Dimwits Millennium Trip 1999

[Richprins]

I looked 50 back then already, Mello!

(One puts a lid on the washing machine.)

That was end-December, Lis, and not so many interesting places back then?

[Flutterby]

Poor donkeys!!

[Mel]

I looked 50 back then already, Mello!

(One puts a lid on the washing machine.)

Geez... can't you just feel a litter flattered?

(And, year, I figured you put a lid on it - still doubt it doesn't leak, or even worse the lid comes off eventually )

[Richprins]

You put a rope around!

[Richprins]

I have been told I have made a mistake...we actually stayed the second night in Maun, and THEN moved on to the Okavango camp at Shakawe for the third!



As said, distances are vast and the vagaries of the long-range fuel tank came into play somewhere on this stretch. Once the Mammoth tank is empty it switches to the actual tank and actually begins to register on the fuel gauge, which had been showing "full" for a day and a half already, so nobody looked at it anymore...

The Maun-Shakawe stretch is another 1000km or so, and goes through the most primitive area I have ever visited, or it was then...

There are quite nice settlements every 100km or so, and they are rather unimaginatively all called Etsha, with a number attached.

So somewhere between Etsha 5 and Etsha 6 we realised we were almost out of fuel.

There was no such thing as cellphone reception or roadside assistance, and the very few vehicles one met looked lawless, to say the least. We pulled in at a reasonable-looking farm gate and found ourselves at a Mission Station, of all things. One of my few good qualities is that I am an expert negotiator, especially after some St Louis, and the Dimwits sent me in to find assistance. I somewhat met my match in a German nun about 100 years of age, who spoke more Setswana than English and took a VERY dim view of foreigners, ironically.

Somehow we organised a half-drum of fuel at triple the normal price and left poor but guaranteed to reach the next Etsha with a filling station!







The next day we left early for the long trek to Etosha, no less!

[Richprins]

One enters Namibia quite soon, and travels down the Caprivi Strip, very lush and bushy!

One amazing sighting from the highway was a herd of sable, near Popa Falls!

There are millions of baobab trees, including this record one!

Dwarf was in heaven, with his tree-climbing fetish!

[Richprins]

There were veterinary stops every few kilometres, checking meat transport was a big thing at that stage due to disease! We had some frozen meat, which seemed ok?

At last we hit Etosha around noon!


First aminals!

And a new thing...dik-diks!

The main camp Namutoni! A German Fort!

[Richprins]

This is sort of the Satara of Namibia, with quite a well, army camp-like layout!


Plenty grass!

An evening trip to the view from the top of the fort, which is quite spectacular!

[Richprins]

Here is a proper pic of a dik dik by nan:





https://africawild-forum.com/viewtopic.php?f=243&t=8333

[Richprins]

Etosha Map:





https://www.etoshanationalpark.org/medi ... a-East.jpg