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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