From The River To The Desert

[TRAVEL] MAMIBIA SAFARI-PART1

- Richard Van Rynveld

I had been dreaming of this trip for more thant a year: A three-week-long Namibian Desert Safari.

On our itinerary were world-renowned attractions such as Ai-Ais, Richtersveld Transfrontier Park, the Fish River Canyon, the ghost town of Kolmanskop, the mysterious German castle of Duwisib, Sossusvlei, the Trans Kalahari Route and more...

Our safari team, headed by Jannie Rykaart of Protea Safari Tours, consisted of myself, four vehicles from Johannesburg and one from East London.

I felt like a bit of a show-off, since I had a newly-launched Mitsubishi Triton 2.4-litre double cab, behind which I towed a Conqueror Comfort.

By the end of this trip, I would have a few thousand kilometres with this combination under my belt, and I can tell you it’s a fantastic way to experience Namibia.

LAKE GRAPPA

The official starting point for our safari was Norotshama River Resort on the banks of the mighty Orange River in Namibia. But I was coming from Johannesburg, and driving over 1 200 km in one go to get to my first destination was madness, so I decided to head out a few days before the pack and stop over at Lake Grappa just outside Kakamas.

Arriving at Lake Grappa, I found some other members of our team, Colin and Martha Gordon, had already set up camp. They’d driven from East London down to Cape Town where they hired an Echo 3 for the trip.

I’d actually met Colin and Martha on a previous trip with Jannie’s Protea Safari Tours, when we travelled to Sani Pass.

After I was also set up, Colin and I headed down to the Lake Grappa restaurant where they whip up giant hamburgers that would put the Yanks to shame.

On Wednesday and Friday the restaurant has ‘make your own pizza’ nights. We put this to the test, as well as the next night and, like the hamburgers, they were delicious.