28-Oct-2007 -- Renate and I left Windhoek early on Sunday, 28 October, travelling eastwards on the B6 highway, then turning off on the C23, an excellent tarred road, southwards towards Dordabis, a small rural settlement. Beyond Dordabis we continued on a gravel road south-east towards Leonardville. After about 40 km we found the turnoff to a farm which seemed to be heading towards the Confluence. We followed this farm road for several kilometers but then found that we were slowly moving south of the Confluence. We realized that we had come too far, so we turned back to the main road and returned the way we had come until we reached the turn-off to the neighbouring farm. An attractive entrance gate greeted us, the walls on each side had a gemsbok painted on them and the name Kowas Adventure Safaris.

We followed the well-maintained farm road until we reached the house where we met the owners, Danie and Ansie Strauss. They were very friendly and made us feel welcome. Once we had explained the purpose of our visit, Danie was most helpful and offered to accompany us to the Confluence, which seemed to be situated on the neighbouring farm. We travelled several kilometers to the farm gate with a sign reading "Neuhof Kowas 233. H.Rügheimer". Danie told us that the farm was run by Volker Rügheimer and his wife Silke. We drove to the farmhouse but no-one was home. After driving around trying to find the easiest approach to the Confluence, we spotted Volker's vehicle in the distance where he was checking a waterpoint. We met him and Silke there and obtained their permission to visit the site.

From there it was an easy drive to the Confluence which was situated near the top of a small hill. We parked our vehicle under the shade of a "yellow wood" tree (Gelbholz or Terminalia sericea) and walked the last 100 meters or so to the Confluence. By this time the battery on our GPS was running very low and as we reached the Confluence, it cut out completely - disaster!!

We left it lying in the sun whilst we took all the necessary photographs and then, after giving it a good shake, were able to muster up enough power to be able to take a single photo of the GPS before it cut out again, this time completely flat. Fortunately, the picture came out well!