Meet Mungo

Sat. & Sun 11th & 12th May 2024

And so it starts. 11 years (almost to the day) since we were last in Namibia we arrive in Windhoek. After our round the world trip, we had a long list of countries that we wanted to return to and very close to the top were Namibia and Botswana. I’m not really sure why it has taken so long to get here (Covid didn’t help) but finally we are here. Last time we were part of a group in overland trucks going all the way from Cape Town to Dar Es Salam. While this took 3 months or so we only had a couple of weeks in Namibia and Botswana and, as everywhere, we discovered there were a lot of places that we just weren’t going to get to see. Couple that fairly long list with growing interest (and competency?) in photography and it was inevitable that we’d be back.

This time, we’re going overland again, but not in a group and not with a guide and driver. It’s just the two of us in a Toyota Land Cruiser (called Mungo) with a tent on the roof. It’s a similar setup to that we had for our trip to Western Australia (5 years ago now). Indeed, if we hadn’t done that trip in WA, I don’t think we’d have had the courage to take on this itinerary. We have 6 weeks during which time we are covering a good part of Namibia and a chunk of Botswana. This picture shows our route. Highlights include sights that we wanted to revisit like Moremi, Etosha and the dunes at Sossusvlei, along with a whole raft of sights that have been on our ‘want to see list’. We’re also hoping that as we drive through the countryside we’ll see some incredible sights.

We were pampered at the front of the plane on our flight down to Jo’burg; the transfer to Windhoek (on a much smaller plane) was uneventful and we were met at the airport by Jens from Safari Drive and introduced to Mungo. Our first couple of nights are spent in Windhoek, not because there is anything particular to see in town, but because we knew we needed time to familiarise ourselves with Mungo and with our route. Indeed, on our way into town from the airport, Jens says “right, lets do a refresher on off road driving” and we both take turns driving round a short loop along a dry riverbed. This is helpful because, although we have done a 4×4 driving course, it was in a different car. The reminder about 2 & 4-wheel drive, high and low ranges, and when (and when not) to use diff-lock was all useful. In WA, we just called our Land Cruiser ‘The Beast’. Mungo is still a beast and will be able to handle any conditions that we come across. Whether the drivers will is, of course, another matter entirely!

When we got to Olive Grove Guesthouse, the briefing on our route started, with Jens pulling out our maps and saying that we don’t want to be using the main roads (too busy) but we should be going on the back roads. All part of the adventure! Our briefing continued all that afternoon as we went through from stop to stop (all our stays are pre-booked – sometimes in luxury lodges, sometimes just in a basic camp). Jens talked us through suggested routes which we highlighted on our maps and some of the things that we might want to do in each place. A balloon safari over the dunes in Sossusvlei sounds just the thing we want to do. All incredibly useful but it did feel like trying to drink from a firehose. Hopefully, the notes we’ve made will all help.

With all of the questions we asked we only covered the Namibia portion of the itinerary that afternoon before our heads were full and we needed a beer. The next morning, we picked off the Botswana itinerary – no need to worry about keeping off the main roads as there are no main roads where we are going! It was then time to see what kit was in Mungo and most importantly, how we were going to get the tent up. Back in WA, the roof tent opened like a book, using the ladder as a lever. Here, the roof rises like a soufflé on an internal mechanism. A little smaller in terms of floor area but much easier to put up, with no guy ropes to mess about with. A bit of a stretch to reach some of the fastenings though. No doubt we’ll get the hang of it in the days ahead.

As for all the rest, it is clear that a lot of thought has gone in to not only what to put in Mungo, but how to store it so it is accessible and equally doesn’t rattle or move around as we drive along on uneven dirt roads. There’s a lot that we hope that we won’t need – like the sand tracks and the snake venom sucker and even the satellite phone – but at least we know that it is there. It will be interesting to see how much of the camping stuff we use – we are well provisioned for camp-fire cooking. That’s something I haven’t done since my boy-scout days, but they do love their braais here.

Eventually, pretty much, 24 hours after arriving in Namibia, we are done with the briefings. Our brains are full, we are as well prepared as we can be and so we’re ready to go. Before we head off though, there is time to have a little bit of sightseeing and exploring in Windhoek. Our memory from last time is that there isn’t a huge amount to see – the German style Christuskirche church in a roundabout, some meteorites on display and not much help. Even Lonely Planet doesn’t add a lot more. Anyway, a chance to drive Mungo and then to have a walk around the city centre.

It is mostly as we remember, the church is quite spectacular, but busy as it has a large car park that is frequented by tour groups. We’ve picked up a map with a suggested walking tour on it from Olive Grove to which Janet has added the old railway station – because old railway stations are one of our specialities. As Janet points out when we get there – ‘not the worst railway station we’ve been to – but it’s down there’. To be fair, there is a museum there which is closed and so we may be doing it a disservice. Other than that, Windhoek seems to be an unremarkable city. Not large and not busy – but when there are only 3m people in the whole country, what do you expect. We do find the meteorites again, along with a little park that I remembered from last time. Our favourite was probably the Independence Museum right by the church (and in stark contrast to it) along with the memorial to the genocide (of the native tribes).

We couldn’t finish in Windhoek without going to Joe’s Beerhouse on the recommendation of our friend Phil. Personally I was sold on just the name! Much larger than expected but as quirky as we’d been told. Good beer and decent food – what better way to cap of our stay here. Tomorrow, we start driving. As we head to bed, there is a little trepidation as to how it will go, but mostly we just want to get on with it. After all, we’ve been waiting long enough and Mungo is all ready for us.