Day 39: Rundu

Last night, it took us a while to attribute some rather squeaky and funny sounds to some small bats in the tree. Nice fellows.

We spent the morning taking laundry to the laundry (5 euros for a good 2 kilos), filling up the gas bottle (although the Afrox employees were rather reluctant), stocking up on supplies, and once again wondering what to do with a 10-kilo bag of sugar.

Then we went to Toyota Pupkewitz. The bushings had arrived and were being replaced. The right wheel still has a slight play, not critical at the moment, but we should keep an eye on it. The upper ball joints and the CV joints are OK. The plug connection to the actuator for 4x4 operation was checked again; everything was fine. We should switch to 4x4 when stationary in the future – the fact that the shifting is still a bit tricky is probably due to the different tires on the front and rear. It's amazing how much of a difference you can see.

With our fairly new car, we're definitely better off at a Toyota workshop than with mechanics for older Land Cruisers and trucks. Especially here in South Africa. On the west coast, however, the Lebanese-run workshops were our preferred destinations.

Conclusion: In this state, we're heading east again and on toward Zambia.

We get lunch again at the Culture Cafe. And you just have to realize that these portions are made for other people. That's easily enough for us tonight – half ends up in a takeaway box.

For today, we've found a slightly better campsite outside of town (Kaisosi River Lodge). And unlike yesterday's spot, this one is quite full.