Day 91 Purros Community Campsite

Woke to find the dust storm had abated so headed back to Sesfontein for beer and supplies – unfortunately we couldn’t buy any meat or fresh veg so a few days of tinned food and imaginative cooking lay ahead!  Met an English couple who were doing a 10-month trip from Kenya to South Africa.  They were aiming to drive along some of the dry river beds in Koakaland but had got stuck for 2 days in their first one and had to be dug out by the local villagers.  

We headed North to Purros with the aim of not getting stuck anywhere! The road was not as bad as expected but was still very corrugated.  As we neared Purros the gravel turned to sand and there were tracks in all directions, and the sign posts were less than helpful – the first one we followed sent us up a rather large sand dune! 

Eventually we followed our nose and found the site on the River Hoarusib which was fab with stunning views. 

Yet again we were invaded by local dogs one of which was extremely mangy and insisted on sitting next to us all night scratching – delightful.  Tea was like something from the 1970s – packet chicken soup to start followed by tinned salmon with potatoes and tinned sweetcorn.  We decided to pass on the tinned peaches option for desert though.

Day 90 Camel Top Campsite, Sesfontein

Drove through the Grootberg pass on our way to Palmwag – it was very impressive but not very photogenic.  Arrived at the Palmwag Vet fence but had no problems getting through as the foot and mouth infected area is North of the fence so we could have bought some meat.  Views of mountains were all around us and the road had lots of very steep descents through dry river beds. 

Just south of Sesfontein we had our first puncture since Tanzania – the road surface was made of extremely sharp rocks!  Luckily as we drove into Sesfontein we spotted a tyre repair workshop and even though it is a Sunday they were open and happy for the business.  Within less than 30 minutes we were back on the road but in the meantime the road had actually disappeared as the whole of Sesfontein had been obliterated by an enormous dust storm.  

We headed out of the village as quickly as we could in search of a suitable campsite that wasn’t in the eye of the storm which would have been the case for the one we had planned to use.  We managed to find one a few kilometres out of town that was hidden behind a small hillock – it was perfect for the night with flush loos, hot water and a covered eating area.  It also came with a small dog!  Ian named him Dobby Dog as he resembled Dobby from Harry Potter and he certainly followed Ian around everywhere. We also found a very small snake (about 6 inches long and looked more like a worm).

Day 89 Hoada Campsite

Spent a relaxing day at the campsite.  Like a Saturday at home the morning was spent doing the housework ie washing and tidying the Landrover!  But we were able to lie by the pool in the afternoon for a while until the sun and flies got too much, then we headed back to our camp and finally found a use for the mosquito net that we have been lugging around – it may have looked daft but it worked at keeping away the swarms of little flies!

The sunset over the rocks was spectacular as were the lizards.

Day 88 Hoada Campsite, Damaraland

Headed off for a short game drive towards the western gate of Etosha.  The views were great as the landscape was now much more hilly than the Eastern side of Etosha. As with yesterday we only saw animals congregated at the pumped waterholes but there were still lots of zebra and oryx.  We were amused to watch an elephant in the “elephant-proof” water tank at one of these waterholes.

After leaving Etosha we headed to a little town Kamanjab which we recognised as soon as we got there as we had passed through it on our travels 5 years ago.  We saw three Himba ladies in their traditional dress which we hadn’t seen on our previous visits.  The journey to Hoada was quite short and we arrived mid-afternoon in time for a dip in the plunge pool and a laze in the sun.  The campsite is set in the rocks with the toilet and shower having their own rocky cubicles, and a lovely little plunge pool.

Day 87 Dolomite Campsite, Etosha

Woken by our French neighbours at 4.45 so got up once the sun had risen and headed for the waterhole.  Amazingly yet another rhino was there having its morning drink. 

 We sat and watched zebras, springbock, oryx and giraffes wander down over the next hour before heading back to camp for our own breakfast.

The drive today was across the western side of Etosha which we didn’t visit last time as it was only just in the process of being opened to the public 5 years ago.  We were not really expecting to see as much wildlife as there are fewer waterholes but instead we saw huge herds of zebra and oryx at all the waterholes, as well as lots of ostriches and a bat-eared fox.

We were surprised when we arrived at the Dolomite lodge as it was very different to what we had expected.  We left the Landrover at the bottom of the hill and were driven up (very fast!) on a quad bike with our luggage to our stunning chalet with absolutely spectacular views over the plains.

Day 86 Okaukuejo Campsite, Etosha

Full day game drive planned as we are camping at the central Namibian Wildlife Campsite tonight and it is about 180 km away.  Entered the park at 7.15 and were immediately stunned by the density of wildlife in the park with huge herds of zebra, wildebeest, oryx and springbock.  Having seen so much wildlife on this trip it was lovely to sit at some of the waterholes and just watch the comings and goings.

Of course there were also lots of elephants!

Arrived at Okaukuejo campsite to be pleasantly surprised as it had been revamped since we were here 5 years ago and there were definitely less jackals roaming the site which was a huge relief.  Set up camp and then headed over to the waterhole just as a large herd of giraffes were heading down to drink.  After dinner Ian headed back on the off chance there was a rhino as there had been last time we visited – I wasn’t convinced we would be so lucky twice.  A few minutes later Ian was back to get me, not one rhino this time but a whole rhino convention!

Day 85 Onguma Bush Camp Campsite

Started the day with a game drive around Nyae Nyae Conservancy – saw lots of evidence for elephants and antelopes but they were all hiding from us.  In the end we saw one lonely steinbuck in 2 hours! 

After leaving Bushmanland we came through a vet fence and had our bacon confiscated (we had thought we were OK with bacon and it was just beef or lamb but sadly Namibian officials are very thorough).  The journey to Onguma was long and not particularly interesting except the occasional grading of the road. 

After the fence we found that the land was suddenly all fenced with huge ranches – this is how we remember Namibia.  We stopped in Tsumeb for provisions but unfortunately didn’t have time to visit their mining museum.  The town was the nicest little town we had been through on our trip with a lovely little park in the middle.  We even saw a train which is a rarity.

We finally arrived at Onguma Bush Camp at about 5 pm which just gave us enough time for a quick dip in the pool before setting up the tent.  The camp has changed little in 5 years, to the extent that we ended up on the same camping site as last time – dik-dik campsite.  We had fond memories of eating in the restaurant so decided to treat ourselves and luckily the food lived up to our expectations.