Great sleep with an early start to get to Terrace Bay before the Skeleton National park gate closes to meet our guides for the Skeleton coast tour. Breakfast was interesting and something I can't quiet deal with first thing in the morning, so when you add in the breakfast dish covered with the waitress saying "3,2,1 surprise" and revealing your omelette it was just too much to bare without my coffee. I'm just too impatient and ruin it by starting from "1" and prematurely lift the lid, much to the amusement of the kids - it's a hearty breakfast to set us up for the day.

Pretty uneventful 8 hours drive apart from getting pulled up in ShopRite at checkout by the manager for trying to buy a 5 litre carton on red wine on a Sunday - firmly I'm put in my place (I was totally unaware of the law and the fact that I had no clue what day it even was). We left the shop with 3 face cloths and a bar of soap. 5 hours later we pulled over on the side of the road and handed over some bread to some Himba families that were stopping cars and trading in photos for goods or money. We declined photos handed over the bread to be yelled at "give us water" - not can you spare any water, we continue on our way.

We get to the National Park gates at Springbokwasser and fill out the correct paperwork permits for the Skeleton National Park, whilst in the office Maz spots handmade Himba and Hero dolls to purchase which I'm so pleased about, they are beautifully crafted by local ladies and all proceeds go to their 2 communities.

Onto Terrace Bay only 95 km to go and its downhill to sea level, the temperature drops from 30° to 18°. On arrival we are greeted by the NWR manager, to me he was a Will-i-am double, keeping this to myself I later confide my thoughts to Maz who also had been thinking the same, anyway we are told where to drive to our room for the night. Terrace Bay is not a place that would lure the standard visitor to Namibia, it is the end of the road on the Skeleton Coast, you can't go any further without a registered guide, mainly its reputation is for fishing (angling) which is world renowned, we noticed this in the reception which was an old shed with pool table and bar like a workmen's club, there are photos from prize catches some fish as big as humans totally unbelievable sizes and photos.

The accommodation is basic and extremely dated with rooms smelling as musty as an old fisherman shack.

Will-i-am tells us there is no electricity, it is turned off between 2pm till 5pm and no WiFi connection in our rooms at all it is just accessible at the restaurant. With not much to do but take in the rough intimidating Atlantic Sea we spark up the Jetboil sit outside on the veranda and eat the remainder of my birthday cake. Maz fills up diesel at 5pm, it's a small concrete building with a padlock on the iron door, just big enough to fit a pump. We talk to the guy who filled us up and he was saying the tanker comes every 2 weeks with 27,000 litres when it's gone it's gone.

5pm and the kids are up at restaurant for WiFi which is extremely limited connectivity something that we are accustomed to now, it's the last chance to chat with friends and families for the next 8 days. The restaurant has one side of large windows overlooking the ocean and the other 3 walls and ceiling completely covered in graffiti comments from previous visitors, it's like an old working man's club very basic neglected and not overly clean.

The West Coast has extremely perilous weather, we meet our guides (Elago & Gabes) early evening and they immediately tell us that we should have enough warm clothing and windbreakers, they tell us to expect cold strong winds, mist, fog whilst on the coast line. I have several pairs of eyes on me, the kids look annoyed. I limited their clothing back in the UK and "advised" that they bring their thermals this fell on deaf ears with one child, the other only bought 1 hoody but did bring 2 merino tops and the other child tells me they never feel cold. To me the kids are old enough to take on board instructions and if they don't feel comfortable with my suggestions.... pack what you think.

With Maz my suggestion was Rab or jumper he curses me as I made him pick one, I must admit I was a little concerned how cold I might be with my lack of woollies too.

Next day we wait for the guide to fill up at the rudimentary fuel shed, install a CB radio into the car so we can communicate and head north, beyond Terrace Bay you are only allowed to drive with a guide, it's just too remote and dangerous. Off we go saying bye to what limited civilisation Terrace Bay offers, it definitely takes a certain kind of person to want to live here. We divert off the main road to visit an oasis in the desert, we initially pass a runway used for the upmarket Shipwreck Lodge and then stop briefly to deflate our tyres to 1.2 bar. Then we head up onto the dunes around 2 km and stop at the oasis hoping to spot wildlife, nothing major at the oasis just a multitude of birds singing, unbelievable how much life this small waterhole is sustaining. On the way back Maz hits some soft sand and with not enough momentum the car grinds to a halt. He tries to reverse but no joy, the car is well and truly grounded. The first tow rope snaps, eventually Elago gets his strong one out the back and we all dig around the tyres and the sump guard to give us the best chance, thankfully one attempt and we are out.

It's not long before we are at Mowe Bay office the last National Park checkpoint, formalities done we continue on to see a couple of workers fishing, we stop and with the help of our guide talk to them, they are catching cob fish to eat, no sooner than they cast there rod they very quickly land another cob.

Maz has read the Dunedin Star Shipwreck book which I'm currently reading and was able to connect the dots of the events, I am still a way off finishing the book and trying not to hear all the facts in advance. Further down the coast Elago points out the Plane wreck from the Dunedin star rescue mission a Lockheed Ventura bomber, there is not much left to see but starting to really put into perspective the enormity of the challenges the rescue teams faced by land, sea, air back in the 1940s.

We are on our way again when Elago radios us to say it's our big dune tester time. Elago is wanting to see more of what Maz's capabilities are with understanding the vehicles' ability, we have a Hilux 2.8 Turbo and omg can she fly, the Hilux accelerates quickly and makes short work of getting up the dunes. Basically, it was nothing like the White Elephant 4.2 Diesel Landcruiser we had in 2016 when we did the Faces of the Namib desert dune driving trip.

Then we follow Hoarusib river for 30 km to camp at the Clay Castles which is just clumps of mud congealed over hundreds of years - a lovely spot with rocky outlays and dry riverbed with little vegetation, just the odd fig trees growing amongst the rocks. Elago goes off some distance from our tents and starts setting up the toilet, we are given instructions of usage, I'm pretty surprised to be given a porta loo, I was sure it was a spade, loo roll and lighter - not complaining at all! Maz and I are super pleased that Arabella and Maddalena have opted to sleep in the ground tent together, it is great to see them bonding and finding their own space, this means Luca gets a good sleeping space all to himself in the roof tent, he is also happy.

Luca gets the honour of getting out his flint and steel to light the fire, there is very little in the line of twigs to help get the fire started but still soon its roaring. We enjoy Spaghetti Bolognese with amazing clear views of the Southern Cross and other constellations with no wind and warmth of the fire.

Next day we have to make lunch at breakfast time and store in zip lock bags, I tell them to put their names on their bags. Maz thinks it's funny to continue the Elvis joke from back at the border crossing to get into Zambia and writes Elvis on his and Priscilla on mine. Camp packed up, we drive off and within 10 minutes the guide spots a brown hyena also called Strandwolf. We get out and walk closer to get a better photo, unlike spotted hyena they are solitary and it is currently the rarest species of hyena. Maz and I am are taken back by the appearance, they are very hairy with shaggy wolf like features, Elago explains it is part of their adaptation to the harsh environment of the Skeleton Coast.

Briefly we leave the park and then followed the Kumib river, which is the one the Dunedin Star convey went up in 1940s on their rescue mission. Back in the park we stop briefly at a spring and spot hyena, jackals, oryx footprints with an abundance of bird life, it is amazing see such life around in such a ruthless environment along with several skeleton remains. One thing that has blown me away is the remoteness people will go to source natural materials, we are so removed from civilisation and then we come across an abandoned amethyst mine. It is like a scene out of a 80s

B-class science fiction movie with dome shapes pods with rusted doors, plants growing out of window frames a very airy place that once was full of activity. Luca and I were in our element smashing rocks looking for semi-precious stone, it was amazing finding large clusters of vibrant crystals but once again we are reminded that we are not allowed to take anything from the park so have to leave our findings.

After a brief discussion we made the decision to push on instead of camping inland, we opt for camping down at the Seal Colony on the coast. Where we tend to pitch up, we spot a brown hyena with a baby seal dragging it away from the shore with lots of jackals trying to get on the action harassing the hyena, we observed from a short distance, but the truck must have startled the hyena and it drops the seal leaving the jackals to fight it out for a tasty bite.

The wind is strong at the camp area, it's a very grey misty and a soulless place. We try and create a wind barrier with the trucks and dunes but think it's a lost effort. All pitched up, soon we are surrounded by curious jackals, it is pretty scary as they circled around us - apparently they will not attack just observe and take chances for anything left lying around. Maz heads off in the dunes looking for seals and soon is encircled by jackals rather intimidating he starts pelting rocks. I go for a pee in the dunes and have an audience of jackals not great! Luca is a happy boy he gets out his slingshot and starts firing pebbles at them briefly, it is not as much use as too many to make a difference. It really is cold on the Skeleton Coast due to the south west wind blowing cold air up from Antarctica. Now we are all wishing we had thick jackets with us - lesson learnt don't listen to Edwina!

We brave the wind and cold to walk over the dunes to see seals lazing on the beach, you can get quite close to them if you dare and when they spot u they react with grunts and off the waddle, such funny creatures when they are on the move making a dash for the safety of the sea.

Dinner is devoured quickly and all retreat to the comfort of a tent and camper, it is a very very very windy night, the truck is rocking from side to side, I feel like I'm on the open sea in a boat with the sound of the waves in the background. Maz wakes up in the middle of the night showing great concern for the girls and suggests a look (not sure if he is implying I do or he does), I'm in slumber land and really not thinking anything is a problem saying, "it's only wind", I'm later told how uncaring I am.

Next day Maz starts up the engine to get transmission start failure and "anti-lock braking malfunction go to main dealer" Maz talks to Elago who thinks it probably some sand or moisture from the mist setting off the sensor. We set off for a long stretch of beach driving, stopping at the Dunedin wreck and shelter, or what's left of it. Reality hits home with experiencing the location, it would be such a horrendous place to be shipwrecked on this coastline with limited shelter, food, fresh water for three long weeks. Reading the book at the same time as being here really brings it all together especially the rescue missions that take place to get to the Dunedin Star, the inhospitable terrain, lack of roads, vehicles capabilities to say the least, it is mind-blowing.

We continue on to the Kunenue river mouth passing a diamond mine which is a large restricted area, we really feel like we are at the end of our journey north driving onto a sandbar with the tide about to turn we can't drive the last 1km and end up walking to end of Namibia with the river mouth and Angola within touching distance, super cool to experience this location and meeting of borders. On the walk back to the car we spot turtles in the estuary.

Heading back driving on the sandbar with the waves now within inches of the car, back past the restricted diamond mine we then turn inland heading up a massive dune, now it feels like a new leg is ahead of us no more coastline for us.

Full power up the dune we notice our camp in the distance at the base of a large dune it is our home for the night with prebuilt structures, western toilets and hot showers the girls are over the moon.

There is something on Maz's mind he is very unsettled about the truck and the malfunctioning messages on the dashboard. He tries to shift into low range as we have a full day dune driving tomorrow, but something is wrong, it's now stuck in 2 WD, with no chance of 4WD no matter what was tried e.g. removing battery power and then resetting.

Maz starts getting concerned that we will not be able to proceed, at the same time the kids decided to climb a giant sand dune. Maz decides to get the satellite phone out and call Bushlore, he is advised to check the cables on the transmission, and soon notices the rear has been cut in 2 places!! Hindsight is a great thing - our decision yesterday to proceed to the seal camp didn't turn out to be a wise one, as either the jackals or brown hyena had chewed through the wires. Elago's friend from the diamond mine also turns up at this point and along with Maz they proceed to insert a new wire to see if the truck can reset.

At this point only Maddalena is visible at the top of the dune, Arabella cannot be seen, Luca tries to spot her but then also goes out of sight, this is the last thing we need, Elago is concerned, as the wind can blow your tracks and easy to get disoriented and get lost, Elago says they should always have the camp in vision, once the tracks are blown away it makes it difficult for a party to also find anyone, concerned he starts to claim the large dune, but then Arabella and Luca turn up, we shout them down and can proceed with fixing the car. Finally Maz nervously turns the key, all warning lights are off and 4wd is once again working, hoorah we can proceed with the trip. We settle into the shelter after we all have long needed showers but Maddalena for some reason couldn't figure out how to make it hot she said she had an "unbelievable sink shower" instead.

We play Azul, crack open the Arabella wine as we are celebrating that we can proceed and have the most amazing dinner, lamb steaks, sausages, pap with 2 sauces, spinach and tomatoes.

I talked to Gabes about the pizza pot I make for lunches and he asked me if I had the ingredients to make one which we did, so we ended up making it and cooking it on the fire alongside the evening meal, Gabes was keen to added it to his menu and a nice change to sandwiches for 8 days.

Next day starts with a hot breakfast, we all write on wall leaving our marks, over coffee it is agreed the naming of the truck to be Priscilla for reasons - connected to Elvis and the cult classic Oz film Priscilla Queen of the Desert, we are all excited about the dune driving ahead and it is not long before we are in 4WD, High ratio with extra Power flying up dune faces. Some we have to accelerate very quickly to 80 km per hour to get up, and avoid getting stuck, everyone loves it, it's like rollercoaster.

These dunes are much sandier than the faces of the Namib , the White Elephant would have really struggled. As for slip faces this adds adrenaline, as you drive to the edge and tip over, you face a steep sand track, you must have nerves of steel and have faith in the 4WD Low ratio 1st gear to ensure you go down slowly, as if you go down quickly the truck will inevitably roll and probably injurekill the occupants. As you proceed down the dune the sand starts to slide which sounds like thunder, as you reach the bottom you have to pause and change to 4WD High Ratio, put the accelerator to the floor to get up the sand dune the other side.

Exciting the last area of sand dunes known as "the stubborn sand dunes" - not large just incredibly soft sand easy to get bogged down in, we start an incline to a viewpoint we crawled up in low range to be overwhelmed with breath taking views of Hartmann valley the Kaokoveld region is beautiful and a real contrast in landscape, wide multicoloured plains and to the East the sand dunes leading to the Atlantic Ocean and rigged mountains to the West.

Camp for the night was in a valley surrounded by green leaf trees with white bark not any wildlife in sight the odd hare darting between rocks. The evening is so warm a huge contrast to the other nights on the coast, the temperature gets up to 28C. At sunset we a graced with a full moon rising and behind us seeing the most amazing colours of the sunset. After dinner Elago takes Luca on a scorpion hunt, around the campsite are bushes all look unassuming to the naked eye but Elago pulls out his ultra violet torch and all you can hear is Luca shocked at the number of scorpions on view.

The next day the drive was nothing too exciting, we continue down the Hartmann valley a huge expanse of open prairie this continues for over 100km, we stop off at an Orange drum which looks totally out of place in the middle of the dessert but it was a navigation marker, another 30km a Blue drum. Continuing on Elago explains the Kaokoveld region is home to the Himba. We start seeing the derelict Himba structures, Himba people are nomadic and move with their cattle for grazing, water is not a problem in the area as they know where the springs are, we also see where bore holes and water tanks have been placed by the government for use. Driving past the water supply we witness the devastation the Himba are facing over the last few years of drought, its not rained here for 7 years now and we see at least 10 carcasses of cows scattered roadside, Elago explains it's because of a lack of food which has grown during the drought.

Continuing on we eventually reach the Red Drum with a small Himba roadside stall and a signpost to our campsite Marble Camp for the night 16km away. We decide to investigate what the Himba family have made for sale, as soon as we step out of the truck we are greeted with Himba children, the first people we have seen for 5 days and I dear say the first people they have seen for some time too. To my delight I spot a beautiful hand crafted wooden bowl which must have taken so much effort to make. Elago speaks Himba and translates our questions regarding cost and usage. The young girl comes back with price of N$400 for the bowl and N$150 for the spoon, Maz starts to barter and the young Himba girl is under strict instructions from her mother no less than $350 and $100 it's a done deal, we hand over the money and Elago shows the money explaining the values of each note, these children have not been to school and struggle even with basic maths. We are about to depart and Himba mum arrived on the scene, she finds out the cost we paid for the bowl and spoon and she looked disappointed with her children she had stern words with them which made me feel bad as overall we gave them £17. But as Elago said it was agreed and not to worry.

Maddalena bought with her, her instant Polaroid camera, I suggest to Elago that we take a photo of the Himba family and give it to them. Oh the look on the mother's face when she sees the Polaroid developing before her eyes was just priceless, she was really taken back by seeing an image of herself and her children. We said our farewells and settled back in our air conditioned truck escaping the winter's heat of 35°C and head up a small track passing a few people tending goats. The road gets rocky and we slowly make our way up the pass (requires 1st gear low range), there are some pretty hairy moments where the track is so narrow one wrong move and you would damage the truck. At the top we drive on another plateau, in the distance we spot a hill with white rock, as we get closer Elago explains it is a disused marble factory we go to investigate the area, the outside heat is intense, we quickly snap our photos and head to Marble Camp which is a community camp run by the Himba. To allow the tour company access to the Skeleton Coast, part of the condition for access is that you stay at the two community camps on route. We are the only ones on site we take up shade, unable to do much more other than rehydrate and rest. We are pleased to see hot showers and toilets. Maz starts phase one of making himself presentable, Marble Camp is shave only phase 2 will be change of clothing (he has worn the same clothes the whole Skelton Coast and he is rancid) he is telling me that he is saving on my time on hand washing clothes. I must admit all of us have been very limited with changing clothing, everything just gets dusty and nobody has seen us for a week apart from Elago and Gabes, we aren't trying to impress anyone.

Elago has created a democracy which involves asking the kids in the evening what time they want breakfast in the morning, of course Arabella choose 9am the other day and Maddalena chose 8.30.

Next morning and with start with a 3hrs very quiet drive, then we seem to be getting back into civilisation passing several overland vehicles going upriver whilst we are heading down the Hoarusib river on our way to Puros to stay at the second community campsite run by the Himba. A fantastic site, we park up to find fresh desert elephant tracks, dung and pee. We are really hoping we have them visit or at least see them close by. Maz plans for phase 2, a shower, but the plan goes up in smoke when Elago shows up with a open safari truck - he struck a deal we give diesel and we can use it to hunt for desert elephants. So off we go, about 500mtrs on the dry riverbed we spook a male bull, engine off and we sit observing the elephant eating from the acacia tree, he even puts on a show for us going up on his hind legs to reach the highest juiciest branches, such a great way to end the day seeing a desert elephant.

We were to be staying 2 nights in Puros but to be honest we would have been bored with nothing to do since we spotted the elephant the night before. We contacted ahead and managed to bring days forward, so we will end up with nights to 3 nights in Oshakati - good for the kids to regroup and have some much needed down time along with getting everything washed for Angola.

Luca gets to call the shots what time we have breakfast and ops for 8am he is keen to get to our next destination as the campsite has a natural springs hot pool. 2hrs on we pull into Sesfontein Guest house to be greeted by the owners 4 puppies and the most lush green grass with banana trees, shade and a pool. Seeing grass is so bizarre after 8 days of sand, this is an oasis of accommodation we are only stopping here briefly to pick up our food packs that Maz had ordered for breakfast and dinner as we have no food in the truck fridge when we leave Elago and Gabes.

Bumpy journey to the hot springs campsite, we pitch up and enjoy the gorgeous setting, well hidden in a valley with the hot pool close by we spend several hours enjoying the water and relaxing in the sunshine a nice end to our epic trip on the Skeleton Coast. Taking away our own special moments, we all learnt things, gained different experiences and definitely bonded creating brilliant memories with laughter, scares and thrills along the way.

Roll on Angola!