The pot holes that is.
I wake up early with the familiar beeping noise from the inside of the wagon.. ahh the fridge has finally gone into low power mode. But we have been sitting for 6 days now with no real driving so I am happy with the length of time it did run off a single battery. We have a quick exit and stop at the café for breakfast, they make rhino cookies, best cookies ever. We quickly hit the road and start making good time, that is till we reach the turn off back to Botswana, but we are not going that way, we are continuing to Namibia, and continuing on the road deteriorates at an alarming pace, we spend most of the day floating between 20-60kmh half off the road to miss the pot holes.
I pass a truck that is weaving around pot holes and about 10kms later I check my mirrors and grill, just truck grill, oh shit, I move, it’s the same truck, he has had enough and upped the speed to 60 or 70 and is not swerving anymore, hitting every pothole on the road. Obviously not an owner operator…
Just before the border we grab fresh veggies and stock up. Can’t go past local food. Pulling up to the Wenela border post on the Zambia side, which I find much easier if you are leaving. The process is quick and painless. The Botswana side not so much, there is more corruption here it seems. We get stamped for immigration then go onto customs for the wagon, I wait, fill out forms and wait some more. We’re not in a rush today so we are patient. I get the paper work back for 14 days, I ask for 28, he says drive to Windhoek for that. Are you kidding? Go all the way there, that ruins our trip. He’s staring at me like he wants a bride but won’t say it, with papers in my hand I leave less than impressed. More on that later.
Sometimes it’s easier to get behind the glass to help…
After squeezing the pajero through a road lined on both sides with trucks we make our way into town and setup camp on the river. We braai and drink. Celebrating entry to a new country.
