The best laid plans of Mice, Men, and the Tribe etc. Land Rover Windhoek got a message to us to say that they had not been able to contact the driver of the Monday truck, could we intercept it when it came through – time unknown.
Now we were 16 kms from the main road, 4 of which through bush, so that was not too easy. Anyway Sean got himself to the police checkpoint on the Divundu bridge and waited.
After 5 long, hot and extremely thirsty hours, no truck, and a very long walk through the dusk back to camp. The walk was only 8 k because thankfully the people there were worried and sent out a rescue party – as we said they are really supportive.
Next day we got to a phone and spoke to Windhoek again. Don’t worry they said. Leave the vehicle there, they will sort matters out. Just hire a small car at Divundu, drive to Windhoek, and they will have our Landy all ready for us by Friday afternoon – in 4 days. Our confidence in Land Rover plummeted. We had been under the impression that they knew just where we were and what the conditions were, and here they were blithely thinking that we could just go out and hire a car in a village one hundredth the size of Port St. Johns.
The only transport available for hire in Divundu.
No, we said, thanks for the offer, but we’ll stay until we see the Landy loaded and then we’ll get into Rundu – 200 k away – and see about hiring a car.
The brewery truck arrived at about 1530 on Wednesday, hooted, drove down to the store, turned around and went on its merry way leaving our Landy where it was!
Great quantities of muscle relaxant were consumed that night….. Time to act. On Thursday we got a lift into Rundu and hired the only vehicle there – a very tired Toyota 4 x 4 at a price that we could have bought one for in Durban. Back to Divundu where we picked up the Landy on Friday morning and set off for a long tow to Windhoek, where we now are.
Tomorrow we will know what the damage is. Life is still good. Talk to you soon and thank you all for your messages.