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5th february - 13th march

Overlanding across Afica in our Land Rover Defender: South Africa 1

Andy Lees
2006-05-16 13:55:49

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only three roads in the park, two are dry river beds - the nossob and auob - and a road across the middle that connects the two. it is fortunate that the wildlife tends to congregate along the riverbeds, seeking shade from the the odd scrub and bush that can be found here and there. springbok, oryx, wilderbeest, ostrich and giraffe all grazed on what i don't know. two spotted hyenas caught our attention, resting in the shade with some scavenged meat next to them. thinking we were interested in their meal they moved the decaying remnants to a safe distance. they returned, flinging their bellies into the cool sand, feigning sleep as they kept one eye on the land rover. we were also fortunate enough to see the kalahari lion - twice; once at sunrise and the other at night as a male and female came down to drink at the floodlit waterhole. finally, we had found maned lions.

after five nights in the desert we needed to replenish our supplies. we had no choice but to spend another night at the municipal campsite in upington. in fairness it isn't a bad camp, but we'd been a bit spoiled in the parks. we grew a little concerned however at the growing crowds beside the road leading to the entrance gate. the traffic was backing up ahead of us and a mob seemed to be forming. it was getting close to sunset and we were beginning to feel uneasy. we were about to get boxed in by the suped-up hatchbacks and gangster style low-riders.

one of the good things about having a 4x4 is that you can usually find a way out. in this case we quickly bumped up the curb and through the tree lined central reservation. we were in the clear and heading away from the disturbance. looking back, we finally realised its cause. we'd just cut in front of the wedding car.

augrabies falls national park - 13th march

there was one more national park we wished to visit before leaving south africa and that was the augrabies; not so much to see the 'noise-making place' although the falls are impressive - the orange river passing over a series of cataracts before being pushed over a narrow drop into a deep ravine - but to appreciate the massive granite outcrops that surrounds it. there is a short game drive that takes in several breathtaking viewpoints and at sunset we followed the gravel trail until we reached the furthest point where we enjoyed a sundowner. it was not possible to capture the sheer beauty and magnificence of the land on film. as for the game, well there were plenty of rock hyraxes sunning themselves on the rocky habitat, and a pair of klipspringers silhouetted dramatically against the sunset, atop an outcrop of rock.

from the park it was only a relatively short drive to namibia. it was the country that had tempted us to embark upon this epic journey in the first place and nine months of bumpy, dusty, thrilling, surprising, testing and thoroughly enjoyable travel hadn't dampened our enthusiasm at all.