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Updated Information
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Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
119km |
Meals
Pasta salad and fried rice |
Weather |
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Near Lucira, Angola |
08 May, 2004 |
Beach Camp |
14°08.970’S
12°22.273’E |
Odometer: 20119km |
Sunny, 85(F) degrees |
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We continued our drive along the coast today.
The scenery has changed dramatically from the humid tropics of northern
Angola to the semi-arid Sahel-like area we are in now. The change is
similar to what we experienced in Cameroon, only in reverse. The ocean
currents here come up from the Antarctic, and although the sun is hot, the
breezes near the coast are very cool. The roads today gradually improved
until we hit old tarmac shortly after lunch. David and Nadine took a short
detour to visit Lucira while the rest of us drove to a beach camp
recommended by Mario. Nadine and David joined us about a half hour later
and reported that Lucira has “nothing to see, nothing to do, and nothing
to buy.” We had time to do some laundry and enjoy some Frisbee before
starting dinner. The beach is steep and the surf breaks violently and
close to the shore, creating impressive displays. Elza collected some
beautiful sea shells, and has a little kit so that she can make jewelry
out of them. |
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Updated Information
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Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today: 236km |
Meals
Roasted Chicken |
Weather |
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Near Lubango, Angola |
09 May, 2004 |
Beach Camp |
15°01.212’S
12°43.147’E |
Odometer: 20355km |
Sunny, 90(F) degrees
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We awoke this morning to overcast skies and
surprisingly chilly temperatures that had us digging to the bottom of our
clothing boxes for fleece jackets that haven’t seen the light of day since
winter in France. Shortly after we set off we stopped at an old disused
lighthouse. It was empty and abandoned, but the view from the top was
nice. The road is excellent and winds through beautiful countryside. We
made it to Namibe just after noon. Namibe is a very strange place with
lots of colonial (Portugese) buildings, some of which are in very good
repair. The town is set on the coast and has cool breezes and lots of palm
trees. We stopped at a commercial campground for lunch and considered
spending the night there, but since a few of us are running short on cash
we decided to head inland toward Lubango and bush camp. We drove about
80km, on excellent road for the first 60kms, stopping at a dusty fuel
station in the middle of nowhere so the Pinzy could fill up. Our campsite
is near a rock outcropping which gives us a good view of the plateau we
will drive onto tomorrow. |
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This evening's camp site |
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Updated Information
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Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
229km |
Meals
Chicken with mashed potatoes and rice |
Weather |
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North of Namibe, Angola |
10 May, 2004 |
Bush Camp |
15°31.457’S
14°02.534’E |
Odometer: 20584km |
Sunny, 85(F) degrees
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After an hour’s drive on good
road this morning, we started the 4000-foot climb up onto the plateau. The
road near the top is an engineering marvel with about five tight hairpin
switchbacks. We stopped at an overlook that provided a great view of the
plain below and the waterfalls flowing down off the plateau. We drove into
Lubango where we planned to do some shopping and fill the “Landies” (which
includes Land Rovers and the Land Cruiser) with diesel. The first station
we stopped at had no diesel, and while we were discussing what to do,
someone reached into Graham and Connie’s car and snatched Connie’s wallet
that contained their cash, credit cards, and passports. About five minutes
later the thief threw the wallet under the Land Cruiser, minus $200 in
cash. We were thankful to get the passports back, as we didn’t fancy
returning to Luanda to get replacement passports. The group is short on
cash (at least US dollars, which brings the best rates here) and David and
Nadine were kind enough to buy some chicken for the group. We drove around
to a couple more petrol stations and finally located some diesel. We
stopped just out of town for a very late lunch. The Pinzgauer (also called
“the Pinzy”)seems to be using a lot of oil, and when we camped Graham,
Slade, Urs, and David disassembled the cylinder heads and found a bad
exhaust valve guide. They discussed ways to get the Pinzy back on the
road, and decided to try to disable the bad cylinder. This will require
the Pinzy to run on 3 cylinders for the next 400 km to reach the first
decent sized town in Namibia where we speak the language and can get
parts. The guys (except David) in our group seem to be affected by a
strange skin rash which so far has left the girls unaffected. It’s just an
annoyance now, but worrisome since so many of us are affected. |
A visitor to our camp this morning Witt dangles his legs off the edge of the world
A visitor to our camp this morning
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Updated Information
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Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
101km |
Meals
Chicken with artichoke hearts |
Weather |
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Near Cahama, Angola |
11 May, 2004 |
Bush Camp |
16°19.239’S
14°22.216’E |
Odometer: 20685km |
Sunny, 85(F) degrees
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Slade and Urs got an early
start working on the Pinzgauer this morning. They removed the pushrod and
the rocker arm of the broken exhaust valve and plugged the holes with a
piece of cork held in by a bolt (you’d have to see it). We left camp at
about 10am and drove about 8km, but the Pinzy was still burning a lot of
oil. We checked and found that the cork was not doing the trick. We
replaced it with a bolt that was held in place with leak fix. This stopped
the oil being burned, but when Urs stopped to check the oil about 20
minutes later, he discovered that oil was still leaking. We decided not to
chance blowing up the engine and decided to try to tow the Pinzy to
Namibia. We attached a rope and Slade was able to tow it with his Land
Rover (the Pinzy weighs about 1.5x what the Landy does). We did pretty
well and weren’t going much slower than the speed allowed by the badly
potholed road. We camped for the night just after the town of Cahama. Our
rashes haven’t improved, and we are becoming concerned that they could
become infected. Graham’s is the worst, being near his left eye. He has
been swabbing it with alcohol, but this is very painful. Mario had
recommended a piste that would take us through an alternate border
crossing and through a scenic area of the country. We’ve decided to stick
to the main road instead since we’re not sure about towing the Pinzy along
a piste. David and Nadine’s visas expire tomorrow, so they will have to
leave us in the morning to ensure they leave the country. |
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Land Rover, "Sid," with the
Pinzy in tow |
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Now, on to
Namibia.......... |
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