Driving Round the World: Into Africa

Drakensberg Mountains

After a few weeks at home we returned to Durban in South Africa to collect our van from the shipping agent. After 120,000kms over some pretty rough roads the van needed some attention including new rear suspension and a full service, so after a recommendation from the local 4x4 club we left the van for a weeks work and rented a car to drive north of Durban and enjoyed a few days relaxing at a cottage at the foot of the Drakensberg mountains, then a few days in a beautiful thatched cottage beside a river near Ladysmith.

The Cottage near Ladysmith

View from cottage deck

British mass Grave nr Ladysmith

Apart from a visit to one of the Drakensberg parks where we walked to a small waterfall, and a visit to one of the battlefield sites relating to the siege of Ladysmith, we spent the time reading and relaxing.
when we were reunited with the van we had just a week to get to Cape Town where we were meeting Sue's brother David, who was joining us for just over to weeks. It was a bit of a dash along the wild coast and garden route, but with fairly persistent drizzle there was little incentive to stop anywhere for long.

Cape Town from Table Mountain

Cape Town is located in a beautiful bay beneath Table Mountain and we spent a couple of days when we visited Table Mountain, via the cable car, and then round to Fish Hoek and the Boulders Bay penguin colony. Despite it being cold and drizzly the penguins provide endless entertainment, some sitting on tiny penguin chicks.

Penguin Colony at Boulders Bay

David was very keen to go cage diving with great white sharks so we drove along to Gansbaai, the centre for cage diving and he spent an afternoon out on a boat, spending three sessions in the cage surrounded by 3m long bronze whaler sharks, sadly no great whites appeared.

Entertaining Penguins

On a more gentle whale watching cruise we were saw around eight southern right whales, and were treated to a mother and baby swimming right in front of the boat.

Fish River Canyon

Beautiful Orange River

With 10 days left we decided to head north to Namibia, spending a couple of long days driving to get to the border at the Orange River, before making our way north via the spectacular Fish River Canyon - the second largest canyon in the world after The Grand Canyon. Tracks along the rim provide a range of vantage points , but being the dry season there were only small pools of water in the bottom.

Quiver Tree Forest

Camping at the Quiver Tree Forest provided the opportunity to see three cheetah at close quarters. They had been orphaned so were rescued and brought up by a couple of greyhounds, and now live in large fenced areas on the farm. The Quiver trees, which are endemic to this region of Namibia grow on the dry rocky land and against the regular beautiful sunsets produce a memorable silhouette.

Dead Vlei Pan Soussousvlei

Namibia offers a range of interesting dry landscapes, and none more enchanting than the worlds biggest sand dunes at Soussousvlei. Although very hot during the day the white salt pans with their trees set against the red of the dunes and the blue sky make for a memorable spectacle. Climbing the dunes, although exhausting, enables you to gain a view of the sand dunes disappearing off into the distance, and in the evening sun the beautiful curves of the dunes are enhanced by the sharp shadows.

Soussousvlie dunes

In contrast the Skeleton coast with the cold Benguela Current running up it can be very cold. With virtually no rainfall the only moisture available is from the nightly fog which forms for many kilometres inland. This moisture is sufficient to sustain fields of lichens, some of which are hundreds of years old.

Cape Cross Seal Colony

The Cape Cross Seal colony part way along the coast is home to several thousand Cape Fur seals, and we spent several hours watching the mothers feeding their young, as well as an opportunistic Black Backed Jackal which snatched a newly born pup from its mother. Sad, but all part of the realities of life.

Welwytchia Plant

Heading inland from the coast we passed the strange Welwytchia plant, also endemic to this part of Namibia. Welwytchias are very slow growing with some plants believed to be over a thousand years old.

Twyfelfontein Rock Art

Twyfelfontein is home to several thousand ancient rock carvings, some believed to be 5,000 years old. Pictured on the rocks in this valley are many kinds of animals, including seals and penguins from the coast 100kms away, a famous lion with a hand on the end of its tail, believed to be related to a shamanistic rite, and an area of carvings with animals and their spoor which was believed to be a teaching area.
Our final destination on this whistle stop tour was Etosha National Park, where we spent three incredible days/nights watching animals. The first night we were treated to a family of 25 elephant at the waterhole followed later by three black rhino, and even a black and a white rhino at the same time.

Black rhino meets white rhino in Etosha

Across the plains of Etosha the animals congregate near the waterholes, as at the end of the dry season there are few options for water. herds of hundreds of zebra, springbok and wildebeest mixed with oryx, elephant, ostrich, and impala.

Animals concentrated round the waterholes

Oliphantsrus Waterhole on the west provided the most special sightings. A viewing platform has been built right near the waterhole with the platform above the animals, so they are generally unaware of your presence. In addition to the previously seen animals red hartebeest joined the fray. Later during the night rhino and elephant came along with an Eland, and in the distance both a spotted and a brown hyeana. During the night we were woken by loud lion roars just outside the fence from our campsite, and in the morning three male lion were still near the waterhole. Beautiful in the morning sun.

Resting Lion

At our overnight stop on the way back to Windhoek, eland, waterbuck and impala were wandering round the campsite grounds, and David to his delight found a waterbuck antler, which he was allowed to keep. A fantastic few weeks, but very hectic including driving some 6000 kms. We are now ready to slow down for the next phase of our Africa travels.