We started a bit late today, about 10:15 am. The rough road yesterday caused Bertie's battery bracket to break. Bertie, Nico and ever-handy Roelof fixed it before we left.
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| Roelof and Nico working on the battery bracket...yes that is an electric drill!!! |
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| Martie, Rita, Dawn and Rykie waiting patiently in shade |
We started out driving down the river bed and saw more game: giraffe, ostrich, oryx and springbok. These giraffe ran through the riverbed right in front of Bertie and Dawn.
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| Driving in the Khumib river |
After awhile we drove out of the river bed onto the road parallel to the river. This turned out to be a much better road than the road the previous day. There were a lot of small hills..up and down... and beautiful scenery.
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| We had many excellent views of this mountain range and the green trees in the dry Khumib river bed |
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| Himba coral cleverly made with just sticks...this one is dilapidated |
We came to a junction and took a left turn towards the Hoarusib river down a dry river bed Bertie said ran into the Hoarusib. Thrilled by the potential risks and rewards of driving into the unknown, Salome said, "Aren't we having a great adventure? Nothing is predictable!" The main track went up over a small mountain and would cross the Hoarusib later.
I loved the Hoarusib. There were a lot of interesting metamorphic rock formations and also fantastic scenery. The river still had a few spots with water from rain earlier in the year. Note to self: next visit to the Hoarusib plan extra time for rock hunting in the river bed.
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| Swirled and folded rock formations along the Hoarusib river bed |
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| Leon and Martie going through a small spot of water |
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| Tom driving in the river bed |
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| Bertie, Dawn and Salome at our Hoarusib lunch spot |
I was very grateful Bertie took the shortcut to the Hoarusib. What a beautiful river and it was the only section of the Hoarusib we actually drove in the river bed. Salome said the Hoarusib is a very old river dating from the time of Gondwanaland. It has some deep gorges, unlike the Khumib, which is much more flat.
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| View from Hoarusib river |
We left the river when we came to the spot where the main track coming from over the mountain intersected with the river bed. Unfortunately, just a couple hundred meters before we reached the main track, Nico got stuck. There was a lot of soft sand in the river bed here and it was just too much to pull a trailer through. It wasn't long before Roelof and Leon had him out and we were on our way.
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| Leon, Nico and Roelof regrouping in the Hoarusib after pulling Nico from the soft sand |
After leaving the river bed the scenery was fantastic. We followed the Hoarusib through a large open valley lined with scenic mountains. We saw baboon for the first time on the trip. It was a big troop of about 20.
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| Now outside the river bed, Bertie and Tom drive along the river with mountains to the left |
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| Peaceful view |
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| Mountains along the road to Purros |
We arrived at the Purros community campsite around 5 pm. If you recall, this is the campsite in which a Spanish tourist was killed by an elephant about a month prior to our arrival. I was very curious about how it happened and anxious to see the campsite. Finally we were here!
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| Bertie checking in...note the sign... |
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| Setting up camp: Salome and I on the left...Nico and Rita on the right |
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