September 18th, 2024
Upon arrival in Windhoek it is remarkably cool, only 5C. But the fresh air helps to clear our tiredness after the long flight. There is always a little moment of suspense, but also this time, our truck starts, all good, just one tyre has lost a bit of pressure, but that’s why we now always jack up the car when we store it. Now the usual preparations await us, for example oil change.
September 24th, 2024
Until the very last minute we were pondering if we should travel for our annual “carnet run” to Zimbabwe or Angola. After all we have decided to visit Angola, a new country for us where we haven’t traveled to. Angola is currently opening up to tourists and has abolished visa requirements. Also, the country is located just more conveniently as it’s closer to Windhoek and we would save a drive of almost 500km. The Caprivi strip is always a long monotonous drive. We are looking forward to a new adventure.
September 30th, 2024
Lubango is much bigger than we expected. The city is located on an altitude of more than 1700m on the Huila Plateau. From the hills we always have a different view of the city. A layer of fog and dust covers the city and tickles the nose immediately. The town’s landmark the monument Christ the King is visible from far away and from almost everywhere in town. It is possible to drive with the car to the very top and park next to it. 
October 1st, 2024
At the famous Serra da Leba the road descends 1600m from the Huila Plateau. Legend has it that this pass is named after the woman engineer who built the road, but passed away on the day the project was finished. At the opposite viewpoint is a restaurant from where you can watch the vehicles driving up and down until it is getting dark. 
October 7th, 2024
Where there is water there is agriculture. Even big paddocks have to be worked by hand, very seldom we see agricultural machinery. Often the water is pumped in long thin plastic pipes with generator power over long distances. The scenery reminds very much of Morocco. We see mostly corn, tomato, pepper and onion fields. In the north where it’s warmer, we see many banana, papaya and mango trees. A pineapple from a street vendor costs only 50US Cents per piece. 
October 12th, 2024
The landscape of Angola is very diverse and interesting. Desert, Savanna, dense African jungle, fruit plantations, vegetable fields and impressive granite hill formations, we were able to get a glimpse of them all. Unfortunately, there was always a layer of dust in the air.
October 17th, 2024
Angola is a positive surprise, we had no idea what to expect. The people are friendly and helpful, the food is really good, there are no road blocks with police checks, hardly anybody is bothering us (except for the street kids) and it is possible to wild camp where there is a suitable place. However, the roads are sometimes so bad with big and deep potholes, it slows down traveling so much, that it is hard to predict when one will arrive. The rubbish is a catastrophe, it seems nobody is bothered here to find heaps rubbish everywhere, but they certainly have to do something. 
October 20th, 2024
It’s only mid-October, but in Ondjiva in Angola Christmas season has started, including Christmas music played in the supermarket.
November 1st, 2024
This year’s visit to Etosha is a lucky one, we got to see many animals. It is still very dry, the animals frequent the waterholes regularly. We see not only big herds of elephants, zebras, springbok and wildebeest, but also lions and for the first time for us a cheetah and a leopard rather up close. 
November 7th, 2024
We have never before seen so many lions. We won’t complain. 
November 14th, 2024
Finally, we made it to the Waterberg. Many times we have passed by but never managed to stop and hike up the Waterberg Plateau. An area of 405 sqkm around the Waterberg was declared a National Park in 1972, most parts are inaccessible, the plateau can only be accessed on foot or by guided tour. Historically, the Waterberg is an important landmark, as one of the last and perhaps the biggest battle against the German colonial forces took place here, where many lives were lost. 
November 21st, 2024
We are back fishing at the coast north of Hentiesbaai. It is always good to be here, the landscape and the colors are so nice, it is cool. Since it’s not main fishing season, there are only very few other fishermen about. 
November 27th, 2024
It is time for some “TLC” for our car, the rust is getting worse. It won’t get any better the longer we procrastinate. We are working on two levels, more or less diligently… After the paint is removed we discover, that the metal plates at the back of the driver cabin are indeed totally damaged.
December 2nd, 2024
How cool is that, in Windhoek we meet carpenters “auf der Walz” (traveling in the “tradition of the journeyman years”). A great opportunity to ask them all we always wanted to know about being “on the walz”.
December 15th, 2024
We wish you a happy “3rd Advent”. In these temperatures not only the candles suffer.
