Browse Sections
Interactive
Popular Sections
A bit of rainHoliday reviews
| 
Submit Comments
A drive on the wild side
Hervey Magnall6/ 5/2008
IT'S easy to believe you are only in a kind of Chester Zoo writ large until the savage truth of Africa stares you in the face. In our case, stumbling upon a pride of lions was our moment of truth.
We were in Etosha National Park, 22,000 sq km of the Kalahari Basin, teeming with animal species. We'd seen most of them, but the best was yet to come. The elephants, despite piles of steaming evidence they were around, were reluctant to lurch into view. The lions were suddenly less shy.
Cameras and binoculars to hand, we had arrived late morning at the East Gate of Etosha to start our safari. We were immediately overwhelmed by the sight of 100 giraffes and thousands of antelopes. The birdlife was amazing, too. Already the trip seemed the perfect way to celebrate my fellow trekker Tony's 50th birthday.
We drove from thick bush country to primarily wide open plains. Wildebeest and zebras became more prevalent as the heat of the sun subsided. And then we chose one final track to explore and there they were, just 30 yards off the track among some bushes - a pride of nine lions.
What a find. We watched for 20 minutes then suddenly a herd of zebras strolled through the bush and, game on (pardon the pun). Two lionesses immediately adopted the hunting stance and we fumbled about nervously, reloading cameras and double checking our doors were locked.
Natural instincts
The animals' natural instincts to kill were, however, not strong enough to overcome their full bellies. Sometimes, lions don't eat for 12 days and this bunch had 11 days left in their stomachs. Never mind, we sensed danger and those lucky zebras never saw a thing.
Namibia is one of the best countries in Africa for viewing wildlife at close quarters, but it is the vast expanses of seeming emptiness that also beguiles even the most hardened traveller.
Our trip started at Sossusvlei Lodge, at the gates of the Sesriem Canyon, home to the world's highest sand dunes. As night fell, the red sand turned to purple. We dined under a billion stars while, far off, forked lightning played over the mountains.
At sunrise, we headed for those intimidating dunes, passing ostriches and springboks on the way. When the road ran out, we had to use four-wheel drive to access the dunes via a deep sand trail. An hour later, we were at the top.
It took me a minute to plummet back down on foot, my boots and pockets full of red sand and my knees amazingly intact.
The desert has a grim beauty. At a village called Solitaire (as isolated as it sounds), a meerkat stood sentry by the roadside, keeping one eye out for us and the other on a nearby Namib grey falcon.
Bizarre contrast
Swakopomund, on the coast, was in bizarre contrast. The colonial Swakopomund hotel was swathed in a sea fret. I went in search of medical help for an onset of flu, while my travelling companion, Tony, dipped his toes in the icy Atlantic. In the mist the resort town of Henties Bay, felt bleak and eerie. It was a relief to switch back to the desert, for a while surprisingly green before the mountains. Driving is tough. Most roads are dirt tracks. You need to watch out for rocks and holes. `Elephants crossing' signs keep you on your toes, too.
And sometimes you need to cross rivers - really exciting when the Nissan's bonnet is underwater. Tony, thankfully, did most of the driving. In the mountains we stayed, courtesy of Trailfinders, at Doro Nawas, near Twyffelfontein. I slept out on the veranda and sipped shandy by the infinity pool.
Next leg north towards Etosha. At every bend, the views were outrageous. Mountains everywhere, pointy, curved and flat top.
Bigger than Arizona or Cape Town, we picked up a local hitch-hiker in the middle of nowhere. We asked him to help us look for the elephants whose big juicy apples of poo were prominent on the road. No luck, but compensation came from some great giraffe shots.
Our next stop on this epic journey was the hardest to reach - up a treacherous, boulder-strewn mountainside, with a feeling we might encounter triceratops feeding or pterodactyls gliding by!
But Grootberg Lodge more than compensated for the hair-raising ascent.
Stone cottages
Its 14 rooms are individual stone cottages along the edge of the plateau. What a pity we weren't staying there that night, we thought, as we settled over a fantastic lamb chop lunch and a glass of rosé. They even had two cottages vacant.
Then the onset of rain dashed any thoughts of lingering. Our scheduled overnight stop was 200km away, along slippery roads. Near disaster. We had to brake hard when we suddenly came upon 3ft-high torrent severing the track in front. We waited philosophically with the local goatherd, her friend, who was wearing a red dressing gown, some goats and four young guys on their donkey and cart. They reckoned it would subside enough in perhaps an hour - or maybe a day. Ummm.
Eventually, a Toyota coming the other way attempted the crossing and we all ended up helping to rescue its occupants and towed their vehicle out of the river.
All the locals then headed for their respective shelters. Nothing for it then but to call it a day and head back to Grootberg!
An even lovelier accommodation was the five-star spa lodge at Epacha - our luxurious `base camp' for that eventful safari into Etosha. The heavens opened again at Epacha, so we entertained all the staff with some magic tricks.
Balance spoons
All staff at each lodge can now balance spoons on their noses, forks on cocktail sticks and do amazing tricks with beer mats. You show a trick to one first and then moments later the whole kitchen turns out.
The next two days we were based at Musharra Lodge. We entered the gates at around 8am, feeling like great white hunters after the previous day's successful conclusion. Tony can spot elephant dung from 100 paces. Unfortunately, they can spot us from 10,000 and so didn't reveal themselves. But we did spot a black back jackal regurgitating food to her mobbing pups, then a spotted hyena slinking away, looking like he'd had a busy night.
We then drove around a huge salt pan and my twitching skills were at full alert - pelicans, ibis, ducks, eagles and a flock of flamingos on the horizon.
Four-wheel driving around Namibia is no picnic, but the landscape is awesome and the access to wildlife incomparable. Next day we flew down to the capital Windhoek and on to Cape Town, suitably awed.
Hervey and Tony spent nine days in Namibia and three days in Cape Town. The return air trip, Gatwick-Windhoek-Cape Town-Gatwick with Namibian Airways, plus the first two nights' accommodation, was booked through trailfinders.com.
For exploring Namibia, a four-wheel drive is essential. They arranged their Nissan 4x4, route and other lodge accommodation (rooms around £120 per night) through
camping-carhire.com, based in Namibian capital Windhoek. Hervey Magnall is the proprietor of the Fisherman's Retreat, Ramsbottom (01706 825314).
Got an opinion you want to share?Are you having to stay at home this summer holiday?
Poll has now ended
| Card | BT Fee |
| Virgin Credit Card | 2.98% |
| Capital One BT Platinum Card | 3.0% |
| Egg Card | 3.0% |
| Tesco Bonus Credit Card | 2.9% |
| Capital One BT Exclusive | 3.0% |
| Company | Typical APR |
| Platinum Exclusive Loan | 7.5% |
| Moneyback Bank | 7.8% |
| Barclays | 7.9% |
| Sainsbury's Personal Loan | 8.5% |
| Halifax (Semi-exclusive) | 8.6% |
| Bank of Scotland (Semi-exclusive) | 8.6% |
| Alliance & Leicester | 8.7% |
| Provider | AER* |
|
SAINSBURYS FINANCE Internet Saver |
5.50% |
|
ING DIRECT Savings Account |
6.50% |
|
TESCO PERSONAL FINANCE Internet Saver |
6.50% |
|
CITIBANK Flexible Saver Issue 4 |
6.43% |
|
ABBEY Instant Access Saver (Special Issue 2) |
6.30% |
|
EGG BANKING PLC Egg Savings Account (Internet) |
6.30% |
|
ALLIANCE & LEICESTER eSaver - Issue 2 |
6.60% |
|
HALIFAX Web Saver Extra |
6.00% |
|
ABBEY eSaver Direct |
6.50% |
|
BRITANNIA BS DirectSaver Reserve Account |
6.25% |