In Windhoek we stayed at the Urban Camp which is across the road from the famous Joes Pub.  Which we visited of course.  Interestingly we were warned not to walk back to the camp in the dark even though it was just 500 meters.  And I thought South Africa was dangerous.  The WiFi at Joes pub was poor, so back at the Urban Camp we had a few more beers and uploaded our posts as best we could. Urban Camp gets a thumbs up for cleanliness and everything works and works well.

I did some research on Sudan and the situation does not look very good with Americans withdrawing except for essential staff. This situation has placed my dream of Cape to Cairo in jeopardy and for now we stick to the route we had planned and will check on Sudan as we progress.

We left Windhoek early towards Etosha.  Nice roads and uneventful, just watch out for the warthogs on the side of the road.  If they decide to inspect your number plate life is going to get uncomfortable.  In Otjiworongo we found an eclectic café off the main road, which provided a breakfast, some rusks and koeksisters and of course WiFi. Unbelievably whatever you come across in Namibia, irrespective of which town there is a strong German influence, with street names like Bahnhof Strasse and labels on beer like “Reinheitsgebot”.  There is even a German radio station “Hit Radio Namibia” http://www.hitradio.com.na/

We filled with fuel, bought groceries and pushed onto Etosha.  The car was performing well and our plug in the tyre no longer needed any attention.

While driving through Outjo we saw a crowd had assembled on the corner and using rakes and sticks a few of the men were trying to pull a snake from the engine bay of a car.  The crowd was frantic and freaking out about the snake.  We joined the crowd but before we had even stopped they had ripped the snake from the car and killed it.  The mob was ecstatic. We drove on.

We arrived at Etosha Safari lodge and here to the camp site , reception, toilets and showers were all very good and the WiFi worked.  We blocked a spot at the campsite because it was fully booked and promptly drove into the Park.

I had to see the Etosha pan and this was our first stop.  After that it went from a multitude of game to Elephant and Lion. Check out our pics. It is truly amazing that the animals thrive in this environment.  Etosha is beautiful and that pan is just amazing.  The gates closed at 6:50 pm and we were back in camp and set up in 10 minutes.  Did some packing and re-organizing of the car to make things more convenient and climbed into the bubbles to celebrate my birthday

The next day, and you will notice I don’t say the date nor the day as I am not sure what they are and actually I don’t really care. We were in the park as the gates opened and drove from Anderson gate through to the east and Numatoni, where we were meant to stay but could not get accommodation.  We exited late this afternoon and are now staying at a guest farm that has 6 campsites, called Sachsenheim .  Nice layout with electricity and nice showers and bathrooms.