Day 132 - 133 Caprivi Strip - Big Hippos and Running the Military Border.

The border crossing at Mohembo, back into Namibia, although smooth still seems to take a couple of hours as there are two lots of immigration, not to mention the car paperwork, the council tax, carbon tax, insurance ...... etc. etc. ..... but once through we head for Nambwa Campsite, in the Bwabwata National Park, which is a community campsite. On the way we take a detour to Popa Falls, which is more of a large series of rapids and brave a few rock crossings, with the help of a local student guiding us, where we stop for lunch.

Back on the main road, we make it to the Nambwa turn, which appears to be an exceptionally deep sand track, just before the road bridge, probably on a par with the sand track to the dunes of Sosussvlei and we have to travel 14km through this sand to get to our camp. The Land Rover tackles it fairly comfortably, provided you keep the momentum up and avoid tipping it, but on the down side, the difficulty in this deep sand is coming round the corner and being face to face with a heard of elephants!! ............ Getting stuck in the sand when faced with an angry elephant is not a good situation to get yourself in! ............ and I am not entirely sure how successful a fast getaway in deep sand, in reverse, would be!!  ............. So deep concentration was required by the children with all eyes focused on the 'bush' ahead and any sign of large 'grey' movement!

We come across a large heard of elephants on the way in and many more elephants on the route to the camp, but fortunately we avoid any incidences of 'elephant road rage' and make it one piece, although I am sure Imogen would have resolved any such incidences with equalled ferocity and put them firmly in their place!  Once at Camp, Duane, from Safari Drive, had informed us that when we arrive, try to take pitch 5 or 6, as they offer better pitches directly onto the river. As there were only 6 pitches and pitch 6 was already taken, we set up camp on pitch 5, which was extremely pleasant and right on the waters edge, literally within metres of the river, ................ that is the river which is home to many crocodiles, snakes and hippos, as well as the odd wandering heard of elephants that frequent the camp!! ..... so, ........ should be an interesting night!! ....... and in the routine we were becoming accustomed to, we pitch the tents, get the fire going and eat well before turning in for bed.

Jo and I are awake for some time as there are plenty of animal noises going on outside the tent, especially from 'snorting' Hippos! preparing to come out and graze. ............ (an adult Hippo will consume in excess of 45.5kg/100lbs of grass per night! ...... every night!) .... and we got the strange feeling that our little patch of grass in front of the tent was frequently 'mowed'.   We were not disappointed! ...... at about 3.15am, I awoke to a loud surge and splash of water next to the tent, as this huge creature made his way to 'supper', followed by the extraordinary sound of large fat Hippo lips 'munching' grass. It was our grazing hippo!! .............. and on the basis he needed to consume some 45kg of grass per night ........ he was likely to be mowing right up to the tent door! ...... had it not been for the small area of sand in front of the tent to keep him at bay!!   I quietly woke Jo and unzipped, very slowly ............... (sounds like a 'trashy' novel!) ......... the inside window cover in the tent; the bright light of the moon revealing the silhouetted black figure of a huge grazing hippo, approximately 4 metres from our exceptionally thin tent wall. ................... an awesome site!!! ..... Luckily the hippo was unable to tell the difference between a 'straw' house a 'tent' or a 'brick' house, so provided we remained very quite and still, we should be safe!!

Once our hippo had finished his starter, he moved elsewhere for his main and we slept a little more comfortably!

The next morning we awake to the warmth and brightness of the sun bursting through the door of the tent as we lie and looked out over the river, a very peaceful scene ........ and not a Hippo in sight!
We enjoy a leisurely breakfast, watched very closely by an increasing array of colourful birds, from hornbills to crimson breasted shrikes to striped robin chats as well as squirrels and macaque monkeys, all hoping to join us, or at least get the leftovers.

Late morning we head out to 'Horseshoe Water' on our own game drive and see plenty of Kudu, Elephant and Impala, but the driving is quite difficult through deep sand, although the children are excited about helping out at the wheel!

A huge heard of Elephants are just leaving the river and cross ahead of us on the track, back into the bush and we stop to have a chat with a couple of Safari vehicles that have been watching them. One of the guides suggests a route for us to take, left at the fork ahead then take every right turn from there to get us back towards Camp and hopefully bump into a heard of some several hundred buffalo along the way. .......... well it sounded straight forward!!

However, one of the right turns was a very small track in the sand that cut back on itself and was very easy to miss, which we did! ............................. and after several miles through the bush we were soon 'running' the military border between Botswana and Namibia, informed by a very crude painted sign, where the Botswana Military (as we found out later) ran the border control with a 'shoot to kill' policy for suspected poachers!!

A CRUDE SIGN IDENTIFYING THE BORDER

A MILITARY WARNING SIGN

The Military Border Track appeared to be a possible way out ......... in Jo's mind, as navigator, .........  although Fred was now voicing fairly insistent pleas of: "Mum, I really think we should turn back!!" ............ I was keeping a relaxed, although quietly concerned, open mind about the situation although my concerns were growing as it became clear that the width of my Land Rover tracks were no match for the huge size of 'Army' vehicle that had clearly previously come down this route.  After several kilometres of an unusually very straight and deep sandy track, I decided a swift 'U' turn was the order of the day, much to Fred's delight, before we possibly started hearing the close range whistle of bullets flying by!!



On the plus side, the wildlife we managed to stumble across was magnificent and clearly another tell tale sign that humans in Land Rovers were not regular visitors to this neck of the woods!!  At one stage we came across six Sable, standing very majestically with an air of disdain that we dared to enter their territory, with their huge curved horns arched across the thick black fur of their backs. As they started to run the dust created an almost purposeful camouflage against the setting sun allowing them to disappear as if by magic.  These are truly magnificent creatures. We also come across Roan, warthogs, baboons, elephants and a one eared giraffe!!  ............... a successful day ............. that could have been very different!! 

SABLE DISAPPEARING IN THE DUST

All in all Nambwa was a great camp, with the added luxury of an ablution block and after our border running adventure, Jo later found out that two local Namibian fisherman had been shot only last week!

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Day 128 - 132 - Baobabs, Border's and 'Invisable' Kudu.

After stocking up on supplies at Grootfontein, we leave a little later than anticipated and head east, 250km on gravel roads, towards Tsumkwe and then a further 25km towards Bushmanland and the remote Mukuri Camp. This land has been given to the local community, a minority group of bushman people, who still hunt for thier food and who look after the camp with any income directly benefiting their village. The road to Tsumkwe is long, bumpy an dusty, but fairly straight and the Land Rover copes very well, as do the children and we finally reach this very small town at about 5pm, where we need to purchase our permits for the Nyae Nyae Conservancy area allowing us into Mukuri. With permit in hand its back in the Land Rover for another 25km on gravel roads, as the sun is sinking low and after about half an hour, we eventually see a sign for Mukuri Camp, ...... but the directional sign is missing!! Opposite is a very narrow sand track leading into the bush, but our instructions are telling us to continue along the main C44 road then take a right turn later on, but the track feels right and we decide to take it. However, after about 3 to 4km through the bush, it is now getting dark and after seeing nothing to convince us we were right, we have to turn back to the main road and carry on following our instructions. We eventually come to a right turn, signpost the C44; a wide sand road and we follow it for about 7km until we see a very small sign, with barely legible writing, saying 'Mukuri', with a small arrow. The sign was no bigger than a car number plate, which was quite difficult to see in the dark and leads us along another very narrow sand track towards the very same sand track we started at!! ...... always trust your judgement!!

We are now surrounded by darkness, the only light being that of the full moon above and the head lights of the vehicle and navigating the winding sand track is difficult, with the Land Rover scraping its way through the numerous acacia thorn bushes. Our instructions tell us to look out for a huge Baoabab Tree, as this will be our campimg pitch for the night and after about 7km we suddenly notice the silhouette of just such a baobab tree ahead, but when we get to it, the ground below is quite overgrown and it does not look like a camping pitch. We then notice another silhouette of a large baobab tree some 200m further in, and another one beyond that, in the distance!!! .................... bugger! ..... I thought, .......... there are hundreds of them!! ...... we could be tracking huge baobab trees all night!! .......... We had just about decided to stop anywhere and get the tents up, when we came across a sign in the headlights saying 'Mukuri camp', with an arrow. We quickly turned right and followed it for a few hundred metres before coming to a huge baobab tree with fire pit and braai ..... at last, the right tree!!! There were no other facilities here, in fact it was quite clear that this was the only camping pitch in the whole bush and apart from the sounds of various night animals and birds, we appeared to be the only form of human life present!! ........ well, 'remote bush camping' it certainly was!! ........... the only slight concern was that I wasn't quite sure what sort of potential 'man eating predators' were roaming around this area of bush at night!! ..... so had to assume the worst! We had always generally tried to be tented up, with the children ready for bed as dusk fell. ........... but that was not going to happen tonight!! We get a fire going as quick as we can, set the camp up, dig the toilet! .... and have some quick food before turning in for bed. ........... It is quite a strange feeling having fought our way into the middle of the bush at night, beneath a full moon and pitched up under the largest baobab tree I have ever seen. It's deep black silhouette, shrouding the tents like some strange creature just about to come alive, and with no other signs of civilisation, wondering what visitors, animals or other! we will undoubtedly have during the night after the tent zip secures our canvas home and the bright orange flames of the fire eventually get swallowed up by the cold air of the night



Still alive at Breakfast.

We wake the next morning ........... all still in one piece! and whilst stoking up the fire, three 'likely lads' ....... who we assume must be from the village, turn up to collect camping fees and offer us a days hunting!! we agree a price to go with them at about 11am, I assume for rabbits .......... but, we are told we will be hunting kudu! .... not quite what I had in mind!! Anyway, the three likely lads in rags, one of whom spoke a little English, insisted we would need two hunters with five of us, so we acceppted and they disapeared back into the bush to arrange the trip. After breakfast we wait for our hunters to turn up, half expecting loin cloths and bow and arrows, which is what they used to wear some years ago, but as if out of nowhere, our three 'likely lads' arrive back at camp with ... a spear! ............ we begin our hunt and walk for a long time through the bush in the dry heat, following tracks? ...... perhaps! ............. interspersed with watching our man rubbing two sticks frantically together to make fire, producing just about enough heat to light his fellow hunters 'roll-up!' ..... After a lot of walking and not a single sign of any animal whatsoever, we convined them to take us back to camp as Imogen was starting to struggle in the heat and It was clear that all of the animals had already been hunted and probably eaten and that we were in fact hunting that rare breed of 'invisable' kudu!! ................ probably rather glad we didn't come across one! ..... Back at camp, an hour later, feeling pangs of hunger after our unproductive hunting experience, we hear bells ringing and as they get closer, a herd of goats come into view! ............... Imogen still with her hunting hat on, decided that we needed to eat so grabbed a three pronged pitch fork, leaning against the braai and informed us she was going to get us lunch!!! ............... with a cry of ...... "come on goaties, time to be eaten!" ..... she ran off after them around the baobab tree!! ................. and suddenly from behind the baobab tree she shouted ..... "I've got one!" ............. making anxcious goat noises as she pretended to fight with it! ......."meah ..meah.. ouch! .... meah!" ..... "get the fire going!" ... she shouted. .... "I've got him on my fork!"............ it was very amusing to watch! The rest of the afternoon we chilled out, Harry and I attempting to climb the slippery baobab tree whilst Fred and Imogen played wonderful childrens games, chasing each other around the camp. We find out from our 'hunters' that apart from the odd hyena and leopard, most of the dangerous game is some way off over the other side of vilage, so shouldn't give s any trouble.

Fred and Harry eating Boabab Fruit ................. The 'Invisable Kudu' hunting expedition!

One huge baobab! ............. below: our friendly visitor!

Mukuri was a great remote camping pitch and we enjoyed our stay here. The children enjoyed helping to cook now, so building the fire and preparing the food becomes a joint family ritual with many shouts of "I'm making lunch tomorrow!" ................ "I'm making supper" ............... and "I'm making breakfast then!" ....... That night they prepared a stew, beneath a bright moon and stars and with the enticing smell we soon befriend a rather skinny looking dog, who we believe has come from the village. The dog reminded us of Max, our old Jack Russell back home, ..... who, staying with granny, wouldn't be skinny at all! ..... and we feed her up with a tin of corned beef! ............... rather her than us! .......... and some left over stew that the children have cooked. She was extremely grateful and sat ........... almost in the fire to keep warm, remaining there, curled up after the last tent zip was pulled shut for the night.



Leaving the camp through Mukuri village.

The next morning, our friendly dog was gone and had either left for village breakfast, or been eaten in the night! ... but I don't think she would have made a very appetising meal!! ........ and we slowly pack up and drive out of the camp, the way we should have come in! .......... passing the local village. We make a quick stop to give out some lollies to the children and a few food supplies for the village, say our goodbyes and head off for the border crossing at Dobe, into Botswana. We stop just before the border to make sure we have all our paperwork in order as you never quite know who you will meet and whether or not you might have to pay bribes to get through, but I think the presence of the children makes our border crossings a little smoother!! ....... We first have to go through the Namibia immigration and then the 'vets' fence, the control point for 'foot and mouth' disease and a check to make sure that we are not transporting open dairy product and meat, in the fridge, across the border and after handing over some open milk we become surrounded by many children. We hand out lollies, but they ask for "shoes .... shoes!" ............ as most have bare feet. We rummage through our bags and decide to offload various shoes and items of clothing such as t-shirts and shorts, that we no longer really need, much to their appreciation. Harry gives over his hand painted 'Dunannie' t-shirt, that Fred has been wearing and is now too small for him and it is nice to see a bit of 'Steep' (our home village) now being worn by someone in Namibia.

The Dobe boarder crossing into Botswana - still in Namibia!

From the vets fence we have to go through the Botswana immigration, which is a small hut, and fill in the usual forms. The Imigration officers are vey pleasant and when signing in we notice that we are only the third crossing today, the one before us being the Lodier family that we met in Etendaka. The border crossing takes a good hour and once through we have 137km drive through very ......... very .......... very, sandy and bumpy roads, before reaching Nokaneng, where we pick up a tar road and drive to Gunmar. The road resembled the old bumpy track, back at home, between Steep and Froxfield, before it was repaired, which used to get frequent visits by the 4x4 crew, whilst Stoner Hill was closed ............. but that was only 1.5km long!!! ..... not 137km!!! To make the journey in resonable time I had to press on, which meant high concentration on the road infront as the Land Rover slid from side to side, having no choice on occassions but to follow deep routed pre-made tracks in the sand, then suddenly swinging left and right as large pot holes appear out of nowhere. It was an interesting journey, travelling the north west frontier of Botswana, on the western edge of the Okovanga Delta, allowing us an insight as to what Botswana used to be like in days gone by, and during the first two hours we didn't see a single soul!! ...... At one point I hit a drainage cutting that went right across the road, with a huge bang on the front wheels, the hazard lights came on and refused to go off. Without wanting to stop, for fear of our previous electrical problems, I drove with the hazards on for the next 120km until we made the shell garage in Gunmar, where turning the engine off and back on seemed to cure the problem. Both fuel and a welcome cold drink were well received by all.

Once we reach the tar road ...... we have to share it with local transport!

Following a very quick garage stop we head out as we have to reach Shakawe, where we stock up on some basic food supplies and search for our next destination; Drotsky's camp. The Drotsky's are one of the area's pioneering white settler families and have a Lodge, waterfront cabins and camping pitches; the latter, where we are staying, sharing the Okavango River banks with Hippos and crocodiles, not to mention pesky 'vervet' monkeys. We reach Drotsky's at about 6pm, now an hour ahead of Namibian time, which allows us a little more light before dusk. The next day we chill out at camp, watching both Pied and Giant Kingfishers very close by and not to mention the Vervet Monkeys who at one stage walk straight up to the table, between Imogen and Jo and steel the whole block of cheese .........our lunch! . Later when our backs are turned, one of them jumps on the table and takes a bag of apples!!! ........ The boys consider that an act of war!!

In the afternoon we take a boat along the Okavanga River, seeing many crocodiles, a small number of elephants in the wetlands and many birds incuding the very rare Pels Fishing Owl, a large ginger coloured owl (we were told one British birdwatcher came to Botswana 15 times before he saw one) .

Drotskys reception. ............... and Crocs on the river bank.

An adult Fish Eagle ........... and a very rare siting of Pels Fishing Owl

Local Fishermen.

Fred cutting fresh Lemons from the tree and Harry cooking Pancakes over the braai.

That night as we zip up the tents, we hear the deep loud grunt of Hippos, very close by! ..... but eventually get to sleep. Drotsky's is a great camp, especially being so close to the river, which we all enjoy and in particular the gentle roll of the boat, cutting through the calm river, which makes a wonderful and welcome change from the bumpy roads in the Land Rover .......... and there was no dust!!!!!

We leave Drotskys and head north for the boarder crossing at Mohembo, taking us back into Namibia, onto the Caprivi Strip, or pan handle as they call it, being a long slither of land, sandwiched between Angola and Botswana. On the way we take a small detour to visit to the local Crocodile Farm, that we are informed is worth a visit and although there are some huge crocodiles within, the whole set up rather resembles a battery chicken farm, with hundreds of young crocodiles and no room to move! ........... The skins of the young ones being sent to Europe for handbags and shoes!!

I'm sure I saw something move behind that fence!

A very large crocodile

Next stop, the Caprivi Strip, Namibia.

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Day 122 - 128 - Etosha National Park - Birthdays, Birds and Meteorite's

Our thatched tent at Dolomite Camp.

The great white salt pans.

Having left Etendeka this morning, we have a very long drive to reach our next destination, Galton Gate the entrance to Western Etosha National Park, where entry is only permitted if you are staying at the Dolomite Camp. The camp only opened last year and provides the first opportunity for self drive safari's to explore this area of the park and as a result the animals are not used to vehicles, so we were provided with the warning that species such as lions and elephants tend to be aggressive! Etosha, which translates to mean 'the great white place of dry water,' covers some 22,270 sq. km, ............ so? .............. trying to find a couple of lions in the bush shouldn't pose a problem then!! ....... The drive to Etosha was long, bumpy and dusty ............... just for a change!! ....... We fill up with fuel at Palmwag, then cross the vets fence (for foot and mouth precautionay spray as well as no dairy product and meat check!) and head to the town of Kamanjab for supplies. The journey along the C40 and C35, is long and as the children have had a few late nights, grumpy moods are par for the course, but we all survive the trip, after threats of dropping them off individually in the National Park to take out their aggression on the wildlife, but that didn't seem fair to the wildlife! so it was on with headphones for a little music!! We eventually get to the park entrance gate and after sorting out the permits and entrance fees, we start our own game drive along the 40km of tracks to Dolomite Camp, which is set up on the mountain side providing a panoramic view of the bushveld below. The camp is open to the bush and once the sun goes down, all guests have to be picked up from their tented chalet by 'golf buggy' as lions have been known to wander around at night! ..... hopefully they have a couple of spare golf clubs in the back, just in case!! ..... and we just make it in time for sunset and 50th birthday celebrations at the restuarant, complete with local dancers and singing!! .... and a very enjoyable time was had by all.



50th birthday celebrations, complete with dancing entertainment!!

The next morning we chill out by the pool, which has the same wonderful panoramic views, but the water is VERY cold, as the children soon find out! .......... but they enjoy a splash around with some of the local 'birds'!

A few local birds by the pool!!

Mornings are generally spent chilling out by the pool and catching up on journals and comprehension, followed by a 'self' game drive in the afternoons. There is an option to take a guided drive (approx 50 pounds per head!) but most of the viewing in Etosha is at the watering holes, so unless the guide is exceptionally knowledgeable, there is no real benefit.

The water holes on our self drive offer some great game viewing.

Fred taking the plunge!! .................................................... Yes, the water is ice cold!!!

We meet some very friendly people here during the evenings, one of whom is a german doctor, who assures us that we will be able to remove Imogens plaster cast by ourselves, rather than seeking medical help. This is a great relief as there will be no medical assistance where we are staying! ........... so, Harry's Swiss army knife will come in handy! The next morning we start a continuous 12 nights of camping, a journey that will take us through Etosha National Park, crossing the tiny and little used 'Dobe' boarder post into Botswana, north along the eastern side of the Okovanga Delta and back into Namibia's Caprivi Strip - the pan handle, heading for the Katima border into Zambia.

Travelling through Etosha, we see plenty of game at the waterholes, including springbok, giraffe, zebra, oryx, eland, kudu, warthog, jackal, black faced impala and lion as well as betula eagles, kori bustard and many more birds. We pass through a vast area of bush that suffered a huge fire some 6 months ago. Mile upon mile of blackened, scorched earth, for as far as the eye can see, probably driving for over an hour, with nothing but the odd honey badger and snake eagle, scouting for emerging grubs and snakes. It is quite unbelievable to witness the amount of damage the fire has caused. Later, we hear from one of the rangers, that although the electric Park boundary fencing was turned off, a large number of animals, including rhino, giraffe, lions and many more, with the exception of some of the larger elephants, were unable to breach this tall fence, to escape the surging flames and perished, as the bush fire hearded them to the very fence that was supposed to protect them!

The game drive to Halali rest camp is over 200km through the Park, the camp being next to the huge white clay salt plains of the Etosha Pan, which cover about 5,000 sq. km, some 25% of the Etosha National Park. The pan can be dry for decades but very occasionaly floods from rivers to the north, creating a huge lake, the salinity levels of which are twice as high as sea water. These conditions produce blue green algae, which becomes the feeding ground for up to a million flamingoes. The camp itself is fairly busy with self drives and Africa overland vehicles, as it offers various facilities such as a restaurant, small shops, bar and pool. Each pitch has its own fire pit and braai with communal toilet and shower facilities and the camp benefits from a floodlit waterhole which we visit on an evening. Harry is on cooking duty for the first night and, with a little help, produces a very tasty Risotto on the braai. By the time we eat, at 6pm, it is alraedy dark, but this camp is fenced so staying up is not as much of an issue as the unfenced camps.

NWR's waste disposal methods!?

The next morning, we rise early and are on the road by 7.30am, heading for a long game drive in search of rhino. We again see many animals at the water holes and witness jackels finishing off a kill, from last night and on the way back, we spot fresh rhino tracks which lead us all the way back to camp, but turning off to the left just before we reach camp, along a track that I don't think we were supposed to take, we continue to follow them. This takes us to the back of the our camp and unfortunately we suddenly come across a huge smouldering mountain of waste, bottles, cans and plastics of all sorts, slowly burning, obviously constantly alight and releasing an acrid smoke into the bushveld air. Come on NWR (Namibia Wildlife Reserves), who run the National Park, I know you have problems getting rid of rubbish but you are supposed to be promoting conservation and Eco tourism!! ........ Not a good advert! The Rhino's made a visit to the camp water hole but unfortunately we had literally just missed them by the time we got there at about 2.30pm, so we take it easy enjoying the freezing waters of the swimming pool and even Imogen wants to brave an underwater swim, with a little help, as having her arm still in plaster causes some difficulty!

Photos by Fred.

Photos by Fred.

After 22,269 sq. km! ..................... we finally find the lions!

An Elephant road block .................. basking in the sun ....... it took some time to clear!!

Thirsty work.

After two nights at Halali Rest Camp we head east through the park and make a quick stop at Namatoni, which is a picturesque old fort, with its white washed walls, a relic of days gone by, now refurbished into an NWR Lodge. We take an early lunch, with a very limited menu! and notice a newspaper cutting in the lodge shop, pinned to the wall. It shows what a large bull elephant can do to a 'disrespectful' car, as it initially leans its whole body onto the side of the car, crushing the panels and then uses its tusks to literally flip it over into the ditch!! ........ driver and passengers still inside; we leave with a lot more respect for elephants than when we went in!! ................. not sure Imogen should have seen that picture!!



We head on to Onguma Bush Camp, which is located just outside the Von Lindequist Gate, where we exit the National Park. Onguma, in the local Herero language means "the place you don't want to leave" ........... and I am guessing ...... and hoping .... that it is not run by a bunch of Somalian Rebel fighters!!!

It is in fact a wonderful lodge with restuarant, water hole, pool and small thatched roundavels for accommodation, but we are staying in our tents in one of the camping pitches. As we arrive late in the afternoon, following our game drive, Johnny, from Safari Drive is waiting for us with our repaired Land Rover ....... so we now make the switch over, which is quite time consuming, as the roof tents need to be erected, stripped and re-made, by which time it is dark and we are using torch light. .......... Now collecting fire wood is a pastime that needs to be done carefully in the bush!! ........... In most camps you are not allowed to collect your own wood from the camps or parks, it is heavily frowned upon and you are required to buy it where and whenever you can. However, we have survived to date! and trying to stop Jo, a good farmers daughter, from collecting wood, from anywhere! when we need supplies, has been difficult, despite some of my warnings that in southern Africa, dead wood is a haven for many venomous creatures!! And indeed, the wrong dead wood of 'euphorbia' can give off poisonous fumes .... so not good to cook with! ....... Notwithstanding this we did have a small stock of wood just in case and whilst taking out the last items from our temporary Land Rover, Fred with his head in the car suddenly shouts "scorpion!" ......... Thinking he has mistaken it for a wood ant, I casually look into the car but can't see anything ...... " it's there ... by the head rest" ........ he shouts! ....... And there sitting on the seat next to the head rest, which has literally been just above Harry's left shoulder, is a small, orange scorpion! .... and with scorpions, usually the smaller they are, the more venomous they are!! .......... Ok, perhaps the wood collecting, checking procedure, needs to be undertaken a little more thouroughly next time, from a health and safety perspective and clearly we would not now qualify for our ISO 2000 European Health & Safety recognition certificate, but we were all still alive, which was quite a feat in itself! .......... Johnny, a little disturbed by our rather unwelcomed little guest, with a pair of tongs, helps us release him back into the bush and with a sigh, I feel that he is more than happy with Fred's discovery, as he is just about to embark on a 6 hour drive through the night, back to Windhoek, as our temporary Land Rover has to be out again, to another client, by 2 pm the next day.

We enjoy a very pleasant couple of nights stay at Onguma and take advantage of the lodge facilities to catch up with the Internet, whilst the children enjoyed the pool and games room. Over dinner at the timber and thatched open restuarant, overlooking the water hole, we meet up with a few new faces as well as a few familiar faces of people we have met on the way.

With not having cooked last night, the Land Rover is fairly well packed, so we make an early start in the morning as we have a long 6 hour drive to Mukuri Campsite in Bushmanland, close to Tsumkwe, near the Botswana Border .......... back to remote camping! We initially drive on tar roads! ....... which is a bit of a luxury and on the way take a big detour, just outside Grootfontein, to visit the Hoba Meteorite! ........ which is the largest single meteorite in the world. It is a round trip of an additional 48km, being located on the edge of the Kalahari Plain, but we understand it is worth the visit.

Now from a layman's viewpoint, you would think that a meteorite is a big round ball of rock, stuck in a crater in the ground, but clearly we have been watching too many cartoons in life as, this meteorite is more or less a square piece of rock, or should I say iron! ............ It was, actually, quite an amazing site to see and well worth the detour. This unsuspectingly, rather small, in terms of what we expected, square shaped object, measuring some 2.95m x 2.84m across, with a thickness that varies between 122cm and 75cm, weighs approximately 60 tons!! .............. being no more than three quarters of the size of a bull elephant ...... it actually weighs as much as 12 huge bull elephants pilled on top of each other!!! ........... that was quite difficult to comprehend in itself! ......... However, it does consist of 82.4% iron, with a surface that has become rather shinny where people have sat on it and some areas have been vandalised in the past, where people have tried to chisel bits off, revealing a softer shinny metal cut.

Back on the road, we stop at Grootfontein where we have been advised to fill up with everything we can get in terms of fuel, water and food, as there will be nothing else on the way for the next 550km!!! This we do and after a welcome coffee and sandwich we head off, a little later than anticipated, but hoping we can reach Mukuri before sunset!

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