Day Deux (duh)

We slept in. We had  to. By 10 we had cleaned up a bit and arranged for a driver from the car rental company to come with us to the Botswana border and drive the car back. We said our fond farewells to our lovely hotel on the peak, managed to get the trucks out of the driveway without any damage and headed out. Then we had to fuel up, and what a surprise. We were met at the gas station by the Zimbabwean Ambassador to Namibia and her husband, two delightful people. What made it even better was that it was he birthday. We spent a while chatting about the state of affairs, took the obligatory pictures and got underway.

The road was actually surprisingly good. The Trans-Kalahari highway is under construction and while we would probably call it a tertiary road at best, it is “lightly” paved.  And its really cool to put on all the flashing lights and the sirens and cruise down the highway at about 50 mph. It scares the bejesus out of the assorted donkeys, cows and goats that have free reign over the highways and byways

We made it to the Botswana border at about 4 p.m. and that’s when the fun started. Leaving Namibia was no problem. We changed some money at the general store about 100 yards from the border post and that was when I decided to change careers. We bought Namibian dollars at a 25% discount and the lady Shylock has a lock on the market. The SEC would never live with that but then we aren’t in America. 

Waiting for our courier's return at the Botswana border

If you aren't the lead dog the view never changes, but sometimes the view ain't so bad

Peter went in to present our paperwork and we thought we were in good shape because the clearing agents were expecting us and telling him what to do. After a couple of hours of telling him what to do it turned out that we had a tax to pay, the office didn’t take dollars and we didn’t have enough of any other currency. The clerk told him what we needed and off I went back to Namibia to the monopoly lady without my passport which I was told I didn’t need.  I changed the money, lost some, went back to get some more, and went back to Botswana customs. Peter took the funds to the window and there was told that it was good he had enough for one truck, but what about the other one. They (our genius clearing agents and the customs clerk collectively) had forgotten to mention that the amount needed was a per truck basis. So Johnny was dispatched to see the financial wizard in Namibia and change more money. Boy, she had a good day with us. At last we had enough money in the right currency, and we were free to go on. It was now about 7 and we had a couple of hundred kilometers to go to get to Ghanzi.

The drive was long, everyone was tired and we had to keep a lookout for animals. Carcasses on the roadside gave new meaning to the term roadkill. The good part was that we made it to the lodge without further adventure at ten. At last we thought we could have something to eat and drink and get a good night’s sleep. It had been a long and stress full day. The manager was a charming fellow who told us that while there was time to get a drink at the bar, food was absolutely out of the question.  He refused to have his staff even get us a sandwich, and then walked out in front of us with a heaping plate of food for his own dinner. What a great hospitality demonstration.  Our rooms were tiny and it was hot. They had ceiling fans but between the six of us we could not find the controls. Eventually a wizard from reception arrived and switched them on. Les and I who were roomies for the night decided that we should make our own dinner; we proceed to have a sumptuous feast of some great Italian cheese which he had been keeping for a special occasion, a solid South African fruit cake which I had been saving, and a good bottle of Stellakaya’s best. I also had a little container of Ultramel custard to make everything work well. At midnight he went onto our balcony to finish his cigar and there in front of us were three beautiful waterbuck, grazing. That was the best part of the day I think.

First day on the road

Us with Rassie

Miracle of miracles. They let us take the trucks.  Despite all the misfortunes of clearing the trucks, all was not lost. We got to know the security folks at the docks very well. Rassie was a colorful guy who explained why we couldn’t all go into the area.  It was simple. The Americans.  Apparently they have to comply with US standards of who has access to ports and that means you cannot go down to the sea again, even if you have business, without a passport, a piece of paper and a stamp. The good news was that at about 4:10 we got a call saying that the ship had left the harbor and we were now free to clear the trucks. We raced over and Peter and I had our papers checked, and there waiting dockside were the two flaming beasts, sirens being tested to the chagrin of all the workers who were just finishing their shifts. Being the experienced truck driver that I am, I leapt into the seat and looked at the bewildering array of buttons and switches in front of me. As I was reading labels for sirens, lights, tools etc. Les, who was my co-driver, said casually that a freight train was approaching and it would be a good idea to move the truck. Only problem was that while I could put it into gear, I couldn’t release the hand brake. It worked perfectly. I just didn’t know how to work it. So he yelled and I toggled and switched but to no avail. We then decided that since the train was going to miss us by easily a few millimeters there was no problem after all. So we sat and watched it go by.

One we had figured out how all of the things worked we drove out of the port to say fond farewells to Rassie and his security crew. Both they and the ships agents had told us that for trucks transiting through Namibia, no passengers were allowed, so we had kept our mini-van to use until we got to Windhoek (at least) But boys being boys we had two people in each truck as we drove out of town, and lo and behold guess who was waiting for us. The local gendarmerie stopped us and after a long explanation of how we had to pay fines immediately, and in large quantity, we were able to negotiate a better deal, put the extra guys in our chase car and get on the road. This was now about six hours later than planned. We also decided to keep the minibus until we hit the Botswana border.The good part was that the sunset was spectacular 

We drove out of town very proudly and made reasonably good time to Windhoek but the damage had been done. It is a long drive and we got to the outskirts at about 1 a.m. Problem was we had no idea of where to go from there. I got grumpy because I had printed directions but was told to scrap them. Don’t worry they said. The GPS system will get us there they said. Nothing is better than electronic gadgetry they said. Well the street names had changed in the past week and nobody told Garmin. We eventually hired a taxi driver to show us where to go and got to the hotel ( a very small, very cool boutiquey kind of place) at about 2:30. The owners were up waiting for us and despite breaking their gate post while we were driving into a parking lot designed for 6 cars, they cooked up a great meal of grilled oryx and chips. In addition the good doctor Ossip had arranged for a couple of cases of Stellakaya to be delivered there for us, so that we didn’t run out of liquid nourishment.  What a way to spend a night!

Action at last

I woke up at 3 after a solid five hours of sleep. Les had my computer so I couldn't even catch up on email. However I am now an expert on the elections in Egypt and the Congo. We started at about 8 and bought coolers, grill equipment and other paraphernalia. We got to the clearing agent and the first bad news. Although the ship had docked the fire engines were still on board and were in no danger of imminent offloading. After a while we got a call saying that the batteries on the trucks were dead, so we had to arrange to have new batteries installed on the ship. next step was getting the documentation done and after a lot of toing and froing that was complete. Then we were told that the police clearances to drive in Namibia had to be obtained before we could take the trucks out of the dock area.  Big fee attached to that! Peter was the absolute executive burning up the phone lines ( is that still a relevant expression if one is using a cell phone).

The mural on the wall of the Seaman's Mission

In all of the time spent at the dock entrance the sole comfort was the seaman's mission. I am not sure how much business a place like this does any more because the ships get in and out of port pretty quickly, but it is a friendly place and they sell sim cards.










The day was stretching on and the six of us had invaded the clearing company's office. Its not a big office with only four employees, so they were overloaded. We eventually went to lunch while Peter went back to the docks, and when we got back we were told that although we now had paperwork, police clearances, new batteries, and good looking t-shirts, the ship owners would not release the trucks until all of the 400 odd vehicles that had been transported were ready. So I sit here in the company offices typing patiently and waiting for the fiasco that is called clearing to end. Maybe we will leave today or maybe tomorrow.

We have just heard that even though we have grovelled well, we haven't been successful, we will now only leave tomorrow. Bummer!!!!. It means we are now going to run at least a day behind schedule. We also have to rearrange all of our accommodation and find somewhere to stay tonight, not an easy task in a megalopolis the size of Walvis Bay

And so we start

We made it! Despite a myriad of routes and connections through a variety of airports in the US and Africa we have all arrived in Walvis Bay on time. I landed yesterday afternoon after sitting around Tambo airport in Johannesburg for a few hours. It was there that I realized something interesting. I was watching the monitor in the lounge to make sure that I didn't miss the boarding call. I didn't want to miss the only flight to Walvis of the day, and they tend to be pretty rigorous about boarding at least 30 minutes ahead of time because for short flights they use shuttle buses to get you to the plane. Sitting daydreaming it suddenly dawned on me. They only posted the flights 30 minutes before departure. The TV screen wasn't big enough or sophisticated enough to show more than about a dozen flights. So in essence if you were there long enough to see your boarding call on the monitor you were too late. The shuttle had already gone. I made it on time

The flight to Walvis was uneventful but flying across Botswana and Namibia you get a sense of how big the distances are and how little there is to fill them. Just miles and miles of nothing. Boulders and rocks are the scenic interruptions.

As I was coming through passport control I discovered that Alan had been on my flight, and there to greet us were the shining countenances of Peter and Johnnie. Peter rented a minibus to so we had wheels big enough to hold us and our stuff. So the good news was that all of us made it in one piece.







The bad news was that our trusty steamship, the Arcadia Highway, was arriving on time, Africa time, exactly 28 hours late. That means that it was berthing at aboput 9 p.m. Monday. No trucks until Tuesday. We also tried to get permits to allow us into the docks so that we could film the trucks as they disembarked with headlights wide open. looking around their new land. Unfortunately we were non grata, and so we decided to go back to Swakopmund, and get settled.

On the way we stopped at a huge sand dune on the side of the road. There was a flat road about 300 yards long leading up to the base, but the attraction was that there were about 20 people parasailing off the dune. The wind blows from offshore onto the dune, and if you know what you are doing, all you have to do is unfurl yur sail and the wind will pick you up, take you to the top of the hill, and then you glide back down, turn around and do the same thing all over again. Incredibly tranquil and beautiful. The folks who knew how to do it were jsut hanging out gliding in huge sweeping arcs across the dune and then back up to the top.Matt Lauer missed out on this one.

The next critical stop before the hotel was the butcher shop to stock up on biltong. ( For those of you who are all enough educated to not know what that its, it is a staple of southern African life, a spiced dried meat that you can eat liced, or just rip off the main piece with your teeth. Dentists love it). I bought some springbok and some kudu, and the we we were ready to check in.





We stayed at a really quaint little hotel, the Hotel Eberwein,  with the nickname Villa Hille, a vestige of German colonial days. I guess I am lucky because I didn't have to argue about who shared with those of us who snore. I got a single.

Before we arrived the other guys had gone to the docks  to check on the progress of the ship and our treasure. While there was very little in the way of actual information, they did come to know the seaman's mission. I would bet dollars to donuts that none of this crew had ever been into a seaman's mission before. They are typically run by a church organization, and provide some creature comforts like clean accommodation, hot food and a little entertainment like pool and darts to sailors in port for a few days (fewer and fewer of those as the technology of marine transportation changes).They stumbled upon an interesting art source. There were a team of painters doing large murals on some of the walls of buildings near the docks.

They also got to know the security team at the dock gate, who function as policemen, firefighters and EMS people.Nothing like having a multitasker in an emergency. Who needs specialization anyway. Their fearless leader is a man by the name of Rassie who took a shine to us because of what we are doing







We went for dinner to a restaurant built from the remains of an old tug. Guess what it is called - The Tug. Its attached to a jetty and you overlook the waves breaking on the beach. It was so good that the guys went there the night before also.Then back to the hotel and an early night.

The precipice

Well the time has come,
the walrus said to speak of many things.
Of ships and trucks and ladders too
Of fire pumps - Ka - ching!!!!!

I think we hit the jackpot doing this trip, and its something that we will look back on  as a Mastercard event, priceless.

Two of the guys, Peter and Johnnie, have already left and are establishing our foothold in Walvis Bay. Steven, Les and Alan get there Sunday and Errol on Monday. The ship should dock on Sunday so assuming that nothing broke on the way down, we will be able to leave Tuesday.

Our route is final, and the little blue dots are our waypoints. Our next post will be from Walvis Bay or Swakopmund where I know we will have internet access

Slow and steady progress

Bit by bit our steadfast ship is meandering down the west coast of Africa. She is now in Accra, Ghana.  A stop here, a detour there, taking on cargo, offloading all manner of things that a tramp carries. The transponders are only switched on irregularly, so it makes tracking difficult and frustrating. Nevertheless our eagle eyed watchers assure us that the ship will berth on the 26th in Walvis Bay, just a few hours behind schedule.


Armed with that confidence we have made dinner reservations for the two nights we will be in Swakopmund, a beautiful little town just a few miles up the coast from Walvis Bay. This is the original resort built by the German colonials when they settled in what was then German West Africa. Their influence is still seen and tasted all over, from the great beer to the quaint and a little dated European architecture.

Bags are being packed, medication of all sorts together with a defibrillator carefully stowed, bug spray checked. We are all leaving from our respective homes on Friday and Saturday. The plan is to be there in Walvis Bay when the trucks are driven down the plank on Sunday, have them thoroughly checked out by Monday night, and leave on Tuesday. I have just found out that there are cigarette lighter outlets on board, so we can charge iPods, computers, phones, cameras and all kinds of other bits and pieces. This is very good news since there are few other creature comforts on the trucks. Too bad you can't run an a/c unit off 12v outlets. Oh well, the fresh air will be good for us.