| Introduction | Windhoek | Okonjima | Okaukejo 1 | Onguma | Okaukejo 2 | Mowani |
| Swakopmund | Hoodia | Namtib | Fish River | Springbok | Babylon’s Toren | Going Home |
Tuesday 17th October
(The link above takes you to all the photos I took on the 17th October. There are a lot!)
It was a long drive to Mowani – more than 200 miles, but it was easy driving – mostly. A few miles beyond Khorixas the tar gave out and we were on dirt, but that was no great problem.
We had to refuel twice. not because we had to but because the scarcity of filling stations means that it is wise to fill up whenever you see one! Indeed at Khorixas one of the two filling stations had run out of diesel.
At the Etosha Trading Post I made the mistake of buying a chicken pie for lunch. When I ate it several hours later it tasted awful – too salty, not enough chicken – so I discarded it. It would have been better if I had discarded it before eating as I succumbed to diarrhoea the next day. I may be miscalling the Trading Post but I do not think I ate anything else that day which I did not share with Chris, and she remained healthy – and sympathetic.
Most of the way was flat and not very interesting but as we got closer to Mowani the landscape became more rugged.
Then we arrived at Mowani. Mowani is built into a granite tor. A glance at Google Earth shows the granite pluton intruding the folded and tilted Damara sediments. The centre of the pluton has weathered more than the margins. There is a larger pluton just to the east of the Mowani one. I wish I could have seen the sediments between the plutons. It must have got rather hot when they intruded.
The track from the road to the Lodge is very sandy but eventually you get to the reception area. This is built with rounded, thatched roofs which blend with the huge granite boulders of the tor.
At reception we heard all about the facilities of the lodge, told about the Sundowner spot, booked our elephant spotting trip on the morrow and were shown to our chalet.
After settling in we went to the Sundowner lookout to admire the view and the cocktails.
Wednesday 18th October
(The link above takes you to all the photos I took on the 18th October. There are a lot!)
To go on our desert elephant drive we had to get up and have an early breakfast.
We had been warned the night before to wear warm clothes as we would be travelling some distance in an open vehicle in the cold of the early morning. This was advice that was well worth taking! In addition we were given ponchos to help keep us warm – we needed them.
Elephants on the move
An important source of income for the locals is a tourist tax. And it is the elephants which bring the tourists. And the elephants can’t pee in the cistern!
Once we were back from looking at elephants, Chris went off to look at the Bushman rock art at Twyfelfontein. After my encounter with the chicken pie from Etosha Trading Post, mentioned above, I did not dare be more than six paces from a toilet, so I stayed in the chalet.
Thursday 19th October
(The link above takes you to all the photos I took on the 19th October. There are a lot!)
After a fantastic stay at Mowani we checked out and set off for Swakopmund.