In the morning I organised with Vital the owner of Oppi Koppi the pilot project for a donkey tour. The plan was to drive to a outlook to enjoy the sunset. There guests should have sparkling wine and some snacks. This was planed as a tourist attraction and I had to make a video for the website of the Lodge.
We managed to make the tour to film the donkeys and the cart and of course the sunset. It was a really nice evening. At night we all drove to the Lokasi, the hometowns of the native Namibians who are living there. The workers of the Lodge also lived there.
It was a nice evening we danced at the loud music of the Namibians and had fun with them.
Next day a Friday we had dinner with Vital, Marianne, Rick and Anne. Kind of a farewell dinner as our departure was getting closer. We packed everthing and spent the weekend at Andrea and Volkers place. I used the time to edit the videos for Vital and Andrea and uploaded everything to their websites.
On 02.04.2012 we finally left Kamanjab again and headed to Grootfontein. In Grootfontein we checked in at a campsite that belonged to a guy from Austria. He kept a Lion and lots of Ostriches at his farm.
Next day we travelled to Botswana again to Tsumkwe and Dobe. Before the border we stayed at a wild camp under marvellous Baobab Trees. Some of the San people came to get the camping fee and we spent a perfect night near the border.
Heading to the Border
Next morning we went up early as we had to leave Namibia exactly this day because our Visa expired. The alternative would have been to go to jail. So we were in a hurry and took the wrong path and after a bend we ended in a pool. Luckily only with the front wheels so with reduction gear and all wheel drive we could free ourselves.
Just in time we reached the border, The crossing was easy without hassle and we headed direction Maun. They were not issuing visas at this border it was just a mud hut. So we had to get to Maun to immigration.
Difficult Road Conditions after the border
The sandy road was difficult to drive and we managed this time not to get stuck. As it was so difficult, we underestimated time and it was already dark when got to the tar road. Not only we underestimated the time but also petrol consumption. It must have been around 40 litres per 100 km. We ran out of petrol in the middle in the night. Somewhere in the nowhere about 30 km before Maun.
I took the spare jerry can and was hitchhiking in the middle of the night. A car stopped,Tara and Alexandra stayed at the truck. I was bargaining the price to take me to Maun to the filling station and back to the car. So we had no cash left and I had to get an ATM as well. The 4 guys drove me to Maun to an ATM. T hen to the petrol station where I filled the jerry can and they were supposed to bring me back.
But they did not follow the main road and turned off in a strange neighbourhood. Finally we entered the courtyard of a house. I was scared like hell and tought the worst would happen right now in the dark. The guys went out of the car and disappeared. After a while another one came back and finally drove me back to Alexandra and our car.
I paid the guy and quickly topped up the petrol. Late we drove on to Island Safari Lodge at around 2 o’ clock in the night. Exhausted, dirty we killed a bottle of hard spirits and fell asleep in our new home the Land Rover 109
Again in Maun
We had to go to Maun to get our visas, but we only got 45 days instead of 90 days. We were already in Botswana within 365 days, so for this period we only could get 45 more days. We had already spent time in the country. At the ATM we withdraw money but the amount possible per day was 2000 Pula. Not really much if you need a bigger amount.
Our daily routine consisted of writing texts, working on the computer, translating into English and so on, as we had to push our new job.
From Rick and Anne we had a tent, which was fixed to the Landrover to spend some shelter but the zipper was already broken, so we had to get a new tent. As we now had to work on our Laptops while traveling we needed some shelter to work. As it was windy the fine sand was everwhere and this would for sure damage the laptops over time.
So we looked in Maun and at the Indian Lady we months before had bought the coffee pot we now found a rather huge tent for a good price. Back at the campsite we put it up and were quite satisfied with our purchase.
We had to get tires: 06.04.2012
Next new tires were on the agenda. So our dimension was not so common but we found a place where we could buy Bridgestone 750 R16 4 pieces for 6200 Pula. A perfect fit for our Land Rover.
And we had to get a power generator: 07.04.2012
As we now had to work on computers and electricity was a big issue in most of the countries, we decided to buy a generator for 220 Volt. Nothing to find but we found a laptop bag, as mine was already done. Walking further we came to a quarter with lots of Chinese sops and there we found a generator for around 40 Euros. At the camsite we just tried it and were happy that it worked but not very smooth, I found out later that you need to mix the petrol with 2-stroke oil.