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House on Wheels

Dec 1, 2024

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1 December - Sunday 

Ligaya’s Journal

Africa - Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Victoria Falls, Cape Town


How to capture our adventure filled drive + camp across parts of Africa in one blog post is impossible. Way back when - in the initial planning of our year abroad, we had discussions about exploring Africa as a family and the option to drive and camp wasn’t even on the table. Somehow, we landed there and for 21 days in September we lived in a house on wheels!


The "drive" was a total of 2200 miles/3500 km (including crossing the Tropic of Capricorn). It is pretty much the distance of driving from LA to NY. The BIG difference was 90% of the trip was on non-existent-roads of sand, gravel, and BuMpS along with crossing wildlife and little to no signage, civilization, or fuel stops. We survived, we were in awe, we enjoyed the local people. We learned quickly how to set up and break down "camp", manage tire pressure on all terrains under the brow beating heat, and to have our eyes wide open so as not to miss any flora or fauna while in transit. Matt and I were ever thankful for P&Q's great eye sight.

 

Our life on the road consisted of the following journey:

20 day - Self drive Windhoek to Victoria Falls

Windhoek - Central Namibia - Sossusvlei - Sesriem - Namib - Swakopmund - Solitaire - Naukluft Mountains - Damaraland - Palmwag - Brandberg - Spitzkoppe - Twyfelfontein - Skeleton Coast - Etosha National Park - Etosha East - Rundu - Mahago Game Reserve - Caprivi West - Bwabwata National Park - Maun - Okavango Delta - Moremi Game Reserve - Nata - Nxai Pan National Park - Makgadikgadi Salt Pans - Chobe National Park - Botswana - Chobe River Front - Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe)

21 Days / 20 Nights

01 September 2024 - 21 September 2024



I think when we arrived in Windhoek to pick up our Toyota Hilux complete with rooftop tents - we had no idea what we were about to embark upon. After being given a detailed walk thru of our vehicle and a few lessons on how to work things, they sent us off on our merry way. Within a few minutes of driving, we were turned around and reality kicked in. While we had a GPS system with us, it wasn't perfect and what we quickly realized is that we had to go back to the old ways of reading a reliable paper map to help us navigate and double check we were on point (or off point) during our journey. Using the paper map reminded both Matt and I of growing up and road tripping with our families. Who remembers getting a highlighted AAA Trip Tik?


Our house on wheels:

To note: bottom row middle picture was me trying to capture the proximity of the elephant to our campsite which was open to all the wildlife - no fences, no guardrails, no protection, no disclaimers (objects in photo are closer than they appear)


Our first stop along our journey, a stop that we thought was a warm-up for bigger things to come, unexpectedly became tagged as one of our favorites. After a 7 hour drive from Windhoek, we arrived at Sossusvlei Sand Dunes and Deadvlei (Dead Valley). Sossusvlei is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the perfect specimen of Nambia’s unspoilt desert beauty. It is a salt and clay pan situated in the largest conservation area in Africa, the Namib-Naukluft National Park. This photogenic area is famous for its large, red sand dunes, which are some of the tallest sand dunes in the world.


We woke up early to catch the sunrise, miss the crowds, and avoid the heat. To see the sunrise - we walked up Dune 45 which was 557 feet/170meters high. It wasn't the height of the dune that was challenging - it was the soft sand into which you sank and slid downwards as we tried to ascend. When at the top - we were rewarded with stunning 360 views over endless red sand dunes.


If you squint hard enough you can see the people on the top of the sand dune


The kids conquered the hike up and then slid/ran down the tallest dune, Big Daddy, which stands at 1066 feet/325 meters. What is at the bottom of this dune is Deadvlei where Matt and I walked around in awe of natures ways. This ancient clay pan was once an oasis, studded with acacias and fed by a river that suddenly changed course, leaving the earth to dry up along with the trees it previously supported. So dry were the climatic conditions that the trees NEVER decomposed – instead they were entirely leached of moisture so that today, 900 years later, they remain as desiccated, blackened sentinels dotting the pan’s cracked surface. Surrounded by the red-pink dunes of the Namibia Desert, they create a surreal spectacle.



Our trip had a great kick off seeing the massive sand dunes and now we were ready to see what else would unfold before us...wildlife wildlife wildlife! As we mentioned before - capturing every highlight in one blog post would be impossible - but to see/find all types of wildlife in their natural surroundings was incredible. We were able to learn about and see animals endemic to the areas we visited and also experience in very close proximity the true meaning of nature’s circle of life. Our guides were always so knowledgeable with the area and its wildlife that it was like having your own live "Google or Siri" but the most impressive part was how they could find the wildlife, share it with us, and not disturb or disrupt nature's sensitive balance with our presence.