Sept-Oct 2011 Pre-Caravan Trip

Erica Coarctata (not my fault if you didn't study Latin)
Rock Dassie
False Bay
Pat and Don south of Cape Town

9/14/2011-9/19/2011 Laurel, MD - Cape Town, South Africa

Before we left for the airport on 9/14, I checked on-line to find out the status of a mail delivery that was past due. According to the tracking software, it was delivered on 9/12. I called the Post Office and the carrier confirmed that he did in fact deliver the package right to our door that day. From this I could only assume that someone had stolen my mail from the doorstep. I was concerned that there was credit card statement and other information that could be used for identity theft. Since I was about ready to leave for the airport at this point, there was little I could do, but hope for the best. We drove to Dulles International Airport and took an 18 hr flight to Johannesburg. Due to a layover there, we landed in Cape Town 6 hours later. We picked up our rental car and drove to a downtown hotel.

The next morning we toured the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens, we took a cable car to the top of Table Mountain and had dinner at the V&A Waterfront. The next day we drove down the west coast along False Bay to Boulder Beach where we saw lots of African penguins. We drove to the Cape of Good Hope and hiked out to Cape Point. We thought this was the southern tip of Africa but we were surprised to find out that the southernmost point is Cape Agulhas, about 90 mi. to the southeast. Sunday was rainy so we went to the South Africa Museum and then drove back to False Bay to whale watch from shore. We saw 8 Southern Right whales. An e-mail from Julie informed us that our mail, that we thought was stolen, was delivered to her house.

On our last day in Cape Town, we took a boat to Robbin Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 13 years. Part of the tour was given by a former prisoner. We learned a lot about what Mandela endured and accomplished. We relocated to the Atlantic Beach Hotel where we met and dined with the International Caravanning Association (ICA) group. Our group consisted of 13 couples from the UK plus us.

Sept-Oct 2011 Africa Caravan Trip Week 1

Hillside near Springbok
Goegap Nature Reserve
Spring flowers in Namibia
Fish River Canyon

9/20-9/26 Melkbosstrand, South Africa - Aus, Namibia

After breakfast, the group took a tour bus to the BoBo Campers Depot. We were assigned a 2007 IVECO Camper van 20 feet long with 186,000 km on it. We were a bit disappointed that we got an old RV while some lucky couples got a brand spanking new one. The first week of the trip consisted of driving north into Namibia. In Namibia we drove sand roads 3-6 hours a day. With the constant jarring and vibration, the vans were subjected to a lot of stress. Surprisingly, the new vans started to fail first, with A/C and cabinets literally falling off the walls. The older vans had survived this trip before - took the beating and kept on trucking. We did have rest days to recover from the jarring drive days. Although the days were warn, the first few nights got very cold. Cold nights came to an abrupt end at our first layover; Fish River Canyon. It was like sleeping in a Dutch oven as the canyon walls radiated their heat back to the campground during the night. Fish River Canyon claims to be (along with others) the second largest canyon after the Grand Canyon. It was a decent canyon, but not as colorful as the Grand Canyon. We did start to see more wildlife as we moved north; ostrich, gemsbok, springbok, and wild horses.

Sept-Oct 2011 Africa Caravan Trip Week 2 part 1

Camping in Aus, Namibia

Sunset at Aus
Weaver bird next

Sept-Oct 2011 Africa Caravan Trip Week 2 part 2

Gemsbok
Red sands of Nambia
View from 45 KM Dune
Pat at the top of the world

Sept-Oct 2011 Africa Caravan Trip Week 2 part 3

Sand dunes
Sesriem Canyon
Baboon family
Ostriches

Sept-Oct 2011 Africa Caravan Trip Week 2 part 4

Karoo Korhaan
Great White Pelican catching a fish
Cape Fur Seal climbed onboard
Lighthouse at Swakopmond


9/27-10/3 Sesriem, Namibia, - Uis, Namibia

After more than 3 hours on sand roads we pulled into camp only to find out we had been riding on a flat tire for a while. Due to the roughness of the roads, you really can’t tell any difference between driving on a flat tire and an inflated one. The result was a well shredded tire. With some help from Paul, our Trip Leader, we got the tire changed. Next we drove to Sossusviei National Park and climbed a 360 foot tall red sand dune and explored Sesriem Canyon where we saw a family of baboons. At Walvis Bay we took a great wildlife cruise and saw Giant White Pelicans, dolphins, and SA Fur seals. I caught Traveler’s Diarrhea and took 3 days to fully recover. Pat also got sick for a day.

Sept-Oct 2011 Africa Caravan Trip Week 3 part 1

Kori Bustard
Warthog
Baby Lion
African Ground Squirrel