Forbidden Lands 2008 - Namibia

[Velocity]

COPYRIGHTS AND TEXT PICTURES BELONG TO ROBBY ROBERTS OF CAPE TOWN SOUTH AFRICA.

of www.landcruiserclub.co.za

(Note: Jacques Lewis of CML RV centre sponsored the decals above for our windows. The printers got their phone number wrong, which made Jacques just a wee bit miffed, so please dont use the number in the photo above)

“There goes a motor!” I heard Geoff call over the radio. Then silence. Greig and Rebekka Riethoff were driving one place behind us in their Colt 3000i V6 Double Cab. There was a big cloud of white smoke followed by an even bigger cloud of black smoke and then the Colt died. We had only just started our fourth day in the Namib and were fifteen minutes into an area called the “Devil’s Workshop” – a wickedly difficult series of slip faced dunes to get us off the beach and up to the higher plateau. After half an hour the bush mechanics deemed the Colt to be irrepairable with the tools at hand. After five years of off-roading it had finally happened. We all stood around in uncomfortable silence feeling empathy for the Riethoffs. What a bad thing to happen! We all started focusing on the positives and thanked our maker that no-one was injured. The Colt was unloaded of necessary cargo and spread amongst the vehicles whilst Greig drove with the lead vehicle and Rebekka got a lift with Geoff. I really felt for them. What a lousy way to end a dream trip.

Our guide and director of Coastways Tours, Volker Jancke, is a big, burly man with a wicked sense of humour and a booming voice with a German/Afrikaans slant. He walked up to me, beaming, and announced that he and I shared the same birthday. He instantly inspires confidence with his relaxed demeanour and encyclopedic knowledge of the Namib’s flora and fauna. Even with an electrical storm threatening our sandy camp one night, he remained calm and unaffected. What a great privilege it was to have him as our guide.

My third trip to the Namib in three years! This one was at a reduced price, to make up for the fiasco of the 2007 trip and man, did Coastways make up for it. This one was easily the most enjoyable and had me reconverted.

Saturday 22nd March

SWAMBO was not in the mood for another desert trip, so I invited a buddy to come along. Phillip grabbed the opportunity to ride as navigator with both hands.

We decided to go up one day ahead of the convoy to spend an extra day at Abiqua on the banks of the Great Gariep. Our trip up was uneventful with a strong South Easterly pushing us along to give a consumption of 5.22 kms. per liter at 110 kph. The border processing took all of about 10 minutes. We joined Brand Leach and his family at Abiqua for the evening braai under clear starry skies and settled in for a peaceful sleep. Notwithstanding Brand’s ‘early to bed/early to rise’ philosophy, I found myself wide awake at 0430 and spent the time of remaining darkness marveling how absolutely quiet it was in the camp save for the intermittent hoot of an owl.

Sunday 23rd March

The next day we had free. After a bit of white water canoeing, and a cholesterol fest of bacon and eggs, we decided to take a drive along the gravel road westwards along the banks of the Gariep to see if it would be possible to get our convoy across the Fish River the next day. The bridge had been washed away in floods a few days before. Normally the Fish River in summer is nothing more than a trickle, so I was surprised to find about 80 meters of the causeway leading up to the bridge itself completely washed away. We spent almost two hours walking the rapids and pools trying to find a safe route across, but each time with almost 90% of a track established with cairns, we would be thwarted by water which was chest deep. Eventually we gave up, but it was a pleasant task considering the air temperature was around 37C.

As we were drying off and enjoying an ice cold beer on the tailgate of the Cruiser, two Land Rovers arrived at high speed in a cloud of dust. The first thing I noticed was the GP plates. The leading vehicle was a newish Discovery 3 kitted out with as much bling as money could buy. The driver leapt out in his own cloud of dust, dressed like a Camel-man in full camo-kit, a “Jeep” branded T Shirt, Ray-Ban’s, an aggressive attitude and a huge ‘Crocodile Dundee’ type knife holstered to his hip. Quite what he thought he was going to slaughter with that big knife, I will never know, but we had a good laugh. We were the only living souls for miles around and this guy walked past us within a few feet without so much as even a glance or a greeting. The driver of the second Land Rover (Defender110) was less aggressive. He at least greeted us. I noticed he had a big sticker on his windscreen which read ‘ONE LIFE – LIVE IT” I was going to make a facetious remark about living life can’t possibly be good in a Land Rover, when I cast a salacious glance at Rambo’s dagger and stopped myself. Later Camel-man asked us if we thought there was a way across the river.

“No. You will not make it across in my opinion” I replied. But Rambo seemed unconvinced. I then suggested that he try and if he didn’t make it, I would wait to recover him. Finally, he smiled.

Back at Abiqua the rest of the team had arrived as we discussed possible routes up to Luderitz. The weather was perfection itself as we settled down to another perfectly calm evening, whilst all the children in the group swam in the river till late.

Monday 24th March

In the morning we broke camp and took our predetermined route up through the Gamkap Canyon and on to the high ground around the Fish River Canyon arriving at Seeheim for lunch. Here we had to pay $10 for a dip in the hotel pool. Considering the heat, those that swam deemed it to be money well spent.

We pushed on to Luderitz arriving with time to refuel and fill our water tanks. Being Easter Monday, everything was closed so we would have to wait for the shops to open the next morning to buy those few last minute provisions and of course, all the ice available in town. Luderitz was typically much cooler than where we had come from. Enough to grab a fleecy top.

Volker was there to meet us and make us feel comfortable in his own disarming manner. Whilst we were repacking and tying things down, I noticed the right rear wheel of the Cruiser looking a bit flat, so I checked the pressure which should have been 2.0 bar. It was 0.6! Geoff came to have a look and in an instant found a long nail embedded in the tyre. I watched as Geoff quickly repaired the hole and mentally added that procedure to my list of things I should know how to do. Out came the compressor and 10 minutes later the tyre was fixed. It lasted throughout the trip and all the way back to Cape Town.

Obelix hosted our group for supper – the usual huge steaks (but nearly always tough) with plenty to eat for everyone. We had our last decent hot showers till our return from the desert.

Tuesday 25th March

Everyone was up early for breakfast and into the village for provisions.

Volker sorted us into a driving order as follows:

Volker – Toyota Land Cruiser 4500EFi Bakkie

Jan & family – Nissan Patrol 4800i Auto (P)

Robby & Phillip – Land Cruiser 105 GX man (P)

Greig & Rebekka – Colt 3000i DC Auto (P)

Annamarie & Rudi – Isuzu Trooper 3.2 (P)

Brand & Annatjie & family – Land Rover Defender 110 (D)

Christo & Malan - Jeep Wrangler 3.7 4dr Auto (P)

Geoff & Nolene & family – Land Cruiser 80 GX man (P)

Solly & Michelle & family – Land Cruiser 80 VX Auto (D)

Jacques & Marele & family – Land Cruiser 105 VX Auto (D)

Gerrie & Jonas (Cooks) – Toyota Hilux 2700 VVTi (P)

We made our getaway by 0930 in yet another day of excellent weather. Twenty kilometers of tar road driving was soon over, as we took a jeep track north westwards towards the big dunes. Here Volker stopped the convoy and encouraged the kids to collect some “Boesmanskers” (Bushman’s Candle”) for burning on the campfire that night. He was masterful with the kids, keeping them entertained and interested all day with quizzes, information and competitions.

After 15 minutes we stopped at the foot of the first big dune and deflated to 0.8 bar. There are always those drivers who disobey for fear of running their tyres off the rims. As always, they learn their lessons quickly when they get stuck on the steeper dunes. Our convoy was no different. After an hour, everyone was finally down to 0.8 bar. The dunes are massive and majestic. Driving these monster dunes is simply a superb experience. Having been in the Namib twice before, had me relaxed and composed and able to savour it all without feeling intimidated or anxious in any way. It takes a few hours for everyone to relax and get to grips with their vehicle’s performance. I spent the first three hours driving in low range (mainly 2nd and 3rd). I felt I had better control in low range, but when I looked at my fuel gauge, I was alarmed to see how quickly it was dropping. Later I learned that 1st high range was the ideal gear for the big dunes. Every time we got stuck, it was wise to change to change back to low range to work gently back and forth to ‘build a road’ out of soft sand by compacting it. Then back to high range 1st for the charge out. Here one quickly burns a clutch out in high range.

Above: Our first recovery and a very tricky one as we were hampered with space by the next step in the dune. It took four kinetic tugs in 2nd Low Range to get the Colt over the dune lip.

Photo: Marele Lewis

After lunch, we arrived at a nice, deep sand bowl – perhaps 80 meters down in vertical height. Once everyone had driven down the slip face and up the other side, Volker showed the way and drove it the other way round (up the slip face). This was a voluntary dune and I immediately gave it a go. We settled for 4th Low Range and were revving at 6000 rpm at the bottom of the slip face. It was Phillip’s first really big dune climb at speed. Gravity pulled us down into the leather and then it was simply a case of holding the pedal down flat and watching the rev counter with blue sky up front – we were up! Volker whistled that little “everything keeps going right, Toyota” melody over the VHF. Those Toyota’s that didn’t make it, had Volker whistling the melody out of key. All in good jest.

Above: L to R Jeep Wrangler 3.7 Auto; Toyota Land Cruiser 4500EFi LDV; Toyota Land Cruiser 4500 105 GX; Colt 3000i D/Cab before a big descent

Photo: Marele Lewis

I lost count of the number of recoveries we did. I recall recovering the Colt once and most of the other recoveries were of the Nissan Patrol. Damn, that thing is heavy! The Patrol was getting stuck the most – no doubt due to the wrong tyres and the wrong pressures.

Volker pointed out our campsite at the ‘Blue Mountain’ – a solitary sandstone outcrop many kilometers away. We arrived there at 1730 in a fairly brisk breeze which made pitching tents quite an interesting exercise. We refueled here emptying two 20 liter jerry cans into the main tank. I estimated we had used 45 liters to cover 110 kms. which gave us a consumption figure of 2.4 kms per liter. Scary stuff!

The shower cubicle was set up by the guides (and of course the ‘long drop’). Desert etiquette for showering is one takes a jerry can of water which has been heated next to the fire; pour out as much as you need into a bucket and then refill the jerry can with your own water and replace next to the fire. Showering in 3 liters of water is an art. It’s a case of wet yourself quickly. Switch water off. Soap/wash. Rinse. Water is finished.

From previous trips I learned that it is much quicker to heat your own water in a kettle on a small gas stove. That way you are also the first person showered.

After sunset the wind died down and we were treated to a pleasant, starry evening around the campfire.

Wednesday 26th March

We were up at first light and with Volker having advised a leisurely departure time of 10h00, we took a hike up to the top of the Blue Mountain to photograph the sunrise from the summit. It’s not a very tall mountain, but the height gain makes for superb 360 degree views. On the way up we were overtaken by a desert hare with huge ears, loping straight up the mountain at about 30 kph. The question was, what was it running away from?

Volker had mentioned a box somewhere on the summit with a book and a pen, for visitors to write their names in. We located the box – an old dynamite box; painted red, with the words stenciled on top in white ‘PLOFSTOWWE – GEVAARLIK” The lid was loose and the contents gone, but we took a pic of it for posterity.

It started raining soon after our departure from camp, but not heavily. The rain lasted for about half an hour, leaving us with another lovely, clear day. Another two hours of huge dune driving and we started descending down to the coast via one of the dune ‘streets’.

Above: Tackling one of the challenge dunes in very soft sand. It took three attempts to get out of this hole. 2nd Low range; 3rd low range and finally 1st High Range

Photo: Marele Lewis

Beach driving is always fun. This time the tide was out and we had plenty of beach to use. We visited a cave near Gibraltar Rocks and had lunch nearby. Volker kept on telling us we were fortunate to have such amazing weather. For once there was no coastal fog, making for great photography.

The afternoon had us arriving at Moshe Kahan’s sand engulfed mining settlement (which some of us had visited two years back on the Saddle Hill trip) and we later also visited the disused airfield, marked with old tyres for pilots to find. Apparently Kahan was a qualified pilot who owned and flew his own Beaver light plane.

The Forbidden Lands tour is normally a 4 day trip, but ours had been stretched over 5 days, which gave us plenty of leisure time. We arrived at our second night’s camp at Skeleton Bay early in the afternoon and set up camp, right next to the beach. The surf that night was deafening and I recall waking from a deep sleep in a mild panic not knowing what the deafening roar was outside my tent. For a sickening moment I thought I was about to be flattened by a Boeing. It was that loud!

The afternoon was spent dune boarding – a great treat for children and adults alike. Volker found massive dunes close by and soon skin was being abraded off elbows, knees and toes in serious quantities as speeds of up to 75 kph. were recorded. (Rudi took a hand held GPS with and I saw that speed logged) I also strapped my video camera to his head and filmed two of the runs.

Back at camp Gerrie and his assistant, Jonas, had prepared seafood paella for us. It was delicious. All left over food is simply left for the jackals to clean up.

The sunset that evening was spectacular. News was filtering in via the satellite phone that there was bad weather all around us. The convoy that left on the Luderitz/Walvis Bay trip a few days before us had so much rain, that they abandoned their final night in the desert for the safety of Walvis Bay. We were extremely blessed with our weather.

Thursday 27th March

Another beautiful morning. I was up at first light armed with my camera and took a short coastal hike to the wreck of Taiwanese trawler. It was heavily buried in sand with not much visible. Volker had told us about the many stow-aways on ships that ply this coast that are either thrown overboard to drown or if the captain is merciful put onto two 44 gallon drums tack welded together with a bottle of water and left to the vagaries of the winds and currents. Men have been found several times walking along the beaches – completely lost and delirious. It is an exceptionally cruel place. There is plenty to eat for a survivor, but no water.

It had dewed overnight. That meant packing away wet tents. After another of those slow 10h00 departures, we headed up a few big dunes before descending back down to the coast, via a rough and rocky track to Moby Dick – a cave with a blow hole which can be seen and heard from quite a distance. We were fortunate that the sea conditions were good for a good display. On we drove to the gulley where many years ago Moshe Kahan’s trucks carrying alluvial diamond sand could not get through. Kahan put three bulldozers on the beach to ensure the rocks were covered with sand and his trucks could get through. The sea never rests and one day took all three bulldozers to a watery grave. Parts of all three are still visible buried deep in the sand. Their brass and copper parts gleam from the constant salt water immersion.

On these same rocks, our front diff touched with that sickening sound of metal on rock, but as that famous Beatles song goes, “Doc, it’s only a scratch” and we were over back onto pristine beach. The Isuzu Trooper had a few problems getting over the rocks, after which we found a better line for the rest of the convoy.

We drove on the beach for a long time enjoying the low tide conditions, giving the Saddle Hill camp a wide berth, before turning east towards Clara Hill en route to Spencer Bay.

My second visit to Spencer Bay was completely different to my first. The vast shallow pans were gone leaving the huge sand plains drivable. We did the obligatory stop on the beach for the walk up to the view point to watch the breeding colonies of seals at the wreck of the Otavi. In 2006 there had been maybe 500 seals. Now the colony numbered around 7000. It was a stunning sight, but what a stench!

Just before lunch was served, the wind swung and we were spared the stench as we ate.

The well known Mercury Island, a short distance offshore has tunnels under the bedrock through which seawater forces itself, causing the island to shake. The island is still inhabited by two scientists who monitor seals, penguins and seabird activities here. The Otavi had in fact been collecting guano from Mercury Island, when through a miscommunication and a 0300 departure for Walvis Bay, had the first mate drive the boat onto the beach exactly 180 degrees in the wrong direction.

Above: Dealing with another huge dune. The orange ball on the roof is a crayfish net buoy picked up off the beach and part of a beach cleaning up policy.

Photo: Marele Lewis

The afternoon was taken up with more big dune driving arriving at the blast site of the National Trader. This ship had run aground in November 1947. All attempts at refloating her had failed, which left the SA government with a dilemma. What would they do with her cargo? 750 tonnes of dynamite! Swift plans were made and a team of demolition experts were flown in by helicopter to wire the detonators. They used 38 kms. of copper wire and detonated it from far away. The blast was heard in Luderitz and Walvis Bay. It also registered on the Richter scale, causing something of a political issue from the USA, who believed SA had detonated a nuclear device. A massive crater was left on the beach. Bits of steel debris lie strewn around the desert over about 10 square kilometers. Volker shows us photo’s of the ship before and after the explosion.

On the way to our next overnight camp, we stopped by one of Coastway’s alternative camps just to see if it was still intact. On we went past that famous female skull and gemsbok watering hole through some massive dunes to the so-called “Top of the World” – a huge dune offering panoramic views over the sea and desert in all directions.

We camped right on the beach at Skeleton Bay in an idyllic spot for yet another perfect evening around the camp fire. This desert dwelling is so good for the soul.

Friday 28th March:

PostPosted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 1:10 pm Post subject: Forbidden Lands 2008

(Note: Jacques Lewis of CML RV centre sponsored the decals above for our windows. The printers got their phone number wrong, which made Jacques just a wee bit miffed, so please dont use the number in the photo above)

“There goes a motor!” I heard Geoff call over the radio. Then silence. Greig and Rebekka Riethoff were driving one place behind us in their Colt 3000i V6 Double Cab. There was a big cloud of white smoke followed by an even bigger cloud of black smoke and then the Colt died. We had only just started our fourth day in the Namib and were fifteen minutes into an area called the “Devil’s Workshop” – a wickedly difficult series of slip faced dunes to get us off the beach and up to the higher plateau. After half an hour the bush mechanics deemed the Colt to be irrepairable with the tools at hand. After five years of off-roading it had finally happened. We all stood around in uncomfortable silence feeling empathy for the Riethoffs. What a bad thing to happen! We all started focusing on the positives and thanked our maker that no-one was injured. The Colt was unloaded of necessary cargo and spread amongst the vehicles whilst Greig drove with the lead vehicle and Rebekka got a lift with Geoff. I really felt for them. What a lousy way to end a dream trip.

Our guide and director of Coastways Tours, Volker Jancke, is a big, burly man with a wicked sense of humour and a booming voice with a German/Afrikaans slant. He walked up to me, beaming, and announced that he and I shared the same birthday. He instantly inspires confidence with his relaxed demeanour and encyclopedic knowledge of the Namib’s flora and fauna. Even with an electrical storm threatening our sandy camp one night, he remained calm and unaffected. What a great privilege it was to have him as our guide.

My third trip to the Namib in three years! This one was at a reduced price, to make up for the fiasco of the 2007 trip and man, did Coastways make up for it. This one was easily the most enjoyable and had me reconverted.

Saturday 22nd March

SWAMBO was not in the mood for another desert trip, so I invited a buddy to come along. Phillip grabbed the opportunity to ride as navigator with both hands.

We decided to go up one day ahead of the convoy to spend an extra day at Abiqua on the banks of the Great Gariep. Our trip up was uneventful with a strong South Easterly pushing us along to give a consumption of 5.22 kms. per liter at 110 kph. The border processing took all of about 10 minutes. We joined Brand Leach and his family at Abiqua for the evening braai under clear starry skies and settled in for a peaceful sleep. Notwithstanding Brand’s ‘early to bed/early to rise’ philosophy, I found myself wide awake at 0430 and spent the time of remaining darkness marveling how absolutely quiet it was in the camp save for the intermittent hoot of an owl.

Sunday 23rd March

The next day we had free. After a bit of white water canoeing, and a cholesterol fest of bacon and eggs, we decided to take a drive along the gravel road westwards along the banks of the Gariep to see if it would be possible to get our convoy across the Fish River the next day. The bridge had been washed away in floods a few days before. Normally the Fish River in summer is nothing more than a trickle, so I was surprised to find about 80 meters of the causeway leading up to the bridge itself completely washed away. We spent almost two hours walking the rapids and pools trying to find a safe route across, but each time with almost 90% of a track established with cairns, we would be thwarted by water which was chest deep. Eventually we gave up, but it was a pleasant task considering the air temperature was around 37C.

As we were drying off and enjoying an ice cold beer on the tailgate of the Cruiser, two Land Rovers arrived at high speed in a cloud of dust. The first thing I noticed was the GP plates. The leading vehicle was a newish Discovery 3 kitted out with as much bling as money could buy. The driver leapt out in his own cloud of dust, dressed like a Camel-man in full camo-kit, a “Jeep” branded T Shirt, Ray-Ban’s, an aggressive attitude and a huge ‘Crocodile Dundee’ type knife holstered to his hip. Quite what he thought he was going to slaughter with that big knife, I will never know, but we had a good laugh. We were the only living souls for miles around and this guy walked past us within a few feet without so much as even a glance or a greeting. The driver of the second Land Rover (Defender110) was less aggressive. He at least greeted us. I noticed he had a big sticker on his windscreen which read ‘ONE LIFE – LIVE IT” I was going to make a facetious remark about living life can’t possibly be good in a Land Rover, when I cast a salacious glance at Rambo’s dagger and stopped myself. Later Camel-man asked us if we thought there was a way across the river.

“No. You will not make it across in my opinion” I replied. But Rambo seemed unconvinced. I then suggested that he try and if he didn’t make it, I would wait to recover him. Finally, he smiled.

Back at Abiqua the rest of the team had arrived as we discussed possible routes up to Luderitz. The weather was perfection itself as we settled down to another perfectly calm evening, whilst all the children in the group swam in the river till late.

Monday 24th March

In the morning we broke camp and took our predetermined route up through the Gamkap Canyon and on to the high ground around the Fish River Canyon arriving at Seeheim for lunch. Here we had to pay $10 for a dip in the hotel pool. Considering the heat, those that swam deemed it to be money well spent.

We pushed on to Luderitz arriving with time to refuel and fill our water tanks. Being Easter Monday, everything was closed so we would have to wait for the shops to open the next morning to buy those few last minute provisions and of course, all the ice available in town. Luderitz was typically much cooler than where we had come from. Enough to grab a fleecy top.

Volker was there to meet us and make us feel comfortable in his own disarming manner. Whilst we were repacking and tying things down, I noticed the right rear wheel of the Cruiser looking a bit flat, so I checked the pressure which should have been 2.0 bar. It was 0.6! Geoff came to have a look and in an instant found a long nail embedded in the tyre. I watched as Geoff quickly repaired the hole and mentally added that procedure to my list of things I should know how to do. Out came the compressor and 10 minutes later the tyre was fixed. It lasted throughout the trip and all the way back to Cape Town.

Obelix hosted our group for supper – the usual huge steaks (but nearly always tough) with plenty to eat for everyone. We had our last decent hot showers till our return from the desert.

Tuesday 25th March

Everyone was up early for breakfast and into the village for provisions.

Volker sorted us into a driving order as follows:

Volker – Toyota Land Cruiser 4500EFi Bakkie

Jan & family – Nissan Patrol 4800i Auto (P)

Robby & Phillip – Land Cruiser 105 GX man (P)

Greig & Rebekka – Colt 3000i DC Auto (P)

Annamarie & Rudi – Isuzu Trooper 3.2 (P)

Brand & Annatjie & family – Land Rover Defender 110 (D)

Christo & Malan - Jeep Wrangler 3.7 4dr Auto (P)

Geoff & Nolene & family – Land Cruiser 80 GX man (P)

Solly & Michelle & family – Land Cruiser 80 VX Auto (D)

Jacques & Marele & family – Land Cruiser 105 VX Auto (D)

Gerrie & Jonas (Cooks) – Toyota Hilux 2700 VVTi (P)

We made our getaway by 0930 in yet another day of excellent weather. Twenty kilometers of tar road driving was soon over, as we took a jeep track north westwards towards the big dunes. Here Volker stopped the convoy and encouraged the kids to collect some “Boesmanskers” (Bushman’s Candle”) for burning on the campfire that night. He was masterful with the kids, keeping them entertained and interested all day with quizzes, information and competitions.

After 15 minutes we stopped at the foot of the first big dune and deflated to 0.8 bar. There are always those drivers who disobey for fear of running their tyres off the rims. As always, they learn their lessons quickly when they get stuck on the steeper dunes. Our convoy was no different. After an hour, everyone was finally down to 0.8 bar. The dunes are massive and majestic. Driving these monster dunes is simply a superb experience. Having been in the Namib twice before, had me relaxed and composed and able to savour it all without feeling intimidated or anxious in any way. It takes a few hours for everyone to relax and get to grips with their vehicle’s performance. I spent the first three hours driving in low range (mainly 2nd and 3rd). I felt I had better control in low range, but when I looked at my fuel gauge, I was alarmed to see how quickly it was dropping. Later I learned that 1st high range was the ideal gear for the big dunes. Every time we got stuck, it was wise to change to change back to low range to work gently back and forth to ‘build a road’ out of soft sand by compacting it. Then back to high range 1st for the charge out. Here one quickly burns a clutch out in high range.

Above: Our first recovery and a very tricky one as we were hampered with space by the next step in the dune. It took four kinetic tugs in 2nd Low Range to get the Colt over the dune lip.

Photo: Marele Lewis

After lunch, we arrived at a nice, deep sand bowl – perhaps 80 meters down in vertical height. Once everyone had driven down the slip face and up the other side, Volker showed the way and drove it the other way round (up the slip face). This was a voluntary dune and I immediately gave it a go. We settled for 4th Low Range and were revving at 6000 rpm at the bottom of the slip face. It was Phillip’s first really big dune climb at speed. Gravity pulled us down into the leather and then it was simply a case of holding the pedal down flat and watching the rev counter with blue sky up front – we were up! Volker whistled that little “everything keeps going right, Toyota” melody over the VHF. Those Toyota’s that didn’t make it, had Volker whistling the melody out of key. All in good jest.

Above: L to R Jeep Wrangler 3.7 Auto; Toyota Land Cruiser 4500EFi LDV; Toyota Land Cruiser 4500 105 GX; Colt 3000i D/Cab before a big descent

Photo: Marele Lewis

I lost count of the number of recoveries we did. I recall recovering the Colt once and most of the other recoveries were of the Nissan Patrol. Damn, that thing is heavy! The Patrol was getting stuck the most – no doubt due to the wrong tyres and the wrong pressures.

Volker pointed out our campsite at the ‘Blue Mountain’ – a solitary sandstone outcrop many kilometers away. We arrived there at 1730 in a fairly brisk breeze which made pitching tents quite an interesting exercise. We refueled here emptying two 20 liter jerry cans into the main tank. I estimated we had used 45 liters to cover 110 kms. which gave us a consumption figure of 2.4 kms per liter. Scary stuff!

The shower cubicle was set up by the guides (and of course the ‘long drop’). Desert etiquette for showering is one takes a jerry can of water which has been heated next to the fire; pour out as much as you need into a bucket and then refill the jerry can with your own water and replace next to the fire. Showering in 3 liters of water is an art. It’s a case of wet yourself quickly. Switch water off. Soap/wash. Rinse. Water is finished.

From previous trips I learned that it is much quicker to heat your own water in a kettle on a small gas stove. That way you are also the first person showered.

After sunset the wind died down and we were treated to a pleasant, starry evening around the campfire.

Wednesday 26th March

We were up at first light and with Volker having advised a leisurely departure time of 10h00, we took a hike up to the top of the Blue Mountain to photograph the sunrise from the summit. It’s not a very tall mountain, but the height gain makes for superb 360 degree views. On the way up we were overtaken by a desert hare with huge ears, loping straight up the mountain at about 30 kph. The question was, what was it running away from?

Volker had mentioned a box somewhere on the summit with a book and a pen, for visitors to write their names in. We located the box – an old dynamite box; painted red, with the words stenciled on top in white ‘PLOFSTOWWE – GEVAARLIK” The lid was loose and the contents gone, but we took a pic of it for posterity.

It started raining soon after our departure from camp, but not heavily. The rain lasted for about half an hour, leaving us with another lovely, clear day. Another two hours of huge dune driving and we started descending down to the coast via one of the dune ‘streets’.

Above: Tackling one of the challenge dunes in very soft sand. It took three attempts to get out of this hole. 2nd Low range; 3rd low range and finally 1st High Range

Photo: Marele Lewis

Beach driving is always fun. This time the tide was out and we had plenty of beach to use. We visited a cave near Gibraltar Rocks and had lunch nearby. Volker kept on telling us we were fortunate to have such amazing weather. For once there was no coastal fog, making for great photography.

The afternoon had us arriving at Moshe Kahan’s sand engulfed mining settlement (which some of us had visited two years back on the Saddle Hill trip) and we later also visited the disused airfield, marked with old tyres for pilots to find. Apparently Kahan was a qualified pilot who owned and flew his own Beaver light plane.

The Forbidden Lands tour is normally a 4 day trip, but ours had been stretched over 5 days, which gave us plenty of leisure time. We arrived at our second night’s camp at Skeleton Bay early in the afternoon and set up camp, right next to the beach. The surf that night was deafening and I recall waking from a deep sleep in a mild panic not knowing what the deafening roar was outside my tent. For a sickening moment I thought I was about to be flattened by a Boeing. It was that loud!

The afternoon was spent dune boarding – a great treat for children and adults alike. Volker found massive dunes close by and soon skin was being abraded off elbows, knees and toes in serious quantities as speeds of up to 75 kph. were recorded. (Rudi took a hand held GPS with and I saw that speed logged) I also strapped my video camera to his head and filmed two of the runs.

Back at camp Gerrie and his assistant, Jonas, had prepared seafood paella for us. It was delicious. All left over food is simply left for the jackals to clean up.

The sunset that evening was spectacular. News was filtering in via the satellite phone that there was bad weather all around us. The convoy that left on the Luderitz/Walvis Bay trip a few days before us had so much rain, that they abandoned their final night in the desert for the safety of Walvis Bay. We were extremely blessed with our weather.

Thursday 27th March

Another beautiful morning. I was up at first light armed with my camera and took a short coastal hike to the wreck of Taiwanese trawler. It was heavily buried in sand with not much visible. Volker had told us about the many stow-aways on ships that ply this coast that are either thrown overboard to drown or if the captain is merciful put onto two 44 gallon drums tack welded together with a bottle of water and left to the vagaries of the winds and currents. Men have been found several times walking along the beaches – completely lost and delirious. It is an exceptionally cruel place. There is plenty to eat for a survivor, but no water.

It had dewed overnight. That meant packing away wet tents. After another of those slow 10h00 departures, we headed up a few big dunes before descending back down to the coast, via a rough and rocky track to Moby Dick – a cave with a blow hole which can be seen and heard from quite a distance. We were fortunate that the sea conditions were good for a good display. On we drove to the gulley where many years ago Moshe Kahan’s trucks carrying alluvial diamond sand could not get through. Kahan put three bulldozers on the beach to ensure the rocks were covered with sand and his trucks could get through. The sea never rests and one day took all three bulldozers to a watery grave. Parts of all three are still visible buried deep in the sand. Their brass and copper parts gleam from the constant salt water immersion.

On these same rocks, our front diff touched with that sickening sound of metal on rock, but as that famous Beatles song goes, “Doc, it’s only a scratch” and we were over back onto pristine beach. The Isuzu Trooper had a few problems getting over the rocks, after which we found a better line for the rest of the convoy.

We drove on the beach for a long time enjoying the low tide conditions, giving the Saddle Hill camp a wide berth, before turning east towards Clara Hill en route to Spencer Bay.

My second visit to Spencer Bay was completely different to my first. The vast shallow pans were gone leaving the huge sand plains drivable. We did the obligatory stop on the beach for the walk up to the view point to watch the breeding colonies of seals at the wreck of the Otavi. In 2006 there had been maybe 500 seals. Now the colony numbered around 7000. It was a stunning sight, but what a stench!

Just before lunch was served, the wind swung and we were spared the stench as we ate.

The well known Mercury Island, a short distance offshore has tunnels under the bedrock through which seawater forces itself, causing the island to shake. The island is still inhabited by two scientists who monitor seals, penguins and seabird activities here. The Otavi had in fact been collecting guano from Mercury Island, when through a miscommunication and a 0300 departure for Walvis Bay, had the first mate drive the boat onto the beach exactly 180 degrees in the wrong direction.

Above: Dealing with another huge dune. The orange ball on the roof is a crayfish net buoy picked up off the beach and part of a beach cleaning up policy.

Photo: Marele Lewis

The afternoon was taken up with more big dune driving arriving at the blast site of the National Trader. This ship had run aground in November 1947. All attempts at refloating her had failed, which left the SA government with a dilemma. What would they do with her cargo? 750 tonnes of dynamite! Swift plans were made and a team of demolition experts were flown in by helicopter to wire the detonators. They used 38 kms. of copper wire and detonated it from far away. The blast was heard in Luderitz and Walvis Bay. It also registered on the Richter scale, causing something of a political issue from the USA, who believed SA had detonated a nuclear device. A massive crater was left on the beach. Bits of steel debris lie strewn around the desert over about 10 square kilometers. Volker shows us photo’s of the ship before and after the explosion.

On the way to our next overnight camp, we stopped by one of Coastway’s alternative camps just to see if it was still intact. On we went past that famous female skull and gemsbok watering hole through some massive dunes to the so-called “Top of the World” – a huge dune offering panoramic views over the sea and desert in all directions.

We camped right on the beach at Skeleton Bay in an idyllic spot for yet another perfect evening around the camp fire. This desert dwelling is so good for the soul.

[Velocity]

Friday 28th March:

Another dewey night and wet tents to deal with in the morning. Volker’s leisurely 10h00 departures leaves plenty of time to dry the tents though. We leave for the much vaunted “Devils Workshop” – a system of coastal dunes we have to get up, to reach the higher plateau of the desert and the swift undoing of the Colt Double Cab.

First we had a 10 minute beach drive, led by a skinny looking jackal, who simply refused to go left or right of our convoy. He just kept on running ahead by a few hundred meters. Luckily for the jackal, we took a sharp right and headed inland, otherwise he might have had a very tiring day!

Immediately the vehicles start to work hard. Engines red lining and repeated attempts getting over the steep dunes. It was about then that the Colt gave up the ghost. It took nearly two hours for the whole convoy to conquer the ‘workshop’ and level off at 330m ASL for many kilometers of level sand driving between tufts of long green grass en route to our final camp site.

Above: On top of the world. Once again the trusty Cruiser took us in and brought us out safely.

Photo: Marele Lewis

We stopped at another of Kahan’s disused runways and inspected a full 44 gallon drum of diesel – some 60 years old – and wondered if it could still be used.

Later Volker stopped at a field of Nara melons and cut one open for us to taste. It’s quite an interesting texture – a sort of mixture between butternut and spanspek with lots of pips. Gemsbok and jackals eat the fruit.

The skies all around us were darkening with heavy cumulus clouds. Volker was amazed. He kept on telling us how fortunate we were with the weather. He showed us pictures of tour groups trapped in sand storms. Of tents tied onto vehicles flapping like tattered washing in a gale. Of vehicles tilted over at alarming angles, the way the wind had eroded the sand under the windward wheels. Of a Land Rover buried up to it’s windscreen in sand.

By 1700 we found a suitable spot to camp behind a big dune. The skies were very dark and a few drops of rain started. Then the lightening, but no thunder.

“A good sign” said Volker. “It means it is still far away”

Within the hour the thunder started, which is when I decided to move the Cruiser to the new side the wind was blowing from, to protect the tents. In the meantime I had forgotten that the Riethoffs (who were to share my 5 man tent with me that night) had stacked three of their stack boxes under the Cruiser. Admittedly I had a few Whiskey’s under the belt at that stage. Yes, I rode over the boxes. It was funny at the time. We had to then dig the mangled boxes out by spade from under the Cruiser.

The storm system had been circling us for hours. With our good weather luck, we almost believed we would be spared, but suddenly the lightening moved closer and the thunder rolled in. Then it rained non stop for most of the night. But it wasn’t cold. We sat around the camp fire in the rain, meekly accepting our ‘strafdoppe’ like men.

Our trip had come to an end. The final day was supposed to be just a ’drive out’ exercise.

Saturday 29th March:

Volker asked us to be ready by 0900. The skies had cleared – the rain left the desert fresh and firm. Now the vehicles in front would have the advantage. The trip was far from over. There were some mighty dunes lying in wait for us. The recoveries started all over again. I recovered the Patrol for the final time.

We were able to get up some of the biggest dunes not normally possible, due to the firm sand from the overnight rain. Geoff ran a tyre of a rim on a side camber, in the process totally destroying the tyre, which had gotten hooked on the suspension. A short while later, the Isuzu also ran a tyre off a rim.

Finally we descended to the Koichab Pan and could increase our speed to first 40 kph and later 60 kph. The Namwater road is terrible. The corrugations are mind boggling. Desperate drivers have taken to driving alongside the road to avoid the shaking.

Once at the tar road (B4), we inflated our tyres and some of the convoy split off in separate ways. Most of us drove through to Luderitz to refuel after which we left for South Africa via Aus, Rosh Pinah and Sendelingsdrif. The plan was to cross over on the pont and drive back through the Richtersveld.

That plan was stillborn, as the pont had closed an hour ahead of their stated operating times, which left us with a considerable problem. It was late afternoon and we would need somewhere to camp. Our choices included back tracking right around the top of the Fish River Canyon; or driving along the Gariep to the washed away bridge in the hope of finding a way across; or we could beg the security guys at Nambed to let us drive through their property to Alexander Bay.

Geoff went to do the begging and radio’d us to follow. The nice gent there gave us the green light, but warned about a strict speed limit of 90 kph enforced and we were not to stop at all or get out of our vehicles.

The drive was quite pleasant with lots of game to be seen. We arrived at the control point and were quickly allowed through with a minimum of fuss. At times the road meanders right next to the bank of the river. Namdeb have white and black crosses erected along the roadside. Each white cross denotes an accident where occupants were injured. The black crosses denote a death. It is a somber and sobering experience driving along this road and the crosses are probably far more effective in controlling speedsters than road signs.

We arrived at the control point near sunset and were quickly processed, after which we crossed the Gariep on a narrow single lane bridge with a few Gemsbok grazing on the river bank. We were back on SA soil at last. It had been a very long day. We had a VHF debate on whether to find a B&B or camp. We still had to drive another 109 kms to Port Nolloth as Alexander Bay had nothing to offer.

The vote went for the hotel option.We arrived in Port Nolloth after 1930 in the dark. A small hotel was able to accommodate all of us, so we took the offer. But this little hotel is old – very old – and in some serious need of TLC. There were problems with taps and water pressure. The geriatric car guard designated to keep an eye on our vehicles was soundly asleep by 11 pm. But for me the worst was the booming bass of a discotheque which kept me awake periodically till 0400. I had bad thoughts – of crashing through their front door with that big bull bar on the front of the Cruiser.

Well – at least we had a bed, a roof a meal and a bath.

Sunday 30th March

We managed to leave by 0630 and still the weather remained fine. A breakfast stop at the Wimpy in Springbok was once again a VERY SLOW process and we eventually made Cape Town by 1530.

At time of writing the Colt remains in the desert where we abandoned it – with the keys in the ignition.

The Namib is not to be trifled with.

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Footnote:List of breakdowns and recoveries

Volker – Toyota Land Cruiser 4500EFi Bakkie (Only self recoveries required)

Jan & family – Nissan Patrol 4800i Auto (P) (Recovered approximately 8 times. One tyre sidewall started delaminating) [Cooper ST's]

Robby & Phillip – Land Cruiser 105 GX man (P) (Only self recoveries required)

Greig & Rebekka – Colt 3000i DC Auto (P) (One recovery. Engine failed. Abandoned in desert)

Annamarie & Rudi – Isuzu Trooper 3.2 (P) (Recovered 3 times. Rode a tyre of a rim)

Brand & Annatjie & family – Land Rover Defender 110 (D) (Recovered once)

Christo & Malan - Jeep Wrangler 3.7 Auto (P) - (Recovered once)

Geoff & Nolene & family – Land Cruiser 80 GX man (P) (Only self recoveries required. One tyre destroyed - Kumho)

Solly & Michelle & family – Land Cruiser 80 VX Auto (D) (Recovered a few times)

Jacques & Marele & family – Land Cruiser 105 VX Auto (D) (Recovered a few times)

Gerrie & Jonas (Cooks) – Toyota Hilux 2700 VVTi (P) (Recovered twice)