The International Caravanning Association
The Southern Africa Tour, South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe
September 18th  - October 26th 2011

Look at a map of Africa.  It’s a big place.  You may perhaps not realise quite how big.  From Heathrow, it’s two hours to Marseille and the Mediterranean, then another eight hours to Capetown! The ICA tour in South Africa in March 2009, travelling from Johannesburg to the coast north of Durban then down the Garden Route to Capetown, covered some 4500 kilometers, and that experience, plus the enthusiasm for visiting Namibia, prompted Paul Vickery and his wife Christine, assisted by David Hirst and his wife Pauline, to investigate the possibility of doing so. Together with BoBo Campers, they put together a tour for fourteen units lasting 38 days that would do just that, presenting an opportunity to see much more of Southern Africa.  6500 kilometres to drive, 1500 ks of that on Namibian ‘washboard’ roads.  Two years to plan.  Some challenge!

The Tour Group came together on September 18th 2011 in the four star Atlantic Hotel in Melkbosstrand, some 30ks north of Capetown, before picking up the motor caravans the following day from the BoBo Capetown depot.  Fourteen Discoverer vans, six of them brand new, were lined up for inspection, all built by BoBo on an Iveco 2.3 litre diesel chassis. Once the formalities and the introduction to the vans had been completed the group departed in high spirits for the first overnight stop, 180ks north to Citrusdal.

The route agreed with BoBo covered a wide sweep of Southern Africa, going north from Capetown, up the main (N7) road to the Namibian border, and once into Namibia on to Ai-Ais and the Fish River Canyon.  It then swung north east along dire washboard roads but stunning African plains scenery to meet the Atlantic and the Skeleton Coast at Walvis Bay, following the coast road on to Swakopomund and Henties Bay.

Here it turned inland on washboards again, north east to the barren Etosha Pan then, following overnight stops at three lodges in the Etosha National Park, looped west on tarmac now through Grootfontein and Rundu to Poppa Falls.  

From there down  the long finger of the Caprivi Strip to the Botswana border, across  Botsawana and into Zimbabwe to Victoria Falls. Three nights there, then back into Botswana and the Chobe National Park, followed by a long run down through Francistown to Palapye, and west again back into South Africa to the Kruger National Park.  Down through the massive park, overnighting at three of the park lodges then west, back towards Johannesburg and the BoBo depot in Kempton Park. In all, 38 days travelling.

The tour book provided by the leaders set out the routes between camp sites by simple line diagrams which proved quite effective, but it proved to be a long and testing journey.  Roads in South Africa are generally of good quality, but the party were warned that heavy rains in Namibia the previous summer had damaged many of their washboard roads so much that extra care was needed and tyre pressures reduced accordingly to provide a more flexible tyre footprint. The washboard roads – so called because they are wide gravel and clay tracks which have assumed a transverse corrugated profile – posed real problems, requiring a speed sufficient to bridge the corrugations – some 60 -80kph – yet remaining alert for ‘drifts’, sharp u-shaped dips which can take out the front suspension, radiator or sump if taken too quickly.  The new vans in particular found the constant vibration affected the interiors so badly that temporary supports had to be built to hold cupboards together.  Roads in Zimbabwe and Botswana were dubious at best, on one 135 ks of roadworks (or rather the replacement of a worn out old road with a brand new one running parallel to it) presented a dreadfully degraded road surface. Towns in Southern Africa are few and far between, generally one road in and one road out, yet amazingly self contained considering the arid lands between them.  They usually had a garage for fuel and a shop or, in larger towns a supermarket, for essential supplies, bottled water and wines and beers.

Camping facilities were surprisingly numerous, considering the largely barren plains and hills surrounding the route traversed, but private game lodges with campsites flourish.  The quality of the sites chosen by Bobo varied considerably and queries about bookings proved a constant headache for the leaders, frequently having to leave one site early to make sure the requirements for the next site were properly catered for.   Most provided the basics, that is water, power (but frequently inadequate for the tour party), showers, washing facilities and toilets and most had swimming pools – and very welcome they were too in the relentless temperatures. However they seemed to cater more for four wheel drive based camping outfits with tents or heavy duty Tour Africa buses than for motor caravan touring parties. One site (Nata) was so ill prepared that some members chose to stay in the lodge instead.  Other sites, like Ai-Ais and Kasane, were so good members were reluctant to leave.

There were more unforgettable moments on this tour than it is possible to record, but here are a few –

• the dramatic change from fertile Western and Northern Cape valleys in South Africa to arid scrub desert in the Namib
• the stunning expanse of the Fish River Canyon, second only to the Grand Canyon
• the relentless clatter of driving the washboard roads in Namibia
• crows nests on telegraph poles beside washboard roads crossing vast empty scrub deserts
• the thatch of social weaver birds nests so big they brought trees down

• pelicans and cormorants gliding effortlessly beside the speeding tour boat in Walvis Bay, nonchalantly taking fish heads from the hand of a crewman before wheeling away
• huge views across empty plains to mountains shimmering in the distant haze
• lone Africans walking the washboard roads, coming from who knows where, going to who knows to where
• the improbably fine bakery run by Moose McGregor in Solitaire, a small refuge in the middle of nowhere
• the silent floodlit water hole in the Etosha with giraffe, white rhino, a pride of six lions and elephant ghosting out of the night to drink
• the barren, blazing white expanse of the Etosha Pan at the lookout, and its astonishing Mediterranean blueness when seen from inland
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• the alarm of one couple when a rhino and calf they had stopped to watch chose to charge their van; quick thinking saw them escape undamaged
• chaotic scenes at the Zimbabwe border crossing and the anger at having to pay $US265, just to get in!
• an epic day in Victoria falls, because of the help given by Charlotte, the travel agent who organised tours and activities, including two members doing the Victoria Falls bridge bungee (swing) jump, others walking with real wild lions
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• huge herds of elephant and cape buffalo in the Chobe National Park, and elephants wading across the river in front of the excursion boat

• spectacular evening boat trips and memorable group meals

• driving from Kasane to Nata, the main commercial route from the Zimbabwe border crossing to Windhoek, 135ks of bone shaking potholes
• leopards in the Kruger National  Park, and the cautious, silent wildlife procession at the Leeupan waterhole, the ‘big five’ in one day
• the anger at the SAP in Graskop demanding then pocketing fines for very minor traffic offences, and the random seizures of food at the Botswana  ‘veterinary’ checkpoints – corruption on show
• and many, many more.   

This 38 day tour, a first for the ICA, took a lot of time and planning by the leaders, and it proved a great adventure. However, while sharing experiences and misfortunes with others in a close knit group may and did give rise to minor personality clashes, the tour group generally got on well together and a good sense of cameradie emerged.  Again, the motor caravans, which appeared satisfactory on collection, proved unsuitable for the rigors to which they were subjected.  Two vans recorded turbo failures soon after leaving Capetown, one of which also suffered cab air con failure as well, and interior of all the new vans, and some of the older ones, returned to Johannesburg required attention where fixtures had broken loose or been removed on request. Tyres took a terrible beating on the washboard roads, and three vans had double wheel changes.  An ongoing concern was that serious problems could arise far from help, because no mobile signal was available in many places to summon assistance.  Members had to fix or put up with van failures.  Campsites were generally satisfactory, though several fell below what was expected. Most members felt there was too much arduous driving on awful roads, and longer stays at the better sites would have provided more leisure time for exploration.

The tour leaders worked very hard to rectify problems when they arose, and tour members greatly appreciated all the work they put in. It was a great success, an unforgettable experience, something no-one would have missed.