In the morning I got out of the camper tentatively. Got hold of my Bunnings long handled shovel and looked around carefully in case there was a lion anywhere around, the lion from the night before. No lion – all safe. It was very cold this morning 10C, the coldest morning I had since South Africa.
I packed up to go, it was only 10km to the Xade gate, and I wanted to explore options.
I got to the gate, and after discussions with the helpful guy manning the gate, he found out I could get two bigfoot campsites in northern CKGR, and exit out at Rakops. This is sort of what I wanted to do all along, but got scared off with alternator troubles. However I thought I had enough diesel to do it. Its 266km. I had to pay at the Rakops exit.
I loaded up with more water, and headed of towards Piper Pan 02. It was a late start, so it was going to be a hot drive. I crossed more pans than I was used to, with several bits of eroded road on pans that had got wet last rains. I arrived at Piper Pan 02 just after 3pm. This is my 12th day in the Kalahari.
UPDATE: Another Lion visit around midnight. He pushes a storage box over, and drags the mat in front of the camper about a metre. I just see him in the moonlight. Other than that he doesn’t make any noise.
Staying in the warm during the cold dawndawnOne of the many pan crossings on the way to Piper PanCut up roads crossing some of the pansTermite mounds on the pansMore termite mounds across the panCamped at Piper Pan 02
After dark I took out my spotlight and managed to get an overexposured picture of a couple of owls flying around. At 2am I heard a lion down towards the waterhole. The roaring continued for a few minutes then went silent, in the morning I saw no sign of the lion.
I had calculated 40km to Xade 02 camp, but I had miscalculated, and it was actually 60km. I was slow to get going and so I did a lot of the journey in heat. Firstly I went down to the waterhole to see. A few vultures, but nowhere a many as yesterday. No other wildlife. I drove 14km to rejoin the main track. I passed another burnt out rusted 4wd by the side of the track. The track was sandier than the previous day, and I spent more time in second gear doing 15kmh. I also saw three Kori Bustards on the track. Another elephant skull was also by the track.
I turned off the main track towards Xade 02, about 1km off the main track. It was cleared enough (there had been reports it wasn’t cleared). Its a little uphill out of the pan, that is covered with brushes with yellow flowers. The plants I think are ‘swarthaak‘ an Acacia like species. They are only growing in the flat part of the pan, that probably gets some water when there are rains. I need to add, because until you get to Africa, you might not realise, that almost every plant in Africa, at least eastern and southern Africa is spikey. They grow thorns, some big, some little, but there are always thorns. It makes it really hard to get through the scrub, because you constantly get caught by the thorns.
I set up for camp. I was here for two nights. It will be good to not be on the move for a day. It got cloudy later, a rare thing. I have had only one cloudy day in three weeks. It made for some good sunset pics. I haven’t seen another vehicle now for 5 days.
UPDATE: About 10pm on the second night, I got woken up by a roar outside. I opened the door and in the almost full moon I could see something walking through the grass about 20m away. I grabbed the spotlight and there was a male lion. He stopped, looked at me, and then continued walking away.
A couple of owls flying aroundDawn at XaXa campA couple of hornbills on a tree at dawnThe waterhole in the morning at XaXa, with a few vulturesElephant skull by the road.Another burnt out and rusted 4wdKori BustardSwarthaak with yellow flowers growing on the panIt got cloudy (rare at this time), so some nice sunset pictures at Xade 02 campsiteSunset at XaDe 02
Well I am deep in the Kalahari now. It is 72km from Khankhwe to Bape. I have not seen another vehicle now for two days, however I have gone through two villages much to my surprise.
I left Khankhwe about 9:30am. I am going to have to leave much earlier tomorrow morning. I have 123km to drive tomorrow, and the sand is much easier to drive on in the cool of the morning. The whole route is fairly sandy. I stopped part way and lowered my front tyre pressure even lower.
The first thing I encountered was a burnt out and rusting 4WD. I wonder what happened there.
17km out of Khankhwe suddenly there was a young girl running to me from the scrub. I stopped to talk to her, and within a couple of minutes her Mum and several siblings had turned up. There was a village about 1km away, and they were just out looking for animals. The girl really wanted my Bluetooth speaker that was sitting on the dash. She knew the brand name as well. I did point out she needed a phone to provide the music for the speaker, let alone a solar panel to charge it, none of which she had. She just wanted to dance to music, teenagers the same everywhere, even in the middle of nowhere. This village Kukumane had 50 people in it. No cell phones, internet or anything like that. No vehicles, they got their supplies by donkey cart that I guess would have been a two day drive away. They were a friendly lot, I took their picture and continued up to the village. I talked to a guy in the village. I didn’t totally understand but I think these were San people who didn’t want to relocate. They were living the nomadic herder lifestyle of their ancestors.
It was hot and slow driving in the sand. A lot of the time I was only doing 15kmh, if I was lucky in a stretch I got up to 25kmh.
The road started to deviate from the track4Africa map, and I found myself in another village. Within a minute or so I had a dozen people outside my window. They were friendly, told me how to rejoin the road, and I was on my way.
Another 20km or so and I arrived and Bape campsite. This campsite is just a clearing, no drop toilet or anything. It is wilderness.
Burnt out 4WDThe friendly locals of KukumaneDriving into KukumaneA burnt out area of the CKGR that the rangers at Khutse warned me about.Another surprise village, name unknownCamped at BapeThe trip so far through the Kalahari in red
Another cool morning, about 12C, but by the middle of the day it’s 32C. Real Desert weather. I saw some ostriches on the pan but not much else. I wonder if the diesel powered pump for the waterhole is too erratic for the animals to trust it.
I packed up and got going by 9:30am. It was a 60km drive to Khankhwe, at about 25kmh. I stopped at the Moreswe waterhole, but there was nothing there, not even birds. I headed north passing Elephant droppings on the track quite often, but didn’t see any elephants. I saw a few antelopes along the way, and stopped in a Molose waterhole to see a group of antelope and a sole Cape Buffalo. I saw some other campers at Molose, and stopped to talk to a ranger who was headed south. About 1pm I arrived at Khankhwe Pan. This is the last stop before crossing the CKGR. It is 72km to Bape campsite. Later in the afternoon I jacked up the rear wheel so I could rotate the tailshaft, and I greased the tailshaft.
Moreswe waterholeNear Molose waterholeAnother Hornbill Camped at Khankhwe
My time at Khutse 01 was ending, but I was worried that I didn’t have enough diesel to cross the CKGR. I really didn’t plan for crossing the CKGR. I thought it might be possible, then I gave up the idea. However when I asked the rangers at the Khutse gate they thought it was possible. So I sent a WhatsApp message to the Bigfoot tours guy at the gate about whether I could get some dieel as the nearby village of Kaudwane. He thought I could a couple of days earlier, but when I got to the gate he wasn’t there. The ranger rang him, but he didn’t think he could get the diesel until Sunday, and by then I was meant to be way south of Khutse GR in Moreswe Pan. Reluctantly I decided I would have to drive the 120km back to Letlhagkeng to the service station to get more diesel.
I drove down, passing a couple of ostriches with chicks walking along side the road. I also passed a couple of donkey carts, there are often several on this road. I tried to get some cash out of two ATMs in town but one was broken, and the other one was not giving out cash. I needed cash because the service station could not take my credit card. So I dug out all my cash, about $A180 in Pula, and went to buy as much diesel as I could with my cash. While I was in town, I saw five South African vehicles who were obviously heading to Khutse. They were the first white people I had seen in about ten days.
I headed back north, and stopped at the Khutse gate to refill with water. It was getting late and I knew I would not get to Moreswe that evening. So I headed to where I previously camped Khutse 01 but could it was overtaken by the South African group of 5. I found an empty Khutse campsite Khutse 03 and camped for the night.
Next morning I got away early. I headed eventually west along the cut-line seeing some antelope and ostriches along the way. Then I headed south passing a couple of vehicles camped at Molose pan. After lowering my tyre pressure about 11am I arrived at Moreswe Pan.
It was fairly hot. The temperature at one stage was 37C inside the camper, probably 34C outside. I am camped above the pan, and can look down at the waterhole. Not a lot of animals though, not compared to Khutse pan. Two nights here, then I head north to start crossing the CKGR.
Not a great picture but two ostriches and their chicksDonkey Cart along the roadDriving into the setting sun towards Khutse campsitesBack at Khutse, this time Khutse 03Sunset
Startrails at Khutse campsite
Driving along the cut-line to MorosweSunset camped at MoresweAwning out since its going to be another warm day
I spent an hour or so trying other things to fix the alternator, but they didn’t work. So I decided I would continue on and charge the cranking battery with solar. I headed north towards Kaudwane were I could pickup cell phone service again. I stopped and rang BigFoot tours only to find that they had an office at the Khutse gate. So I drove there and much back and forth with BigFoot tours and the Botswana parks, I worked out I would stay 7 nights in Khutse GR. 3 nights at Khutse 01, 3 nights at Moreswe 02 and one night at Khankhwe. Then I would cross the CKGR (Central Kalahari Game Reserve) towards Ghanzi in the west.
I filled up with water at the gate, and then drove the 12km out to Khutse 01 campsite. Khutse 01 (according to iOverlander) is a prime location for lions working their way towards the waterhole about 500m from here. However in two days no lions, or sounds of lions. I saw some Cape Buffalo on the way in and some springbok. I drove to the waterhole at dusk this afternoon and saw some Elan antelope (I think) and some more springbok. I found an elephant skeleton next to the waterhole. Other than that it was been a relaxing two days being stationary.
I had a quiet night camped on the cut-line. A cut-line in Botswana is a sort of fire break between two areas, not normally travelled along, and usually pretty sandy.
The cut-line where I camped
Camped just off the cut-line
The next morning I was going to get going early, and then have breakfast later further down the road. However there were problems. I couldn’t get the engine started. I had some trouble starting in Kameel, but this was worse. I eventually determined the glow plugs were not working. It dawned on me after a while I could wire them directly from the battery, which I did. Engine started and I got going. I headed down the cut-line and then north along the track to Khakea. I got to Khakea, asked about a sim card, but they couldn’t sell me one. I headed up the road to Sekoma. I tried again for a sim card in Sekoma, but although the lady tried she failed. Getting a sim card in Botswana is very difficult. In Joberg airport I can have one in five minutes, but not in Botswana. After stuffing around with alternatives at Sekoma, and realising than wifi calling does not work outside Australia, I decided to head down to a campsite just past Jwaneng about 15km at Green Zest Farm.I got to Green Zest Farm, and spent some time talking to the young and articulate Harrison. The campsite was pretty basic, no power, no hot water, but it was fine for a night.
Camped at Green Zest Farm
Morning sun at Green Zest Farm
I got going back to Jwaneng and managed fairly quickly to get a Macom sim card. I went to Pick and Pay and loaded up with more groceries. I got more fuel. I then headed north along a track that showed up on Tracks 4 Africa. It skirted around the diamond mine, and then headed east along the power lines. I thought if it followed the power lines it was pretty safe, because they would need access to maintain it. However about 40km in the track stopped and became completely overgrown. A tracked headed north and south. I tried the south track, but it seemed to fade away. I had internet access I looked up google maps satelite view and found the north track eventually joined a track that headed east and rejoined the power lines. I got to the end of the track through a village and headed north towards Letlhakeng. I fueled up there and continued north until about 5:30pm where I found a gap in the scrub and got off the road and camped.
A huge solar farm being built east of Jweneng
along the track along the power lines
The track disappears and becomes overgrown.
Camped in the scrub along the road south of Khutse
This is my third visit to Kameel in a bit over two years. Kameel means camel. It is a tiny town with more silos than people (49 silos with 27 residents). They grow maize locally, although this year more sunflower, because the rains came late in January. The trucks and tractors come past where I am camping throughout the day. When I visited last year, a local facility had been converted into a hatchery producing chicks. This is still going, diversifying the economy. This visit there are several workers staying who are installing solar farms locally. South Africa is so behind Australia in installing solar farms. The area is perfect with blue skies and lots of sun all winter. So that will be another good thing for the locality.
Its a nice campground. Its a B and B as well. Patrick delivers a fresh loaf of bread not long after you arrive, it is delicious. I was going to only stay two nights, but I am going to stay a third and do some more electric fixes to Clancy.
I arrived at OR Tambo airport in Joberg on a Monday night at about 6:30pm on August 11th. It was odd arriving at night, nearly all the flights I have taken, I have arrived early in the morning. David from the camping storage place wasn’t picking people up from the airport at night anymore (which I don’t blame him). So after getting my baggage I had to get myself to the Uber pickup point in the parking garage at the airport. My Uber ride arrived, but I still wasn’t in the right spot, but after a time I figured out. I was wrangling my usual enormous case filled with spare parts, weighing in just under 30kg.
This trip was originally going to be a couple of months long with a trip into northern Zambia. Life got in the way, and it has turned into a month trip into Botswana, still it should be great.
I got out to the campsite, David had started Clancy the camper up (started first time after being stored for a year) and shifted it to camping area. I went to move it. The parking lights were on but the headlights wouldn’t work. This would prove to be a problem a few days later. I dragged stuff out (boxes, the bike, starlink dish, other stuff put inside to keep it out of the weather) to make room so I could make the bed and sleep. I had the start of a sore throat on the plane to Joberg, this also would prove to be ominous.
The next morning, stuff spread everywhere
The next morning was cold (ice on everything outside), but was soon sunny so I got to work fixing things. I was aiming to leave for Kameel on Sunday. Kameel is a good staging post for the Botswana border where I was going to cross at Bray. First job was replacing the solar panels. I had broken the solar panel two years earlier. The panel came on Clancy the camper from Australia, but replacing it because of its large size was tricky. I ordered from Takelalot (a South African online retailer) the same size solar panel twice. However each time they supplied a panel of a different size. Eventually I found a 4×4 place in Boksburg that had two smaller panels that together made up the right size, and I had picked them up on the way back from KZN last trip. So I had to install them.
The solar panels on the left lined up ready to screw in
I got my bike together and rode into Brentwood shopping centre for some supplies. When I get there I store my bike with the same car guard every time. Car guards are a mostly South African thing. They watch a group of cars in exchange for tips. Each car guard is assigned an area in the car park. This car guard I know is from Malawi. I met him just before my trip to Zanzibar via Malawi three years ago. So three years later he is still at Brentwood getting tips from shoppers parking their cars. He wanted a gardening job, but never managed to get one. He is sending money home to his family in Lilongwe Malawi, and visiting them by bus once a year. He is a cheery guy, he doesn’t come across as bitter. This is life for some in Africa.
Once the solar panels had been installed I found that the hinge of the right side flap was about fall apart. These plastic hinges promised years of trouble free use when I bought them, but they were not. They degraded in the UV, and then started to split apart. However I was stuck with them. Everything fitted with the hinges, replacing them with something different would required a huge amount of rebuilding, which I didn’t want to do. So I had spare hinge with me (I had already replaced the door hinge and the left flap hinge). However it really tricky installing the replacement hinge. Its almost impossible to line up the screw holes, and it is hard holding it all up while you attempt to screw into the top hinge into the camper. After much stuffing around however it was all done.
Old broken hinge still attached, new hinge to install
The flap problems didn’t end. One of the gas struts had failed. So I order replacement ones from Takealot. I get 100NM ones because the 200NM ones are out of stock, and hope they will work. I get them express same day from Takealot for the vast shipping price of $A8.
My sore throat from Monday night had turned into some sort of full-blown virus. It was Thursday and I was feeling terrible. I tested myself for Covid, but it was negative. I made up the bed Thursday afternoon telling myself I would rest and listen out for the Takealot delivery. I woke up just before dark, to find the Takealot delivery of new gas struts was sitting outside. The next day I was worse, and spent the whole day sleeping. Friday I felt a bit better and drove down to Oakfields shopping centre for some more supplies, but even then when I got back, it was back to bed.
Saturday I tackled the small problem of the headlights not working. I try my hardest never to drive at night in Africa, however I have done some desperate nighttime drives (Zambia border for example three years ago). Clancy the HJ75 Landcruiser has very simple electrics, but even then they can be fiendishly complicated. I found that the parkers didn’t work at all (even though they were working Monday night). I spent hours pulling stuff apart. Eventually I found one fault. A fusible link, that looked absolutely fine turned out to be broken only when you pulled it off the battery and really looked at it.
The broken fusible link
Fixing the fusible link solved the headlight problems, but did not solve the parkers and tail lights. Eventually after pulling the steering wheel off and removing the indicator stalks I found that the wire for the parkers had burned out including burning out the fuse. Very strange. I manage to jury rig a fix for the tail lights if I absolutely needed them. During that process I found one of the brake lights had another bad connection and required fixing. Some of this is just the vehicle sitting for years in the open. Things after six years have just corroded.
digging through the wiring looking for the faults
Each day I was gradually getting better. A lot of coughing, runny nose, finishing early and going to bed. I missed my Sunday departure. I got some more supplies Monday, and Tuesday aiming for a Wednesday 8am departure.
David let me out of the gate 8am Wednesday. I told him I would be back September 22nd. I headed down towards Benoni, then Boksburg until eventually I got onto the N17. Usual thick Joberg traffic with me travelling much slower and hugging the left lane, playing with the trucks. Then onto the N12 heading south east towards Kimberly. I turned off the N12 onto the R501 working my way towards the N14. I got stopped at a police stop about 150km out. They were just checking rego, and they let me go pretty quickly, I talked about Australia but their only knowledge was Sydney and the 2000 Olympics. I tried to talk about the eucalypts that we were stopped next to, and how much the terrain looked like Australia. However they don’t see eucalypts as anything from Australia, they are so common in South Africa. Its about 400km all up to Kameel. Once you get about 200km out the traffic thins, and slows and it gets much more rural. Made it to Delareyville about 3pm. Then out of town a couple of km onto a little rural potholed road for about 40km to Kameel. I arrived about 4pm, and set up camp.
Camped at Kameel, silos in the background
The route to Kameel, also showing the border with Botswana
We left Monks Cowl Sunday morning. After a great show at Falcon Ridge we got going late, at nearly noon, to make a campsite near Reitz, 240km away. We did most of it on the N3, but then turned off heading to Bassfeather Country Lodge near Reitz. With 3 different GPS’s giving us different routes, we settled on Google Maps, which ended up giving us a short but rough track to the campsite. Bassfeather was pretty well empty, but expensive (420 Rand). Next morning we headed off towards Joberg. We stopped at a 4wd drive place in BoksBurg to replace the solar panel that we lost a year ago with two smaller panels that will just fit to replace the larger one.
So a day of fixing and packing up in Joberg before we fly out to Singapore on Wednesday.
