Author: Ian & Solveig's Overland Adventures

We always visit Namibia whenever we are on a long trip. Sometimes even twice! We made good progress through the Caprivi, westwards from our entry point at Katimo Mulilo, and chose to stay at N’Gepi again instead of trying one of the campsites on the Kavango river near Rundu. 

The SA schools were on holiday and our favourite stands were already taken. We got the Hippo site with wash up area and a good view of the river. The river was very much higher than in January.

We stayed for two glorious days and caught up on photo editing and our blog while chilling. 

Rundu is an odd town that has an infrastructure left behind by South Africa during the bush war and now it’s a mixture of a border town and modern supermarkets and malls. After topping up data and buying provisions we returned to the older African border town section where Solveig bought more chitengas from the stall holders at the street markets. We then continued our trip southwards to Roy’s Camp, nearer to Grootfontein.  We love the quirkyness of Roy’s.
It was quite full, mostly from South Africa, including a family of first time tenters, that usually caravaned. We watched with amusement as they assembled their camp site. We met Kenyans on their way to Windhoek and had a lovely contact with them also.

We could not leave out Okahandja and the Closwa butchery for their fantastic biltong and vacuum packed Namibian steak from our schedule either. We ended up camping there at the Ombonde Campsite, part of the Okahandja Country Hotel just north of the town. One of the nicest camps we’ve stayed at near Windhoek. We visited Windhoek the next day but returned to Ombonde for another night.

In Swakopmund we tried out the Mile 4 camp just outside town as we really wanted to be next to the sea again. We’d just completed the crossing of the continent. 

A week had passed since entering Namibia and staying in lovely campsites. Now we chose one of the worst camps we’d ever stayed in!  It looked like a cemetery.  Can you imagine how dreadful it gets around Christmas when full!

The next day we were off to try our luck in Walvis Bay after looking at alternative places in Swakopmund.  Alte Brucke was fully booked. The only place with space available was over R500 per night to camp! 

We enjoyed our day at the Walvis Bay lagoon but the camping wasn’t great there either. We’d made the move from a huge bleak camp in Swakop to a cramped site here. 

We decided that we’d be far better off wildcamping, so set off into the desert the following day through a dust storm near Walvis. 

We wanted to camp at Mirabib in the Namib Nauklauft but needed a permit, only obtainable in Swakopmund, so continued towards Sesriem. 

On the way the dust storm turned into a massive thunderstorm and the rain bucketed down accompanied by lightning and rainbows. 

The road turned into a river and we had to be extra cautious. The evening light was amazing! 
By having to slow down because of the rain we realised we’d never get to Solitaire by dark and looked out for a place to stay. The Kuiseb canyon didn’t look too inviting as it was still raining hard and there were no camping signs in all the nice spots. 

It was evening when we reached the Gaob river canyon and decided we had to camp here. We drove off the road into the river bed and proceeded up stream. 

The main river had pools of water, and debris from a recent flood trapped in trees about 3 meters above the river bed, so we turned back and drove up a short tributary which was dry. I decided we’d be safe from any storm here. 

The next morning there was no sign of rain and everything was dry again. We realised that we had spent the night at the Tropic of Capricorn. 

Joe and Pam Stallebras had stayed at a campsite near to Solitaire at the summit of the Spreetshoogte pass for a few nights and really enjoyed themselves. We were always open to exploring suggestions fellow overlanders made. We headed there after a detour to Solitaire first, as we had plenty of time. The campsite was named Namibgrens. The Spreetshoogte pass is extremely steep and is paved with concrete bricks to assist you with your ascent. 

On arriving at the farmhouse where we booked in we found this oxwagon which brought back memories of  Balfour and the good times shared with our friends Chris and Mandy.

The campsite was well worth the effort in getting there. There were 12 campsites and a number of chalets too. The camps had individual ablutions located amongst the rocks as well as canvas kitchen shelters and tents, although we chose to sleep in Twiga of course!

We spent two night there and most of the day in the rock pool. 

After leaving we carried on passed Sesriem canyon and Sosusvlei because of the school holidays…We prefered to camp on our own or with just a few campers and hoped to reach Aus that night. 

Again we drove through the incredible Namibian landscape which we’ve become to love so much.

We realised we would not reach Aus so stopped early at Betta near Duiseb where we met two incredible cyclists from Nederlands, Alice and Jaap. They were 68 and 70!!

We enjoyed a tea break at Helmeringshausen, and a treat! Namibia is well known for its Apple pie and it was on the menu at the only hotel in the small village, so we ordered two… did we get a surprise when we got the bill…R50 each for the pie and there was no cream either, just castor sugar!

Another day enjoying the beautiful landscapes….

There were animals along the route too…..

We arrived at Aus too early so we continued towards the Gariep River on the border instead. 

We wildcamped in an abandoned campsite along the Gariep. 

There are not too many places one can do that anymore, especially during school holidays!

Just another 50 kms to Noordoever and a Wimpy breakfast! 

We left the river for awhile and were back in the desert once again…

After breakfast, a quick and efficient border crossing followed by Springbok!

The border experience was far better than on the previous visit. Better control was in place and the touts had been prevented from entering the official area. Everything was dealt with quickly and efficiently and it was wonderful to be back.  
However there seemed to be more police checks than before. Many of the small towns we passed through had a barrier. Police were friendly but at one of the stops, after chatting, he mentioned he was hungry and wanted something to eat, or some money to buy something to eat!  We were shocked by his statement and replied that he was lucky to have work and could surely afford to buy his own food. The begging left a bad taste.  The incident didn’t change our overall impression though. We just love Malawi and it’s people and wonder why more South Africans don’t visit. 

We returned to Hakuna Matata where Willie, an ex South African from Pretoria, and Maggie, who has since sadly passed away, used to run the place. Willie was both sad and angry. Angry as he felt Magie might not have died had she been treated in a better medical facility. 

 It was good to chill again after our long drive through Tanzania and enjoy our chats with Willie and his assistants, Martha and David. We stayed there for two days and nights.

Later, we passed through a plantation of rubber trees on our way to Makuzi, and a young man on the side of the road selling balls he’d made from the latex, and it reminded us of the boy at Hakuna Matata.

We visited Chitimba next door to Hakuna Matata to see where Scott and Helena had managed the camp while the Dutch owners, Carmen and Ed, were visiting family in Holland. Theit camp is more upmarket and chic than Hakuna Matata.

The weekend after we visited, Chitimba was hosting about 100 cyclists riding from Cairo to Cape Town in the Tour d’Afrique. A pity we missed them!

We bought some Mazuzu coffee beans for home, and ground coffee for the rest of our trip, at a coffee shop in Mazuzu on our way to our next campsite.

Makuzi Lodge and Campsite was on the lake about 60 kms south of Mazuzu.

With its magnificient beach it is one of the best places to stay on the coast. Be sure to book, especially if you are camping during season and not staying in a chalet, as there are only three campsites and 11 chalets.

Our campsite at Makuzi

The owner, Lara, a born and bred Malawian is married to an ex South African from near Howick. We spent two glorious days days there. Her husband Brett, who was recovering from malaria, told us of a great place to stay just outside of Lilongwe; Barefoot Safari Camp on the route towards Zambia. Being on the correct side of town we were able to miss the traffic on our departure in the morning……

We decided to chill awhile before our homeward journey and chose to return to Peponi Beach resort, where we stayed for nearly two weeks in 2014. 

The trip from Kenya was short and our border crossing quick and efficient. We stopped in Tanga and visited the supermarket and fruit and veg market we’d shopped at three years before. Memories ………

When last at Peponi, the owner Denis, was in the final stages of selling the resort. New owners are from Kenya and it’s now being managed by their daughter, Claris.  

And what a fantastic job she is doing. It’s hard to imagine how one can improve on paradise, but she has managed to do that!

Our friends, Michael and Birte that we met at Tiwi Beach arrived the next day before their trip to Zanzibar, but we still never had that Pinacolada! 

We just loved our walks on the beach at low tide…..

We walked to Pangani, a small fishing village south of the camp and also north to the mangroves. 

After only five days we moved on again unfortunately. We’d made the decision to include Malawi on our return journey and we needed to make time for that too.

After a long drive we stopped over at Tan Swiss in Mikumi for the night. 

The drive there was stunning. Even the 50kms through the Mikumi game reserve was fruitful and we sighted many animals.  Another long drive to Mbeya followed. 

The scenery in this part of Tanzania is so wonderful that it makes the journey so much easier. 

The Valley of Baobabs on the banks of the Ruaha river and the beautiful mountain pass through the Uzungwe forest are unique.
We arrived in Mbeya after sunset and drove the last 30kms or so in the dark. That we knew the area hardly made any difference to the difficult and risky task. Rush hour in this part of Africa consists of unlit bicycles,  darkly clothed black pedestrians, handcarts returning from markets. And trucks stopping at each and every speedbump,  not to mention the roadworks and potholes! The first thing we did on arrival was down much deserved drinks!

Creatures of habit that we are,  we returned to Utengule Coffee Estate for the night where we experienced problems with the camp electricity supply. It damaged the mains adapter for our fridge which is an inconvenience as the fridge can now only operate when the car is  moving.
As it was already late we decided to treat ourselves to supper in their restuarant. We weren’t hungry so ordered a light meal each which was dissapointing. We should have shared a good main meal instead.

In the morning we took the final pictures of Tanzania before leaving…

Although we were looking forward to visiting Malawi again we  sadly said goodbye to Tanzania in the morning,  one of our favourite African countries.

We entered Kenya at the Tororo  Border. Everything went smoothly, efficiently and quickly. We’d planned to stay in Eldoret but when arriving in the town we were horrified at the appearance of some of the guesthouses. We kept on looking, found nothing so decided to wild camp in a filling station. We came across one that looked good and there was also a reasonable looking restaurant in the yard. We met the manager of the restuarant who welcomed us to stay. A  24 hour guard looked after both the service station and the restuarant. The manager was a delight and such a help we felt obliged to eat supper there. We couldn’t accept his hospitality and then cook a meal right outside his restuarant!

We made our own breakfast early before the restuarant opened however! After breakfast we made the usual visit to an ATM to draw the local currency when entering a new country, Kenyan Shillings this time.

In Kenya the  roadside stalls aren’t grouped together but the goods are  displayed individually. We often buy our fruit and vegetables from them and it’s better when you can deal with the vendor on her own and are not hassled by  other vendors nearby.  

We continued to Nairobi and  Jungle Junction, an overlander favourite, in Karen the suburb.  We asked ourselves, “Is the place more run down since our previous visit  or is Kenya just desparately in need of rain?” It turned out that both were correct. Tourism has taken a massive dive in Kenya and the infrastructure is suffering.There is an overall rundown look about Kenya and is probably also the dirtiest country we’d been in.

But on the positive side, the road network had improved enormously since our previous visit and is ongoing!

We moved to Camp Karen nearby, but it wasn’t any better really. Both were tacky and lacking  some TLC. 

Solveig made contact with Karen Khagram and we arranged to meet for lunch the next day. We met at Karen’s  house. It was like being at home again. Seeing her staff and being welcomed by them was wonderful. We caught up with news before going to lunch at a restuarant that specialised in Chicken Tikka with friends of Karen’s, Alex and Cas, and Bijal. Unfortunately Vesh and Devan were in Ethopia on business.

We didn’t stay in Nairobi for long and after stocking up at a brand new centre, The Hub, we left for Amboseli game reserve. Solveig had not ever seen Kilimanjaro. It was always covered with cloud whenever visiting Arusha and Moshi before. We’d been told that if we wanted a good view of the mountain we’d have to see it from Kenya. 
At this point I should mention how important it is to listen to advice from fellow travellers who have current knowledge of local conditions. This is to be able to deviate from your  overall plan when necessary, and why you can’t have a fixed schedule.

I must make special mention of Stan and Anne Weakley, whom we have never met, but had made contact with before we left home. He has written an extremely detailed and entertaining blog, Slow Donkey. Whenever we’re not sure of something we always turn to his blog to see if they’d  had a similar problem. Especially with GPS routes. Thank you Stan for your valuable advice regarding Amboseli!

After what had seemed ages we eventually turned south at Emali and were rid of the endless trucks on their way to Mombasa. 

We enjoyed the peaceful brand new tarred road passing through the Nyiri Desert with its frequent dust devil’s, and the occasional wild animal. 

We were once again “driving blind” with incorrect maps. Fortunately other travellers had told us of this route. Near the Tanzanian border at Kimana we turned right onto the gravel road towards the Amboseli. 

We were excited because looming between the trees on our left was Kilimanjaro with only a scattering of clouds and it’s snow covered peak glistening in the late afternoon light. 

Rooibos, not as tasty as the SA brands, but then it might be the water!

We soon found the turnoff to the Amboseli/Tsavo Rangers Community camp. It’s main purpose was a place to house and train the anti-poaching rangers that served in both reserves.

The community also “ran”a few tented chalets and camping alongside the ranger camp. Like most community rest camps we’d encountered it wasn’t about providing a service but another way of extracting tourist dollars from the visiting mzungus! The staff however were fantastic as usual and made us very welcome. James, who  was in charge, has texted us since, to ask how we are enjoying our travels! 

It was similar to wildcamping as there were no facilities that worked! What an amazing experience this turned out to be. So rewarding!

The next day after taking scores of photos  we retraced our steps to Emali and continued on until  we reached Voi.   Bijal had mentioned where we should stay but foolishly I had not made a note of it and we ended up at Impala Safari Lodge. They had never had campers stay there before but went out of their way to make us comfortable and insisted we stay in their secure parking area. We even suggested what they should charge as they had no previous experience. We met a British couple, Julie and Ken there, that gave us valuable advice on the Kenyan coastal options and mentioned that we should not miss going to the Ngutoni Lodge just 15 kms from Voi where we could visit a waterhole on the border of Tsavo East Game Reserve and possibly see lots of animals for free! This was the same place Bijal had suggested! 
After leaving Voi we looked out for the turnoff to Ngutoni which was about 10kms further  from the highway. 

Even the road to the lodge had plenty of animals. Elephants, Eland, Zebras, Giraffe and buffalo.The lodge with its waterhole was amazing. We so wished we’d stayed there the previous night. My fault entirely for not taking note of the name when Bijal told me of it.

After another long days drive, with road building and trucks slowing us down we arrived in Mombasa, luckily it was a Sunday.

The ferry to exit the south of Mombasa

The city centre is on an island, which you access via a bridge, but the exit to the south and the resort areas requires a ferry trip back to the mainland. A new experience for us. The total time for queuing and the journey probably took about 40 minutes and cost next to nothing.

It was wonderful to get back to the sea again after nearly 3 months and we planned to chill at the coast for a few days. We camped at Twiga Lodge in Tiwi right on the beach under palm trees. There we met Michael and Birte from Germany, also overlanding in a Landrover and we shared our stories.
 

We were visited by many locals trying to sell us their crafts or services.They were pleasant enough and not too much hassle. We bought green coconuts to drink from a local rasta. He’d even decorated Solveig’s with a few flowers. It reminded me of my coconut water treatmemt in Costa Rica for Denge fever. The beach had a reef which was exposed at low tide which reminded us of Peponi, our next destination.

Late on the first night a Landrover pulled in near the ablution block. I passed the vehicle when visiting the toilet in the morning and noticed it had a KZN number plate. Later I greeted the driver and we got chatting. He’d been in Kenya a few years working as an entertainer at hotels, lodges and functions. His name was Reggie and he turned out to be an ex-member of Ballyhoo!

I knew many musicians who had played in Ballyhoo though I’d never met him. He visited us in the afternoon and stayed for drinks and supper and we talked late into the night swapping memories of the music scene in SA during the 70’s. 

We had forgotten totally of our date with Michael and Birte for a Pinacolada at the lodge. We apologised in the morning. They had seen Reggie visiting and figured we wouldn’t be able to make it and that we didn’t miss anything as the lodge made a dreadful cocktail!  They were going to Zanzibar in a few days and we suggested that they stayed at Peponi on their way south.
We decided that Peponi would be a good place for us to chill too and made plans to say goodbye to Kenya…..