Weds 10th October: In order not to let the entire day drift by again, we set off early into Mahango Nature Reserve, the little one we had already scooted through a couple of times. We saw a lovely hippo, and four elephant – one of these was having a good old scratch on a big tree. We also saw lots of lovely birds, of course. The afternoon was spent in and around the pool, deciding what to do in the absence of a reply from the RAC. We decided to head for the Zambian border, as having crossed this before returning to Windhoek could potentially make life simpler with customs rules etc.
Thursday 11th October: On the road by 7.30 am. Not a very exciting road, it has to be said. However, leaving Divundu there's a police roadblock - this consists of a steel gate across the road, a "Stop" sign and a policeman manning the gate. As we got nearer, slowing down, the policeman on the gate opened it in front of us. You'd think "he's letting us through" and accelerate. We didn't - there was a "Stop" sign and in Namibia if there's a "Stop" sign you STOP, even if there's no reason to. So we stopped - the policeman scowled and closed the gate - it was clear he was waiting to catch us out - but we'd been warned about these antics in Namibia. He then did the usual "where are you coming from, where are you going to"....and let us go. There is apparently even a "Stop" sign on the exit from one of the border posts on a straight and clear road with no-one and nothing else around, there's a brick wall next to the sign - and guess who hides behing that wall? You've been warned.
Arrived at the Protea Hotel, Katima Mulilo about 12.30. Lawns to camp on and shady trees, next to the Zambezi River. On the way up here we had talked about the possibility of continuing our journey instead of turning back, but this would mean whizzing through the hot bits, thereby missing lots of things we want to do. Hoping to hear from the RAC the next day. We had the 3-course buffet dinner at the hotel. The salad was nice.
Friday 12th October: A bit fed up with all this hanging around. B started to pose questions re carnets and customs on various forums that he contributes to, and discovered that “there have been changes at the RAC”...ominous. Went into town in the morning and got the cab air-con fixed, also bought lots of groceries in case we decide to travel on. After lunch we went to the rather drab swimming pool, from which we rescued a near-drowned toad. It was nice to cool down in the water, even if it was a bit scuzzy. Cooked and ate supper on the banks of the Zambezi, enjoying the hippos and colourful birds that are around.
Saturday 13th October: Some VERY helpful replies from forum contributors, particularly one called Eric from France. It is wonderful how people are so willing to share their knowledge and experience and be helpful like this. We decided to cross into Zambia, store the truck there and come back to complete our trip next year. Sounds simple, but will probably be horribly complicated. A quiet day at the campsite. Made flapjacks in the microwave to start using up the sugar and butter, as we won’t be storing items like that and I hate to waste food. We also put some tint on the cab side windows to cut down the amount of heat coming in from the sunshine - it looks quite good!
This evening the rains started. This is the first proper rain that we’ve seen since before Springbok, more than 3 months ago. We’ve been treated to a display of lightning over the Zambezi this evening accompanied by the occasional roll of thunder. It’s moving away now, but the effect has been a massive drop in temperature, so it’s going to be a comfortable night hopefully.
Thursday 11th October: On the road by 7.30 am. Not a very exciting road, it has to be said. However, leaving Divundu there's a police roadblock - this consists of a steel gate across the road, a "Stop" sign and a policeman manning the gate. As we got nearer, slowing down, the policeman on the gate opened it in front of us. You'd think "he's letting us through" and accelerate. We didn't - there was a "Stop" sign and in Namibia if there's a "Stop" sign you STOP, even if there's no reason to. So we stopped - the policeman scowled and closed the gate - it was clear he was waiting to catch us out - but we'd been warned about these antics in Namibia. He then did the usual "where are you coming from, where are you going to"....and let us go. There is apparently even a "Stop" sign on the exit from one of the border posts on a straight and clear road with no-one and nothing else around, there's a brick wall next to the sign - and guess who hides behing that wall? You've been warned.
Arrived at the Protea Hotel, Katima Mulilo about 12.30. Lawns to camp on and shady trees, next to the Zambezi River. On the way up here we had talked about the possibility of continuing our journey instead of turning back, but this would mean whizzing through the hot bits, thereby missing lots of things we want to do. Hoping to hear from the RAC the next day. We had the 3-course buffet dinner at the hotel. The salad was nice.
Friday 12th October: A bit fed up with all this hanging around. B started to pose questions re carnets and customs on various forums that he contributes to, and discovered that “there have been changes at the RAC”...ominous. Went into town in the morning and got the cab air-con fixed, also bought lots of groceries in case we decide to travel on. After lunch we went to the rather drab swimming pool, from which we rescued a near-drowned toad. It was nice to cool down in the water, even if it was a bit scuzzy. Cooked and ate supper on the banks of the Zambezi, enjoying the hippos and colourful birds that are around.
Saturday 13th October: Some VERY helpful replies from forum contributors, particularly one called Eric from France. It is wonderful how people are so willing to share their knowledge and experience and be helpful like this. We decided to cross into Zambia, store the truck there and come back to complete our trip next year. Sounds simple, but will probably be horribly complicated. A quiet day at the campsite. Made flapjacks in the microwave to start using up the sugar and butter, as we won’t be storing items like that and I hate to waste food. We also put some tint on the cab side windows to cut down the amount of heat coming in from the sunshine - it looks quite good!
This evening the rains started. This is the first proper rain that we’ve seen since before Springbok, more than 3 months ago. We’ve been treated to a display of lightning over the Zambezi this evening accompanied by the occasional roll of thunder. It’s moving away now, but the effect has been a massive drop in temperature, so it’s going to be a comfortable night hopefully.