Travel Diary: Phase 2 of Lockdown

Homeless during lockdown! What happens when your home is where you park it and because of COVID-19 restrictions you now have nowhere to park.

With 5 weeks of Level 3 lockdown under our belt and signs that camping places were beginning to open, we left Cape Town just before a big cold front was about to lash the Western Cape and headed into the mountains just outside Montagu. Our destination was a totally off-grid spot were social distancing was never going to be a problem as we were the only campers and the two other couples staying in cottages were at least 500m away.

Mr. Jones appeared to be in shock that he was actually back in use when on our first night we were unable to cook on either of the two gas stoves! A couple of quick checks left us none the wiser whether we had a blockage in the gas pipes, an issue with the regulator or if it was just too cold for the gas to flow properly but fortunately we have a spare regulator and short loose pipe so that was quickly rigged up to the spare gas bottle and portable stove and thus only caused a small delay in supper.

Solving our gas supply mystery the following morning

During lockdown in Cape Town we had got quite good at doing a short yoga session each morning and had good intentions of carrying this practise on while on the road, we managed this on the first day but not again for the entire week we stayed. For now we will blame this on the cold front which arrived….

With the arrival of the cold front the days and evenings become very chilly but with all the cold weather gear we have hauled around for the last year (and not had reason to use) we were never too cold and always slept wonderfully warm. Although the winds that accompanied the cold front did leave us wanting for sleep the one night as Mr. J was buffeted around like a yacht on stormy seas.

We were expecting the arrival of our friends the De Nobrega’s on the Friday, but with no cell reception we had no way of knowing that the cold front had made them delay their departure, needless to say they duly arrived the following day. A wonderful couple of days and evenings followed before they headed back to Cape Town and we began thinking of where to next?

After a week of being totally disconnected and with the weather turning ugly once again we packed up and headed out. Our departure was not without a little drama: as we finished climbing up out of the valley Mr. J suddenly lacked power and then just stopped. At this point it was pouring with rain and blowing a howling gale, at one point the rain drops even turned to ice as they hit the windows. There was no way we were going to climb out and try and fiddle with him in those conditions so we spent the time trying to work through the scenarios of what could be wrong; the lack of power and cut-out was very similar to what we had experienced in Malawi also on a steep climb up from the lake and on first appearance it appeared like we had ran out of fuel but we knew that could be not possible based on our mileage so far; our next idea was that perhaps somehow we had got water/contaminations in the fuel system. When the rain eased off a bit, Stuart (assuming the 2^nd idea the most probable) opened the valve on the fuel sedimenter and instead of getting the expected water and diesel flow was greeted by a hissing sound as air escaped the system. A very strange result and it would take a few more “breakdowns” over the next few weeks for us to finally find the problem. For now though we were grateful to not be stuck in the middle of nowhere and happily setoff for Montagu.

Having spent a week disconnected from the world and being back in travel mode we were in no hurry to “stick our faces to phones” in order to catch-up on social media and the news.

This meant we blissfully went about shopping for some supplies before hitting the road again and heading east along the very scenic R62. The real grassroots impact of the lockdown and ban on local travel was very evident as we passed through the small towns bordering the Karoo, such as Barrydale, whose economies are heavily dependent on weekend travellers.

When you are the only tourists in a whole town

Our plan was still to travel slowly and explore the area but after finding 2 potential camping spots closed and needing ideas we did finally pull out the phones to search for alternatives, at which point we saw the inevitable WhatsApp messages regarding the renewed ban on alcohol sales and also clarity that leisure accommodation was to remain closed for the remainder of Lockdown Level 3.

We were now homeless with nowhere to park….

The regulations did still allow inter-provincial travel if you were relocating residences so having had our fair share of the cold and wet that is a Cape Town winter and with the prospect of a very long extended lockdown being in place ( and no Old Brown Sherry to warm the bones at Samantha’s house ) we decided to use the allowed exemption for travel and relocate to Stuart’s brothers holiday home in Durban.

Now that we had a plan of action, first priority for the afternoon was to find somewhere to sleep before starting the long trip east the next day. It took three more failed attempts and 150km before we eventually found a spot in Calitzdorp.

That night as we sat parked in a “formal” camping spot next to an old railway siding, Tania cooked supper while Stuart sat in the front of Mr. J preparing the affidavits required to allow inter-provincial movement. Thanks to modern technology and suitably qualified friends we were able to digitally sign such documents, email them off and receive them back duly notarized.

Considering that we had 1600km ahead of us, our start the next morning was much later than it should have been but it is difficult to emerge from under a lovely warm duvet when the sun is late to rise and its bitterly cold outside. Our plan was to do the journey in 2 days which in a modern vehicle would be no issue but in good old Mr. Jones was going to be quite a big task.

Despite being under “pressure” we thoroughly enjoyed the day’s drive as we marvelled at the constantly changing landscapes and scenery; the stunning beauty and rock formations of Meiringspoort; snow on the mountains and next to the road around Richmond; the beautiful yellow grasses contrasting with browns all through the Karoo. If only we could have done this slowly and stopped often.

When we had set off in the morning we had no idea how far we would get or where we would sleep that night, especially considering the previous days challenges in finding accommodation, so as the shadows grew long we began considering our options. The first one was to head down one of the small dirt roads that intersect with the N1 and bush camp for the night and the second option was to spend a night in a truck stop with the long-haul truckers. Bush camping in the rest of Africa is generally pretty safe and accepted but we are not so sure about it in South Africa, even in the middle of the Karoo so in the end decided on the latter option.

As the sun was setting we pulled into a truck stop outside the tiny dorp of Springfontein, roughly 150km south of Bloemfontein, not knowing what to expect but ultimately were pleasantly surprised. The ablutions were spotless, security good and if you fill up with diesel you stay for free otherwise it is R50 for the night. The AluCab Icarus roof and subsequent camper conversion were once again worth their weight in gold as we holed up inside drinking wine and cooking supper while watching the outside temperature drop, the forecast predicted -6 deg Celsius for the morning!

We had been a little concerned that we would have a disturbed night of sleep with the coming and goings of trucks but in fact slept really well and only noticed noise from around 4:30 in the morning, this may have been because of the lockdown curfew in place but nonetheless we weren’t complaining. As expected the temperatures plummeted overnight and when we switched lights on, around 6am, the inside of the tent was sparkling with ice crystals so emerging from our lovely warm duvet took quite a bit of willpower especially knowing that we have no heater in Mr. J and would not be getting warm anytime soon. Eleven months prior in Mozambique we had a coolant leak at the heater and so had bypassed it as “bush” fix, replacing the heater matrix was on the to-do list but to our detriment we had only planned to do it once arriving in Natal.

Apart from not being able to warm ourselves, the lack of a heater meant we couldn’t defrost the windows so Stuart had to scrape off a surprisingly thick and stubborn layer of ice from the windscreen using our kitchen spatula.

We must have been quite a sight when we pulled into the Engen One stop at Bloemfontein, (anybody who has ever driven in a defender will know that they are anything but airtight) so with no heater and the chilly temps we were wearing as many layers as we could and had towels and other miscellaneous clothing items stuck in every nook and cranny trying to keep the cold out and the little warmth we were generating in. Apart from filling up with diesel we were hoping to sit down at Wimpy to warmup while enjoying some bacon and eggs with coffee, alas this was not to be as they were still closed under the Covid lockdown restrictions. A takeout pie for breakfast it was going to be for the second day in a row.

The rest of the day passed by uneventfully as we traversed across the Free State, stopping briefly in Bethlehem to finally shed some layers of clothes, and then barrelling along the N3 towards Durban (well barrelling as fast as a heavily loaded Landy can).

Despite making good progress, Kevin’s holiday home was 100km to far in respect to getting there in time to collect keys, so late in the afternoon we pulled in at Tania sister’s (Nicole) smallholding in Drummond for one more night of camping in Mr. Jones as the “inn was full”, so to speak.

Anybody who has been monitoring our maintenance log will know that the trip has not been without a few minor breakdowns/repairs but Mr. Jones has always been a scholar and a gentleman in terms of when and where he decided to take a break and we have always appreciated him for that. Our sense of humour and appreciation for him did however fail us when he chose the very moment we arrived at the security office of the estate Kevin’s holiday home is located in, to cut out and then subsequently refuse to start – the estate is very smart, has many rules and we doubt anybody has ever crawled under a car at the security booms in an attempt to fix it.

Thankfully by the time we had completed the necessary biometric registrations for access he had had enough of a rest and started with a bit of coaxing. We clearly had a problem but what was it? First thought would be the some issue as a few days earlier but alas it was not, over time we were to discover & fix more than one issue.

Over the next weeks we slowly got used to having a large family home to ourselves, made full use of the amenities and in between relaxing, made regular weekend trips up to Drummond to carry out various service items on Mr. Jones. Mr. Jones was not the only one to receive maintenance attention during this time, Tania had been struggling with her foot the last few months which we thought would require the attention of an orthopaedic surgeon. Thankfully no surgery was required but the orthopaedic did recommend visiting a bio-kineticist to align the “chassis”. Normally the bio-kineticist would conduct a program for this over the course of 3 – 4 months but as we did not expect to hang around in Ballito that long, he come up with an intense program to “fix your sh#t” in one month (his words not ours…).

Just as for our stay in Cape Town, our stay in Ballito has been longer than envisaged but after 8 weeks enjoying all the amenities it is time to get back in our home and start wandering.

It is easy to procrastinate leaving, especially in times like this and with all the luxury around us, but just as it was a little over a year ago when we first embarked on the journey we are reminded that “the first step is always the hardest…”.

Travel Diary: Phase 1 of Lockdown

When a planned stay with family of two weeks turns into one month, then 2 months all the while quietly slipping back into “domestic bliss”. Eventually after 4 months we hit the road, these were the joys for us of being caught up in South Africa’s initial Covid-19 lockdown phases.

When we first arrived in Cape Town on the 21 March we were planning on spending a couple of weeks there, firstly celebrating the 50^th birthdays of Tania middle sister (Nicole) & brother in-law and then doing some riding around the peninsular on our Harley Davidson which had conveniently relocated together with Samantha (Tania youngest sister) while we were away on our travels.

After that we were going to spend 3 weeks working our way leisurely up South Africa’s garden route and Wild Coast to arrive in Durban by the beginning of May in time for the visit of our son, Devon, and his girlfriend Hannah arrival. This was to be Hannah’s first trip to South Africa and we had a wonderful 2 weeks planned taking in the KZN coast, game reserves and the Drakensberg.

Two days after our arrival, a three week Covid-19 lockdown was announced which instantly scuppered all of the above plans. At the time we however naively still thought that we could be back on the road internally within South Africa by May and that Devon & Hannah would be able to fly out from the UK by September. If that were to become the case we believed we may still get to South America by the end of 2020, only a few months later than originally planned.

In the meantime we turned our attention to keeping sane and having fun during the initial stage of lockdown with lots of reading, taking regular walks through the vineyard & gardens of the property Samantha lives on, weeding in the vegetable garden, streaming online concerts at sunset and conducting theme events: “pancakes at Mr. Jones farmstall” , “Sam’s Trattoria”, “Tania Indian Curry”

As the initial 3 weeks was extended to 6 and with the prospects of even more extensions likely we realised all long-term planning was meaningless and that we really would just have to wait and see….

Thankfully despite the lockdown extension, the slow opening of commercial activity meant Stuart could focus on some of the jobs and upgrades we had planned for Mr. J based on learnings from the last 8 months. When we built him in Johannesburg we could easily source materials as Stuart knew were all the suppliers were but now in a new city much time was spent googling and wandering around industrial areas seeking out a suitable supplier.

Once the basic materials were sourced Stuart set about the upgrades and was ultimately amazed at what can be achieved with only a drill, a small hacksaw and camp table for a workshop plus of course the other standard tools we carry in Mr. J

As the weeks passed we ticked off a number of jobs ranging from upgrading our solar power setup, right down to making small brackets and enhancements which will make living in our tiny space even easier. A breakdown of the upgrades done can be found here.

At the beginning of June South Africa moved to “lockdown level 3” which freed up some movement and left a number of grey areas in the regulations open for interpretation. For example exercise was allowed but surfing wasn’t or the regulations implied that leisure intra-provincial travel and accommodation was allowed while the tourism department said it was not.

Considering that surfing is the perfect “social distancing sport” it did not take long for the the surfers to reclaim the waves and so we began to make daily trips down to the beach for the first surfing Stuart had done since leaving Mozambique in August 2019, although it did require the purchase of a thick wetsuit. The wetsuit made it perfectly possible to spend lengthy periods in the water but our favourite will still always be warm water locations. While Stuart was out surfing Tania would sit on the edge of the promenade (beaches were still off-limit) with her mask on, reading and observing the general goings on.

We also began to observe on various social media platforms that a few camping places were starting to open up so the decision was made to take some tentative steps towards travel within the Western Cape hoping that as time progressed travel across provincial borders would be allowed and we could therefore move our way eastwards to Durban and a warmer winter.

In the second week of July we set off, just as a massive cold front was about to lash the Western Cape, for a totally off-grid location in the mountains outside Montagu where social distancing & isolation was never going to be an issue.

More of our 10 days off-grid and in isolation to follow in the next blog post, together with our subsequent mad dash across the country when a hasty change in the regulations forced our hand as to “should we stay or should we go”

Travel Diary: South Africa’s West Coast

As we sit safely ensconced in isolation, it seems almost surreal to think how foot loose and fancy free we were only 3 weeks ago. This travel diary covers our re-entry into South Africa and the short(ish) journey down the west coast to Cape Town. The accompanying Captain(s) log gives the usual brief insight into the daily emotions and thoughts of life off the “well trodden path”.

As everyone already knows border crossing days rank highly as our least favourite days but both our entry into Namibia a little over a month ago and again our exit into South Africa have been super easy. Although they are different countries most of the time Namibia has just felt like an extension of South Africa, right down to the fact that you can pay with and often receive change in Rands, so apart from some stamps in the passport we could have just been changing provinces.

The border did though bring us, for the first, time face to face with the Corona virus fear taking hold of the world as all the border officials where wearing face masks & gloves and we had to have our temperature taken before entry into the SA border area. This is not a unique experience on the trip, for most of our time in East Africa they had been battling an Ebola outbreak which meant many borders had quite strict hygiene measures in place. For instance when entering Rwanda we had to exit the vehicle, have our temperature taken and then walk across sanitized mats while washing our hands.

Due to the vastness of Namibia we have often been quite disconnected from both social and mainstream news media the last couple of weeks and so the way that the Covid-19 has impacted the world has been very difficult to get our minds around. We re-entered South Africa mid-March and at that stage, the same number of people die on South African roads over the festive season as had died in Italy over it’s worst month (then but it got worse) but yet the road death toll just gets passing mention and thought each year. 10 days later as South Africa entered lockdown this statement was proven to be naive but we have left it in because that’s what it felt like for us at that stage… However we also understand the precautions required given the rapid spread of the virus and on more than one occasion have thought perhaps we are better off staying out in the countryside and not heading to Cape Town.

After spending our first night back in South Africa at the west coast dorp of Kleinzee we headed southwards to the Namaqua National park. Entry at the northern gate is done by opening the gate yourself and then using the two way radio housed in a box on the side of a building to talk to the park headquarters some 80km to the south and obtain “approval” to enter. After lowering the tyre pressures for the soft sand ahead we enjoyed a lovely wander down the coast stopping many times to admire the views and little bays, finally stopping at “Kwaas se Baai” to camp. Later in the afternoon some officials stopped by to officially sign us in and collect our camping fees.

The campsite at “Kwaas se Baai” was just perfect: on top of a little rise overlooking an aquamarine bay dotted with kelp and fringed with white sand. The only thing preventing longer stays is the often inclement weather and that you need to be totally self-sufficient as there is no water, power, etc. Our first afternoon presented us with all the west coast “seasons”: from sunny to windy, then very misty and finally mild clouds which gave us a lovely sunset. The following day however dawned still and clear which is exactly what we had wished for, so the day’s activities consisted of a short wander down to beach for some sand&sun time, back to Mr J for lunch and then back down to beach again for more sun&sand time combined with white wine. A perfect day!

On our 3rd day we woke to the ugly “season” with lots of mist and cold winds coming off the Atlantic. Over the fire the previous evening we had discussed staying another day as we had sufficient water and the solar panels had kept the battery well charged, but that idea had now quickly evaporated. The drive out of the park, firstly inland and then further south, felt hard going which was possibly not helped by a hand brake which was emitting a burnt brake pad smell. Stuart had forgotten to disengage the handbrake 2 days earlier when setting off from one of our stops to admire the coastline and with Mr J being in low range at the time due to the thick sand it took a while until we noticed it (that while, being long enough to burn brake pads and possibly bind them to the drum!!).

We were undecided were to go for the night and eventually landed up at Standfontein because the reviews on iOverlander described “Horse Shoe Campsite with lush green lawns and shady trees”. The lawns were green but certainly not lush, trees rather small and the wind was honking, added to which the ablutions are nothing special given that it is in fact a municipal campground but sadly with private camping rates. We were not impressed but being tired and hot, had no other choice. Supper was cooked and eaten inside Mr J while the wind howled around us, the van was rocking but with the mood inside you certainly could have come a knockin…

The one advantage of our detour to Standfontein is it put us only 9km from Doring Bay and Friars Cove winery. So after a leisurely start in the morning, including taking time out to loosen the binding hand brake, we trotted down the road to the winery for some tastings and a lovely lunch of Calamari and snoekkoekies (fish cakes). Having stocked up Mr J with white wine, we headed further south towards Citrusdal (and it’s mineral baths) with the intention to park off, relax and kill time before getting to Cape Town for the end of the week.

It was however extremely hot on the road (with no aircon we recorded 38deg Celsius inside Mr Jones! ) so when we passed a spot called Roodeberg resort bordering on the small Bulshoek dam, it didn’t take much to persuade us to do a u-turn and decide to spend a few days camped on the lake shore. When it started to cool down in the evening, the SUP was unloaded from the roof box and inflated ready for some paddle time the next day. Incredibly the last time we used the SUP was 4,5 months ago in Malawi, we had hoped to use it on both Lake Kivu (Rwanda) and Lake Tanganyika (Tanzania) but in both cases a combination of iffy weather and concern re potential lurking crocodiles stopped that.

A couple of very relaxed days followed with a few paddles thrown in for good measure, all the while blissfully disconnected from the world and the escalating corona issues as there was no cell reception down by the lake. We did however, once again, get a taste of what lay ahead of us when the campsite put up a notice “barring foreigners from staying due to Corona fears” as we prepared to leave.

While we could have easily headed straight into Cape Town from Roodeberg we weren’t due there (due because Tania sister, Nicole, was flying in for a birthday celebration) for a few more days and so decided to stop, as intended a few days priors, at Citrusdal mineral baths. While checking in at reception it quickly become apparent to us that now that we are back in SA we may perhaps have to start pre-planning with regards overnight stops as they had limited availability and only 2 sites available if wanting to stay multiple nights. A routine of a mid morning swim followed by a lazy afternoon next to Mr Jones and then a late night swim quickly developed over the next couple of days.

The arrival of the weekend and the start of SA’s school holidays, with the resultant influx of campers, was a clear signal for us to move on and complete our journey into Cape Town. The final drive across Western Cape’s Swartland with it’s mix of agricultural (wheat, grain and wine) and rugged mountains was a nice reminder of how much variety South Africa has to offer in terms of scenery and tourism.

Sadly the planned birthday celebrations for Nicole were not to be, as the impact of Covid-19 really hit home and South Africa went into lockdown. By pure luck we had made it to SA and the safe haven of Cape Town just in time, (for which we are very grateful as being on the road would be extremely difficult during this time), but it is surreal to think that not 10 days earlier we had been sitting on the West coast totally disconnected and downplaying the impact of the virus.

Gallery: South Africa’s West Coast

Captain(s) Log: March 2020

We have been very privileged to take the path less travelled the last 8 months and move about with no destination or deadline in mind, and have big plans to take Mr J over to South America and continue the journey but with the world now sailing unchartered waters (April 2020) it is impossible to know if or when that may be possible. We have however learnt over this journey how little a person really needs, how simple life can be and that the simple pleasures are often the best pleasures so remain quietly optimistic that this will become possible. In the meantime we are staying isolated (as we hope you are) and doing our very small bit to “flatten the curve”. Stay safe everyone, Stuart & Tania

Travel Diary: Namibia (part 2)

In this second part of our Namibia travel diary we head to the coast and enjoy some long overdue beach and ocean time before getting onto the main tourist tracks through the Namib desert. Later on Mr. Jones gets a service in what will probably be the most remote dedicated Land Rover service station ever.

If you missed part 1 of the diary you can find it here: Namibia (part 1)

Leaving the desert behind we headed towards the coastal town of Swakopmund. Our first impressions were not great as the outskirts initially appear rather soulless but as you go deeper into town and closer to the beach it’s character changes and it turns into quite a nice little quaint seaside town. We chose to camp at Tiger Reef which despite some negative reviews on iOverlander turned out to be perfect as it allowed us to walk along the promenade, stop at a little food caravan and enjoy an awesome lunch of Calamari and Kabeljou followed by a little more exploration of the beachfront. Having had a rather fulling lunch we enjoyed sundowners (followed by a cheese and ham sandwich back at Mr J) on the restaurant deck adjacent to the camp, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean which was the perfect end to the day.

Turning our noses north for a bit we headed for the start of the Skeleton coast and the Cape Cross seal colony. The stark landscapes while never going to be able to hold us for long are beautiful in their barrenness and isolation, over the years many a ship has been wrecked along this coastline with usually disastrous consequences for the crew because even if you make it ashore your chances of survival would be minimal. This though is not the reason for the Skeleton coast name, that in fact comes from the many whales who have run aground here.

The seal colony at Cape Cross reserve is quite a site (and smell!!) to behold with hundreds of seals frolicking in the water and thousands on the land calling to each other and climbing over themselves. The birthing period is December to January so we were fortunate to see many baby seals, most of whom appeared to be on their own. The moms go out to sea for up to seven days and then return to feed the pups, how they find each other when Mom returns to shore is unfathomable to our brains but certainly probably has something to do with all the calling that was taking place, we can best describe it as being in the middle of thousand strong herd of goats. Apart from sights and noise the other thing that takes your breath away is the smell or more accurately the stench, it seeps into everything and upon getting to our camp spot later we needed to urgently wash both ourselves and our clothes.

Bizarrely the Portuguese explorer (Diago Cao) chose this point to come ashore in 1484 and plant a cross in an attempt to claim the land for Portugal, one would assume the seals were nesting at this point even back then so why he chose this smelly spot and not a few kilometres in either direction is a bit baffling unless the seals provided an easy source of protein and fat?

Mr Jones has been very good to us on this trip, there have been a few niggles here and there, which is to be expected considering his age and what he has been put through, but most of our maintenance log entries are non-him related. Stuart gives him a brief looking over and under most days but hadn’t done so since leaving Windhoek and so we got rather lucky that when reaching under to disconnect the grey water bucket he noticed a very loose nut on the rear suspension linkage. If that had come off while driving it could have got ugly! Fortunately, a quick tightening sorted it out and we were ready to hit the road but not before a new item was added to the “South Africa shopping list”, the correct size (#30) spanner.

From the coast we headed inland to Spitzkoppe which is often referred to as the Matterhorn of Namibia. The main massif rises high above the desert and is visible from many miles away. In the 90’s it was a climbing spot Stuart dreamt of visiting and climbing but at that stage it was not too be. While checking in the receptionist was complaining about how dry it is, we assured her that now that we had arrived she could definitely expect rain, lo and behold that night we got a big thunderstorm. The camping is quite organised with designated sites amongst the boulders and outcrops, each has a long drop toilet but no other facilities so we were most grateful for our onboard outdoor shower.

After a very relaxed morning hanging around the camp at Spitzkoppe we took a leisurely drive westwards and back to Swakopmund with the intention of spending the weekend there and enjoying some beach time. Unusually so we both woke quite early on the Sunday, so before heading down to the beach, Stuart jacked the car up, removed wheels, checked brakes and greased all the steering and prop-shaft nipples. While we have been doing small preventative maintenance on the road it has been 10 000km since his last service in Nairobi. The changing of oil will have to wait a little while but as Mr J has a mysterious ability to make oil disappear and require top-up’s every 1000km this is not too much of a worry.

The rest of Sunday was spent down on the beach, broken up with lunch from the same food caravan we had visited previously as the calamari and fish was just too good last time not to revisit.

In contrast to the day before we made a latish start when leaving Swakopmund, initially making a short detour via Walvis Bay to see if the Flamingoes were in the bay and then westwards on the C14 to once again traverse the Namib Nauklift park. However compared to our previous eastwards traverse on the C28 which was incredibly scenic we found the scenery a bit bland and boring this time around, our lack of enjoyment was not helped by at least half the 250km covered being on bone jarring corrugations. Based on the number of rental 4×4’s coming towards us all day we were clearly now on the main tourist route. Turning off the dirt road towards our overnight stop (Sossus on Foot) we were not too hopeful but pleasantly surprised as after a few kilometres the road all of sudden drops before you into a little valley and a small oasis with a few campsites looking out of over the vast landscape. As we were the only people camping and it was so hot we opted once again to setup the outdoor shower and enjoy a refreshing shower next to Mr Jones in the early evening.

On arrival at Sesriem the following morning we decided to first go and buy a permit for our next day’s visit into the Park (Sossusvlei) which caused much confusion both at the gate and at reception. It turns out the standard practice is to arrive at the gate on the day of entry, obtain an entry number, visit the Sossusvlei dunes and then only pay for your permit when exiting – hence the confusion as to why we wanted to buy it the day before but nobody told us this and we only learnt of the “standard” practice the following morning when sitting in the queue of cars at the gate.

On iOverlander we had read of a campsite (Sossus Oasis) being located behind the fuel station just outside the park entry gate so given that it was behind a petrol station we were not expecting much but fortunately were pleasantly surprised. Each site had a covered shade area and own ablutions with a semi outdoor shower plus there was a lovely little swimming pool located in the centre of the ring of campsites. Because we had stopped at Sossus on Foot the day before and therefore only had had a short hop into Sesriem we arrived long before the campsite filled up so the hammocks got strung up next to the pool and we settled in for an afternoon of G&T’s, reading and swimming.

The towering red dunes around Sesriem and at Sossusvlei are the iconic landscape picture which usually appears in any kind tourism literature for the country. Added to that is the stark contrasts of, and thus heavily photographed, Dood vlei (Dead Vlei) with its white clay floor, dead trees and red dunes as a back drop. The best time to photograph all of this is in the early morning but with the dunes being 60km inside the park and the gates only opening at sunrise it makes for quite the bun fight, once again as with the gorillas a few months ago we got to witness the worst side of the dog eat dog nature of many human beings. Despite this we did enjoy our time in the dunes trying to take artistic pictures of the trees but left knowing that we also prefer the hidden gems off the beaten track rather than the “must see” spots as per standard guidebooks.

For interest sake the trees are believed to have died 900+ years ago when the Tsauchab river path was cut-off by the shifting sand and have subsequently been preserved in their present form due to the aridity of the environment and thus the absence of wood boring insects.

Having taken our pictures and driven the 60km back out of the park by 11:00 in the morning we decided to head further south rather than spend another day “behind the fuel station”. Tania’s good friend, Emma, had sent us an article on some lilies which were flowering near Maltohoe after the recent rains and with that only being 120km away we programmed the GPS for that. It was a lovely drive, firstly because it would seem that as soon as we headed south we got off the main tourist track with once again lovely quite roads and secondly the scenery shifted from a moon landscape to more of a Karoo one which while barren has a lot of variety in terms of hills and plant life. Our sense of humor did however get tested at the end of the day when we headed down a small farm track to what was meant to be a wonderful camping spot only to find after 8km a locked farm gate. Once we had reversed our route and got back to the main dirt road Tania managed to slip in the mud while opening the final gate, rather funny afterwards but not at the time.

Unfortunately, viewing the lilies was not to be as they only flower for 4 short days after the first heavy rains and had disappeared a few days before we arrived. Nothing ventured nothing gained.

One advantage of our failed search for the lilies is that we got to drive along the valley between Maltahoe and Aus as this valley was absolutely spectacular, we nicknamed it the “valley of colours”. The landscape and plants/grasses changed constantly from whites, greys, reds, greens, yellows and various shades of brown making the 200km journey an absolute pleasure.

Basing ourselves at Klein Aus Vista we made the 240km round trek to Lüderitz and the ghost town of Kolmanskop. Approaching Ludertitz we had in the back of our minds that we had read that the Kolmanskop guided tours only took place until 13:00 so decided to stop there first which was very fortunate cause in fact they appeared to only have 2 guided tours per morning. The first takes place at 9:30 and the second at 11:00 and we arrived at 10:45. If you miss the tour you are welcome to walk around yourself but we don’t think you will get the same appreciation for the monumental effort that was required to both build and maintain the town when it was “alive”, as a plus the tour is free and included in your entry fee. For information purposes, access to the site closes at 13:00 unless you have a pre-arranged photographic permit.

Kolmanskop was founded in 1908 when diamonds were accidentally discovered while building the railway inland from Lüderitz and so began a diamond rush which kept the town alive for nearly 30 years, constantly fighting the encroachment of the desert and surviving despite the harshest of elements, for instance: all water was shipped in from Cape Town which is nearly 800km’s to the south.

After the tour we strolled around for a bit , taking pictures but with midday approaching it was baking hot and walking in slops on soft hot sand soon had us bailing for the cool ocean breeze which Lüderitz enjoys just over the hills to the west.

A number of times in the last few days we had heard of the camping spot at Shark “Island” but most people had put us off by telling us it was windswept and not very pleasant, plus being overpriced, so out of curiosity we drove out too it upon our arrival in Lüderitz. It is definitely overpriced but what a stunning location it enjoys wedged on a peninsula overlooking the Atlantic on the one side and the tiny protected natural harbour of Luderitz on the other, with many large rocky outcrops you could park behind for wind protection. We instantly regretted leaving some of our gear at Klein Aus as it would have been nice to spend a night there.

We have not had occasion to eat out much on the entire trip as all too often in the places we stayed the offerings are only overpriced burgers or pizzas, but we thoroughly enjoyed a little lunch of cheddar cheese meatballs on ciabatta with salad at the little deli opposite the Spar in town. With full stomachs we drove a little north to check out the views before parking on the beachfront to catch up on some social media time – the cell signal through the desert has naturally been mostly non-existent.

Having caught up on the latest cat, coffee, dog and corona virus posts we hit the road for the long and very straight drive back across the desert to Klein Aus Vista, with only one small detour to look at a few of the wild horses drinking at a waterhole close to the main road. The exact origin of these feral wild horses is unknown but they have been roaming wild and incredibly surviving in the desert for over 100 years. Their ongoing survival does look a lot more assured with the establishment of this permanent waterhole.

With all our mileage the last 1,5 months Mr Jones was a little overdue for an oil change which while we could do that ourselves, thanks to the not-so-brilliant placement by Land Rover of the oil filter it is a rather messy job and so best done at a proper workshop. On a farm 60km south of Keetmanshoop is a highly regarded Landy mechanic (Johann Strauss) and so we headed there but once again our timing with regards servicing was not great in respect to it being a weekend. We therefore broke the journey eastwards up with a night in Keetmanshoop which also gave time for shopping for supplies, before heading out to the farm on the Sunday afternoon.

Our intention was to have a quick oil change done on the Monday morning and then move on but from the daily monitoring we do on the road Stuart did have a few items he wanted to ask Johann about, one of these was what looked like some movement in the left engine mount rubber. Upon closer inspection it turned out that in fact the engine mount was broken and so a quick service turned into a long day of lifting the engine to remove and replace mounts with the inevitable small hiccups like a seized nut on the exhaust manifold and then a broken stud bolt. Thankfully by early evening everything was in place and a few other miscellaneous items had been fixed.

One of the miscellaneous items was fitting a rubber grommet seal on the rear prop-shaft, when the original plastic cover had perished in Tanzania Stuart had used zip ties to hold the individual seals together which has worked surprisingly well. A good quantity of Zip ties is an essential toolbox item. While all this went on Tania read her kindle, entertained the farm Jack Russell and played dodgem with the sun as she moved her chair between Land Rovers and workshop buildings.

The longer service time meant we spent another night camped on the farm but we weren’t complaining as we had found a lovely spot a kilometre or so from the farmhouse to enjoy the peace and quite of being literally in the middle of nowhere.

The following morning while settling the bill we had a lovely kuier (chat) with Johan and his wife and received all sorts of farm treats before heading off on our journey again. Who knows where else in the world we may end up servicing or fixing Mr Jones but this certainly was unique and a lovely service experience.

Our plan from the farm was to head south to the Fish River Canyon with an overnight stop at the Canyon Roadhouse but upon being allocated a disappointingly bare and sandy campsite right on top of a much larger group we made the quick decision to carry on to view the actual canyon before carrying on further south to camp on the Orange river instead. This turned a planned short day into a rather long one and upon arrival at Norotshama river resort it was an easy decision to stay a couple of nights and take a long overdue rest day.

Being on the orange river meant we had reached the bottom of Namibia and on the 12 March, we crossed back into SA exactly 7 months since leaving Johannesburg and normal life. The adventure and journey is far from over, in fact it is just beginning as we still have so much to see and do so don’t unsubscribe just yet.

The Orange river turning orange at sunset

Links to other parts of the blog relevant to our time in Namibia:

Gallery: Namibia

Captain(s) Log: February 2020 A glimpse into the daily emotions of life on the road as we crossed Zambia and then Namibia

Maintenance Log: The usual list of items requiring maintenance in order to keep ourselves and Mr Jones on the road

Travel Diary: Namibia (part 1)

Namibia is a large country and as we covered many miles within it this latest travel diary is quite lengthy, and so for hopefully easier reading we have split it into 2 parts. Below is part one, the second part will follow shortly. The usual photo gallery and maintenance log will also follow in part 2. Happy reading….

The Katima Mulilo border post into Namibia while rather chaotic with loads of trucks was really really simple and we were probably through in under 30minutes. Even the money changing tout seemed to good to be true, giving Stuart a 1:1 exchange rate with the Kwacha and appearing to not make any money from the transaction apart from the tip we offered because we felt bad about the deal.

Five kilometres from the border post is a Protea hotel which offers lovely camp on a grassed terrace above the Zambezi river, with each parking area having an electric plug point and braai area and not for an exorbitant fee. It was very obvious that we were back in Southern Africa and so still feeling the effects of the drive down through western Tanzania and Zambia, we opted to stay an extra day and relax by the hotel pool. Our rain god/goddess status continued when we were 5 minutes too late in packing up by the pool and got drenched by a huge afternoon thunderstorm.

We have complained about the first and last few hundred kilometres of road in Zambia being horrible whereas in Namibia the roads are just fantastic smooth tar but that in itself does have its dangers as the road westwards through the Caprivi Strip is generally pan flat and dead straight making boredom for the driver a very real threat. Luckily HippySquared’s CEO (Chief Entertainment Officer) is a pretty dab hand on the iPod and keeps us occupied with great tunes.

In the early days Stuart would plan a couple of days of routes in advance using the mapping software on the MacBook and then transfer them to the GPS but since Malawi and discovering iOverlander we have generally not planned more than a day in advance. On this day our intended overnight stop was Ngepi camp on the Kavango river, as it looked very funky with many artistic touches which appealed to us. However about 40kms from it we drove past a sign for White Sands and Popa falls, the falls were a spot Stuart had read about previously and so we decided to first go and check them out. Our arrival at the entry gate had us rather slack jawed given its luxurious look, complete with a guard radioing through to the reception to let them know he had guests at the gate “without a booking”. We were dubious if it was a spot for us but when they offered to upgrade us to a luxury site (private ablutions and own viewing deck over the falls) for the same price as the normal camping rate, we decided to stay.

Over the next few days we moved steadily westwards initially along the Caprivi strip and then just across the top of “mainland” Namibia. For those that aren’t familiar with it, the Caprivi is a little strip of land sandwiched between Angola, Zambia and Botswana but being part of Namibia. In total we would eventually travel 1200km across the top of Namibia never venturing much more than 50km from its northernmost border. Valentine’s Day was spent at Kaisosi lodge were again we had the luxury of private ablutions and got to enjoy date night on their deck overlooking the Kavango river with Angola only 100m away.

In a classic case of “never judge a book” by its cover we pulled into Woodlands campsite on the outskirts of Eenhana and were immediately underwhelmed with what essentially was a fenced off sandy lot with some shacks on the outskirts BUT the security guard/receptionist/manager (whose English was not great) made us feel so welcome that almost instantly our impressions changed. After the long day in the car, Tania made the inevitable dash to the loo and come back beaming with a report that the ablutions were practically brand new with a fresh coat of paint, toilet paper (so often lacking) and even soap at the basins. How wrong our first impressions where!

That night we enjoyed a lovely fire courtesy of the free firewood only to wake the next morning to torrential rain and lightning, by now we are very used to both but even this was a bit much for us and so our early start was delayed until we thought the downpour had subsided a little.

In Zambia we had picked up a nasty vibration in the steering at any speed above 90km/h which while we generally only drive at 80 made overtaking sometimes rather interesting. Stuart had found play in the front prop-shaft and we had spent the weekend in Livingstone so that Mr J could be looked at by a Landy mechanic on the Monday. Foleys had in fact diagnosed the issue as not being the UJ but rather the sliding joint on the front prop-shaft having some play. As they did not have a replacement and one would have to be couriered in, they applied lots of grease as an interim fix which certainly seemed to do the job. Since then we had been checking for increased play on a daily basis and applying grease. All was going well and Stuart’s mind was at ease until on our way to Ruacana Falls we come across a stricken Landy on the side of the road, upon stopping to see if we could be of assistance we found out their front prop-shaft had come off/disintegrated and in the process damaged the gearbox. They were going nowhere without a flat-bed tow truck and many little demons crept into Stuart’s mind for him to dwell on as we drove further.

In the east along the Caprivi strip the Kavango river forms a natural border with Angola and flows into Botswana to ultimately form the Okavango swamps. As you head west you get the Kunene river which also originates in the Angolan highlands, flows south for 600km before turning westwards to create the border with Namibia and continue its journey for another 300km to the Atlantic Ocean. Ruacana is the point where it turns westwards and also were the river plunges 120m down a cliff face to create the Ruacana Falls. Most of the year the falls are dry due to a dam just upstream and diversions for Namibia’s main hydropower electricity source but in particularly wet rainy seasons the sluice gates are opened and Ruacana Falls return to the majesty they had before the dam was built. We had read that at the end of December the falls were still dry but now in mid-February they were in full flow and what a sight it was! While they don’t have the sheer drop and narrow gorge that gives Victoria falls its splendor they are in our opinion equally spectacular. The total width of the falls is 700m, with a 120m drop and apparently a flow rate of 2400 cubic metres per second when we were there.

Video of the falls in flood

The downside of such an impressive spectacle is that the river downstream had burst its banks, flooding many campsites and the dirt road that follows it closely. Initially we attempted to head downstream but after crossing one flooded section of road and almost immediately coming across another which looked much deeper we decided we had had enough recent adventures with mud and water so turned around to look for an alternative camping spot. Heading back we flagged down a few other 4×4’s to inform them of the road status and one couple decided to follow us to the alternative camping. They were driving a new Toyota Landcruiser so Stuart felt it only right to inform them that we drive pretty slowly to which they had replied they were also slow, incredibly they where or rather their Toyota was and Mr J outpaced them on a few of the hills leading out of the valley – GO MR JONES!

iOverlander once again had come to our rescue as the alternative spot was not marked on Tracks4Africa, and while we had read in the reviews that everyone was super impressed with the welcome they received we were still suitably impressed when we drove up with no forward warning and were greeted by a welcome committee carrying wet towels and fresh glasses of orange juice.

Stuart had really wanted to visit Epupa falls and perhaps part of the Marienflus valley (a really remote and rugged section of Namibia’s North West but sadly the combination of the Kunene river flooding and the wonky front prop-shaft just did not make it a realistic option. In addition the accumulated effect of many long days driving since we left Rwanda was starting to take its toll, a sure indication was when we started snapping at each other over silly and irrelevant things. Thus with Epupa off the cards and needing to get to Windhoek for prop-shaft repairs we began looking for a spot where we could relax for a few days.

Onguma game lodge was just what the doctor ordered, it is a large game reserve bordering Etosha and has a number of very luxurious accommodation offerings together with two camping areas and even these camping spots have a lodge feel. The loungers at the pool all have lovely cushions, the restaurant is very tastefully decorated and each campsite is well spaced from each other together with private ablutions.

Our first day was spent doing nothing more than lounging by the pool and when the weather turned grey on the second, we ventured into Etosha National Park. Sadly with it being so wet the game viewing in Etosha wasn’t great and neither was the scenery with it being so gloomy, nonetheless it was a worthwhile excursion. The day however did not end well as when we got back to camp we found that the frozen meat we had left in the lodges care while in the park had been put in the fridge and not freezer so was partially defrosted (CAPTAINS LOG: 19 February), which leaves us with many days of meat to now cook in advance.

As we headed south from Etosha we passed a number of people selling giant mushrooms on the side of the road, Tania had read that they only appear at this time of the year after the rains and inevitably we stopped to check one out. When the small one (but plenty large enough for us) was offered at a price of only ZAR5, we quickly purchased it with the small change on hand. That night we overnighted on a tiny wine farm (yes in the middle of Namibia) and the farmer’s wife kindly told us how to cook it. The mushroom is known as Omajowa and is a Namibian delicacy which grows on termite hills and is only available for a few short days after the summer rains. Our small mushroom provided us with three meals and was absolutely delicious, leaving us with only one regret: we should have bought more when we could as further south we did not see them offered again.

The weekend was approaching and as we weren’t sure how long it would take to repair the prop-shaft we decided the most pragmatic plan would be to be in Windhoek for Sunday evening/Monday morning and that way leave plenty of time for any repairs that may require parts brought in etc. With this in mind we chose to spend a few nights 50km west of the main road at a spot called Ovita Wildlife camp, which while nothing spectacular was lovely and isolated but incredibly had decent 3G reception which allowed us to just relax but at the sometime sort out a few admin topics back home. Naturally the farmer was very happy to host us as we brought much needed rain, something they had not had since 2013!

After a leisurely start on the Sunday morning we enjoyed a lovely drive into Windhoek along little district roads, occasionally stopping to make sure a flooded drift was drivable or to just marvel at the carpet of wild flowers that had sprung up with the rains. Thank goodness we changed Mr J’s bull bar flowers from red to yellow a few weeks back as he now matched the summer theme.

Monday morning saw us up bright and early to traverse across Windhoek (all 5km as the crow flies) to the industrial side in order to get the prop-shaft seen too. Stuart had enquired on the “overland forum”, an email community he has belonged to for many years, for recommendations and Propshaft Master was the general consensus as the go-to guys. They did not disappoint and within a couple of hours we had a “newly” (part the old one and part new pieces) made up and installed on Mr J. At least now a certain someone can stop stressing at each vibration Mr J gives off as we travel!

With 3/4 of the day still in front of us, the next item on the list was a haircut and color for Tania, the receptionist at Propshaft Master had given us a recommendation for “BE Hair academy”, so off across town we went. Pulling into the spot google maps had taken us too we immediately had doubts as it was a very swanky boutique hotel with accompanying restaurants, cafes and conference rooms, added to which Mr J would not fit into any parking areas as he is 2,6m high with the roof box on so well above the general height restriction of must undercover garages of 2,2m. While trying to figure out what to do the hotels concierge appeared at the window and when we told him we were looking for the hair place he offered us the VIP parking spot and showed us the way to the hairdresser.

As an added bonus Stuart got a haircut too, the first in 9 months but even then it only took a half hour whereas Tania was going to be a while… So once done he headed out to tick off a few more errands. We have not bumped into them but have observed on social media that Land Rover have a fleet of the new very larney Defenders running around Namibia doing all sorts of camel trophy stuff and proving their worth for the motoring media. When returning to collect Tania after a few hours Stuart observed that one of the conference rooms was being setup for Land Rover which we surmise was to welcome back the now bush worthy vehicles and their contingent, what a pity we were probably only a day too earlier to have witnessed this and to have parked MR J amongst them. Perhaps the #MrJonesFanclub could have gained a few more members?

From Windhoek we headed west towards the coast and Swakopmund via the exceptionally scenic C28 dirt road which crosses the Khomas Hochland. It probably looks quite different for most of the year but given the recent rains we were treated to spectacular mountains and valleys covered in yellow flowers with green bushes interspersing this but then as we descended over the Bosun Pass it dramatically changed to initially a dry and barren scrubland and then finally a total moonscape. Naturally many stops were made for photos, although it is very difficult to capture the grandeur and starkness in a photo, and each time we stopped all you could hear was silence. In nearly 300km we saw only 6 other vehicles.

About 100km from Swakopmund a small diversion (provided you have arranged a permit from the MET office in Windhoek) from the C28 takes you past the Tinklas and Bloedkoppie camp areas which are basically just allocated spots in the desert where you can camp. The silence is once again all-encompassing and it is quite possible to hear yourself think. Our chosen overnight spot was Bloedkoppie which is so named because the very large granite koppie often glows pink/red in the setting sun. Having learnt a thing or two from Jocelyn (Tania’s gorilla trekking porter) in terms of how to haul a not so keen hiker/climber up or down hills, Stuart managed to get Tania up one of the smaller granite domes for sunset drinks and back down again without even a whimper from the latter party. The coming down part may have been aided by a glass of wine on top and the impending dusk….

The day ended perfectly with a visit to our campfire by two tiny little Bat Eared foxes, clearly used to humans but still very skittish they kept us amused for quite a while before we turned in for the night.

Link to: Namibia Travel Diary: Part 2

Captain(s) Log: February 2020

Our Captains log is a capture of some of the random thoughts, frustrations and experiences we go through as we travel along. This months version certainly has plenty of ups and downs as we ticked off big mileage to escape the rains. These log entries cover our very quick jaunt through Zambia and then some of our time in Namibia.

1 February

A day of staring 5m to 200m ahead, dodging potholes & passing trucks with 1/2 m spare between us while balancing Mr J tyres on the edge of the squiggly road edge. B@£* tired! Uuurgh Zambia!

2 February

For f@!ks sake. While having a soak in the natural hot springs this morning before hitting the road, we heard a tree crashing down nearby. When we got back to Mr Jones it had fallen next to and partially on him.

5 February

The joy of simple things! Finding a Shoprite that has wine (still box though) and all other items at close to South Africa prices (first time in 6months) and tonight having a shower with decent lighting, enough space to change and plenty hot water (a rarity the last couple of weeks).

9 February

While not ideal as there is not much to do here and it has rained almost constantly, a couple of forced down days while we wait out the weekend to visit a mechanic has been really good for us. Feeling nice and relaxed.

10 February

Rain all night and then packing up in the mud has us both feeling grumpy this morning. Also for some strange reason we don’t have too much confidence in the mechanic even though he is highly recommended which leaves us anxious about that too. In the end he was in fact great.

11 February

In Namibia and we have sunshine, could this be the end of our “load shedding”? So glad we dashed westwards yesterday after a brief hospital trip for Mr J.

For context to to the above entries, see the Zambia Travel Diary

12 February

Aaah the joys of proper campsites! 2 weeks ago we were paying the same to camp on a pile of rubble in the backyard of a hotel, today we have our own ablutions, wash-up area, grass and a private viewing deck over the Popa falls on the Kavango river.

15 February

Continually confused over what time it is the last few days?? As we are on the border with Angola the phones are constantly changing time zones, often making us think it is an hour earlier than it actually is. We assume the phones GPS keeps confusing which country we are in…

17 February

The long days and often not great roads of the last month are taking it’s toll, both been snappy at each other, which we never are so a sure sign down time is needed! Crazy to think 1 month ago we were tracking gorillas and now we are well into Namibia. Today’s camp on edge of Etosha feels good and while a little pricey looks like it will keep us for a few days and give us that needed rest.

18 February

A lovely relaxed day, spent lounging by the pool reading and catching up on blog etc. Glad we stopped here.

19 February

So annoyed and frustrated! We left our frozen red meat in the care of the lodge due to the foot & mouth disease controls Etosha has in place and THEY PUT IT IN THE FRIDGE. So when we got back after the day in the park, 2 weeks of meals had defrosted. GRRRR!

20 February

Marathon cooking session of mince to save the defrosted meat, followed by some great chilli con carne. All done while riding out a massive thunderstorm sitting inside Mr J, thank goodness once again for the Icarus roof conversion.

23 February

Very relieved! Been nursing a wonky propshaft with a daily greasing schedule for the last 2000km, hopefully can get it fixed/a new one now that we have made it to Windhoek.

24 February

Productive day, propshaft sorted, first haircuts in many months and some shopping done.

26 February

Pleasantly surprised by Swakopmund, had a lovely lunch on promenade followed by walk and sundowners on the Tiger reef deck

28 February

Dodged a bullet this morning! While disconnecting the grey water bucket, noticed a space in the bushes for the rear lower suspension link. The nut had come seriously loose and was almost off – must be due to all the corrugations last few days and with all the driving I (Stuart) been a bit lazy last few days in checking Mr J over.

Travel Diary: Western Tanzania & Zambia

As you will have read in our Rwanda travel diary the entry into Tanzania was not without it’s issues and our second impressions (because this is our 2nd time into Tanzania) were disappointingly worst than the first. The couldn’t care less attitude of the Tanzanian customs officials while we waited for the official to come back from lunch so that we could pay our “road tax” were immediately followed by terrible roads. As one user on iOverlander describes them: “potholes resemble bomb craters with extremely steep sides. Trucks bounce along with cabs swaying and oscillating like a fairground ride, definitely not for the faint hearted..”

Within the first couple of kilometres we saw two recent truck accidents/wrecks and a few kilometres later come to a grinding halt as the road crossed a small hill and held a huge truck jam. Initially we joined the queue but after realising that we had more chance of squeezing through than the trucks we inched our way forward past the first 20 trucks until we got to the real jam which was 4 trucks wide and no way around. It is amazing to watch how what at first appears to be total chaos and with no solution in sight slowly starts to take shape as one or two drivers begin to boss the rest around, eventually a couple of trucks inched their way past us down the hill and even though at only 2km/h they were still often locking up brakes and sliding past, then we would move upwards 50m or so and wait for the cycle to repeat.

A couple of hour later we were clear and moving freely or at least as freely as the “bomb like craters” would allow. As darkness approached we were left with two options, either bush camp or stop at the only lodge marked on iOverlander. Bush camping on the side of the road in this part of the world is not appealing so we opted for the Medy One hotel, located in a little cross roads village. Finding it was an adventure down tiny little streets crowded with informal vendors and once the gps showed us we were on top of it but still could not see anything, Stuart opted for walking to find it. While it was nothing special it was clean and secure even if the decor left a lasting impression – think gold curtains, pink mosquito net and a multi coloured bed spread. We made supper in the parking lot, 5 metres from the open air bar and then retired to our room.

Another day of not great roads followed as we headed westwards towards Lake Tanganika and Jacobsen Beach campsite. Jacobsens is a little piece of paradise but unfortunately our hopes of an extended and relaxing stay were dashed when there was no power point at the campsite and the days were overcast meaning our solar panel could not keep the fridge auxiliary battery fully charged. So after 2 nights we needed to move on.

Ideally we would have moved a few hundred kilometres down the lake to Lake Shore lodge as it was one of the few “must do” destinations we had in mind for this trip. It looks like a little bit of paradise and we thought we could down tools for at least a week, pump the SUP up and generally enjoy lake life. Sadly we learnt that they were closed until 15 February which meant that there was nothing left for us in Tanzania and with no sign of the rainy season abating the decision was made to head South for Zambia as quickly as possible.

Tanzania was however determined to not let us go that easily, the road from Kigoma (Jacobsens beach) while initially beautiful quickly turned into a slippery muddy mess thanks to the recent rains and once again we were confronted with a big truck and bus traffic jam. After sitting for a couple of hours while a bus which had slid sideways and blocked the road was cleared (by the passengers) we followed a couple of other local 4x4s through the narrow gap only to be stopped a few hundred metres further by another blockage. Over the next couple of hours we made slow but steady progress through the blockage. The blockage probably spread over 5km and 100’s of trucks and busses, so as we drove away we felt very sorry for all the passengers who would be spending at least one long night marooned there. It is amazing how things can change though, as we learnt from fellow traveller’s who come through a couple of days later that there was no sign of the chaos and it was an easy drive, goes to show what some heavy rain can do.

Kindle time while waiting out mud traffic jams

Video footage of us negotiating the mud blockade

After a long hard day we stopped in Mpanda to fill up with fuel and draw some money. While modern technology and ATM’s make life a lot easier these days, it is still not without it it’s stresses as often the ATM will appear to approve your transaction and then reject it. At least once a month these days we have an “approved” and then reversed transactions on our accounts. On this day however nothing seemed to happen and after two minutes of waiting a small amount of panic ensued as Tania thought the machine had eaten her card! Thankfully after another minute or so the machine spat the card out, so off we drove to try and find another ATM which might co-operate.

In Africa we try and stick to one hard rule – “Don’t drive at night”. In 6 months we have only broken that once, when entering Malawi from Mozambique after another epic day , but after the days delays we found ourselves chasing the setting sun and did eventually pull into our campsite on the outskirts of Katavi National Park a few minutes after dark.

Hippo Camp, while very basic, was a pleasant end to an exhausting day. The caretaker immediately set about lighting the donkey boiler so we could have a hot shower and so after a simple supper, we had a lovely hot shower and fell asleep to the sound of hippos grunting in the nearby river.

Apart from a dirt section through the park, thankfully from here on the road become normal smooth tar and so over the next couple of days we managed to tick off some big mileage to the Zambian border, although we did not dodge another hotel parking lot camping experience.

Bacyard camping at a hotel / lodge. Our last stop before Zambia

The Nakonde border between Tanzania and Zambia is meant to be a one-stop border post but couldn’t be anything further from the truth. By now we have crossed a few border posts and the one thing we always refuse to use is a runner/tout. This time however that was not possible, as we had driven past the Tanzanian customs office simply because it was outside the border zone with no signage other than “staff parking”. This meant we had to walk back to it in an attempt to get the Carnet stamped but as they couldn’t now inspect Mr Jones it was an “issue”, score one for our self-appointed tout who resolved the issue. Back at the “one-stop” offices immigration/emigration was relatively easy and in the some place but then none of the counters for paying road tax were manned so it was off upstairs to a very crowded office where our “self-appointed tout” jumped the lines to get that sorted. Through the the back corridors we went to another office so that we could pay carbon tax, but as they were offline a few more closed offices followed as the tout looked for a solution. It was at this point that Stuart realised that the “tout” was indispensable. The final step in the fantasy “one-stop” border post was we had to physically exit the border area to visit Zambia customs and get our Carnet stamped. It took about 2 hours with the tout and would have probably taken 6+ on our own! When will countries realise that borders are essential for trade and make lasting first impressions for tourists of the country.

Everything we had read of the next 300 – 400km of roads inside Zambia was horror stories but the first 60km after the border while by no means great were not too bad and we covered the distance in just over an hour before pulling off for the night at Kings Highway rest camp.

Day two in Zambia did however deliver the promised bad roads together with a multitude of stupid checkpoints. Invariably the police checkpoint would be just before a bad section of road and of course they would always ask to see our receipt for road tax, the irony was not lost on us but most certainly on them… We did hopefully restock a good dose of Karma by stopping and helping, in the pouring rain, a stranded car transporter who had two flat tyres on the Gelandwagen V8 TriTurbo he was driving. He was transferring the vehicle from Dar es Salaam to the DRC, a journey which would take him 8 days and for which he would earn the princely sum of USD300.

Climbing back into Mr Jones, drenched to the core, it was another reminder of the irony of Africa: on the ground is a poor soul doing his best to make a living and earning a basic wage while entrusted with a very valuable asset whereas the recipient is no doubt floating in cash from shady deals (of some sort or other) and mainly focused on image (cause why else would you order such a car with low profile tyres for a country like the DRC) rather than creating long term wealth or a sustainable environment.

During the course of the days driving we come to the conclusion that for a road to count as potholed in north western Zambia it must be able to at least absorb two wheels at a time and be as deep as half the tyre otherwise it is just a good smooth tar road with a few irritating holes.

Kapisha Hot Springs was a pleasant surprise after another long day on the road, it was just such a pity the camping is ridiculously priced otherwise we would have definitely downed tools for a couple of days. Nonetheless we thoroughly enjoyed our soak in the hot water before bed and again the following morning.

The Kapisha Hotsprings

While soaking away our aches and pains in the morning we heard a tree come crashing down not too far away but didn’t think anything more of it, only to find when we got back to Mr Jones that in fact it had fallen right next to and partly on to Mr Jones. We did however get lucky in that the only damage to Mr Jones was a slightly dented bonnet which a day later we mostly panel beaten out.

Despite the soaks in the hot water spring we were still feeling a bit battered and travel weary so decided to do a short hop to Bayama Lodge, where we hoped to take a rest day. Bayama while not spectacular in terms of facilities was a welcome rest stop, firstly cause they had nice food at good prices, then as an overlander you only pay for the first nights camping and thereafter stay for free. Stuart was also able to borrow a drill from the owner and so pop rivet back one of the panels we damaged on the muddy Tanzania roads as well as remove the Fubared side step and generally give Mr J a good going over. In addition we removed the bonnet and panelbeated out some of the dents from our fallen tree incident.

As we continued our journey south towards the Lusaka the road thankfully improved but the police checkpoints did not decrease, blowing our earlier theory that bad roads followed any such checkpoint. The main focus of these later checkpoints seems to be checking to see if your hazard lights are working, we very quickly got to recognise when a checkpoint was approaching as all the cars/trucks coming towards you and in front would have their hazards on. Quite often if you approach the officer with yours working, he/she waves you through but if you don’t have them on they will for sure stop you and walk around the car making sure all 4 are flashing. Bizarre!!

Sometimes the simple things in life can make such a difference, like reasonably priced box wine and other goodies. All who visited us in joburg and hopefully enjoyed a lunch or evening on our deck will know we enjoyed nice wine and had a reasonably well stocked wine rack. Simple economics have however exposed us to the “joys” of box wine on this trip and we have even become connoisseurs of it, for instance we can reliably inform you that Overmeer Red pairs very well with curry. Having said this even box wine has been expensive since Mozambique and so finding almost normal ZA priced boxes at a Shoprite just north of Lusaka totally made our day. Before anyone gets too concerned we didn’t only buy box wine, other essentials were also stocked up on.

The rainy season continued to follow us as we left Lusaka and headed for Livingstone with torrential downpours for much of the drive, when it wasn’t rainy and the road allowed us to get a little speed Mr Jones started to shudder anywhere around 90km/h which was a little worrying.

Having experienced similar in Rwanda our initial diagnosis was a worn UJ on the front prop shaft and perhaps also an issue with the steering joints. Stuart was also worried about the water pump which seemed to have an annoying squeak. As Livingstone has a very well recognised Land Rover mechanic (Foleys) we stopped by to see if they could help but they could only see us on Monday so we settled in for the weekend.

The weekend brought LOTS AND LOTS OF rain, which at one point forced us to move camping spots and meant there was not much we could do in terms of activities but despite this, the forced couple of days rest was just what the doctor ordered. Over the last 10 days we had clocked more than 3000km’s and none of them on good roads so we were naturally rather tired.

On the Friday, Foleys had told us to come around at 10:00 on the Monday morning as they probably wouldn’t be finished a job they were busy with until then but being anxious to get the show on the road and being wary of “africa time” we pitched up at 8:30. Of course they were still busy with the vehicle from Friday and reminded us they were expecting us at 10, we left doubtful that they would in fact be ready but lo and behold when we returned at 9:55 the wheel nuts were being tightened and Mr Jones was being looked at only a few minutes later.

One hour later a quick but thorough check of Mr Jones was complete, with some items to watch but nothing which should stop us for now. As the border with Namibia appeared to be reachable by 3pm and nothing more to hold us in Zambia, it was an easy decision to hit the road.

Zambia however was not finished with us, as we headed west and as soon as we past the turn-off to the Botswana border post (Kazungula) the road deteriorated into a potholed mess, pretty much the some kind of mess that welcomed us a few days earlier on our entry from Tanzania. With a healthy set of dodgem driving and the use of the track running next to the roa, we covered the last 150km in reasonable time and did in fact reach the border post by 4pm and a really simple entry into Namibia at Katima Mulilo.

Our traverse of Western Tanzania and Zambia is certainly not the way we like to travel (sticking to the main road and ticking off kilometres) but the weather and many places being closed or inaccessible was not conducive to slow travel sadly.

Gallery: Western Tanzania

Gallery: Zambia

Practical Information: Zambia Some useful information for entry and travelling through Zambia

Maintenance Log: The usual list of items requiring maintenance in order to keep ourselves and Mr Jones on the road

Travel Diary: Rwanda

Rwanda you blew our socks off! Although we only spent 10 days in Rwanda it currently ranks as our favorite country on this journey (after Mozambique for which we just have a soft spot). Every hour of every single day something impressed us, whether it be the proud and functioning civil society; the communities caring for each other; Happy children running with a bounce in their step, How random adults will help small little children (dressed in neat school uniforms) to cross the road; Adults moving about with vigor, Pretty gardens everywhere; Zero litter or even leaves in gutters, Smooth roads with fresh paint markings throughout. We could go on and on but really it has to be seen to be appreciated.

Our border crossing at Cyanika was perhaps even easier than the one from Tanzania to Kenya a couple of months ago and already on the Uganda side we got a taste of what to expect, money touts who politely asked if we needed money and didn’t hassle us when we said no but rather helped us navigate the various buildings you are required to visit in order to cancel the Carnet and get stamped out. Once through the Uganda side you need to remember to cross over the road as Rwanda is a Right Hand Drive country.

Rwanda is a land of curves and passes which naturally means stunning scenery but also slow driving and so the 120km’s to Kigali took quite sometime but we weren’t complaining as we marvelled at the scenery or how in the middle of nowhere there would be somebody tidying up a little section of the road. We probably drove over 5 -6 mountain passes and on each one we saw small pelotons of cyclists out training, we doubt it will be long until Rwanda has a cyclist challenging for the polka dot jersey in the Tour de France.

Wonderfully clean and well mantained roads

Another sign that the country is more advanced was upon entering Kigali and noticing how all the BodoBoda riders have helmets on, including their passengers, that and the fact that the traffic lights not only work but have count down timers on them. The traffic however is still pretty chaotic which combined with driving on the “wrong side” of the road means you need to be super vigilant. One of Stuart’s ex-colleagues (Dion Thompson) had kindly invited us to stay with him so we quickly stopped at his house and loaded up the washing machine before heading out to find a supermarket, bank and place to obtain a local SIM card.

Over the next 4 days, courtesy of Dions wonderful hospitality we got to see how vibrant, modern and metropolitan Kigali is. This is something we would have no doubt missed out on if just on our own. Of course no visit to Rwanda is complete without visiting the various genocide museums and so while Dion was at work we took ourselves off to the Genocide Memorial monument. The tour makes for a very emotional and quite draining 4hours. It is absolutely horrific to see the atrocities and hatred mankind is capable of and how the world pretty much looked the other way while it took place but then on the other hand it is amazing to witness how the country and people have rebuilt themselves over the last 25 years and in fact overtaken all of their neighbors in terms of development.

Perhaps due to a lack of planning (or because it doesn’t really matter whether you have carefully plotted a route or not when traveling like this) upon leaving Dion we ended up driving back over the some mountain passes we had crossed on our way in. Our destination was Red Rocks campsite on the way to Gisenyi, which one review in iOverlander describes it as “the most backpackeresque place we have been to in Africa. It ticks all the boxes with graffiti, guests with dreadlocks and weed smoke”, as well as that they support the local arts community and have a small recording studio on site. So we were expecting something different but it exceeded our expectations as Mr Jones got a starring role in a music video shoot. #MrJonesFanClub

When we arrived a crew was busy setting up to film a love song by a Rwandan artist called Edouce Softman, after shooting the first scene the videographer come over too admire Mr Jones and to ask if we would mind if they took a few shots with him as the background. Who are we to say No! Over the next 4 hours they shot various scenes and now we are holding thumbs to see if Mr Jones makes the final cut for his song “Ni Wowe”.

Our own #behindthescenes video of Edouce Softman: Ni Wowe

After the excitement of the film shoot a few days of relaxation on the shores of Lake Kivu was called for. Lake Kivu as with many of the other Rift Valley lakes is just huge, covering over 2700 square kilometres and being more then 450m deep. Across it’s waters is the Democratic Republic of Congo which is a stark reminder of how one country can rise up in 25 years and another can just slip further into darkness.

The drive around the lake and down to the camping areas we stayed at once again provided many slack jawed moments as we marveled at the scenery and tidiness of the rural areas. Most of the lake’s shoreline consists of steep hills covered in tropical forest, with little coves everywhere and the water dotted with multiple tiny islands. If we had to choose to live on a lake this one would currently be top contender.

Of course the campsites were once again nothing special and usually a study in contrasts, such as our first two nights were we camped in the backyard of a small guesthouse next to the staff kitchen and had a nightly audience to our own food preparation. In fairness they probably sat on that wall every night and chatted, we and Mr J just added something new to talk about. The stark contrast is evident as you step around the building onto the lakeshore and the most stunning views.

Further down the lake, we stayed in the grounds of a hotel but for a change we weren’t in the back and probably had the best view of all, parked down on the lakeshore lawns were lunch and drinks were served for the hotel guests. Of course Mr Jones did his best to grab the limelight, this time Stuart snapped a pic back of another fan club member as they passed by on a water taxi. A few minutes later Mr Jones latest fan club members (Francois & Benoit) had disembarked and had invited themselves on a tour of our living quarters.

Snapping “back” a member of Mr J fan club

A common activity that many lodges and campgrounds (throughout Africa) offer is a “cultural tour” of the local village where they take you on a walk through the village and you get to see and take pictures of the villagers going about their daily business, this has got us to thinking that perhaps we should create our own activities list: USD5 for a pic of us and Mr J or USD10 for a “cultural tour of him. If we had done this from the start we could have avoided drinking box wine or alternatively paid for half the trip by now. #MrJonesFanClub

Leaving Lake Kivu and the little town of Kibuye the Rwanda slack jawed moment’s continued, this time because the road deteriorated and was a potholed and gravel mess equalled with scruffy villages. The contrast to the Rwanda we had got used was so stark that it almost felt like this little section had been neglected or overlooked in Rwanda’s rejuvenation. Why would this be when the rest of the country has come so far? Also the people in the area generally appeared poorer and more apathetic, is that a sign of what poor infrastructure does?

Our intended destination for the day was a spot about 100km short of the Tanzania border so that we could get across the border early and have plenty of time to deal with what we had heard were terrible roads on the Tanzania side. To get there though we had to pass through Kigali once again and so having found a German butchery previously who supplied good quality and reasonably priced meat we made a stop to fill-up the freezer.

Since entering Rwanda we had noticed a small vibration coming through the car usually when powering up a hill or riding against the gears on a downhill and as we left Kigali this seemed to be getting worse so upon arriving at our overnight destination the rest of the daylight hours were spent trying to diagnose the issue. Not having a wealth of mechanical knowledge can make figuring out such issues a challenge but thanks to modern technology it is certainly easier these days. Having spotted some suspicious items Stuart sent off an email to the mechanic who has maintained Mr j over the years hoping to get a reply even though it was approaching 5pm on a Friday, thankfully Marc come back quickly with some advice. In the meantime a very suspect Universal Joint on the rear prop shaft was found and as it was now rather late, we turned to a Landrover facebook group and searched past discussions. This seemed to confirm that it was most likely the UJ causing the vibrations which fortunately we are carrying a spare for. The next days planned border crossing was scrapped for a maintenance day.

At first we attempted to do the repair ourselves but after struggling with the prop shaft bolts Stuart called it quits and we decided to rather take a slow drive back to Kigali and find a garage their. A call was made to Dion to see if he could find a suitable garage and in doing so we discovered it was UMUGANDA day and therefore everything would be closed until 11.

Umaganda which loosely means “coming together in common purpose to achieve an outcome” is a mandatory program on the last Saturday of each month which has been in place for the last 10 years. From 8:00 to 11:00 all businesses are closed, cars are kept off the streets and Rwandans come together in their neighbourhood to try and make it a little bit better than it was the month before. The evidence speaks for itself although it is not without some controversy as a lack of participation can result in a fine or even arrest.

We had just resigned ourselves to sitting on the side of the road waiting for 11:00 when a singular car drove past so we decided to risk it and follow, a few kilometres down the road at a traffic circle the police pulled over the Rwandan car but allowed us to pass. It turns out that while on Umaganda day Rwandans may not drive prior to 11:00 foreigners can and so for most of the journey back into Kigali we enjoyed blissfully quite roads. Upon arriving back in Kigali we had not yet heard back from Dion so first tried two garages marked on iOverlander but both were closed for the weekend, thankfully shortly thereafter Dions contacts come through with a garage that was open.

Mr Service Ltd is located down a dingy backroad and the first impression of the yard is not great but the Turkish owner and his staff were super helpful and professional and in just over an hour they had removed and refitted the prop shaft. Once again #MrJonesFanClub emerged, this time in the context of a small bidding contest between the owner and one of his customers for an offer on Mr Jones. We had a guaranteed offer of USD30k for him, not bad considering he is 25 years old, and an off the charts one of USD100k! Before temptation got the better of us we made a hasty retreat back to Dion’s house.

There didn’t seem any point overnighting once again closer to the border and so we made an early start from Dion’s knowing a long day was ahead of us, in the end it was 12 very eventful hours! The first drama of the day was a duplicate credit card transaction for fuel at a very smart Engen garage. We literally did not have a single franc in cash left on us so chose Engen as you could pay with your card but having driven away Stuart had a nagging suspicion that all was not in order, so an hour down the road we stopped and checked the banking app. Once again modern technology come into play as we chatted to the bank via the app on our phones and then filled in, signed and logged a dispute via the laptop and email. All done from the side of the road.

Once back on the road we were soon at the border only to be confronted with our next drama of the day, our stay in Rwanda was technically illegal! We had been given a 90 day stay upon entry and paid no visa fees, which it turns out is only allowed for those traveling on a diplomatic passport. After much back and forth we were told we had to go back to the Rwandan side of immigration, get a different stamp and pay for a visa. At any other African border post an issue like this would have opened us up to all sorts of potential issues but not in Rwanda were they were only intent on making sure the rules were applied correctly.

The border with Tanzania is a “one-stop” one but with offices on each side of a large river and depending on which direction you are going you use one or the other for both passport controls. In principle this works fine if you are heading in one direction only but in our case we now had to go against the flow of traffic twice in order to go back to Rwanda, get our visa and then back to Tanzania to follow normal emigration processes. Added to the above was that once all this was complete the Tanzanian official to whom we needed to pay road tax was on lunch and so we had to “wait”.

Leaving the border you are given one last reminder of the stark contrast between Rwanda and most other African countries, within 100m the road deteriorates into a potholed nightmare. As somebody prior to us had described it: “it is so bad the potholes resemble bomb craters”. More on that and the couple of remaining dramas for the day to follow in the Western Tanzania blog.

Africa is a beautiful continent and has much to offer but in our opinion for it to be truly wonderful, a giant leap forward is still required and Rwanda gave us a glimpse of how that may be even possible in the space of 2 decades. At the risk of repeating ourselves below is some of the impressions which really stood out as different to most of the other countries we have visited so far:

A proud and functioning civil society
Communities caring for each other
Happy children running with a bounce in their step
How random adults will help small little children (dressed in neat school uniforms) to cross the road
Adults moving about with vigor
Bicycles used as bicycles (even if transporting a load) and not just pushbikes
Productivity – Even in small or rural villages, people always appear busy, not just standing or sitting around talking away the day
Pretty gardens everywhere
Zero litter or even leaves in gutters
Somebody is always cleaning or tidying up the roadside (even on remote dirt roads)
Smooth roads with fresh paint markings throughout
Apart from the one exception, were road maintenance is required it is done by professional looking crews
A clean and smart capital city
A modern metropolitan and vibey culture in Kigali
Functioning street lights even in small towns
Traffic lights which work, have count down lights on them and are obeyed
Adherence to the law (Boda boda riders with helmets, water taxis with life jackets)
A society that partakes in physical activity for pleasure (cycling clubs, running groups, walking groups, basketball courts, etc)

For sure we did not spend long enough in Rwanda to get a holistic view of it and there must be negative sides to it as well nonetheless the positives made a big impression.

Links to other sections of the blog relating to our time in Rwanda:

Gallery: Rwanda

Practical Information: Rwanda

Captain(s) Log – January A glimpse into the emotions of life on the road

Maintenance log: A list of what it takes to keep us and Mr Jones on the road

Captain(s) Log: January 2020

The Captain(s) log was always intended as a capture of some of the random thoughts, frustrations and experiences we go through as we travel along but lately it seemed to evolve more into a replica of the travel diary, this month we have tried to get it back on track. Hopefully, in a succinct form, it helps to show the good, bad and sometimes ugly side of full-time travel.

2 January

Slightly frustrating CITY day. To fill gas bottles required 24 hours and we endured the Kampala traffic as we criss-crossed it trying to shop & find a place to stay. Mr Jones did however get his sparkle on @ Buddy’s car wash!

4 January

Feeling like second class citizens, camped at a lovely lodge on shores of Lake Victoria but the campsite is a 10 minute walk down the hill next to staff quarters, it feels like the campers must be hidden away.

9 January

A campsite of SA standards, Kluges Farm, means a planned stop of 2 days become 5. Got admin done, relaxed by pool each afternoon and did a short forest walk.

10 January

Crater lakes scenery was pretty awesome but only enough to hold us for a couple of hours, one crater is another crater. Disappointing accommodation options after driving further south.

11 January

Heart attack material woken by gunshots and a trumpeting elephant at 2am! Definitively makes for a different travel diary entry.

14 January

Mapping software glitches aaaargh! We have struggled so much with routing in East Africa, if its not maps.metrying to send us down footpaths, then its google choosing tiny little back roads in towns and today Tracks4Africa taking us on a narrow dirt road with big drop offs when there was a perfectly good tar road we could have stayed on!

15 January

Bucket list item ticked, mountain gorillas! A great experience but at the same time rather saddened by human nature and the “dog eat dog” mentality of humans to get a picture of said gorillas. While there were only 8 of us in the group some were almost stepping on each other to get a pic or hogging the best spot, guess they never heard of Ubuntu!!!

16 January

First impressions of Rwanda – WOW. A lovely and simple border (Cyanika) crossing and then just amazed by the energy of the people, scenery and cleanliness as we drove towards Kigali. And Kigali: modern, clean, organised and trendy.

22 January

What an interesting few days we have had. Firstly a wonderful weekend in Kigali with Dion, then Mr Jones “appearing” in a music video shoot and now finally on Lake Kivu. So nice to be next to the water again.

23 January

Sitting on the shores of Lake Kivu, camped on a hotels terrace just above the water watching the twinkling lights (including functional street lights) across the bay. Once again Rwanda WOW

24 January

Grumpy after a long day as we have discovered issues with Mr J: looks like we may have a F@&@ universal joint on the rear prop shaft and a bearing issue at the water pump or the water pump is packing up. Also the one boot on the steering drop arm is perishing. Guess we won’t be crossing the border tomorrow….

25 January

Thank goodness for Dion Thompson, after a failed attempt to fix the prop ourselves, “we called a friend” and headed back to Kigali and a proper mechanic for the prop shaft. Stuart applied a bush mechanic fix to the perishing boot, lots of new grease and duct tape to hold it in. Water pump bearing noise we will monitor.

26 January

Broken at the end of a hard and eventful day: a double transaction on credit card; being declared “illegal entrants” upon trying to leave Rwanda; horrific Tanzanian roads; finally ending the day at a dodge motel/bar in a tiny cross roads village.

27 January

Another hard day of terrible roads (8 hours for 330km). The stark contrast to Rwanda in both infrastructure and the nature of people could not be more evident.

28 January

Rest day on Lake Tanganika and it is raining, grrrr! Was hoping for some sunshine so we would swim and perhaps even use the SUP.

31 January

Shattered, been another hectic few days: the “road” from Kigoma down south was more camel trophy stuff than either of us needed; followed by another ugly hotel parking lot camping experience and then a nasty border crossing into Zambia.

Travel diary: Uganda

Mountains, Valleys and Lakes. From the madness of Kampala traffic, to raging waterfalls and rapids, very slippery and muddy roads and finally the serenity of watching mountain gorillas, Uganda delivered many wonderful surprises.

In contrast to our smooth and easy entry into Kenya, the exit from Kenya and entry into Uganda was once again the usual African border crossing chaos even though the Malaba border post is meant to be a one-stop one. As we have become accustomed too, the ATM’s weren’t working which meant having to change USD for Ugandan Shillings to pay for road tax and insurance although at least there was a bureau de change open. In East Africa a real pain in the proverbial …. has been 3rd party insurance which you are legally required to get but for which there is no clear process or pricing, while ignoring our self-appointed border tout we shopped around and thought we had got a good deal only to find out a few days later that we had in fact over payed once again. That combined with the USD 50pp visa fee for Uganda made for an expensive day.

Despite being constantly overtaken by the local drivers who seem to have no regard for the road rules when Stuart was stopped for speeding in a poorly marked village zone it felt like were once again back in Tanzania, especially as given the demeanor of the various officers it did not appear to be an official stop. A quick hideaway of what little money we had left from the border crossing and it was time for the “games” to begin. There is no script for how the games will go but in our experience the key thing is to appear to have all the time in the world. When they finally come to accept that we had no money due to the expensive border crossing and after turning down there offer to leave Tania with them while Stuart took another officer 15km down the road to the nearest ATM and instead offering that he was welcome to ride along on the back floor we were eventually let off with a warning.

We spent our first night and the subsequent nine at the very appropriately named campsite “The Haven” which is perched above a set of rapids on the Nile river just down from its theoretical source as it exits Lake Victoria. Part of the reason for our lengthy stay was that The Haven campsite was just too good to risk going elsewhere for Christmas.

We did venture out from the campsite a couple of times for day trips, first into Jinja for some shopping and to have a rare bite to eat out and then for a fairly lengthy day into Kampala in order to book our Gorilla trekking permits. While we have complained at length this trip about the high park fees in East Africa, this has been one must-do bucket list item we had for the whole trip and so we each happily shelled out USD600 for the permit. Despite being 2 days before Christmas, or perhaps because of this, the whole process took 3 hours but all the staff were super friendly and apologetic. Just as we had received our permits the office had a surprise visit from the Ugandan Wildlife Authority Executive Director and his entourage (bearing cake and Pepsi’s) who had come to wish everyone a Happy Christmas, so we enjoyed a small snack and drink before heading out into the crazy Kampala traffic.

Next on the to-do list was meat shopping but Stuart missed the turning for a fancy mall, much to the co-drivers disgust and instead ended up at super dirty and busy strip mall (2 days before Xmas) which ultimately ended in a rather failed shopping trip. Leaving the mall we then followed the GPS instead of our gut’s (which said too reverse the way we come in) and ended up stuck in a huge traffic jam.

Christmas on the road will always be a low key affair but thanks to modern technology we spent the best part of the morning catching up via WhatsApp video call with all the various family members no matter where in the world they may be. When leaving SA we had packed a roll of pork in the freezer with the intention of roasting it on Christmas Day but as the Haven was putting on a buffet complete with Turkey we decided to leave the roast for another day and rounded off a lovely day with dinner out and listening to a local musician.

For part of our time at the Haven we had a lovely Ugandan family, (Paul, Anna and their 2 kids) camped next to us and when they left we realised something we have struggled to put a finger on for a while: we have missed being able to interact and discuss life with local people from each country who have a similar middle class outlook as ourselves. While we have met some travellers and had interesting conversations with them it is not the same as chatting with people who are actual citizens of that country and live and breath that country each day but at the sometime have a worldly outlook and also travel abroad.

On Boxing Day it was time to hit the road and we headed to Sipi Falls and Mount Elgon, this meant backtracking a bit towards Kenya and going past the “speeding” incident area but thankfully we had no further incidents. After the Haven, Sipi falls was a bit of a shock to the system with very basic camping options and instantly being hassled by tourist “guides” who wanted to accompany us to the waterfalls for the miserly sum of USD15 per person! Eventually we settled on a spot that at least had a flush toilet but no real shower and settled in for the afternoon. As an added bonus, we had a fairly decent view of one of the 3 falls that comprise Sipi.

Hoping to perhaps do some short walks we moved the next day to Mount Elgon Forest Exploration camp which is on the lower slopes of Mount Elgon. The campsite is an idyllic little clearing in the forest but it quickly become apparent that we would not be walking as you need to take a guide and pay national park fees which as everyone will know by now are pricey in East Africa.

We have got very used to rain the last 1,5 months but the overnight storm was particularly heavy. After some early morning photos we started the descent back to Sipi, on the way in the road had been rough but going out was “interesting”. The rain had turned sections into a very muddy skating rink which had Mr Jones crabbing along sideways on more than one occasion despite having the diff lock engaged and in low range doing 10km/h only. Sadly we have no pictures or video from that part of the drive as the co-driver had white knuckles and her eyes closed…

On the drive up to Sipi we had seen a magnificent waterfall plunging off the escarpment and when later studying iOverlander saw that there was in fact a new addition for a campsite located close to it, so having survived the descent from Mount Elgon but with the the co-driver still a little green we decided to head there. A new place like this is usually not on Tracks 4 Africa and so we have to rely on either Google maps or maps.me for navigation, both of which have the interesting habit of taking the road less travelled. Having declined the first two suggestions for a road there we eventually found our way to Sisiyi Falls. It turned out to be a wonderful find and although basic was a pleasure to camp there. As an added bonus, a 10 minute walk through a lovely enchanted forest got you right to the base of the falls and you could do it by yourself and for free.

Short video clip from just below the Sisiya falls

With New Years approaching we headed back to the Nile river but a new campsite called Kalagala Falls. It is relatively new and has been setup with the large overland trucks (20 people per truck) in mind which means each parking/camp spot has a large Banda providing a covered area for cooking and cleaning, we took full advantage of this and spread ourselves out like we were living in a large mansion.

Interestingly on New Years Eve 25 years ago Stuart was just finishing a very different kind of adventure, climbing the Ice Window route on Mount Kenya. Being young & naive he and a friend had attempted to climb the route in under 12 hours and so had departed base camp with only climbing gear, some water and tuck biscuits. How wrong they were as they only summited at 11pm, spent the night just below the summit and abseiled off the next morning. After 30 hours they finally returned to base camp, slightly less naive!

We finally enjoyed our roast pork and mini ice cream tubs on New Years Eve and then joined the eclectic mix of overland truck passengers together with their drivers and crew for what turned into a wonderful end to 2019. Needless to say we were a little tender the following morning and had to delay our departure by one more day.

Leaving Kalagala Falls our intention was to try and briefly stop in Kampala for some restocking and then to overnight near Entebbe, however the gas filling depot need to keep our cylinder overnight so a change of plans was required. Having braved the Kampala traffic to cross town to a backpackers we were disappointed by the condition it was in and decided to try another one, but before doing that we stopped at a car wash to give Mr Jones a well deserved clean. While observing proceedings Stuart spent a humbling 45min chatting to the one employee who was deaf but so interested in Mr Jones and our travels. Using an “old school” cellphone were you need to press the “GHI” key 3 times quickly to just say “I” certainly brings home to you the challenges of people with disabilities in emerging countries.

The second backpackers, while a bit difficult to find, was a significant improvement and so we moved out of Mr Jones for only the 4th time in 5 months. After picking up our gas bottle the next morning we moved on to Nkima Forest camp. The lodge itself is idealic with a great outlook over the Mabamba Swamps on Lake Victoria and we easily lazed away a few afternoons beside the pool reading and birdwatching. While we aren’t big twitchers we do enjoy spotting birds and got a few new ones, African Pygmy Kingfisher, Ross’s Turaco & The Great Blue Turaco. The campsite however felt like a bit of an afterthought being a 10 minute walk away and hidden at the bottom of the hill together with the staff quarters.

When on night two we nearly got carried away by mosquitos we hastily changed plans to go Shoebill spotting the next day and instead moved over to Fort Portal near the Ruwenzori mountains. Initially we had thought of spending one night at a backpackers in town before moving out to Kluges Guest farm which is 20km away but upon arriving late Sunday afternoon nothing particularly looked appealing and in fact we quickly nicknamed it Fort Pothole rather than Portal so after filling up with fuel we head out to Kluges Guest farm.

In East Africa the little 100cc motorbikes (known as Boda Bodas) are everywhere and we have seen them transporting everything from 3 adult passengers with the driver sitting on fuel tank, to 3 beer crates piled high behind the driver, to beds, to construction material and so forth… But one carrying a coffin was a first for us and we couldn’t help but snap a pic as we passed.

Kluges turned out to be a real gem with flat grass camping, clean ablutions with delightfully hot water and swimming pool around which we could laze. In addition we could take walks through the forest and didn’t have to pay a guide for that pleasure! In 5 months we have not booked anything in advance so it felt a bit strange having to think 10 days ahead in terms of our rough route as the gorilla trekking is booked for the 15th and so we needed a rough itinerary for the days between. Initially we had intended to stay only 2 nights but as it was so peaceful and the next few stops didn’t look that great we ended up extended our say and enjoying the luxury for 5 nights.

Fort Portal and Kluges border on the area known as the Crater Lakes region which is a very scenic area of old volcanic craters now filled with water and surrounded by beautiful grassy and forested hills. Our plan had been to drive around the lakes then stay over in the area but after the luxury of Kluges none of the options grabbed us and so as the next planned stop was only 2 hours away we decided to push on. The backroads out of the area were very scenic and narrow and after our recent experiences with mapping software we often doubted if we were heading in the right direction but ultimately we popped out onto the main tar road. Stuart had spent some of the time at Kluges figuring out how to import the iOverlander database into the Garmin so now we can use the iOverlander POI’s together with Tracks4Africa and not be as reliant on maps.me which has a nasty habit of seeing footpaths as good dirt roads and wanting to lead us down them.

Our planned overnight stop just before the Kazinga Channel and on the outskirts of Queen Elizabeth National park turned out to be rather disappointing but fortunately there was a marginally better option next door. After a simple stir fry for supper we were in bed quite early, only to be awoken at 2am by a trumpeting elephant and the sounds of automatic gunfire. It turned out that a herd of elephants had wandered from the park into the campground and the security personnel were trying to herd them back out, when one of the Ellie’s got a bit agitated they had fired a few shots into the air with their AK47’s to try and encourage him to move in the right direction. Over the next hour or so we sat in our bed peering out the window watching large grey shapes slip through the night followed by men with torches and the occasional gunshot. Eventually it all quietened down and as we were drifting back to sleep Tania heard a slight eating sound and there going ever so quietly through the trees right next to Mr Jones was a lone young elephant, it seems he/she had evaded the attention of the “herders”.

As we had now skipped a couple of planned overnight stops we once again needed to kill some time until our gorilla trekking date, the peace and quite of Nyore Hillside retreat was perfect for that and 3 nights slipped by. When looking at the routing from there to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and the gorillas we had noted on iOverlander a “corrupt police spot” where a number of people have been pulled over for “speeding” offences in the past. Not wanting to go through that whole process again we made sure to have the spot programmed into the GPS, of course when passing it there were no police but lo and behold at the very next village there they were which Stuart had anticipated and so was only doing 40 in the 50km/h zone. This did not deter them from pulling us over and after the usual introductions the officer proceeded with “do you know you are in a 50 zone” to which Stuarts reply of “yes and I was doing 40” flummoxed him briefly until we received the reply of “actually you were being a very good driver and we zapped you at 41, you may proceed”, Mmmm.

If we count it as an attempt, albeit a weak one, to extract money from us then that puts us 5 – 0 up on the game with dodgy traffic cops since leaving Mozambique. Interestingly everyone always has a fear of the Mozambique cops and yet in all the years we have never had an issue with them.

Having thought we had solved our mapping issues while at Kluges by combining iOverlander with Tracks4Africa on the Garmin, it was rather annoying when we still got routed on the scenic route past Lake Bunyoni on our way to Biwindi Impenetrable forest and the mountain gorillas. We even stopped before taking it to check the gps screen and couldn’t really see anything too much wrong but that soon changed when we landed up on a very narrow road along which the locals were quarrying away the sides and in some places there were sheer drops down to the lake, being scared of heights Tania was not a happy camper! As we discovered later, upon joining it, there was a tar road option which while longer would definitely have been quicker (and yes we do have the correct setup on the GPS to take the quicker route not shorter one).

15 January was the day we had been waiting for for so long and the one bucket list item that had to be ticked, tracking the mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. The family we got allocated was Mucunguzi, this involved a 30 minute drive from the park gates over some pretty hectic 4×4 tracks (so Mr Jones got to partake too and Tania got to be scared again) up to an altitude of 2300m and then after that a very steep and muddy hike from there. After about 90 minutes walking we reached the trackers who had located the gorillas. For the next 60 minutes or so we scrambled and bashed our way through thick bush on a very steep slope following the family as they moved. The trackers cut a path with their machetes for you as you go. Given the terrain and vegetation taking pictures was a challenge so often we just sat, watched and admired these gentle giants. It was confirmed that Stuart, in cohorts with Mr Jones, remains the only one who can scare Tania when the silverback stood, bared his teeth and mock charged her – she didn’t even flinch…

Our last night just short of the Rwanda border was the perfect send-off to a wonderful month spent in Uganda. The road to the camping spot was often no more than a path and we again doubted the mapping software and existence of a camping spot next to Lake Chahafi but when we got there the staff were so welcoming and helpful. They even collected our dirty hiking boots when they saw them lying next to Mr Jones and returned them the next morning looking better than new and we got a complimentary breakfast together with awesome Ugandan coffee. We have got so used to paying high prices for next to nothing and we got all that for USD25 😁

Gallery: Uganda

Practical Information: Uganda

Maintenance Log: a list of the damages we incur or work required to keep both Mr Jones and ourselves on the road.