Author Topic: Angola 2016 with the H's - what a trip (Read 57511 times)

AndriesH · « **on:** May 19, 2016, 08:10:52 AM »

Hallo - it's me.

Here is the short short version of the Angola trip Mrs H and I made during April and May 2016.
Been saving and planning for a long time and drove and drove and drove about half way around the world.

What a trip, what a woman - it was freaking awesome.

In short:
We left JHB on the 20th of April with the Amarok to Swakopmund.
Being 2x4, the trip organizers insisted we get a 4x4.
In Swakop, we collected the rent a dent, Nissan NP300 4x4 2.4L petrol - a real THIRSTY donkey. NEVER left us in the lurch - respect.
From Swakop we traveled to Ruacana where we met up with the rest of the group on Friday the 20th.
In total, we were about 28 people traveling in 14 vehicles.
Saturday, hit the road from Ruacana, through the Angolan border to Xangango - 4 hours of the worst 90km dirt road ever.
From Xangango to Lubango, nice tar road and there we camped for the night in an new Marble processing plant.
Sunday from Lubango over the Lebo pass to Namibe, Tombwa and on to the beach to set up main camp in Iona national park.
We made a 2 day trip north to Pipas - home of the giant shad and several game fish species.
We also made a trip through the doodsakker for another 2 day stay on Tigres, the home of the giant cob.
The trip back home started on Friday the 3rd of May at sparrows targeting Ruacana as our stopover for the night.
Got lost in Ovamboland and set up a bush camp for the night - 16km from the border.
Home on Thursday the 9th of May.

The general consensus was that the fishing was bad due to an upset ocean - we blanked 5 days.
Personally, with the group catching more than 3.5 tons in 10 days, I think is good.
Mrs H topped the scales with more than 120kg's of her own catches.

Highlights:
Biggest Cob = 32kg
Biggest Leerie = 18.6kg
Biggest Bronze whaler = 132kg
Biggest Kollie = 42cm

Plenty of foto's, and please enjoy the scenery with me - it is an amazingly beautiful country that added immense value and appreciation to our trip.

Note - not 1 little begging hand at the window, not 1 bribe, not 1 corner salesman dumping his groceries on your lap - ANYWHERE - until we came through the RSA border. Amazing people and discipline.

Do this trip - it is AMAZING.

AndriesH · « **Reply #1 on:** May 19, 2016, 08:12:34 AM »

Hit the road:
Leaving JHB before sparrows, Staying over at Zelda's just before Gobabis and the road leaving Henties going North East

AndriesH · « **Reply #2 on:** May 19, 2016, 08:14:57 AM »

Water break, Ruacana waterfalls and some of the local BUGS

AndriesH · « **Reply #3 on:** May 19, 2016, 08:17:09 AM »

Border crossing into Angola, grouping together and some local game - road hazards

AndriesH · « **Reply #4 on:** May 19, 2016, 08:18:26 AM »

Tar road from Xangango to Lubango, The view from the Christ cross and us.

AndriesH · « **Reply #5 on:** May 19, 2016, 08:19:56 AM »

One of the greatest mountain passes in the world - we dropped almost 1000m in just less than 14km.

AndriesH · « **Reply #6 on:** May 19, 2016, 08:22:45 AM »

Some scary moves on the pass. All the vehicles had radios and it helped a lot with road hazards etc. Also caused a lot of k@k that resulted in strafdoppe - he he he.
The town of Namibe at the coast with the harbour looking like it was cut out of the sandstone.
Onto the dirt and the sand for the final stretch to camp.

AndriesH · « **Reply #7 on:** May 19, 2016, 08:25:07 AM »

The road to no where - Everywhere.

AndriesH · « **Reply #8 on:** May 19, 2016, 08:26:37 AM »

Finally, our base camp

AndriesH · « **Reply #9 on:** May 19, 2016, 08:30:40 AM »

Opening the account with Kollies.
I don't mind, I'm going to get my 2kg boy.

Keith on the other hand came up for big cob - Fished 5'0 hook, caught kollie, upped to 6'0, caught kollie, upped to 8'0, caught kollie, upped to 10'0 and ------------------ fowl hooked a kollie. He suffered badly.

Grunter
Mrs H - Kollie

AndriesH · « **Reply #10 on:** May 19, 2016, 08:32:00 AM »

Wikus, Hendri, Johan and Xavier.

AndriesH · « **Reply #11 on:** May 19, 2016, 08:34:20 AM »

Mrs H sandy
Cobby
The monster Nissan rent a dent

AndriesH · « **Reply #12 on:** May 19, 2016, 08:39:06 AM »

Getting stuck was easy for some guys. Between the salt flats and washing water, very easy.

Miss the tracks by 30cm !!!!

AndriesH · « **Reply #13 on:** May 19, 2016, 08:40:57 AM »

Going to Pipas - home of the giant shad.

Over these two days we caught a grand total of -----------------------4 shad.
The afternoon after we left a group a 6 anglers caught 40 in an hour with the smallest being 4kg.

AndriesH · « **Reply #14 on:** May 19, 2016, 08:42:20 AM »

Pipas was plugs and artificials.
Spoons and plugs.

AndriesH · « **Reply #15 on:** May 19, 2016, 08:44:22 AM »

Camping in PIPAS was crude to say the least.
Travel light and sleep wherever you want.

Our bedroom for these two nights.

This is where the night sky is made.

AndriesH · « **Reply #16 on:** May 19, 2016, 08:45:31 AM »

Shad at Pipas and the Leeries back at base camp

AndriesH · « **Reply #17 on:** May 19, 2016, 08:49:55 AM »

Back at base camp we had a leerie smash - Absolutely incredible.

For the first time in my life I had a hit on a popper - like hitting a brick wall and then some.

I had him on for about 3 minutes, putting my tackle trough it's paces - shees, it felt like the varnish was popping off the rod as it buckled and bent under the punishment this fish was handing out - FREEEKING AWESOME.

AndriesH · « **Reply #18 on:** May 19, 2016, 09:01:34 AM »

Fishies

AndriesH · « **Reply #19 on:** May 19, 2016, 09:03:37 AM »

Hendri with another cobby and the Mrs H went all in.
Main hook 8'0, skelm hook 5'0 and she hooks then both in the bek.