Etsha 6

About 45km south of the Sepupa turn-off (178km north of Sehithwa) there's a signposted turning (GPS: E6TURN). This leads, in slightly less than 3km, due east of here to the village of Etsha 6.

When I last drove along the main road here, there was a concentration of pot-holes in the road between the two turnings for Etsha 6 and 13. So drive carefully here. (That said, I only noted these because the overall standard of the tar road up the eastern side of the Delta is excellent, and pot-holes are rare on most of it.)

The town itself has the most reliable fuel in the area, from a Shell Station in the centre. Thus most people passing through and travelling any distance should stop here. It's also a place where buses turn off the road to stop. Etsha 6 has a bakery and take-away, behind the bus stop, that sells good fresh bread (and some less impressive pies, chips and other fast food).

Across the road from the fuel station is a Co-op which stocks cutlery, crockery, non-perishables like tinned food, and basic staples like rice and maize in quantity. There's very little fresh produce here, but they do usually have chilled soft drinks and bottled water.

There is one camp to the east of here that can be accessed from Etsha 6 – Makwena Camp, in NG24 Reserve.

Gumare

About 146km north of Sehithwa, 37km from Nokaneng, and 77km south of Sepupa, there's a turn-off east to Gumare (GPS: GUMARE). This is one of the main towns of the Panhandle area. Signboards (only some of which are current!) crowd beside the turn-off, virtually all pointing the 700m or so west to town.

There you'll find a hospital, a school, a small community of overseas aid workers and a thriving small business centre. Again, there's also a highly-visible radio mast in town (with good cellphone coverage even for my UK phone!).

It's worth seeking out the small curio shop in town that has good local baskets at very reasonable prices, and there's a good little supermarket here and also a fuel station (where, sadly, supplies can be erratic). Being about halfway between Sehithwa and Shakawe, buses travelling along this route usually detour to Gumare, and will often stop here briefly.

About 4km north of the turn-off is another turning, west from the main road, signposted to Gumare's small airstrip.

Nokaneng

About 109km north of Sehithwa, 114km south of Sepupa, there's another radio-mast (GPS: NOKANE) amidst a group of houses, some of traditional design and others modern, complete with satellite dishes. Just south of the village there's a small turning to the northeast signposted to Nokaneng airstrip.

There's also a track heading east from here that leads to the Namibian border, near Tsumkwe, which opened recently, but check it before you go. Near the border, it's also possible to turn south and access the Aha Hills area and Gcwihaba Hills and Caverns.

Habu turn-off

About 79km north of Sehithwa you'll find another radio mast and a signpost eastwards to the village of Habu, which is about 18km away. There you'll also find a small settlement with a few small shops.

Tsau

About 43km north of Sehithwa, or 180km south of Sepupa, you'll come across a turning to the village of Tsau. (This is also often referred to as 'Tsao'.) The settlement itself is just to the east of the main road, and its prominent radio mast is quite a landmark (GPS: TSAU). Here you'll find lots of small huts, though relatively little tree or vegetation cover, and a few small, general shops.

Setata Veterinary Fence Gate

At about 27.5km north of Sehithwa you'll have to stop and pass through the Setata Gate (GPS: VET-SE) in the Veterinary Fence.

Sehithwa

Also spelt as 'Sehithwa' on road signs, Sehithwa (GPS: SEHITH) is about 29km from Toteng, and a more substantial settlement. When I last passed through here there was a lot of road works here, apparently for a new tar road that was being built to link to the main road to Ghanzi due south of town. Locals commented that there is some cellphone coverage for about 10km north of town, though I didn't pick this up at all.

Toteng

Though a significant dot on the map, Toteng (GPS: TOTENG) is little more than a road junction. It's about 64km from Maun on the good, tar (A35) road to Sehithwa, and is notable for the left turn onto the A3 road to Ghanzi, about 222km away. Today you'll find a bottle store and a general dealer at this junction, and a sprinkling of small cattle-farming homesteads in the local area.

Despite its apparent insignificance, Toteng has historical importance as a centre for the Batawana – Campbell (see Further Reading) comments that: 'When they arrived in Ngamiland in 1795 they settled at Kgwebe and later moved to Toteng.' This was also one of the areas that received an influx of Herero people after their defeat at the battle of Waterberg.
Etsha 6 to Toteng