Lake Oanob, Rehoboth 9/10/11 (Day 35)

Left Walvis Bay, en route to Windhoek area. 30kms out, temp rose from 10 deg to 30 deg! Lovely. Good points to remember about West Coast: no mozzies, moist skin, soft, wavy hair!

Arrived at Lake Oanob. (Yes, there is a lake in Namibia!) Countryside heading south after Windhoek is really lovely. Big mountains and green thorn valleys. This venue is very civilized with our own kitchen and braai area under thatch and an entertainment area big enough to host a party of 50! All for us, wow. Nice and cool under the thatch looking on to the lake. A few motor boats and water skiers are cruising around.

Luis is going to try his hand at large mouth bass fishing. (He never gives up!) Ah, that didn't take long. The man is really smiling now:

We're going to eat at The Lodge tonight - Sunday treat!

Lagoon Chalets 8/10/11 (Day 34)

Wow, a million songs buzzing around in my head: "Come sail away"; "My friends, my time has come ... (My Way)"; "Into the wide blue yonder" , etc. Probably just a case of nerves re the forthcoming sea cruise. (you think?!)

Ah, what an awesome cruise. Not even a hint of queasiness, good grub to scoff and a very welcome round of Old Brown Sherry. This was the best R900 we have ever spent! I even attempted an oyster, but couldn't swallow the pesky thing! Luis enjoyed them.

The highlight, for me, was the pelicans, swooping and playing catch up in the hope of a free morsel.

Looking at them through the unzoomed lens of my camera, I thought, on many an occasion, that their beak was going to collide with my lens!

Over the douse of the cruise, 2 seals came to visit us on board. The first is only a year old and has been visiting this particular vessel since he was a pup.

The other fella who hangs around much further out is a big boy, to say the least.

Jackson feeding the masses:

Feed me, dammit, otherwise I'll bash your head in!

(Duck? Duck? That's not a duck, it's a ...... Pelican ...... Ouch!)

And, last but certainly not least, the dolphin playing in the bow wave

All in all a glorious adventure!

Lagoon Chalets, Walvis Bay 7/10/11 (Day 33)

The weather started warming up at Swakopmund last night. Beautiful morning with the sun showing it's happy face from sunrise. Yesterday we never got to see the sun at all, let alone feel any of it's warmth.
Walvis Bay - This is the first stop in Namibia where we have ended up at the same venue as last year. To top it all, we're even on the same site. Have booked a Dolphin Cruise tomorrow so we'll spend 2 nights here. Hope the vertigo stays away.
Got up to date with our washing, specifically the warmer clothes which are harder to rub through and get dry.

The campsites are surrounded by dead palm leaves which act as a very effective windbreak.
A large flock of pelican flew over this morning.

We took a walk down to the lagoon but the flamingoes weren't there. Seagulls trying to hold their pace against the wind and searching for grub

Coming up for air

Mile 4, Swakopmund 6/10/11 (Day 32)

Not much happening today. Weather overcast and quite cold. Luis tried fishing but no bites. I read a book - found the warmest place to do it: sitting in the car (comfy as well!)!
No photo opportunities.
Off to Walvis Bay tomorrow.

Mile 4 Swakopmund 5/10/11 (Day 31)

A cold (but pleasantly warm in The Rad) evening spent at Henties.
Arrived at Mile 4, on the outskirts of Swakopmund. Quite a long walk for Luis to the beach to fish as, although the campsite is "on the beach", there's a security fence so he has to walk inland to the security gate and then circumnavigate the fence. Probably a good 500m. Have only booked in for 2 nights, so we'll see how it goes.
We have our own 'blute, braai courtyard, paved, shady area (carport), so, quite nice!

Luis has quite a walk to get to the sea - more than I initially estimated. This view is from our site; he has to walk this distance away from the sea to the gate, then about 500m to end of security fence and, finally, head towards the sea. He'll be fit!

His first fishing attempt did not even yield a bite! He did have seals keeping him company.
We have a pair of spadgies nesting in the roof of the carport. They obviously have young as they disappear in there frequently with grub in their beaks. From the vantage point of The Rad's upper windows we look down onto them, two feet away and they can't see us - very special. They love our bread!

Henties Bay via Spitzkoppe 4/10/11 (Day 30)

As previously mentioned, campsite is lovely and shady but the toilets are a bit primitive:

No, seriously now, it is a lovely place right next to Omaruru penitentiary centre with hardened criminals singing in perfect harmony! ......... It's actually a light disciplinary centre and the chorus was accompaniment to a soccer game. It really sounded nice! We have been on the road for 30 days now and a refrain from Humble Pie - "30 Days in a Hole" spurred on by above photo, keeps ringing in our heads. Ngepi - dream on - this is the real "Lava-Tree".

Happy Birthday, Clive!

Had a lovely trip through Erongo Conservancy, pretty, saw 2 pairs of parrots but they didn't pose! We did see zebra, kudu, piggies and steenies.
This shadow caught our eye:

Dassies sunbathing:

White-tailed Shrike:

Stopped at Spitzkoppe and paid to camp there (R110). Drove around, took pics of rocks and lizards, had a sandwich and decided to push on to Henties.

Could not quite get up the incline to the picture frame.

Dwarfed by small rocks at Spitzkoppe.

Luis is now legal (has his fishing license). Intention is to head towards Mile 4 campsite near Swakopmund tomorrow - it's on the beach and he can fish to his heart's content.
Regimental campsite at Buks, Henties.

Still, it's got everything we need! Temperature has plummeted. From the high 30's to 15 deg. Swapped clothing around - heavy, warm stuff was in Brutus' specially built boxes, now in Rad wardrobe. Light stuff relegated to boxes.
On the "box" subject, must state that all Luis' mods and creations have worked a treat: table, wash line, Brutus box set up, rear wing to disperse dust from back of Rad, the list goes on!

River Guest House, Omaruru 3/10/11 (Day 29)

Had some more giggles at the waterhole last night with Luis experimenting on various shots. Lot of rhino, elephant and giraffe.
Luis is the night light photographic expert and caught this bit of interplay last night. I call it The Behemoth Standoff!

At one stage there were 6 rhino uneasily shuffling around the waterhole, huffing and puffing at one another. Next thing, one gave a louder snort and mock charge which caused another rhino to rush off into the darkness, a dust cloud the only evidence of his prior participation - they move really quickly!
We bid a fond farewell to Etosha and head out into the unknown! Sadly, we have heard that a lot of larger animals were wounded in the raging fires and had to be euthanised. :(
Stopped off at River Guest House, Omaruru. Camp sites are lovely and shady and cool - welcome relief from the heat!

Relaxing day. I read, Luis washed The Rad (work is his form of relaxation!). Cooled down our inner core temperatures.
Heading to Spitzkoppe tomorrow. Guessing that signal strength will be weak to non-existent.