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14th march - 4th april

Overlanding across Afica in our Land Rover Defender: Namibia

Andy Lees
2006-05-16 14:28:42

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had been described as a sand track. this had to be it.

whilst we weren't sure where we were going, we were heading in the right direction. a family appeared from the bushes dangling homemade necklaces. surely this had to be a tourist route - why else would they be there? we drove on through the sand, small detours took us away from the 'road', avoiding deep patches of mud. after an hour or so we reached the park, two small stones marked the entrance way. we headed for the office but the track disappeared into deep mud. with mud there are two choices - the best is to drive through the middle (scarier) or skirt the edge. we had spent the last hour skirting the edge of quagmires. there was lush green grass and shrubs on either side. the edge it would be. low range was engaged, we crept forward, we went for the left side, the wheels spun, we were stuck, just metres from the wardens hut. it would have been embarassing if there had been anyone around to see. how could this have happened? so close and yet so far. no-one appeared to help. could we winch? reverse, forward, reverse, forward, we found some traction somewhere. we were out.

it was just us in the park. the office was locked and there was no-one about. a sign warned of lions, hyenas and elephant passing through the camp. we lit a huge fire, cooked some steak and headed for the safety of the tent. there wasn't too much night traffic, just one noisy hyena knocking the refuse bin over. the next morning we transited through the park. the bush was dense and it was hard to see game but we did meet with one feisty bull elephant. he mock charged, trumpeting and flapping his huge ears. we reversed as there was no where else to go on the narrow sandy track. with a bit of distance between us he seemed to calm down. we waited a few moments before passing.

later on we found a water hole. there was a raised platform with a beautiful view of the surrouding bush. it was so peaceful ...