TO THE POINTY HEADS AND BEYOND……

The comfort of Swakopmund is now a distant memory as we spend a night under the stars at Spitzkoppe (pointy heads….see there is a reason for the bizarre title!!) but first having left Swakopmind at 8.00am , we make our way to Cape Cross Seal Colony. 

Cape Cross is where the Portuguese first landed in Namibia so has great historical connotation, but it’s also a breeding ground for the Cape Fur Seal (actually a type of Seal Lion…fact of the day!) of which there were many lounging on the beach and rocks and flopping around in the sea, every one braved the smell to go and check them out. An hour later and considerably wind swept we made our way to one of the most magnificent places I have been. (Mushy moment) I can honestly say this is where my love affair with Africa began…..Spitzkoppe..

Set in the heart of Damara land, these molten rocky outcrops really do stand out like pointy-heads in the midst of flat savannah. Fueled with Bushmen history, an abundance of bird life and breath taking views these 100,000,000 year old mountains are simply sensational. We arrive with time to visit Small Bushmen Paradise to take a look at the old Bushmen paintings, which have survived 1000’s of years and allow us a sneak preview into the lives of the tribe. As the afternoon wore on some decided to go for a leisurely stroll others were more interested in trickier feats and opted to climb some of the steep rock faces for sunset. While a few people set up tents, others decided to brave the snakes, scorpions and the 1 rogue leopard (which apparently scales the rocks every so often) and sleep under the stars.

Next on the agenda is one of Southern Africa’s most famous game parks. Etosha national park.

Everyone is happy and smiley just knowing they don’t have to put their tents down in the morning as we’re here for 2 nights! The first afternoon game drive proved fruitful, spotting elephants, lions, and black rhino, heaps of various antelope, zebra and giraffe. After dinner the night was spent huddled around the waterhole as a heard of about 30 elephants and 4 black rhino descended up on us. The following morning was out the gates early for a full day of game viewing and a visit to the Etosha saltpan. Although no lions or rhino wanted to play today (it really was very hot so probably hiding away in the shade) it was another successful day, with lots of elephants bathing in various water holes, zebras, giraffes, antelopes and a collection of different birds of prey.

As the afternoon progressed and the heat continued to rise we headed back to camp for a late afternoon swim. Once again the water hole was a winner with more elephants, rhino and this time lion too!!! As bed time approached the lions woke and the jackals became even more mischievous, sleep was interrupted by the big cats roaring and the jackals……tipping over bins and trying to break into the kitchen area!

Today we are headed to Namibia’s capital city Windhoek….our last look at proper infrastructure for a while and it will be well spent indulging in some retail therapy this afternoon, good food at the famous Joe’s Beer House (if it’s not famous it should be!!) and a night in a proper bed at The Cardboard Box Hostel.

Until next time!! Xx

The day before THE DAY!

The blog is back baby!! Guys my name is Lauren Lees and I am a tour leader here at Acacia, follow me here to get all the inside info over the next 110 days while myself and TJ (my dreamy driver) take a truck full of eager passengers around Africa. Over the next 3 ½ months we’ll be touring all the way to Uganda and back again! Experiencing and soaking up probably the BEST continent on earth!

Having flown in from taking a holiday back home in England it was straight to the office as we wasted no time in getting our truck together.  I should probably introduce you to our truck, her name is Mara named after the Mara  River which separates The Serengeti and The Masai Mara (all of our trucks are named after rivers in Africa) and she is a beasty 18 tonne 224 horse power MAN. Having been worked on for 2 weeks she now looks clean and shiny and ready to rock and roll us safely around Africa over the next 20,000 Km’s. Massive thanks to the boys in the workshop for making her look so beautiful!! After 2 days in the office sorting out all the paperwork (thank you operations team for putting up with us….and buying me a mcflurry when in need) we are ready to head to our pre departure. . . . Tomorrow is DAY 1 and my 19 passengers will be heading straight into the depth of Cape Town visiting Langa township for the morning, drinking some of the local home made beer and having lunch at the popular Mzolis. 250Km’s later we shall be hitting Highlanders campsite near the town of Trawal where I am hoping everyone is keen for a spot of wine tasting……if we’re lucky Sparky will turn up in his kilt!!.....we can all hope!! Shall keep you all posted but in the mean time keep groovy. xx

TO SWAKOPMUND:

So we’ve been really busy darting all over the place since the last time I wrote. We crossed the boarder into Namibia – my personal favorite country!! Our first day was spent driving to the Fish River and visiting the Fish River Canyon, the second largest canyon in the world. The weather was spot on and despite the bumpy roads we got there with plenty of time to take in the fiery sunset. Next stop was straight into the heart of the Namib Desert, and 539 km’s later we arrived at Sesriem campsite situated within the boarders of The Namib Nauklauft National Park. Next morning we woke early and raced the sun to the top of dune 45 before heading to sossusvlei and deadvlei. The afternoon saw us 150 km’s down the road visiting Boesman’s farm and spending a couple of hours exploring the desert from there.Not before stopping at Solitair for some of their famous apple pie!!!

After a long and busy day we felt a feast was in order so Kudu steaks, home made bread and salads all round, I even quote one of the passengers when I say “kudu has changed my life” lol we had visits from toktokies and red romans round the fire and heard the Jackals laughing into the night.

Next morning, and everyone was in good spirits knowing that for the next 2 nights they would be in beds in ACTUAL rooms with ACTUAL walls and PROPER bathrooms. The roads from the farm to Swakopmund were much bumpier than normal….in fact a few stretches definitely rivaled the roads in East Africa. Thank God for TJ who mastered them with great precision and got us safely to Swakopmund!!!

Amanpuri lodge!!! Ahhhh Swakopmund, where to begin…….Skydiving, sand boarding, quad biking, boat cruises and Township tours, if any of the above floats your boat then “Swakop” is THE place to be, situated on the coast this tiny Germanic town is epic!!! The first night was spent in probably the most popular restaurant in town Napolitana’s where the low prices certainly don’t mirror the ENORMOUS portions, a couple of hours later, a few pounds heavier and carrying doggy bags we made our way to Grunies for a few drinks before heading “home” to sleeeeepp zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Today saw everyone off on a quest for adrenaline, jumping out planes and shooting down sand dunes…(and climbing back up them again for more).

Unfortunately tomorrow marks the end of comfort but it’s all good as we continue further into this amazing country. Nearly time for game driving in Etosha but first we’ll be journeying to Spitskoppe in the depths of the old Damara Land, spooky, eerie and simply incredible!!! Until next time chaps, keep groovy!! xx

BOTSWANA BECKONS

Wow it seems like an age since the last time I wrote. As I type on my laptop we are driving towards the planes of Etosha “the great white place”, named so after the Etosha salt pan situated within the fences of the national park. But first, lets look at Botswana…
We crossed the boarder from Zambia to Botswana on a hot sweaty day and it was a welcome relief to arrive at our campsite in Kasane and hit the pool. It was a chilled evening with the hint of oncoming storms promising rain to cool us. The next morning saw us up before sunrise to head into the Chobe National Park for a morning game drive. The birdlife was outstanding as per usual, kingfishers, bee-eaters and even the fish eagle made an appearance. That same afternoon saw us taking to the waterways of the Chobe River on the sunset cruise where hippo’s and elephants were plentiful. Up next was our 620km drive to Maun, the gate way to the Okavango Delta where we spent time night bush camping on an island surrounded by the millions of channels that make up the largest inland delta in the world. The afternoon was spent trying to learn how to pole the mokoro’s and inching into the shade on what was a scorching day. The afternoon bush walk was a success with close sightings of elephants, giraffe, zebra. That evening our guides and polers entertained us with their camp fire songs, remarkable they didn’t ask us to return the favour …maybe they heard our tuneless attempts at singing earlier in the day and decided it would be better to go to bed with the ribbeting of frogs ringing in their ears instead of us attempting and failing a rendition of queen and undoubtedly a national anthem of some kind.
Our last might in Botswana was spent in the town of Ghanzi and Trail Blazers camp where we went on a bushmen walk with some of the few remaining bushmen in the area where we were allowed a glimpse into the lives of this tribe.
The following day we crossed into Namibia (in my opinion) the best country on tour. Our first stop was in the capital city of Windhoek and the afternoon was spent wandering around and partaking in some serious SERIOUS retail therapy….then it happened…..the clouds came…..and burst!!! Our campsite was transformed into a raging torrent of water!! However we soon got over it as we all over indulged on some game meat at the famous Joe’s Beer House.
That brings me up to date folks as today we have left Windhoek and are journeying to Etosha for some game driving…..and it looks as if the rain is following us, but hey, rain or shine we are still on the best continent in the world experiencing once in a life time experiences and it sure doesn’t get much better than that!!!

BOTSWANA BECKONS

Wow it seems like an age since the last time I wrote. As I type on my laptop we are driving towards the planes of Etosha “the great white place”, named so after the Etosha salt pan situated within the fences of the national park. But first, lets look at Botswana…
We crossed the boarder from Zambia to Botswana on a hot sweaty day and it was a welcome relief to arrive at our campsite in Kasane and hit the pool. It was a chilled evening with the hint of oncoming storms promising rain to cool us. The next morning saw us up before sunrise to head into the Chobe National Park for a morning game drive. The birdlife was outstanding as per usual, kingfishers, bee-eaters and even the fish eagle made an appearance. That same afternoon saw us taking to the waterways of the Chobe River on the sunset cruise where hippo’s and elephants were plentiful. Up next was our 620km drive to Maun, the gate way to the Okavango Delta where we spent time night bush camping on an island surrounded by the millions of channels that make up the largest inland delta in the world. The afternoon was spent trying to learn how to pole the mokoro’s and inching into the shade on what was a scorching day. The afternoon bush walk was a success with close sightings of elephants, giraffe, zebra. That evening our guides and polers entertained us with their camp fire songs, remarkable they didn’t ask us to return the favour …maybe they heard our tuneless attempts at singing earlier in the day and decided it would be better to go to bed with the ribbeting of frogs ringing in their ears instead of us attempting and failing a rendition of queen and undoubtedly a national anthem of some kind.
Our last might in Botswana was spent in the town of Ghanzi and Trail Blazers camp where we went on a bushmen walk with some of the few remaining bushmen in the area where we were allowed a glimpse into the lives of this tribe.
The following day we crossed into Namibia (in my opinion) the best country on tour. Our first stop was in the capital city of Windhoek and the afternoon was spent wandering around and partaking in some serious SERIOUS retail therapy….then it happened…..the clouds came…..and burst!!! Our campsite was transformed into a raging torrent of water!! However we soon got over it as we all over indulged on some game meat at the famous Joe’s Beer House.
That brings me up to date folks as today we have left Windhoek and are journeying to Etosha for some game driving…..and it looks as if the rain is following us, but hey, rain or shine we are still on the best continent in the world experiencing once in a life time experiences and it sure doesn’t get much better than that!!!

The end... of this circuit...

The next morning dawns bright and clear, and up gets the tour leader to put the kettle on for her beloved passengers. Duly boiled, it is transported back to the truck and placed amongst the breakfast fare.

Tour leader goes away to do various duties. Later, after all is packed away, we leave and pull into a service station after a couple of hours for a toilet break.

Tour leader is duly surprised that everyone is claiming desperate thirst and need for coffee.

MORAL OF THE STORY: if you are going to illicitly use kettle as impromptu punch receptacle, empty it. Otherwise contents WILL be inadvertently be boiled up and served to you for breakfast.

Much love

Racing to the end...

Our least few days on tour are a mixture of beautiful scenery, activities and packing...

A major stop, and our last in Namibia is Fish River Canyon - the views, the thermal springs, and the oven baked lasagne all combine to provide fanastic experiences, and luckily its a little bit warmer than we have been used to at night (see the fashion shoot).

All too soon it is time to wave goodbye to Namibia and on to South Africa. We stay at a new campsite - Umkulu - on the Orange River, and despite there being plenty of activities on offer - rafting/ canoeing and sunset walks, by this time legathy has set in and everyone just chills. That night we chow down on Kudu steaks and gird ourselves for one final assault before Capetown - its nearly time for winetasting...

....which does not disappoint. Priced at a very reasonable 55R for the guarantee that you will feel 'internally warm' inside. This is followed by a group meal (not a good idea to wield cooking instruments after said tasting) and a knees-up until the early hours.