When we woke up we could hear all sorts of activity going on and soon some construction workers appeared. They did not bother us, but now we knew that things were still happening at Sikereti. We soon realized that the workers needed access to our campsite and we quickly packed up. Then park rangers appeared and they were super friendly. They did not seem to mind that we had made ourselves at home. We explained that we had arrived late after a rather long and slow drive from the north. This was not new to them! They were quite happy when we told them that we had spoken to Christo on the way in and that we were going to pay on the way out. Stephen chatted to them about the Landcruiser they were driving and discovered that the freewheel hubs were broken and they could not use 4x4 and therefore could not drive to the north.
We certainly were not going to leave Khaudum in a big hurry and decided to drive to the Tsoana Fountain hide. This has always been a favourite place for us and we were looking forward to going there again. The drive to the site is delightful. The track follows a watercourse and there are lovely views into the riverbed and the landscape beyond. A fire was raging in the distance and it was difficult to judge just how far away it was. We managed to photograph a purple roller in good light and often stopped to have a look at birds. We were driving in front and as we approached the Tsoana hide, a huge herd of roan together with some wildebeest and ostriches stampeded off. I only just managed to take a photograph. The old hide had also received a revamp, but everything else was still the same. We spent a good while at the hide and had fun trying to photograph birds in the tree above us. An elephant appeared and had a good drink. There were a lot of birds on the water and we worked hard at identifying them from a distance. It was also a super spot for morning coffee. The track goes on and we drove to the other side of the large dam, keeping a watch on the elephant who had wandered off again. According to our GPS the track eventually leads to the border of the park and joins the main route between Tsumkwe and Grootfontein. This must have been the way the group that also spent the night at Sikereti used to enter. We drove along this track for a while but there were fresh burns along the route, some of which were still smoking. We also seemed to be getting closer and closer to where the fire was raging in the distance and there was a lot of dust. So we decided to turn back. As we approached the Tsoana waterhole again, a huge herd of impala came down to drink. It was great to watch animals in such big numbers. I eventually managed to get some reasonable shots of two very raucous Meyer’s Parrots. We still did not feel like leaving Khaudum and drove to the Suncana waterhole which we had passed the evening before. This time the light was great, but it was rather quiet. Some roan came to drink, an elephant disappeared into the bush and there was some more activity in the background, but nothing exciting. The leopard of the previous evening must have been around somewhere! The hide was looking very neglected and we presumed that it would soon also receive a revamp. We had lunch at the hide and then decided that it was time to leave the park and go to the magnificent Dorsland Tree, which we knew about, on the way to Tsumkwe. At the new fancy gate, the friendly ranger (Sindaba) and his lady colleague Irma were on duty. They now live there in very smart facilities. He was very familiar with the fact that many travellers simply do not make it back to camp in time. Even on our last visit we came in late at old Sikereti camp. It is not only the slow track, but also elephant “roadblocks” and other obstacles that makes the timing unpredictable. They obviously do not receive many visitors, because both he and his college struggled to work out how much we had to pay. We were not charged for camping in the park (previously we were also not charged!), but just the entrance fees. It is really cheap compared to other parks, but we suspect this will change when the new Sikereti Camp becomes operational. Sindaba thought so too and remarked that we should just camp outside the gate if the prices became too high! We do at least get SADEC rates. (R30 pp and R50 per vehicle). He waved goodbye to us as we left and I really hope we will see him again on a next visit. Now we were off to the Dorsland baobab tree.

The famous Dorsland tree is an ancient baobab and it is thought that it might be the oldest tree in Namibia. It is estimated to be around 2,100 years old! Its side branches have kept growing despite it having fallen over a long time ago. The tree was there when the epic Dorsland Trek northwards took place around the 1880’s and it was recorded that they camped there in 1883. They carved their names into the tree and some German troops that passed there in 1891 also made their mark, but although there are many names carved into this ancient tree in more recent times, we have not been able to find the old dates and names.

It is a magic location and Stephen and I had during our two previous visits thought that it would be a great place to spend the night. The track that leads to this memorable tree is narrow and is not signposted, but it shows up on Tracks4Africa. Paul and Petra were absolutely overawed when we arrived. It was still early and we spent a lot of time climbing and exploring the tree and we once again tried to find the original names that the Dorsland Trekkers carved into the tree. Stephen tidied up the place where people had made fires. It was a big mess and he carried away umpteen spades of ash. It was special to be able to just relax and enjoy this special place. We were lucky that no one else arrived. Stephen had some fun playing cowboy with a rope which he tried to throw like a lasso over a high branch so that we could hang our little lantern over our campsite. With some help from Paul and a no 17 spanner as a weight, he eventually got it right. As the sun set, the last rays made the tree glow and it lent itself to magical photographs. We certainly clicked away! Soon we had a wonderful fire going. We actually used our folding tables and really set ourselves up for another wonderful wild camp. We felt blessed to be able to spend a night here.

Geschreven door Leartravels