We left Springbokpan Guest Lodge at around 8:30am this morning and drove the 6kms to the McCarthy’s Rest Border post. The SA side was pretty painless – quick stamp of the passport and a cursory look by a policeman to check we weren’t smuggling in anything and we were on our way. The Botswana side was a little more tedious involving filling in arrival forms, passports stamped, pay road tax and then back in the car. Customs check where we discovered it was illegal to bring in citrus into the country and we couldn’t even throw it away in their bins. If you want to throw it away you have to take it back to South Africa to do that. We asked whether we could eat the naartjies and they said yes.  All four of our cars had citrus so we quickly scoffed them and threw away the peels. They were very pleasant and even took the peels off us to throw away themselves. The fact that one of our convoy had far more alcohol in their car than their allowance got somehow overlooked in the naartjie eating. It would be unfair of me to mention who that was except to say their name rhymes with boils.

The road on the Botswana side was tarred and we headed into our first town in Botswana – Tshabong. The plan was to get SIM cards for everyone’s phones, fill up the cars and buy anything else needed. Filling up in Tshabong took pretty long as we stopped at the Caltex which only had one diesel pump. Getting SIM cards took even longer as the person initially told us she didn’t have nano SIMS (which is what everyone needed) but it turned out that in fact she did. Getting registered, data loaded etc seemed to take another age but we finally got on the road again. While doing these things we were ‘entertained’ by a local with a boom box and microphone singing karaoke outside the supermarket.

We had about 400 kms to travel to get to Kang – our overnight stop on the way to the Okavango Delta area. You have to take the Trans Kalagadi Highway from Tshabong to Kang. It is a tarred road which is mostly good but at certain times it was really badly potholed. At one point the lead car managed to lose (what looked to me driving behind them) about 25% of their tyre into the pothole and doing that at 100 km/h isn’t something you would like to do too often. A quick stop to check the tyres and finding all to be in order we were on our way again.

There are very small villages everything 20 km or so and every time you approach one the speed limit reduces from 120 km/h down to 80 km/h and then 60 km/h. Unfortunately they often don’t post the increase in speed limit again and so you have to guess or work it out from the speed signs on the other side of the road. I can also see why you don’t drive at night in Botswana. There are donkey’s, cattle and goats wandering all over the place. At one point we almost had to stop completely because a donkey was just standing in the middle of the road and at another time a goat crossed between two of our convoy. When you have that happen while you’re driving at 120 km/h it isn’t really fun.

At one point I overtook a trunk that was belching out fumes and dust and just as I did a warning light popped on saying ‘Fuel Filter Maintenance Needed’.  Not really what you want when you are 1700 kms into a 6500 km trip (and the car was serviced just before we left). After searching the manual and also googling it seems it isn’t crucial to do right away but as we are heading to a reasonable size town tomorrow with a Toyota dealership I will see if we can get it fixed while we are there. The car’s performance didn’t seem to suffer at all and in fact our fuel economy improved. The manual says it sometimes occurs when poor quality diesel is used and given some of the garages we have used I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the reason.

As we had consumed quite a lot of time in Tshabong, we decided to have lunch on the road and we found a picnic spot and just ate what we had available in the cars. We arrived in Kang at just after 4pm and after filling up the cars we checked in at the Kang Ultra Stop. That process took quite some time as the lady behind the counter only gave us 1 room. We pointed out the reservation was for 5 rooms and a family room and that seemed to surprise her and she wanted to see the confirmation and the payment (all of which we fortunately had). She eventually gave us the family room. Now we just had to persuade her we needed 4 other rooms still. After some cajoling we got another 2 rooms out of her and then after one final push we got the final 2 rooms. When ‘security’ took us to the rooms, they were not even finished being made up yet. It was 5pm … I wonder what they did between 8am (no doubt when the last people left) and 5pm?!

The place is nothing fancy but it is an overnight stop and we really didn’t expect a lot. They did have WiFi in the restaurant though I don’t think it was built to sustain 12 people trying simultaneously to connect and download emails! It also wasn’t really big enough to handle the 14 of us for dinner and so we stayed in the bar and had our dinner in there instead. The service was very pleasant and the food was fine and the company was excellent as usual.

Until tomorrow …

P, M (because he hugged me today for the first time in about 10 years), H, S (because he came back to our car today) and C

This morning Stephen and I went out for a sunrise drive in Augrabies and a group of crazy people went for a morning run. The temperature was 10 degrees C in the camp but once we were in the game area it dropped down to 4 degrees C. Stephen and I saw an Eland pretty much straight out of the camp and we managed to add 2 lifers to our bird list as well (taking my tally to 398 … closing in on the 400 mark!). We considered that quite a successful morning drive. I am now on 32 birds for the trip so far with the serious birding still to come.

Check out time at Augrabies was 10am and we left pretty much at 10am. There was quite a queue to check out at reception and only one lady on duty so it took much longer than expected. Michael and I did see one highlight for the day while we were waiting though – a guy with a Go Pro strapped onto his head recording his every move. Why would someone do that?!

Today we drove from Augrabies to Springbokpan Guest Farm that is almost on the Botswana border. The drive took us through Upington (a quick stop to buy some rolls for lunch) and then on to Olifantshoek, Kathu, Hotazhel and then our accommodation for tonight. Not places any of us had frequented and doubt we will again any time soon.

About halfway to Olifantshoek we determined that the other 3 cars seemed to have taken another road entirely (and it turned out incorrectly being led by the GPS wanting to take them in a very long route to our destination). My 10-year old GPS (the trusty steed) took us the most direct route and the end result was we arrived substantially earlier than the rest of them. We did stop just after Olifantshoek to have lunch at one of the million rest areas with a picnic table on the side of the road (there really are no shortage of them on these roads). It was pretty windy and cold so we ate quickly and then we were off again.

The route took us through the Sishen area (with the town of Kathu) that is surrounded by iron ore mines. Kathu (which I hadn’t known about until today) even has it’s own airport with scheduled flights to Johannesburg on Jet West Airlines (which I also had never heard of today). Chloe also enlightened us on how iron ore is extracted (she had just learnt it for her iGSCE exams). After Kathu comes Hotazhel. We never went into the town but Stephen (traveling with his girlfriend’s family) did and they said it was really abandoned. The area around Hotazhel is a manganese mining area.

Just after Hotazhel the road turns to a dirt road. I didn’t know this but about 10 kms before it happened I needed a break from driving and Michael took over. He got the 100 kms of dirt road to contend with and he did remarkably well especially since it was his first time driving a substantial amount of time on a dirt road at relatively (100 km/h) high speeds. The only issues we had was that when someone comes the other direction they kick up so much dust you actually have to stop for a short while to see where you are going. And then Michael had to stop very quickly for a warthog that decided to linger in the road. The safety belts of the car immediately kicked in and locked and then actually pulled us back into the seat. I have never felt anything like that before. We fortunately missed the warthog and Michael did well to stop and keep the car under control for us to safely travel on and arrive at our destination.

We arrived at Springbokpan Guest Farm at around 4:20pm and as we arrived first we checked in for everyone and got our rooms. The rooms are basically prefab rectangles. Nothing fancy at all. No kitchen except a central one and most of the rooms have no en-suite either – the bathroom is outside the room. We fortunately have a room that includes a toilet and basin.

The others arrived 40 minutes and an hour 10 minutes later than us (depending on which route they took). We then got dinner going – a braai in the central boma. We enjoyed the dinner together and then sat around the central fire until it burnt down and we were getting cold.

Cellphone signal is really patchy as I would love to post a few pictures of the trip but unfortunately I have not been able to do it yet. I am currently standing outside holding my laptop and cellphone in a patch with signal and about to freeze to death (must be 4 degrees or colder) – the things I do to send out the blog!

Until tomorrow … P, M (for driving today on the tough stretch), H, S (even though he has abandoned us for another vehicle), C (and she deserves to be last and she knows why …)

 

We all seemed to sleep in fits and starts last night. Helen and I eventually got up around 7am and it was pretty cold outside. Our car temperature was reading 4 degrees when we left at about 9am. Michael had the best experience of the night though. At about 1am in the morning he felt something in his bed and tried to swat it away and when he managed to swat it he realized it was bigger than just a small insect. It turned out to be a mouse. After he and Stephen chased it down for an hour they eventually got it into the shower and left it there for us to examine the morning.

Chloe, Helen and I had a quick walk around the block (it was quick because it was 4 degrees C) and then we had breakfast at the Guest lodge. After breakfast we headed to the Spar at Calvinia to ensure we had enough food for lunch and dinner for tonight. The Spar wasn’t up to the usual standard and so we also had to frequent the OK in town to get the rest of what we needed.

We had just over 400 kms to drive today to get to Augrabies Falls (our overnight stop). The road for much of the way is very straight and you get excited when there is a turn in the road. The landscape is very sparse as well. You wonder how anything can survive in the Karoo and why anyone would actually choose to live here. We drove past places like Brandvlei , Kakamas and Keimoes.

We crossed the Orange River, which was pretty low in water. Not surprising given the drought throughout the country. Keimoes was thriving with people all over the place. It did make me wonder what kept them employed. There is a lot of farming around the Orange River, which I am sure, employs a lot of people but there were a lot more people in Keimoes than it seemed could be employed on the farms.

We arrived at Augrabies National Park around 1:30pm and tried to check in but we were told check in time was 2pm and even though I could see our keys on the table behind them they said the rooms weren’t ready and we couldn’t have the keys and had to come back at 2pm. Just before 2pm everyone else rolled in and so we managed to all get our keys at the same time.

A quick afternoon visit to the see the Falls (which weren’t as impressive as we have seen previously again because of the low river) and then at 4pm we headed out into the ‘game’ area for a quick sunset drive. We saw a few birds and a herd of Springbok and another herd of Gemsbok. The pick of the sightings was probably the Pygmy Falcon. A lovely bird to see but quite hard to spot as it is pretty small and many people drive past it thinking it is a dove. We have seen 25 species of birds so far (and haven’t really birded seriously yet).

We got back just after sunset and in time to watch the second half of the Springbok v Ireland game (they have DSTV in the chalets) and then we got a braai going for our evening meal. Another lovely evening (it was 22 degrees just after the sunset) with good company. The only compliant so far has been the poor cellphone reception and difficulty connecting to the web (to download emails and post the blog!).

Until tomorrow …

P, H, S, M & C

PS: Happy birthday to my favourite oldest sister 🙂

We are on holiday and we are on our way to Botswana. We left Cape Town mid-morning on our way to Botswana and Namibia for next 20 days. In total we are expecting to do over 6500kms during this trip. Our car (The Beast) was load to the brim. When we started packing I thought there was no way we would fit everything in but amazing we did manage. We are Master Packers and this trip was no exception.

We left the house and by the stop street at the end of the road realized we have left a few things and so turned around and went back to fetch them. Stephen still managed to leave his bird book at home (vital accessory for the trip really).  We had planned to stop for lunch but never managed to find anything until almost 2pm at Klawer (Wimpy).  That was already past the mandatory stop for biltong at Trawal Biltong Shop. If you’re traveling on the N7 past Trawal you absolutely have to stop and buy biltong at their store.

After Klawer we turned off the N7 heading toward Calvinia. You have to go over the Van Rhyns pass and unfortunately heavy trucks also use that route. We got stuck behind two of them doing 4 km/h (not kidding). Very painful. And while I think of it, it still amazes me how people drive. We have a minibus with a trailer driving in front of us at 130-140km/h in the yellow line (they had a 100 km/h maximum speed sticker on the bus!) and another guy passed us doing about 150 km/h on a blind rise having no idea what oncoming traffic he could be meeting (fortunately it was none because he would have taken us out as well).

We arrived at Calvinia at around 4:30pm and had a quick drive around the town and saw their post box which they claim is the biggest post box in world. We are staying at Die Blou Naartjie – a guest house we have actually stayed at previously. We are actually traveling with 3 other families as well. They all arrived after us – one family pretty much right behind us and then the other 2 arrived about an hour later.  We had enough time for a quick walk around the town. Not much happening in Calvinia except people doing their Friday late afternoon shopping.

We had a dinner in the restaurant at the Guest House. The 14 of us basically had half the restaurant. As we are in the Karoo, many of us had lamb – either lamb pie or lamb chops. Good hearty food and even better conversation. Relatively early to bed – watching a little cricket while I type this.  Trying to forget that the UK really did vote to leave and implications of that for me personally (and my employer) and the world financial markets.  Most of our conversation for the 4.5 hours in the car today was on the Brexit vote – the time did pass quite quickly.

Until tomorrow …

P, H, S, M & C

(sorry no pics … connections were just terrible)