Onjuva is roughly 200km, 6 hours, west of opuwo. It is pretty much in the middle of nowhere…actually, let’s not be ambiguous, it IS in the middle of nowhere. That’s what makes it pretty special though. I can honestly say that I’ve never experienced so many breathtaking views in one journey. Let’s see how this trip went:
Saturday morning I woke up with a bit of a headache from Sammy’s going away. It was 7:45am and I was ready for a trip. Penny arrived promptly at 8:45 and we were off to pick up her boss and wife. Should have known better in thinking we would leave on time. We leave Opuwo by about 10:30. Due west.
About 2 hours into the drive I start getting hungry and reach for my trusty Sweet Chili Pepper Doritos. I follow this up with 2 PB&Js and a granola bar. The views are starting to hit. Wow. (See Pictures) We spend some time chasing some elephants that we may have never actually seen.
3 hours in there are big rocks in the road. Commonly used as a way to make people stop thereby allowing time for them to be robbed, I happily jump out to move them. We were not robbed…more to come on this later.
4 hours in Ostriches. Man are they big. Even their babies are big. We chase them down the road as Penny worries she has ruined the family as they get split up. I stick my body out the window and get some photos and video and love every second of it.
The drive continues and things just keep getting better. We stumble upon an Oryx, some Springbok, more Ostriches, and Sting’s fields of gold. (See Pictures)
When asking ‘Are We There Yet?’, John, Penny’s boss, points to the far mountain ranges and explains that’s where the Marble Campsite is. It’s pretty far and it’s 5 hours. I have now consumed a Grapetiser, a Fanta, 2 liters of water, a whole giant bag of Doritos, 2 PB&Js, a granola bar, some biscuits (cookies) and some jerky which may or may not have required cooking before consuming. I feel wonderful and my back thanked me for the ride.
When arriving at the campsite, John instructs Penny to ignore the shiny new sign that says ‘This Way to the Marble Campsite’ and tells her to go to the left because it’s ‘the way.’ We encounter numerous road closed signs, some boulders in our way and we’re clearly going the wrong way. We make it to the camp via riverbed only to find that this way is not passible and all of the campsite workers stare. John makes a hasty getaway and Penny is annoyed. John later responds, ‘You were the Driver.’
Dinner is prepared by yours truly with a foil bag full of sweet potato, red pepper, tomatoes and onion. Delicious. Remember my affection for packaged Bumblebee Tuna steaks? Mesquite flavor not so good. A little time by the fire, lots of water and it’s off to bed. More to come…