Picking up where we left off, Chris and I had made the decision to head towards Namibia. We decided on a route that would take us through one of the most remote areas of Botswana, and one of the most, if not the most, remote border crossings into Namibia. Because of the remoteness, and not knowing where we could next fuel up, we filled up the three tanks of the Defender and the two jerry cans and started our way towards the Dobe border crossing.
The road was….challenging. Like most roads in Botswana, it was dirt, but because of all the rain they had gotten, it was washed out and slow-going. We probably averaged 30 mph for most of the 85 miles to the border. The road was bumpy and definitely required a 4×4. The Defender took on it’s first puddle (more like a pond), and after a quick stall and a skipped heartbeat, pulled itself out like a pro.
We knew the border would be quiet, but we didn’t realize we would have to search for the border officials. The official from Botswana saw us drive by and came running towards us shortly thereafter. We completed the required paperwork, got our exit stamps in our passports and then they opened the gate for us to leave. After the first gate, we had to get out, step on this pad with liquid on it as they sprayed our tires for foot and mouth. Then they opened the gate for Namibia and we drove through.
There was no gate to stop at once we were in Namibia, but knowing we needed stamps we stopped at the first building we saw and got out. The office doors were open, paperwork and stamps sitting out, but no one was in sight. Chris walked around back and after several minutes, found the police and immigration official. Chris sat down with the police and did the paperwork for the car and I sat with the immigration official to get the passports stamped. I had left my occupation blank by accident, so when he asked and I said I was unemployed, he looked at me confused. “I’m just traveling the world” I said… and his reply was “So…. housewife?” Sure. I went with it because it would have been harder to explain. We asked them how many people they saw come through that border. One car…. every few days.
Once we got our stamps, the roads became much easier and we made our way to our first camp in Namibia in the Naye-Naye Concession Area, near local bushmen villages. Here, we met another couple who had rented a Land Cruiser from SA 4×4 and were traveling a reverse route to us and going from Cape Town to Nairobi. They were doing our trip, but on steroids. They actually made it to Zimbabwe and encountered the road blocks that we opted to avoid. Check their trip out at beyondboundaries.blog.
From there we began working our way to the Atlantic. We stopped on our way at a local San Bushmen village, where they welcome visitors who make the drive down the 4 mile sand track to learn about their culture. It definitely was a highlight of the trip. Photos by Chris.
We made it to Roy’s Rest Camp that evening – which was quite the experience! Complete with a bathtub filling the swimming pool.
At this point, we realized our trip was turning around and getting a little more exciting. Botswana was unfortunately a bust, but we hope to go back in a drier time. The next stop would bring some wildlife…Etosha National Park, and some dead trees…Sossusvlei. More on that next week!
AmyWhere But Here 