Southern Africa road trip Part 2

As a South African I have found immigration in many places rather trying. Because you come from Africa, it is just assumed you are desperate to defect and become a refugee in another country. Actually plenty of us are quite happy in Africa. Thankfully I had no trouble at all entering any of the Southern African countries we visited.

 We mastered the routines quite quickly. Lunch was typically at a roadside stop. We would haul out our food and tables and set about washing fresh fruit and preparing sandwiches with cheeses and different meats.

Most people in our group helped out with the various tasks and that made it so much easier. We did have one couple that were inclined to fear when their next meal would come and ate far more than their share. This did mean others missed out on food at times. It's amazing how group dynamics work when people don't play fair. These two soon become very unpopular.

We crossed the Orange River at the border. I have done some river rafting there before. There are masses of vineyards in what is a barren area. Water from the Orange River is used to irrigate vineyards along the river.

 Ai-Ais is a hot spring situated at the southern end of the Fish River Canyon. We got to our campsite early and were able to have a relaxing afternoon and pitch our tents in the light of day. Some of us lounged by the pool, others visited the spa and the rest watched sport at the bar.

Namibian time is one hour earlier and we got a bit mixed up. We left later that we should have. We regretted this when we had to pitch our tents in the dark at our next stop. Our next stop was on a private farm nestled in the Tiras mountains.

We saw Oryx, Springbok, jackals, Gemsbok, feral horses and plenty bird life on the road travelling to our next stop. I didn't realise that the desert could be so windy. We encountered a sandstorm when we visited the dunes. Not fun!

We also had to take quite a few detours due to the prolific rains that Namibia had experienced. Northern Namibia was declared an area in a state of emergency by president Pohamba. The route via Seeheim had a detour due to flooded roads which added yet more time to our journey.

We did a morning walkabout with the owner of the farm. She showed us bushman paintings, medicinal plants and explained how the bushman lived in the area.

Then we headed off toward our next campsite in the Sossusvlei area. We went through a hailstorm which almost never happens in Namibia. Sossusvlei is dune and desert territory.

Click here to go to Part 3.