Trip Report LCCSA

Trip Report LCCS= A

Namibia/Koakevel= d/Khauhdum

Botswana/Drotsky= ’s Caves Trip

19-Mar-05 to 03-Apr-05=

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Trip Participants:<= /u>

Name	Vehicle
Alastair Alexander	LC 100 Series GX 4500 EFI
Alfred Hilton + Son and son’s friend	LC 80 Series GX 4500
Keith Richardson + George Garzouzie	LC 100 Series GX 4500 EFI
Sarah Yates	LC 80 Series GX 4500
On day 3 of the trip we picked up a hitchhiker from Windhoek
Johan, Heidi and Tommy Kaber	LC 100 Series VX 4200TD

Vehicle Problems:

Name	Vehicle	Problems
Alastair Alexander	LC 100 Series GX 4500 EFI	Spotlights vib= rated, came loose and broke the spotlight bracket on the bulbar (Nudgem) Blown aircon f= use A stone broke = the auto adjuster fitting on the rear Rancho shock.
Alfred Hilton	LC 80 Series GX 4500	Right rear pun= cture Rear diff blew= its gasket Exhaust clamp = broke
Keith Richardson	LC 100 Series GX 4500 EFI	Vibrating prop= shaft
Sarah Yates	LC 80 Series GX 4500	Rear exhaust s= ilencer and bracket broke Blown fuse due= to exhaust melting the rr tail light fitting Due to bad fit= ment the LRT cracked Due to incorre= ct fitment the LRT fuel pump burnt out Leaking Techni= top RTT

Day 1= Johannesburg to Zelda Lodge <= st1:country-region w:st=3D"on">Namibia – 1068km

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The Zelda Lodge Camp Site

Individual Comments By:

Alfred =

<= /p>

Excited I left home for t= he meeting place at Krugersdorp.

Keith Alistair and myself= met early and left for Lobatse to meet up with Sarah.

Lobatse border was a long= wait as the queues were long. The excitement dampened by the hassle and the talk = in the queue was fun.

Over-nighting at Zelda Lo= dge was excellent and the meal they prepared for us was enjoyed. Keith got the bo= ny potjie, but for me the Eland steaks were grilled to perfection. George wa= nted his overdone meat and they took it back a couple of times.

George<= /p>

Early morning wake up at Keith’s to meet the rest of the team at a Sasol petrol station (04:25am), and off the Botswana border. Just to let everyone who is reading this know, this is my first t= rip ever in a proper 4x4 (i.e.: a land cruiser!), I haven’t even been o= n a 4x4 trail, so I have no idea of the capabilities of these awesome machine= s. So just watching Keith move his cruiser in his driveway got me all excited. Damn those cruisers are big. An= yways, so we arrive by the border post at 07:15am to be greeted by a horde of people. We only got to Lobatse at 10:30am! I (the ‘French man’= ; as the border control person called me) had a little trouble getting past the SA post as I was using my new F= rench passport that doesn’t have my stamp of residency in it. =

We arrived at Zelda lodge campsit= e, I had a couple of eland steaks for dinner.

Keith

We met Alfred early at th= e Sasol Garage at the 4 way stop on the Krugersdorp Highway. We made good time heading for Pione= er Gate border post outside Lobatse, which upon arrival turned into a fiasco= of hurry-up-and-wait, with Sarah parked at the circle outside Lobatse waiting for us, the wait was over 2 hours – this is unacceptable and somebo= dy needs to tell the Botswana Border officials that they are in the process = of discouraging tourism with their intolerable incompetence.

We met some other LCCSA c= lub members at the border that were also heading to No= rthern Namibia.

We met up with Sarah and proceeded eventually arriving at Zelda Lodge at 17:30 making it an 11 hour day.

Day 2= Zelda Lodge to Khowareb Trail – 603km

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The C30 road from Gobabis to Otjiwarango. The monster termite mounds &a= mp; George

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Fixing Sarah’s Exhaust = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; The pending rain.

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The Bush Camp at sun set – only in Africa

Individual Comments By:
Alfred =	From Zelda Lodge it was t= o Gobabis for Fuel and the making our way up to Kamanjab. The gravel roads were good but we got some heavy rain and these roads turned into skid pan, good sca= ry fun. We slept that night near the gorge entrance with the most picturesque skies ever, and changing colours as you watch.
George<= /p>	Woke up 6.30am, got my b<= st1:PersonName w:st=3D"on">alls busted by everyone for letting the kett= le water boil for to long, apparently there is no automatic off switch when heating water on a gas flame, fancy that. Anyways, 9:10am we leave Zelda lodge, with our target destination Kamanjab. On route, we take a c-class = dirt road, and it starts raining. Lots of mud and lots of fish-tailing of the cruiser, awesome stuff. Got a good picture of the huge termite mounds on route. Saw a lot of cool birds, like the lilac breasted roller, lots of t= hem. Around 3pm, Alfred gets a puncture. Now when I get a puncture in my Corsa, the tire goes off, spare goes on, and off I go to the nearest garage to get it repaired. These guys repair it on the spot, in probably about 15min, with most of the time spe= nt on pumping the tire up. Cool. 7:30pm we reach Kamanjab entrance to gorge, where we pitch tent, and I did my first dump in the bush (a very one-with-nature experience). [Kei= th said: Too much information]
Keith	Today we experienced the = first of the rain ! ! ! On the dirt road heading North West from Gobabis it bucketed = down visibility in the rain was 20mtr, and rained constantly for the rest of t= he day. Quite an eventful day; Sarah’s rear exhaust silencer bracket broke.= {Keith said} Took me a while to wire it up with Blou-D= raad Alfred experienced a puncture strangely enough about 20= km after we got onto the A1 tar road. At Kamanjab the petrol stations pumps were not function= ing properly, needless to say it took nearly 2 hours for them to fill the four Cruzas. As result of the delays we did not = reach our intended destination [Khowareb Gorge], which was probably a bit optim= istic in the first place, so at about 18H00 we just pulled off the track put up= the tents and camped for the night.
Johan	Johan and family travelle= d from Windhoek to the= Khovarib Schlucht. The Hoanib River was flowing strongly that afternoon and we slept over in the hope to be a= ble to cross the river the next morning.

Day 3= Khowareb Trail – Khowareb Schlucht 78km This is not a typo

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The track before we entered the Schlucht = This is where we met Johan and Family

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The Schlucht after good rain = &nb= sp; = One of 6 times we crossed the river in the Schlucht

Individual Comments By:
Alfred =	We arose and made our way= into the gorge. Later meeting up with Johan&n= bsp; and family from Windh= oek we endeavoured to do the river crossings as best we could. In some cases making roads to access a crossable section of the river. Thanks to a pass= er by suggesting a camp site we crossed the last of the river crossing before camping for the night. Lucky for all we camped on high ground. As supper = was ready we had to take cover as the rain pelted down for about the rest of = the night, bringing the Hoanib river down in flood.
George<= /p>	Up at 6.30am. Sleep in te= nt was alright, those rubber mats are useless, none the less, and I got enough sleep. By 8.30am we were off to the gorge. Driving the side of the Hoanib river was amazing, until we drove into the gorge, man was that a site. Ro= ck on either side of you, hundreds of meters up, and the route is very bendy= , so every time you come around a bend, you’re just overwhelmed by this canyon, awesome. We had to do 8 riverbed crossings. We ran into another cruiser, Johan, on the first crossing, going in the opposite direction to= us. This is where we meet Joh= an and his family. They were attempting to go through the gorge, but being a very rainy season, the Hoanib river had been flowing, and some of the crossings were to risky for a vehicle on its own. Johan ended up joining us through= the gorge, now with other vehicles to help, if he were to get stuck. Now each crossing required some serious logistics. When you try cross the riverbed= on foot, often you will walk onto a patch of ‘quick-mud’, where = you will sink close to waist height at times. On the 5^th crossing, Alistair got stuck in one those patches, but with 4 other cruisers around, nothing to worry about. 4pm we decided to setup camp. We put up camp in a campsite (called the 3^r= d campsite), where we were far enough from the river if it were to flood. Tommy, Jason, Jarrod and I ended up having a mud war in the river, which = was followed by a mud bath, and a waterfall shower, awesome. Curry was on the menu for dinner, and dam was it good. So was the fresh bread that was baked. It started raining while we were all eating, so by 9pm we were all in our tents ready to sleep. The entire = day, we only covered 77km!!
Keith	It rained gently off and = on in the night, but we awoke to sunshine. We got off to an early start as we a= re now half a day behind schedule. There is evidence everywh= ere of the recent heavy rains with mud holes and puddles covering the track. Once we entered the Schlu= cht reserve the tracks seemed to get wetter. After a short while we stopped to check out a river crossing to find Johan Heidi and Tommy trying to negoti= ate their way back to the reserve entrance. They started by saying “You= ’ll never get across, all the rivers are in flood”. Undeterred we said = no problem we will move so that you can get past us. Then Johan came and ask= ed if he could tagalong with us, I replied “Pull In”<= /span> We crossed the river abou= t 6 times and in each case we had to make our own crossing point as the origi= nal one had been totally washed away – and a good time was had by all.<= o:p> This night the rain reall= y came down to the point that the river was in full flood, and our thoughts went= out to some {drunk} travellers with very young children that we passed in VW Sychro’s that were heading in the opposite direction up the Schluch= t.
Johan	The morning the river was= still running strong and we turned around to make a detour of some 250km on bet= ter roads on route to Sesfontein. Some 20km on the road bac= k we met a group of Gautengers travelling in 4 Land Cruisers. We told them that th= e Hoanib River was running but this did n= ot seem to bother them at all. Looking at the well equipped Cruisers one cou= ld see that these were experienced guys (and lady). We decided to throw our fortunes in with them and return to the Hoanib River. What an experience! I lost = my number plate at the first river crossing and travelling incognito worked, since we crossed the river 5 or 6 times that day with little trouble. Keith and Alfred worked t= ogether as a well experienced team. After alternative routes have been explored, Keith would storm through first to show how it is done and Alfred then to= ok extreme care to help the rest of the group through difficult sections. After one of the most eve= ntful days I can remember, we slept high up on the river banks that evening. Ea= rly in the morning we were woken by the roar of the river as it came down in = full flood.

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I can still here Sarah’s screams ! ! ! ! ! Making our own crossing point= s.

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The river below our camp site in flood

Day 4= Khowareb Schlucht to Hoarib river to find Desert Elephants 122km<= /b>

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The river crossings en route to Ft Sesfontein

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The rain outside Ft Sesfontein

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Our camp site on the banks of the Hoanib River

Individual Comments By:

Alfred =

Waking to the river site = was magnificent. We left after breakfast and started making our way to look f= or the desert elephants. Due to the rain and floods the ele’s were now= here to be found. On the way to the river bed we entered a gorge descending do= wn to the river bank. The rain was so intense that the sides of the mountain had formed water falls and they in turn gushing down into the gorge causing t= he gorge to flood. Johan and myself raised concern to the others now riding = on dry ground in the bottom of the gorge.

We were assured that open= plains were in the distance below. So Johan and I surfed the wave out of the gor= ge.

George<= /p>

I woke up to talking, Ala= stair and Keith, and when I realised it was still only 3.30am, and still pouring with rain outside, I went straight to bed. I ended up waking up at 6.30am= , to discover I was sleeping in between numerous puddles of water, in my tent,= and to discover my hair was damp, as it was touching the side of the so called waterproof tent, stupid tent. Anyways,= the river was flowing heavily this morning, where I was playing in the mud the day before, was now totally inaccessible, even by foot. A fry-up of eggs and bacons was decided on for breakfast. By 10.45am, we left. Had one last crossing of some fast flowing water to cross, which the cruisers handled effortlessly. By 11.30am, we reached Sesfontein, a settlement built around an old German fort, in the middle of no ware. There was however, a bottle sore, and an Engen fuel st= op. Here we filled up the petrol and drinking water tanks, and off we went to find desert elephants in the Hoanib river bed. Our first turnoff to the r= iver bed was rejected, as it was a dust bowl, and being muddy, was way to risk= y. So we took the Ganiavlakt route, a desert route that was extremely beauti= ful. We then reached the Hoanib river gorge, were it got as narrow as 20 metre= s at some parts. Alfred was pretty far behind us, and when it started raining,= we had already come out of the narrow parts of the gorge, and Alfred was just entering these narrow spots. With all the water flowing down the sides of the gorge and collecting at the botto= m, Alfred and Johan experienced a type of ‘flash flood’ which al= most forced them to turn around. But with the gorge widening up as much as it = did, it wasn’t too much of a worry for the rest of us. 4.30pm we reached= the edge of the Hoanib river, where it was flowing. We decided to camp here a= s it was so dam beautiful. As it was still raining, and looked like it may get worse in the evening, I decided to pitch my tent under the awnings so as = not to wake up in a puddle of water again.

Keith

After we left the Schluch= t all of the river crossings were flooded and required care when crossing.

We filled up with fuel an= d water at Ft Sesfontein and tried the conventional route into the Hoanib river b= ed, which is normally a dust bowl, but with all of the rain it was just a quagmire and was so bad that the track was just mud and couldn’t be seen, so we opted to head North and go down into the Hoanib via the Vlakte route. During this time it again started to rain heavily, so heavy that e= ven the small spruit crossings were raging torrents.

Johan

That morning the river has subsided by about a meter but it was still an awesome site to see the pow= er of the Hoanib in flood.

After filling up at Sesfo= tein we drove down the Giribis Plains in pouring rain towards the western section= of the Hoanib, before it reaches the restricted area of the Skeleton Coast Park.<= /span>

Alfred and myself were ta= king some photos and fell behind. The plains changed into a gorge and all of a sudden we were caught in the flood waters concentrated by the narrowing g= orge. We managed to get in front of the flood but water was literally pouring o= ut of the ever narrowing koppies in hundreds of waterfalls. We then really g= ot worried because if there were no way out of the gorge and with the flood waters behind us, being super charged by the waterfalls, we were really in trouble.

We were at the point to t= urn around and rather face the flood waters head-on in known territory where = the gorge was relatively wider, when Sarah informed told us via radio that th= e gorge is again flattening out into plain in front and that it was safe to conti= nue.

With our hearts in our th= roats we continued through the ever narrowing gorge and didn’t give much attention to a Gemsbok whom we passed within 3 meters in the pouring rain. Great was the relief when the gorge finally opened and we made sure we st= ayed on high ground.

Day 5=        Hoarib River to Bush Camp    152km<= /b>

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Alfred & Keith fixing the diff seal        =             &nb= sp;            The camp site where we fixed the diff seal

Individual Comments By:

Alfred =

We had a good camp site n= ext to the river. After breakfast and a shower we greeted Johan and family and m= ade our way out of the gorge. Keith had to navigate the route out as it was t= otally washed away by the gorge flooding.

We made our way to Purros= . On the way many river crossing were tackled with success. Later that afternoon K= eith’s acute sense of smell “whiffed” out that my rear diff-seal had popped.

That night we camped earl= y on the side of the track so as to repair my diff-seal. Thanks to all for the help and diff oil.

George<= /p>

Don’t know what tim= e I got up, but had breakfast at around 8.30am. I didn’t sleep well the nig= ht before, as the dam awnings would collect buckets full of water, and drip these hu= ge drops of water on my tent, and every now and again, when the awning would= get too full, this massive amount of water would fall along the side of my tent. So that kept me up. A meeting was held to deci= de whether we should continue through the river bed (which was flowing!!) wh= ich would result in a total of 10km covered over the day, or go back were we = came from and catch up some distance since we were behind. It was decided to c= atch up the distance. By 10.45am we left, to cross the Haurusib river towards Purros. This route is supposed to take us through desert elephant territo= ry. Although we saw elephant tracks, we never did get to see the elephants, b= ut we did see a giraffe and find a pack of fire wood along the way. We did 5 river crossings. Each crossing requiring some good planning before hand. = At some instances the bow wave came over the bonnet, with the water level ov= er a meter deep. At the last crossing there was this bloke waiting. He was hesitant to cross as it looked really difficult, but after seeing how easy it looked after we crossed, he himse= lf crossed. He had a diesel Prado, so I don’t think he had much to wor= ry about. After this last crossing, the vegetation just instantly changes to desert. Just this dark sand and stones. Now we are supposed to reach a dry river crossing and drive through the bed and come out in Hartmanns Valley, but a convoy of three cars going in t= he opposite direction suggested otherwise as the river bed gets to wet to dr= ive through further down. After a group discussion, we decide to carry on dri= ving in the desert towards Rooidrom. On route, we meet up with a stranded vehi= cle, 2 couples squeezed up in a fully loaded colt, with two punctures, a broken air compressor and no puncture kit. I honestly believe if we hadn’t= of come past there, these people would have been stranded for a very long ti= me, probably even die out there. Now driving through the desert, the corrugat= ions are bad. Alastair’s spots fall off, and then his shock adjusters break, and at that same time, Keith discovers Alfred’s rear diff was leaking. So he and Keith tightened= the bolts and refilled the diff. that didn’t help, and we realised that= we were never going to reach the Kunene r= iver, so we put up camp in the middle of the desert. Keith and Alfred fixed the seal on the leaking diff. We had a braai, and I slept in the open desert, awesome stuff.

Keith

Another eventful day, many river crossings, the worst being the 200mtr wide river at Purros although not v= ery deep the sand was extremely soft and it would be very easy to get stuck.<= o:p>

A short while after Purro= s we came across two couple stranded in a Colt that had 2 of its tyres punctur= ed. The drivers cheap compressor had burnt out and he didn’t have a puncture kit, But he did have spare tubes, however when I asked him how he intende= d to break the beads and insert the tubes he said “Shit I didn’= t think about that” I sometimes wonder how fortunate we are that we do not have many more off r= oad tragedies considering the total lack of intellect and common sense of some of the people that attempt over-landing. Needless to say I fixed his punctures, = and I pumped one tyre whilst Sarah pumped the other.

Shortly after this, on th= e most corrugated road in Africa, Alastair ca= me thru on the radio and requested a stop as his spot lights had vibrated lo= ose. As I was walking past Alfred’s truck I had a severe case of de-ja-vu (from when I smelt gearbox oil when my diff plug came out on last years Southern Namibian Trip) so I looked under his truck to find his rear diff= was p1ss1ng oil.

We tried just re-tighteni= ng the bolts but it was till leaking. It was inevitable serious surgery was goin= g to be required. We removed the diff cover applied instant gasket, refitted t= he cover and re-filled with oil. Then we had dinner and went to bed.

Johan

We slept next to the rive= r and the next morning realised that it would be to time consuming to travel al= ong the flooding river. Our friends will continue to Purros and we will turn around to meet our appointment with family on the farm.

To the west of Warmquell,= a river was seriously in flood. We = travelled with a local some 3km upstream and crossed the river at a more favourable position. Which all maps indicated as extreme dust areas were now extreme= muddy and slippery areas and the local guy got stuck in the mud.

We then continued to Palm= wag were we slept at the lodge camping site. Some civilisation was appreciated but with it came the normal schlep as most of the campsites got burgled that evening.

Day 6=        Bush Camp to part way up Van Zyl’s Pass&n= bsp; 355km

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Orange Drom        =             &nb= sp;            =             &nb= sp;            =        The magnificent Hartmanns

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The Hartmanns        =             &nb= sp;            =             &nb= sp;            =     Rooidrom

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The bottom of Van Zyl’s Pass        =             &nb= sp;            =         Our camp site part way up Van Zyl’s

Individual Comments By:

Alfred =

Awaking to the dew in the= desert morning was great and even better to see that the diff-job was successful. The landscape from the desert camp up to Hartmann’s is only describ= able as “must be seen”.

George<= /p>

Up 6am, to get ready for = an early start to the day. We travelled through the Mariaflus plains, with hundred= s of fairly circles in the lush grasslands. We travelled north all the way through the Hartmannsberge to th= e Kunene river as our goal. We reach Orange-drom, w= ere I almost got bitten by a Puff Adder. By 1pm, we are about 20km away from the Kunene river, and we stop off atop a huge dune, were we are able to see t= he Namibia dunes end and the start of the <= st1:place w:st=3D"on">Otjihipi Mountains. Dunes blocked out rou= te to the Kunene river, so we decided to jus= t trek on to out next destination point, Van Zyls Pass. We meet a convoy of three cars, one of them being toed. Apparently the extra fuel tank dropped off = and caused the car to roll over. Anyways, 5.30pm and we reach Van Zyls pass. Nothing could prepare me for this next bit of adventure. Now, apparently = you are only supposed to go down Van Zyls pass, as it’s too difficult t= o go up, and we are going up! I have never experienced a 4x4 on a rock climb before, so everything that was about to happen was completely new for me,= and nothing could of prepared me for what I was about to experience. While waiting at the bottom of the pass for the rest of the convoy to arrive, I’m looking at the pile of rocks that people have signed when reach= ing the bottom of this pass. As soon as everyone one arrives, its time to rock and roll, Keith says, literally! Keith climbs the first bit of the pass, = all I could see out the front windscreen was= sky, and I honestly believed I was going to die. The car was going to roll back or sideways, and I was going to die in Namibia, or we were just go= ing to get stuck and that was the end of the trip. But these Land Cruisers just climbed this pass, I have total respect for these machines and there capabilities. Damn! Anyways, we decide to camp on the pass, we find a clearing and pitch tent. The ground was way to rocky to sleep on, so I sl= ept on outside on the chair.

Keith

Another early start……=

We stopped for a photo sh= oot at Orangedrum and in the process George just about stood on a young puff-add= er, but it was too close for comfort we almost had a tragedy.

Proceeded to Hartmanns an= d what a stunning place, however we had made such good time that we decided to head for Van Zyl's as it was only midday

En-route between Hartmann= s and Rooidrom we came across a convoy of three ( a SWB Pajero, a 2,7ltr Nissan= Sani = DC and a LWB Prado TD) the Sani was towing the Prado, which had rolled after= the recently fitted long range tank had come loose and flipped the truck. This incident would haunt us later.

The climb to half way up = Van Zyl’s was easy and uneventful, we camped.

Johan

From Palmwag we travelled= on C39 to Khorixas. The landscape along this route is really impressive and the route is recommended.

Our destination the famil= y farm between Omaruru and Kalkfeld and we arrive there early afternoon with eno= ugh time to tell everybody about the wonderful experience we had with the Land Cruiser enthusiasts from Ga= uteng. Thanks and we hope to join = you again some time!

Day 7=        Van Zyl’s Pass to Epupa= Falls 155km<= /b>

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Alastair chugging up Van Zyl’s        =             &nb= sp;            =     At the top of Van Zyl’s

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The Himba from the village at the top of Van Zyls P= ass. The third from the left wanted to marry George.    Spot the similarities????

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Epupa Falls 1 and 2

Individual Comments By:

Alfred =

The camp site at half up = van Zyl’s was lovely. The mist rising was added to the nerves for the n= ext half of van Zyl’s we had to do in the morning

Van Zyl’s pass R= 11; what can we say except that we did it – up that’s it -.=

Ego’s all boosted t= ill the next trip.

The Land Cruisers proved = once again that in my opinion there is no match.

The Epupa falls camp will= long be remembered.

George<= /p>

Quarter to nine, we conti= nue up the pass. The rest of the pass was easy compared to the beginning, so no = new nail marks in Keith’s dash board. Took us an hour to complete. At t= he top of the pass, was a Himba tribe, one of the dudes at the tribe needed = some eye drops, so we helped out. We continued on through some tricky terrain,= met 3 convoys along the way, one of which told us a story of 2 cars being was= hed away in the gorge. Damn! Anyways, 3pm we reach Epupa falls, beautiful place. Slept in Sarah’s hammock, and got chewed lekker by mosquitoes.

Keith

In My Opinion Van ZylR= 17;s pass is over rated I reckon you could go up towing a trailer.<= /span>

The two smaller passes af= ter Van Zyl’s are much more challenging than Van Zyl’s.

The road just outside Epu= pa is already showing signs of the forthcoming dam with road building and earthmoving equipment everywhere, and the road is fast being rebuilt and = in some places it is as wide as a 4 lane highway.

Epupa Falls in flood R= 11; “what a sight”

Day 8/9    Epupa Falls to Cunene River Lodge and a long overdue res= t day 97km

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The view along the Cunene        &= nbsp;           &= nbsp;                  A view of Alfred’= s rig on the way to CRL

Individual Comments By:

Alfred =

The 97 km’s from Ep= upa to Kunene river lodge took about 5-6 hours.

The Lodge camp was great = as well as the canoe ride up river was enjoyed.

A Rainbow Perch (kurper) = commit suicide and jumped into Sarah and George’s canoe. I wonder what he = was after. That night I had to repair my exhaust as it had broken off at the flange under the cruiser. Thanks to Keith’s epoxy putty and jubilee clamps it got me home.

Keith Sai= d - Alfred didn’t have a rest day – he headed home

07h00 I left for home as = my time was up. I left the others sadly and made my way to = Racine to fuel up. Road blocks were a plenty but they all seemed friendly. It was a hard day drive and reached Zelda lodge at 21h30. we left the lodge at 6h30 the next morning to get t= o Nam/Bots border post by 7h00. This was all hassle free and then did the 1300km to = Pat.

I was home by 18h45. Than= ks to all for the tremendous experience and friendships. Till the next time……

George<= /p>

10am we leave Epupa falls, n route the Kunene River Lodge. We dro= ve five and a half hours to do 70km!! With <= st1:place w:st=3D"on">Angola just to the left of = me. Apparently this route will not be around for to much longer, as the valley is going to be filled with water for s= ome new hydro electric scheme. Himba tribe live along this route, all shouting “sweeties” as we dr= ive past.

Alfred’s exhaust br= oke, so sounded like he had a free flow. 4pm we reach the river lodge, were Alfred fixes up his exhaust. Alfred, Jason, Jarrod, Sarah, and I hire some rafts= and went for a paddle along the Kunene riv= er. Alfred, Jarrod and Jason in one, and Sarah and me in the other. Now Jason= and Jarrod want to catch some fish, but somehow, while Sarah and I were paddl= ing along, a blue Kulper jumped into our raft, straight into Sarah. Dam that = was funny. So we went to show our catch off to the two lighties that have been trying really hard to catch = fish. Had a great dinner, and went to bed early, slept in tent tonight.

THE REST DAY

Got up early to say cheer= s to Alfred and the boys, as it w= as time for them to go back home. I went straight back to bed. Later that da= y, Alastair and Keith spent some time under Sarah’s car, to fix her ta= il light, and discovered her extra fuel tank was not installed properly.

Anyways, we spent the rest of the= day relaxing and chatting.

Keith

Not much distance to cove= r and not rush to get there, a leisurely start and at a leisurely pace we arriv= e at Cunene River Lodge mid afternoon.

This short stretch of tra= ck is one of my favourites, it’s always interesting and can be tricky in plac= es, but, will unfortunately be flooded once the hydro electric dam is complet= ed.

THE REST DAY

During the trip the hasty= repair that we did to Sarah’s exhaust had melted her right rear bumper tail light cluster, which had caused the fuse to blow, so we decided to do a &= #8220;quick repair”

Fark what did we get into= here…………

Whilst lying under Sarah&= #8217;s truck repairing the tail light wiring I happened to push up on the long r= ange tank – I let out a “oh my phuc” the tank was loose and = had about 100mm of vertical movement. The fitment centre had only secur= ed to two forward mounted u-bolts the two rear mounting were left totally free = to bounce up and down with 170ltr of fuel in.

As the tank was empty we = were not to know what else awaited us, but nevertheless I proceeded to secure the = tank to the chassis with my trusty bloudraad.

Day 10     Cunene River Lodge to a bush camp 527km<= /b>

Sorry no photos of day 10 most participants had run ou= t of memory on the digital cameras (message in this??)

Individual Comments By:

George<= /p>

8am we leave the river lo= dge on route to Rundu. 9.30am we reach Ruacana for fuel, and discover Sarah̵= 7;s long range tank is leaking badly. So after trying to figure it out, we buy some jerry cans, and carry the fuel. The plan is to just use what is left= in Sarah’s tank, and fill up as necessary along on the way. But Sarah’s main t= ank wasn’t filling up! 12.30, I had been driving the cruiser up until now, we had to stop as Sarah was running out of fuel, and we had to see why her main tank wasn’t filling up. 3 hours later we discover it’s the fuel pu= mp that pumps fuel from the extra tank to the main tank, it was broken. So a leaking tank and a broken fuel pump. Its Easter Monday, a public holiday,= so we decide that we are going to have repairs to be done at Rundu. We must = just drive as far as we can, camp, and continue on to Rundu.

Keith hears a funny vibra= tion on his car, and we stop to check it out. He reckons its his prop shaft. Noth= ing really we can do, but Keith discovers his diff breathers are not on.= 5pm and now we are looking for a place to camp. We are on a dirt r= oad, and this place is heavily populated, to everyone’s surprise. We car= ry on and we see a sign pointing to a camp site, so we follow. There is no c= amp site, so we just camp on the side of the road. 9pm after dinner, we are packing up for bed, and we hear a vehicle coming to us. We are not sure w= hat to expect so we all get into position waiting for this vehicle. The vehicle stops by us, and is the Namibian cops. They don’t want us to stay there, and suggest we sta= y in there camp for the night. So we agree and follow. There camp is an old SA= DF army camp. There was no way I was sleeping outside, so I shared the roof top t= ent with Keith.

Keith

We were supposed to reach= Rundu today, but instead I spent over 4 hours under Sarah’s truck.

First I drained 60ltr of = the fuel out of the Long range tank into the jerry cans, I thought this would allo= w us to continue without the fuel sloshing out of the tank – WRONG ̵= 1; the fuel was running back into the LRT through the fuel pump. So it was back under Sarah’s truck to bypass the fuel pump. I removed the pump and fortunately I had some 8mm bolts in my tool kit which I used to plug the = fuel pipes. At the same time we drained some more fuel out of the LRT to fill = both the main tank and the jerry cans. We proceeded.

I noticed a vibration in = the drive train of my truck having had 3 rear prop shafts I knew what the problem w= as and as it was not terminal we proceeded but I had to travel a the speed at which the resonant frequency of the vibration was at it’s lowest wh= ich turned out to be 125kph

We stopped at a place tha= t we thought was a good camp site only to moved by the Namibian Police “= who were concerned for our safety, camping in the bush” to an old SADF = army base just East of Congo whi= ch we still have to identify and name.

Day 11 and 12        SADF army base to Rund= u 221km<= /b>

Individual Comments By:

George<= /p>

8am we leave the police c= amp site for Rundu. 11am we arrive at Rundu, and went straight to the repair shop.= The repair was predicted to be ready by 10am tomorrow.

We also went to check out= the vibrations on Keith’s car, and it was nothing to worry about. =

We went for lunch at Ozzi= es , and checked in at the Saratunga lodge. Nice place. Had a swim and a lekker na= p. 8pm we have dinner at the lodge, I had 400g Kudu steak, very good. <= /o:p>

Keith

We headed straight for th= e repair shop that had helped us out about 4 years earlier when he undertook some repairs to the Colts of Nick, Alastair, and myself.

A German by the name of H= orst.

He ended up cursing Sarah= ’s LRT, there were 4 cracks of about 120mm long in the tank, but the problem= was – the tank is made from 1.2mm stainless steel and unless you have a= MIG welder it is very difficult to weld material this thin.

Day 12     Rundu to Khaudum 175km

<= ![endif]> <= ![endif]>

The Lost Guinea Fowl Geocache=

Individual Comments By:

George<= /p>

10am we leave the lodge to go fet= ch Sarah’s car. 3pm we end up leaving Rundu, as the repairs took longer than expected. Off to Khaudum. Keith places his geocache, the Lost Guinea= fowl. 7pm we reach the Khaudum camp site, were I pitch my tent under Keith̵= 7;s rooftop tent, as we are in the middle of a game park.

Keith

We left for Khaudum at ab= out 15:00 on day 12. Again we had one major downpour on the normally very san= dy track into Khaudum, however, I thought the rain would make the sand easier going but it didn’t – it felt as if it made it much harder as= I was the lead vehicle and there was not established tracks, but those behind me said it was easy to follow in my tracks

We placed our Lost Guinea= Fowl Geocache just outside the entrance to the Khaudum National = Park.

We camped at the Khaudum = camp.

The Namibian Parks board = would not take any payment for the camping stating that “As the ablutions h= ave been damaged by Elephants and are in a state of disrepair they cannot cha= rge for such facilities” Admirable, maybe Botswana Wildlife should take note of this! ! ! !

Day 13     Khaudum to Drotsky’s (Gcwihaba) Caves 270km<= /b>

<= ![endif]> <= ![endif]>

George at the new Plaque &n= bsp;                  &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;            &= nbsp; Inside the caves

<= ![endif]> <= ![endif]>

The entrance to the caves         &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;            &= nbsp;     Our Campsite at the ca= ves

   Note nobody is near G= eorge’s ground tent

Individual Comments By:

George<= /p>

6.30am, apparently I kept everyone up with my snoring, please, and I don’t snore, hehe. Had a lekker shower and was told by a ranger that a hyena went passed the camp = site last night. Its wounded and looking for an easy meal. 1pm we reach the Botswana border post and 4pm we reach Drotsky’s caves. This cave was awesome, stalactites and stalagmites, rock formations that are still growing, which are created by water, in the middle of a desert.

Crazy. It took us about 1= 5min to walk through the cave, just us, and the bats. After pitching my tent, everybody moved there vehicles very far from me, as they all said they wanted to sleep tonight! It wa= s a clear night, with no sign of rain, and millions of stars.

Keith

With all the delays waiti= ng for Sarah’s truck, we are now behind schedule so we decided to head directly for Drotsky’s Caves, which by the way have been re-named Gcwihaba Caves

We saw little or no game = on our dash through Khaudum.

The Dobe border post must= be seen to be believed. The Namibian side is reasonable, they use Zozo huts, afte= r you’ve driven through and closed the two gates you get to the Botswana border po= st (ha ha ha) all it is a 3m x3m army tent.

Border formalities comple= ted we head for Drotsky’s, arriving at about 16:00.

So we go for a stroll thr= ough the caves – sh1t do they stink.

The lime stalactites and = stalagmites are amazing to see.

It rained a bit during th= e night

One thing I forgot to men= tion………. With all the rain we had during the trip, Sarah had a constant battle try= ing to keep herself and her bedding dry inside her Technitop roof top tent.

Whilst Alastair, Alfred a= nd myself all have EasyAwn RTT were bone dry, even George in the small ground tent kept dryer than Sarah.

Needless to say she has subsequently sold her Technitop and bought an EasyAwn <= /p>

Day 14     Drotsky’s (Gcwihaba) Caves to Kang 637km

Individual Comments By:

George<= /p>

4am I got up as it starte= d to rain and the wind almost blew my tent apart, so I moved it under Keith’s rooftop tent.

We were supposed to have = a fry up for breakfast, but the rain changed all of that’. Keith and Alastair, the hardcore campers that they are, packed in the rain, I waited for the pause in the rain that frequently ca= me along. Had to pack my tent muddy.

Anyways, 2.30pm we get Gh= anzi, filled up with fuel, and had burgers and fries for lunch. The plan was to maybe make it to Gabarone, and stay at Sarah’s place for the night,= but by 6.30pm, we were only at Kang. So we stayed at a fuel stop. =

All our red meat was conf= iscated at a vetinary control point, so chicken and rice for dinner.

Keith

Left Drotsky’s, the= track to the main road is very interesting and at times you are actually headin= g in the opposite direction to your destination a weird feeling – but tr= ust T4A.

In-between Maun and Ghanz= i all of our red meat was confiscated at the Vet Control gate. A policeman at the = gate told me in simple terms that

·     &nbs= p;   You may take re= d meat into Botswana and into the control areas travelling from South to North.

·     &nbs= p;   You may not tak= e red meat out of the controlled areas from the North into South

Reached Ghanzi for a late= lunch.

Looooooooong road so at 1= 8H30 we pulled in to the Kang truck stop camp site.

Day 15     Kang to Jo’burg 659km

Individual Comments By:

George<= /p>

6am left camp site for Lo= batse.

Apparently with my French passport, saying I was born in JHB, and my ID book, I am still not allowed to enter the country as a South Afri= can. Crazy stuff. Anyways, was a dam good trip.

Keith

Only hassles on this day was at t= he RSA side of the Lobatse border, where the immigration official (Stupid Boog) = saw fit to stamp my Passport with a big stamp that states I am now a temporar= y resident and that I must exit RSA before 01 July 2005 and that I am forbidden to w= ork.

This after I have legally= lived and paid taxes in RSA for 29 years – go figure. <= /p>
<= /p>
GREAT TRIP – Cant wait for the next one

Individual Comments By:
Alfred =	Waking to the river site = was magnificent. We left after breakfast and started making our way to look f= or the desert elephants. Due to the rain and floods the ele’s were now= here to be found. On the way to the river bed we entered a gorge descending do= wn to the river bank. The rain was so intense that the sides of the mountain had formed water falls and they in turn gushing down into the gorge causing t= he gorge to flood. Johan and myself raised concern to the others now riding = on dry ground in the bottom of the gorge. We were assured that open= plains were in the distance below. So Johan and I surfed the wave out of the gor= ge.
George<= /p>	I woke up to talking, Ala= stair and Keith, and when I realised it was still only 3.30am, and still pouring with rain outside, I went straight to bed. I ended up waking up at 6.30am= , to discover I was sleeping in between numerous puddles of water, in my tent,= and to discover my hair was damp, as it was touching the side of the so called waterproof tent, stupid tent. Anyways,= the river was flowing heavily this morning, where I was playing in the mud the day before, was now totally inaccessible, even by foot. A fry-up of eggs and bacons was decided on for breakfast. By 10.45am, we left. Had one last crossing of some fast flowing water to cross, which the cruisers handled effortlessly. By 11.30am, we reached Sesfontein, a settlement built around an old German fort, in the middle of no ware. There was however, a bottle sore, and an Engen fuel st= op. Here we filled up the petrol and drinking water tanks, and off we went to find desert elephants in the Hoanib river bed. Our first turnoff to the r= iver bed was rejected, as it was a dust bowl, and being muddy, was way to risk= y. So we took the Ganiavlakt route, a desert route that was extremely beauti= ful. We then reached the Hoanib river gorge, were it got as narrow as 20 metre= s at some parts. Alfred was pretty far behind us, and when it started raining,= we had already come out of the narrow parts of the gorge, and Alfred was just entering these narrow spots. With all the water flowing down the sides of the gorge and collecting at the botto= m, Alfred and Johan experienced a type of ‘flash flood’ which al= most forced them to turn around. But with the gorge widening up as much as it = did, it wasn’t too much of a worry for the rest of us. 4.30pm we reached= the edge of the Hoanib river, where it was flowing. We decided to camp here a= s it was so dam beautiful. As it was still raining, and looked like it may get worse in the evening, I decided to pitch my tent under the awnings so as = not to wake up in a puddle of water again.
Keith	After we left the Schluch= t all of the river crossings were flooded and required care when crossing. We filled up with fuel an= d water at Ft Sesfontein and tried the conventional route into the Hoanib river b= ed, which is normally a dust bowl, but with all of the rain it was just a quagmire and was so bad that the track was just mud and couldn’t be seen, so we opted to head North and go down into the Hoanib via the Vlakte route. During this time it again started to rain heavily, so heavy that e= ven the small spruit crossings were raging torrents.
Johan	That morning the river has subsided by about a meter but it was still an awesome site to see the pow= er of the Hoanib in flood. After filling up at Sesfo= tein we drove down the Giribis Plains in pouring rain towards the western section= of the Hoanib, before it reaches the restricted area of the Skeleton Coast Park.<= /span> Alfred and myself were ta= king some photos and fell behind. The plains changed into a gorge and all of a sudden we were caught in the flood waters concentrated by the narrowing g= orge. We managed to get in front of the flood but water was literally pouring o= ut of the ever narrowing koppies in hundreds of waterfalls. We then really g= ot worried because if there were no way out of the gorge and with the flood waters behind us, being super charged by the waterfalls, we were really in trouble. We were at the point to t= urn around and rather face the flood waters head-on in known territory where = the gorge was relatively wider, when Sarah informed told us via radio that th= e gorge is again flattening out into plain in front and that it was safe to conti= nue. With our hearts in our th= roats we continued through the ever narrowing gorge and didn’t give much attention to a Gemsbok whom we passed within 3 meters in the pouring rain. Great was the relief when the gorge finally opened and we made sure we st= ayed on high ground.

Individual Comments By:
Alfred =	We had a good camp site n= ext to the river. After breakfast and a shower we greeted Johan and family and m= ade our way out of the gorge. Keith had to navigate the route out as it was t= otally washed away by the gorge flooding. We made our way to Purros= . On the way many river crossing were tackled with success. Later that afternoon K= eith’s acute sense of smell “whiffed” out that my rear diff-seal had popped. That night we camped earl= y on the side of the track so as to repair my diff-seal. Thanks to all for the help and diff oil.
George<= /p>	Don’t know what tim= e I got up, but had breakfast at around 8.30am. I didn’t sleep well the nig= ht before, as the dam awnings would collect buckets full of water, and drip these hu= ge drops of water on my tent, and every now and again, when the awning would= get too full, this massive amount of water would fall along the side of my tent. So that kept me up. A meeting was held to deci= de whether we should continue through the river bed (which was flowing!!) wh= ich would result in a total of 10km covered over the day, or go back were we = came from and catch up some distance since we were behind. It was decided to c= atch up the distance. By 10.45am we left, to cross the Haurusib river towards Purros. This route is supposed to take us through desert elephant territo= ry. Although we saw elephant tracks, we never did get to see the elephants, b= ut we did see a giraffe and find a pack of fire wood along the way. We did 5 river crossings. Each crossing requiring some good planning before hand. = At some instances the bow wave came over the bonnet, with the water level ov= er a meter deep. At the last crossing there was this bloke waiting. He was hesitant to cross as it looked really difficult, but after seeing how easy it looked after we crossed, he himse= lf crossed. He had a diesel Prado, so I don’t think he had much to wor= ry about. After this last crossing, the vegetation just instantly changes to desert. Just this dark sand and stones. Now we are supposed to reach a dry river crossing and drive through the bed and come out in Hartmanns Valley, but a convoy of three cars going in t= he opposite direction suggested otherwise as the river bed gets to wet to dr= ive through further down. After a group discussion, we decide to carry on dri= ving in the desert towards Rooidrom. On route, we meet up with a stranded vehi= cle, 2 couples squeezed up in a fully loaded colt, with two punctures, a broken air compressor and no puncture kit. I honestly believe if we hadn’t= of come past there, these people would have been stranded for a very long ti= me, probably even die out there. Now driving through the desert, the corrugat= ions are bad. Alastair’s spots fall off, and then his shock adjusters break, and at that same time, Keith discovers Alfred’s rear diff was leaking. So he and Keith tightened= the bolts and refilled the diff. that didn’t help, and we realised that= we were never going to reach the Kunene r= iver, so we put up camp in the middle of the desert. Keith and Alfred fixed the seal on the leaking diff. We had a braai, and I slept in the open desert, awesome stuff.
Keith	Another eventful day, many river crossings, the worst being the 200mtr wide river at Purros although not v= ery deep the sand was extremely soft and it would be very easy to get stuck.<= o:p> A short while after Purro= s we came across two couple stranded in a Colt that had 2 of its tyres punctur= ed. The drivers cheap compressor had burnt out and he didn’t have a puncture kit, But he did have spare tubes, however when I asked him how he intende= d to break the beads and insert the tubes he said *“Shit I didn’= t think about that”* I sometimes wonder how fortunate we are that we do not have many more off r= oad tragedies considering the total lack of intellect and common sense of some of the people that attempt over-landing. Needless to say I fixed his punctures, = and I pumped one tyre whilst Sarah pumped the other. Shortly after this, on th= e most corrugated road in Africa, Alastair ca= me thru on the radio and requested a stop as his spot lights had vibrated lo= ose. As I was walking past Alfred’s truck I had a severe case of de-ja-vu (from when I smelt gearbox oil when my diff plug came out on last years Southern Namibian Trip) so I looked under his truck to find his rear diff= was p1ss1ng oil. We tried just re-tighteni= ng the bolts but it was till leaking. It was inevitable serious surgery was goin= g to be required. We removed the diff cover applied instant gasket, refitted t= he cover and re-filled with oil. Then we had dinner and went to bed.
Johan	We slept next to the rive= r and the next morning realised that it would be to time consuming to travel al= ong the flooding river. Our friends will continue to Purros and we will turn around to meet our appointment with family on the farm. To the west of Warmquell,= a river was seriously in flood. We = travelled with a local some 3km upstream and crossed the river at a more favourable position. Which all maps indicated as extreme dust areas were now extreme= muddy and slippery areas and the local guy got stuck in the mud. We then continued to Palm= wag were we slept at the lodge camping site. Some civilisation was appreciated but with it came the normal schlep as most of the campsites got burgled that evening.

Individual Comments By:
Alfred =	Awaking to the dew in the= desert morning was great and even better to see that the diff-job was successful. The landscape from the desert camp up to Hartmann’s is only describ= able as “must be seen”.
George<= /p>	Up 6am, to get ready for = an early start to the day. We travelled through the Mariaflus plains, with hundred= s of fairly circles in the lush grasslands. We travelled north all the way through the Hartmannsberge to th= e Kunene river as our goal. We reach Orange-drom, w= ere I almost got bitten by a Puff Adder. By 1pm, we are about 20km away from the Kunene river, and we stop off atop a huge dune, were we are able to see t= he Namibia dunes end and the start of the <= st1:place w:st=3D"on">Otjihipi Mountains. Dunes blocked out rou= te to the Kunene river, so we decided to jus= t trek on to out next destination point, Van Zyls Pass. We meet a convoy of three cars, one of them being toed. Apparently the extra fuel tank dropped off = and caused the car to roll over. Anyways, 5.30pm and we reach Van Zyls pass. Nothing could prepare me for this next bit of adventure. Now, apparently = you are only supposed to go down Van Zyls pass, as it’s too difficult t= o go up, and we are going up! I have never experienced a 4x4 on a rock climb before, so everything that was about to happen was completely new for me,= and nothing could of prepared me for what I was about to experience. While waiting at the bottom of the pass for the rest of the convoy to arrive, I’m looking at the pile of rocks that people have signed when reach= ing the bottom of this pass. As soon as everyone one arrives, its time to rock and roll, Keith says, literally! Keith climbs the first bit of the pass, = all I could see out the front windscreen was= sky, and I honestly believed I was going to die. The car was going to roll back or sideways, and I was going to die in Namibia, or we were just go= ing to get stuck and that was the end of the trip. But these Land Cruisers just climbed this pass, I have total respect for these machines and there capabilities. Damn! Anyways, we decide to camp on the pass, we find a clearing and pitch tent. The ground was way to rocky to sleep on, so I sl= ept on outside on the chair.
Keith	Another early start……= We stopped for a photo sh= oot at Orangedrum and in the process George just about stood on a young puff-add= er, but it was too close for comfort we almost had a tragedy. Proceeded to Hartmanns an= d what a stunning place, however we had made such good time that we decided to head for Van Zyl's as it was only midday En-route between Hartmann= s and Rooidrom we came across a convoy of three ( a SWB Pajero, a 2,7ltr Nissan= Sani = DC and a LWB Prado TD) the Sani was towing the Prado, which had rolled after= the recently fitted long range tank had come loose and flipped the truck. This incident would haunt us later. The climb to half way up = Van Zyl’s was easy and uneventful, we camped.
Johan	From Palmwag we travelled= on C39 to Khorixas. The landscape along this route is really impressive and the route is recommended. Our destination the famil= y farm between Omaruru and Kalkfeld and we arrive there early afternoon with eno= ugh time to tell everybody about the wonderful experience we had with the Land Cruiser enthusiasts from Ga= uteng. Thanks and we hope to join = you again some time!

Individual Comments By:
Alfred =	The camp site at half up = van Zyl’s was lovely. The mist rising was added to the nerves for the n= ext half of van Zyl’s we had to do in the morning Van Zyl’s pass R= 11; what can we say except that we did it – up that’s it -.= Ego’s all boosted t= ill the next trip. The Land Cruisers proved = once again that in my opinion there is no match. The Epupa falls camp will= long be remembered.
George<= /p>	Quarter to nine, we conti= nue up the pass. The rest of the pass was easy compared to the beginning, so no = new nail marks in Keith’s dash board. Took us an hour to complete. At t= he top of the pass, was a Himba tribe, one of the dudes at the tribe needed = some eye drops, so we helped out. We continued on through some tricky terrain,= met 3 convoys along the way, one of which told us a story of 2 cars being was= hed away in the gorge. Damn! Anyways, 3pm we reach Epupa falls, beautiful place. Slept in Sarah’s hammock, and got chewed lekker by mosquitoes.
Keith	In My Opinion Van ZylR= 17;s pass is over rated I reckon you could go up towing a trailer.<= /span> The two smaller passes af= ter Van Zyl’s are much more challenging than Van Zyl’s. The road just outside Epu= pa is already showing signs of the forthcoming dam with road building and earthmoving equipment everywhere, and the road is fast being rebuilt and = in some places it is as wide as a 4 lane highway. Epupa Falls in flood R= 11; “what a sight”

Individual Comments By:
Alfred =	The 97 km’s from Ep= upa to Kunene river lodge took about 5-6 hours. The Lodge camp was great = as well as the canoe ride up river was enjoyed. A Rainbow Perch (kurper) = commit suicide and jumped into Sarah and George’s canoe. I wonder what he = was after. That night I had to repair my exhaust as it had broken off at the flange under the cruiser. Thanks to Keith’s epoxy putty and jubilee clamps it got me home. *Keith Sai= d - Alfred didn’t have a rest day – he headed home* 07h00 I left for home as = my time was up. I left the others sadly and made my way to = Racine to fuel up. Road blocks were a plenty but they all seemed friendly. It was a hard day drive and reached Zelda lodge at 21h30. we left the lodge at 6h30 the next morning to get t= o Nam/Bots border post by 7h00. This was all hassle free and then did the 1300km to = Pat. I was home by 18h45. Than= ks to all for the tremendous experience and friendships. Till the next time……
George<= /p>	10am we leave Epupa falls, n route the Kunene River Lodge. We dro= ve five and a half hours to do 70km!! With <= st1:place w:st=3D"on">Angola just to the left of = me. Apparently this route will not be around for to much longer, as the valley is going to be filled with water for s= ome new hydro electric scheme. Himba tribe live along this route, all shouting “sweeties” as we dr= ive past. Alfred’s exhaust br= oke, so sounded like he had a free flow. 4pm we reach the river lodge, were Alfred fixes up his exhaust. Alfred, Jason, Jarrod, Sarah, and I hire some rafts= and went for a paddle along the Kunene riv= er. Alfred, Jarrod and Jason in one, and Sarah and me in the other. Now Jason= and Jarrod want to catch some fish, but somehow, while Sarah and I were paddl= ing along, a blue Kulper jumped into our raft, straight into Sarah. Dam that = was funny. So we went to show our catch off to the two lighties that have been trying really hard to catch = fish. Had a great dinner, and went to bed early, slept in tent tonight. THE REST DAY Got up early to say cheer= s to Alfred and the boys, as it w= as time for them to go back home. I went straight back to bed. Later that da= y, Alastair and Keith spent some time under Sarah’s car, to fix her ta= il light, and discovered her extra fuel tank was not installed properly. Anyways, we spent the rest of the= day relaxing and chatting.
Keith	Not much distance to cove= r and not rush to get there, a leisurely start and at a leisurely pace we arriv= e at Cunene River Lodge mid afternoon. This short stretch of tra= ck is one of my favourites, it’s always interesting and can be tricky in plac= es, but, will unfortunately be flooded once the hydro electric dam is complet= ed. THE REST DAY During the trip the hasty= repair that we did to Sarah’s exhaust had melted her right rear bumper tail light cluster, which had caused the fuse to blow, so we decided to do a &= #8220;quick repair” Fark what did we get into= here………… Whilst lying under Sarah&= #8217;s truck repairing the tail light wiring I happened to push up on the long r= ange tank – I let out a “oh my phuc” the tank was loose and = had about 100mm of vertical movement. The fitment centre had only secur= ed to two forward mounted u-bolts the two rear mounting were left totally free = to bounce up and down with 170ltr of fuel in. As the tank was empty we = were not to know what else awaited us, but nevertheless I proceeded to secure the = tank to the chassis with my trusty bloudraad.