Posted: 18 July 2007 at 3:28pm | IP Logged

NamKga 2007 Trip Report

I have always wanted to do the Nossob 4x4 Eco trip and 2007 was the year for it to happen.  Booking the tour is easy, but one of the requirements is to overnight at Nossob campsite the night before the start of the trail and Nossob was fully booked.  It took a lot of organizing but eventually we got the confirmed booking and the rest of the trip could take shape.

29 June 2007 – CT to Springbok 550km

A rather uneventful day!  A highlight most certainly was receiving the hospitality of the people.  We stopped at a road stall near Clanwilliam and were immediately offered some sweet citrus fruit and warm oven baked sweet potato.  I was also pleasantly surprised by the visit of Carel and Piet of the LCCSA club at the Klein Plasie lodge.

30 June 2007 – Springbok to Grunau 260km

A quick 30 minute border crossing saw us arrive in Namibia.  The shop owner in Noord Oewer mentioned that the crossing took 7h the night before.  We arrived just after 11h00 at Vastrap Game Lodge.  A relaxed day indeed!  There was however no biltong to be found despite the area being famous for its Gemsbok hunting.  I ended up driving 110km to the biltong stalls on the way to Keetmans but I managed to get my biltong.  Theo arrived later that evening after battling for 3 hours to get through the border post.  The wind started to pick up that evening but we kept it at bay with a roaring fire, big enough for it crack the wall behind the fireplace…

31 June 2007 – Grunau to Fish River Canyon 80km

The wind stayed with us all the way to Hobos.  The campsite though well shaded, was a tad dusty but not overbearingly so.  Big was my disgust when the spring loaded steel pole of the bow tent broke at the top joint.  With 15 camping days to go my heart sank into my shoes. But barbaric problems require barbaric solutions and I took out the biggest hammer and hammered off the weld point, allowing for the pole to be used, though a few cm shorter than the other poles.  The visit to the canyon was as spectacular as always. 

Thankfully the wind died down that evening, but both Jared and Ethan started coughing throughout the night and the cold weather started to play havoc with their immune systems.

1-2 July 2007 – Hobos to Aus 280km

The wind started picking up again as we left Hobos; while driving the scenic road past Seeheim to Aus.  The wind became unbearable as we visited the POW memorial, Common Wealth Graves and the Lithops fields.  Piet of Klein Aus invited me to join a 4x4 party the next day into the Koichab dunes which we gladly accepted in order to get out of the wind. That evening, the wind came down in gusts, pushing the tent down on the one side while constantly changing direction.  The children continued coughing badly and we decided to put Ethan on antibiotics.

We meet Piet early the next morning to join him and 2 other vehicles on a full day into the Koichab dunes.  It was a day filled with adventure.  Piet is extremely passionate about Aus and knows not only his history but also the environment and ecology extremely well.  The dunes were not difficult, though there were some places where the Nissan Patrol (Hardbody) really struggled and had to attempt obstacles several times.  As the day progressed the dunes got worse.  The other 105 series Cruiser got stuck at an interesting angle and had to use the shuffle a bit.  The one obstacle only Piet and myself could concur.  The last few dunes were nice and technical and I had to recover Piet from a dune crest.  The day finished in the red dunes of the Naukluft Park next to the Tiras Mountains on the D707.  I took the obligatory picture of the Prado that burned out 6 months ago after getting stuck on a grass ball.

We did have out fair share of adventure inside the car as well.  Around midday the children was eating jelly beans and suddenly we heard this desperate scream from the back. The ABS kicked in as I hit the anchors.  Shock and horror!  Ethan’s mouth was full of jelly beans and when there was no more space left he filled his nostrils with the remaining two!  Thank goodness for the snotty nose as they popped out as easily as they went in.

The wind died down enough to make some food but started up again later the evening. Nobody slept well… again.

3 July 2007 – Aus to Keetmans to Aus 260km

To say I was glad to leave the wind behind would be an understatement!  First stop as we reached Keetmans was to stop at Brayn’s Bakery for some lovely chelsea buns.  We pitched camp at Mesosaurus after meeting with Oom Giel again.  It was great that he remembered us since it has been 3 years since our last visit.  Oom Giel gave us the proverbial keys to the land, allowing us to drive the Quiver Tree Eco Drive; a fantastic eco track through the Mesosaurus Quiver tree forest and rock formations.  With the sun about to set we arrived at Quiver Tree Forrest campsite to meet up with Brayn where the kids had a great time viewing the cheetahs, baby eland, lambs, cats, warthogs, etc etc etc.  Brayn joined us at Giants Playground for our LCCSA B&B while the sun was setting, followed by a late night B&B at Mesosaurus and some stargazing.  It was a fantastic eye opener to experience the Namibian hospitality.  Thanks Brayn…

4 July 2007 – Keetmans to Molopo 320km

Namibia’s wind greeted us again and I was glad that we would be in a lodge the night. We first visited the Mesosaurus Guided fossil tour with Oom Giel. Once again a fantastic experience!  We were a tad worried about the road to Rietfontein as even the Namibians say that this is a very bad road.  It turned out to be a pleasant drive but much can be said about the dirt road past the border in South Africa.  Molopo lodge was a real jewel.  The wind finally left us and the large bath in our room and excellent food at the restaurant were well received.  The gemsbok cordon bleu and springbok pie comes highly recommended.

5 July 2007 – Molopo to Mata Mata – 6 hours

A beautiful windless day awaited us.  The last 50km of road to the park was in a horrible condition and the platkarre take up to 2 hours to drive it.  The gates of Kgalagadi finally came into view with some people with whistles protesting; thankfully the protests did not affect us.  The game viewing in the Auob River was really fantastic.  No more than 2 minutes would pass without seeing game.  We found a campsite next to the fence, close enough to see the animals coming to drink next to the waterhole.  In the short period of setting up camp, a brown hyena with 5 cubs and spotted hyena visited the waterhole.

Ethan’s cold and coughing was getting better but now it moved down in the form of diarrhea.  Alex had her hands full in doing washing of up to 3 sets of clothes every day.

6 – 7 July 2007 – MataMata to Nossob 7 hours

The night temperatures were rapidly dropping with temperature around -2°C being the norm.  We departed Mata-Mata just after the gates opened with the Marx’s following a little bit later.  To our surprise, not even 10km outside Mata-Mata we were rewarded with a lion sighting at a waterhole.

The campsite at Nossob was surprisingly empty considering that we were booked into overflow.  We even found shade trees next to the fence.  Alex again had to do some of Ethan’s washing and the Marx’s went for a game drive and was rewarded with a lion sighting very close to Nossob.  There were some problems brewing in the camp though as a certain Cruiser owner bought all the wood at Nossob (The Nossob eco trail require 3-4 bags of wood per vehicle per night of the trail).  I bought up all 22 bags of wood at the shop on site and the camp would be without wood for the next 4 days.  I also ended up with all the bottled water in the camp.  Through the night the distant roar of lions could be heard and a jackal marked the corner of my tent, right by my head.  L

The following morning saw us early on the road for a short game drive after which we returned to have brunch on a wood fire.  (One of the very few fires in the campsite over the next few days)  It was a day of relaxing in preparing for the departure on the Nossob 4x4 Eco drive.

That evening the lions came right to the fence of the camp and were roaring in full force from the one corner over our tents to the next corner.  The sound was so loud that the tent felt as if it was vibrating and one could hear the exhale of the lions.  Some people got such a big fright that they left their tents and got into the cars for the rest of the evening. We woke up the morning at sunrise and  bitterly cold weather.  The temperature gauge showed -8.9°C just after 7h00.  It was great to experience the cold with the right gear. All the months of planning made it well worth it.  Even the alcohol froze, as well as all the taps and the water supply at Nossob.  Later we learned that Nossob ran out of water that morning and did not have any water, toilets or wood for days on end.  Tourists could not even leave the camp due to a diesel shortage. (It was kept for the tractor that was driving the water to the camp, which broke down before reaching the campsite).

8-9-10-11 July Nossob 4x4 Eco Drive

We met Alistair, the Kgalagadi Game Ranger, at 9h00 and drove 60km north to the start point of the Nossob 4x4 Eco trail.  After a brief introduction we took of at a relaxed pace.  On regular intervals Alistair would communicate interesting facts and information about the environment over the supplied radios.  I particularly enjoyed the walks into the field and the amazing information that was shared with us.

We reached Swartbas campsite at around 15h30, in time to setup camp in the relative safety of daylight.  We had a quick briefing on movement in darkness and quickly had the fire blazing.  Alistair set his camp up in such a manner that he could keep a watchful eye on all of us.  Being only 10km from the last lion sighting of the morning, we were particularly cautious of the coming darkness but it turned out to be a night of good rest.

Each morning, after breaking camp Alistair quizzed us on some of our new found skills and admittedly we did not have fantastic results, though I do think that we were getting better…

The landscape kept on changing and we were spending more time in the veldt than in the vehicles.  We were like sponges taking in heaps of information and applying it practically with every step we took.  Alistair really focused on the eco aspect of the tour and absolutely no new tracks were made.

The driving was pretty relaxed and around midday we found the challenge dune.  Tyres were deflated even more (we were all driving around 1bar) for the dune climb. The week before, a vehicle had to take the escape route but we had no difficulties getting over it.  I took out a Sandboard to see if it was steep enough to pilot but unfortunately the sand was too soft and the gradient not steep enough.

We reached Rosyntjiebos campsite early enough and with enough wood left for the remaining night we build a roaring fire.  Jackals could be heard in the distance as the night settled and their prints were all over the campsite the following morning.

Posted: 19 July 2007 at 4:51am | IP Logged

Baie nice.  I have three trips I long for, Been to Namibia, but want to do a long one along the coast.  Then Mozambique.  Caprivi - Delta back.  Thanks for the nice reading, helps a person to dream and focus on the things that count, Time with the family, Nissan, 4X4 and friends, See the creation where it is not wrecked yet.

Posted: 19 July 2007 at 9:32am | IP Logged

Thanks Morne,

A very well written and informative report....and some great pictures!!  I really enjoyed reading it....can`t wait to get out into the bush again!!! 

 Thanks!!

Posted: 19 July 2007 at 9:58am | IP Logged

Thanks Morne this is the nicest couch trip I had in a long time. While I am stuck here in bed on my back (for another month still) it is nice to get away like this for a while.

Can you please post a map with your route marked out from start to finish as it would help putting things into more perspective

Posted: 19 July 2007 at 12:18pm | IP Logged

Bennie

Here is an idea of the map.