DAY BY DAY ACCOUNT OF MY 2011 NAMIBIA TRIP - DAY 11 (2011-05-23)

See the previous installments at http://groblerdupreez.blogspot.com/

Ruacana Falls to Epupa Falls

Early breakfast and breaking up our camp at the Hippo Pool then off to the Ruacana Falls.

Rene doing a colour study at the viewpoint next to the hydro-electric plant.

The view looking downstream from the falls - the Hippo Pool is just around the corner where the river disappears

A lonely Baobab tree in the falls

Several Baobab trees at the bottom of the falls

At 08:20 we left the falls behind and started our journey to Epupa Falls. First stop Ruacana town for fuel and then on to Opuwo, the last reliable fuel and supplies stop before Epupa. At Opuwo we again refueled and bought groceries for the next few days and hamburgers for lunch. Opuwo is a very busy little town and you are constantly pestered by Himba women begging you to take their photos (at a price) and by vendors trying to sell their curios. Long queues at the fuel pumps... We left as quickly as possible.

At a safe distance outside the town we stopped for lunch below a tree - quite hot for a Winter's day...

The road to Epupa. Although the road is normally in a good condition, the 180 km trip takes a full four hours as there are numerous dips in the road where (dry) streams cross the road, making it impossible to maintain a good speed.

  

A beautiful Baobab tree next to the road to Epupa

The view from our camp site at Epupa - about 30 m from the top of the most southerly falls

Lesson learned: the price of an item in one of the small shops is the amount you put on the table - if they ask N$8.00 and you give N$50.00, then the price is N$50.00 - no change given. Take a lot of change with you. Recharge vouchers for your Namibian cell phone simcard are normally only available in N$10.00 vouchers - make sure you won't need N$200.00 in vouchers...

Distance traveled for the day: 356 km of which 265 km were on good gravel roads.

The map below is an interactive Google Map showing the actual GPS track we followed, imported from a .gpx file. Epupa is the marker top, left. Zoom in to follow our route. Double click on a balloon for more information.

DAY BY DAY ACCOUNT OF MY 2011 NAMIBIA TRIP - DAY 10 (2011-05-22)

See the previous installments at http://groblerdupreez.blogspot.com/

Ruacana Falls

Last night we camped at the Hippo Pools Camping site. Up early and off without breakfast to catch the sun rising at the Ruacana Falls.

Rene deciding what to paint

A more dramatic studio could not be imagined...

A spectacular sunrise at the top of the Falls

Marlene preparing breakfast near the main viewpoint. The fence visible to the left is the Namibia - Angola border.

Marlene and Rene enjoying the magnificent scenery

Rene busy with another painting as the sun is starting to set over the falls.

Back to the Hippo Pool for a lovely sunset and an enjoyable evening next to the camp fire

Distance traveled for the day: 42 km including a trip to the Ruacana town for some groceries

The map below is an interactive Google Map showing the actual GPS track we followed, imported from a .gpx file. Zoom in to follow our route. Double click on a balloon for more information.

DAY BY DAY ACCOUNT OF MY 2011 NAMIBIA TRIP - DAY 8 (2011-05-20)

See the previous installments at http://groblerdupreez.blogspot.com/

Etosha (Halali) - Outapi (Ombulantu Baobab tree)

Up early and off to the Moringa waterhole. No animals, so back to camp for breakfast. Break up camp then off to Ruacana via Namutoni, hoping to see elephants.

Apart from giraffes "necking" and "butting" and a few lions hiding between bushes on route to Namutoni, not much to see.

Except for thousands of flamingoes on the pan in the distance, not many birds either. 

An unidentified plover

A young Impala male

Fort Namutoni, a rest camp in Etosha. For more information on it's rich history see Namutoni

"On 28 January 1904, 500 Ovambos attacked the station.  Seven brave German riders repelled the attack"

The King Nehale waterhole as seen from the top of the wall of Fort Namutoni

Inside Fort Namutoni

From Namutoni, we traveled North. Not many animals - no elephants. Not a good year to visit Etosha - the best rain year in history caused a lot of open water in the veld, resulting in few animals visiting the waterholes. Lots elephant dung. Our companion, Rene, said that she doesn't believe us that there are elephants - "the park rangers pick up elephant dung from elsewhere and dump it all over so that the visitors should think there are many elephants"!

We exited Etosha at the King Nehale Gate in the north and suddenly there were many animals, but not the type I prefer to see. Our companion, however, grew up on a farm and during the next few weeks we would learn that it would be impossible to drive past a herd of cattle without stopping...

At Oshikati, we bought lunch and supplies. The flowing water in this photo is not a river, but an oshana in Oshakati, one of many perennial watercourses (linearly-linked, shallow, parallel lakes), Once every few years, during exceptional rains, the oshanas fill with rainwater and sometimes with floodwater from the perennial Cuvelai River in Angola. Have a look at the area above Etosha on the interactive map further below to see this interesting phenomenon. The fish which breed in the oshanas provides an important source of dietary protein to the local population. Here they are using traps to catch fish.

We were aiming for Ruacana, but realised that we would not reach it before dark. We decided to camp at the Ombalantu Baobab tree at Outapi. Only us in the camp. No staff. The attendant gave us the gate keys before she left and we only realised the following morning that it included the keys to the curios shop and office. The people in Namibia are very trusting... We fell asleep to the sounds of farm animals and indigenous music...

The tree is hollow inside and is currently configured as a small church chapel which could seat approximately 20 people.

Distance traveled for the day:  360 km of which 139 km were gravel road.

The map below is an interactive Google Map showing the actual GPS track we followed imported from a .gpx file. Zoom in to follow our route. Double click on a balloon for more information.

DAY BY DAY ACCOUNT OF MY 2011 NAMIBIA TRIP - DAY 7 (2011-05-19)

See the previous installments at http://groblerdupreez.blogspot.com/

Etosha

Still at Halali. Up early and off to the Moringa waterhole. No animals, so back to camp for breakfast then off for a round trip through Etosha. Due to the exceptionally good rains, we saw very few animals. Even Springbokvlakte, which usually is littered with animals, was without animals.

Springbok lying in the grass

Patches of red and purple plants between the grass fields.

Picnic spot at Olifantsbad. waterhole

An unusual sight - the Etosha Pan full of water. This is the road to the viewpoint on the pan.

The Etosha National Park is a 22 750km² wildlife sanctuary. Etosha, meaning ‘place of dry water’, gets it's name from a large, flat calcrete pan of about 110 km x 45 km. The pan is subject to periodic, partial flooding during the rainy season. Direct rainfall accounts for only a small proportion of the pan’s water; three rivers supply the majority: the Ekuma, Oshigambo, and Omuramba Ovambo. The Ekuma River flows seasonally from the southern shores of Lake Oponono, situated about 70 km north of the pan. This lake receives input from numerous perennial watercourses and oshanas (linearly-linked, shallow, parallel lakes), the Cuvelai River being the most important (Berry et al. 1973). The Oshigambo River draws its water from southern Angola. The Ekuma and Oshigambo Rivers form deltas in the northwestern corner of the pan, about 13 km apart. The Omuamba Ovambo River receives its water from a catchment to the northeast of Etosha, and it flows into the pan through Fisher’s Pan, a small eastern extension of the main pan body. All three rivers flow erratically during the rainy season and, depending on their levels, flood the pan to varying degrees. In unusually dry years, the rivers may not flow at all, forming a series of disconnected pools. During these dry years, the pan holds direct rainfall only. The pan does, however, usually hold some water for a few months between January and April. Once in about 7-10 years, during exceptional rains, the oshonas and rivers fill with rainwater and sometimes with floodwater from the perennial Cuvelai River in Angola. This water reaches the pan, transforming it into a shallow lake holding large sheets of water, usually not exceeding one meter in depth. The water in the pan is, however, unfit for animal consumption as the salt content is often double that of sea water (Source of information). Have a look at the area above the pan on the interactive map further below to see this interesting phenomenon.

Waiting for the golden hour at Halali.

Lions at the lit Moringa waterhole at Halali.

Waiting at the waterhole til late - but no elephants visited. Dropped my Nikon SB800 flash in the dark on the rocky floor - not working any more...

Total distance covered today: 190 km, all gravel roads.

More to follow...

The map below is an interactive Google Map showing the actual GPS track we followed, imported from a .gpx file. Zoom in to follow our route. Click on a balloon for more information.