Return from Etosha to Cape Town

After saying farewell to Simon & Bridget at Okaukuejo, we set off for Windhoek. Once she started, “Priscilla’s” next problem was to get moving from standstill, but once she got going, things were ok! The trip down to Windhoek was uneventful. We spent the night at the Dan Viljoen Game Park, and early next morning set off in search of Land Rover Windhoek. Our biggest challenge was trying to cross a busy intersection on a slight uphill, while the lights were still green! I eventually had to resort to doing so in Low Range!  We found Land Rover Windhoek, but sadly,” Priscilla’s” ailments were way beyond their abilities, and R3500 later, we had to find someone who actually could work on a 15-year-old Discovery! We luckily found “British 4 x4”, a father & son team who were brilliant!  They had all the right equipment, and knowledge, spending the entire next day going through every possible cause, before finally finding the problem, and replacing the electronic air filter sensor, which he salvaged from an old Disco in his yard, for just such a case! R2000 later, we departed with “Priscilla” behaving like a F1! Happy Days! We could resume or trip through the Namib, Naukluft etc as planned!

Our first stop over was at Spitzkoppen, a magnificent geological formation, with some equally spectacular camping sites.

 

Monteiro's Hornbill....a lifer for us

 We then set off south to Solitaire, where we camped, before leaving for Sesriem, the set off point for the 65km trip to Sossusvlei. Although we had been there once before 20 years ago, the visit had been cut short by a horrendous dust storm, despite the pan being full of water; its once-in-an-18-year event! Hence this repeat visit., where one usually leaves before dawn, to get the best morning light on the dunes. They did not disappoint us! But this time it was dry as it is most of the time.

 

After Sossusvlei, we set off for Aus, where we stayed at the Desert Horse Inn, named after the wild horses, that have lived in those parts, as the story goes, since the First World War. On our way to Luderitz, we stopped off at the viewing spot, and watched as these wild horses congregated and socialized around the water hole, having come in from all directions.

 

We continued to Luderitz where we indulged ourselves by staying at the Luderitz Nest, the top overpriced hotel in town! The following day we explored the old Diamond mining town Kolmanskop, which became something of a boom town during the Diamond rush.

It boasted luxury German styled homes for the management. A power station, providing electricity to the mine, town and all homes. It also had a large hospital, with the first Xray facilities in Africa, a theatre, bowling alley, and Ice Factory, which delivered large blocks of ice to each home via its own railway track system, for refrigeration. The town is now deserted and is being reclaimed by the desert sands. It is however being managed as a tourist centre, and the diamonds are still being mined further down the coast to this day.

The ice factory moulds

The train that distributed the ice blocks

The hospital corridor

After a couple of hours, we left Kolmanskop, and returned to the Desert Horse inn for a couple of cold beers, and to camp for the night. The next morning, we left Aus, and headed down towards the Orange


River, passing through Ros Pinah, and along the Orange to spend the night at the Noratsharma Lodge on the banks of the river, and about 50km from Vioolsdrift, the border into RSA

We departed early the next morning, went through the border early, and completed the last 800km of our trip, home, after a super 6-week adventure!