling to think we were at the very bottom of Africa with 12000 km of driving northwards ahead of us. 

The ship was due in last night with our Landrovers on board.  This morning we should receive a phone call from the shipping agent to say it has arrived safely.  With luck we might have them by tomorrow evening.  We are keeping our fingers crossed that the unloading goes according to plan.

Our first days in Capetown

We have now been in Capetown for two days.  The weather, for this time of year, is wonderful with warm days and cool nights.  Usually in July there are high winds and rain.  We walked around the botanical gardens yesterday afternoon and then had a barbecue with friends in the evening.

The Great Departure!

Ian and Jeremy at Heathrow Terminal 5, about to embark on our African expedition!

5 July

Great excitment!  The main party of 4 leave tomorrow (6 July) by air for Capetown to start our 4 month trip through 6 countries in Africa.  Everyone is now packed and ready to go.  Winter clothes will be important as we hear Windhoek has experienced temperatures of minus 8 degrees Centigrade at night recently and there was even a sprinkling of snow on the sand dunes in the Namib Desert - unbelievable!

3 July 11

Amazing news!  Thanks to the generosity of those I approached in my fundraising drive over the last week, the donations to the charity we are supporting (Conservation Zambezi) have reached in excess of £1000!  I am so grateful to all of you!