African Road Trip - 4x4 Adventure

Baobab trees are thought to be some of Africa's oldest inhabitants. Standing at up to 100 feet tall with a girth of 20-plus feet, baobabs rise above the scrub brush and can be seen for miles around. The only thing around that will stand up to the abuse, elephants commonly use baobabs as scratching posts and to clean their tusks.

The giraffe, standing at 16-18 feet tall and weighing up to 3,000 pounds, is the tallest landborn animal on the planet. Preyed upon by most African carnivores, giraffes are always on the alert and ready to move. Its favorite food is the elevated leaves of the camelthorn acacia. It has a prehensile tongue that is used to pluck the highest leaves away from the acacia's razor-sharp thorns.

In a land where distances between services are measured in hundreds of kilometers, carrying the right gear is essential. Acquire the best maps you can find, ask locals about the area, bring a GPS and compass as well as extra water and provisions, and don't forget your common sense.

Hiking to the top of the Sossusvlei Dunes in the Namib-Naukluft Desert as the morning sun begins to illuminate the horizon is spectacular. The dunes span for as far as the eye can see, their red sands fading into the horizon in every direction. They are also some of the tallest sand dunes in the world. We measured (with our GPS) a height of 782 feet from the summit of Sossusvlei to the Dead Vlei saltpan below.

The red sands of the Sossusvlei Dunes encompass over 30,000 square kilometers. The evolution of the dunes has taken millions of years. It is theorized that sand from the Orange River, as it was washed into the Atlantic, was then swept north by the Benguela current and helped ashore by the pounding surf. A constant offshore breeze has blown the sand inland again, creating one of the world's largest expanses of sand dunes.

It's a good idea to be prepared for changing conditions. The first day on the road, we realized that our propane regulator was kaput. For the next week, we would be cooking meals over an open fire. In the end, it made for a more authentic experience.

The gemsbok, or oryx, is a cousin of the antelope and roams freely in many parts of southern Africa. Highly adapted to dry environs, oryx such as this one we saw on Dead Vlei in the Sossusvlei Dunes, can go long periods without water. Adult males stand about 4 feet at the shoulder and weigh about 450 pounds.

While rare in many parts of southern Africa due to centuries of hunting, the African leopard does still exist in the wild. Its rosette markings help it blend with its environment, and its sleek form and prowess reminded us that everything in the African wilds is part of the food chain... including us.

International adventures are not usually about extreme four-wheeling, but if you are off the beaten track terrain can vary and four-wheel drive should be a priority when renting a vehicle. Taking an unmarked side route into Gaub Canyon to find camp one afternoon, we definitely needed Low range and low air pressure to get back to the road.

As recently as 1970, African bush elephants numbered upward of 300,000. The ivory trade and illegal poaching dropped that number to an alarming 10,000 by the mid '80s. With heightened government protection and bans on ivory exports, African elephant populations are rapidly on the rise again. While observing a few adolescent females, this big boy came out of the bush and headed straight toward our truck. We gently put it in Reverse and backed away until he lost interest in us.

Four-wheel drive is needed to access the red dunes of the Namib Desert.

The beauty of traveling on your own rather than with a guided tour is the freedom to explore. In the Khomas plateau, we turned off on this untracked gorge to look for wildlife. A few miles in, dozens of game tracks crossed the wash; we set camp and waited.

One U.S. dollar is worth twentyfold to Namibian bushmen. This family came running out from a mud rondavel (hut) in the bush to sell us handmade bead necklaces and firewood. The equivalent of four U.S. dollars exchanged hands - enough to provide food for several weeks.

We were told that welwitschia means "two leaves, won't die" in Bantu, the language of the native people. It is said to be one of the oldest living things on the planet (this one probably sprouted about 500 years before Columbus sailed to the Americas). In a region that receives less than an inch of rain annually, the welwitschia grows from its base, pushing the existing leafs farther into the parched desert to eventually dry up and be blown away.