Hermanus

We set off in the morning with the Kiwi girls, Leanne and sisters Nicola and Lee-Anne.  After a single wrong turn getting out of Cape Town, and a few minutes for Donny to get used to left-hand-drive and the other side of the road, it was smooth sailing to Hermanus.  We stopped for rooibos tea [...]

CatchUp

We spent a ton of time and Rand catching up the blog these few days.  Readers may be overwhelmed!  Evenings were for saying goodbye to members of our group.  From Esther (the Canadian girl who seemed like an old friend from the beginning), we inherited a TON of stuff so she was able to get [...]

Trawal to Cape Town

The scenery was beautiful as we came out of the mountains.  Rolling green hills, pastures and fields seemed to go on forever.  There were yellow wildflowers, grazing sheep and cows, and the odd small farm.  Brian gave up the valuables he’d been guarding for us, and we prepared for our arrival in Cape Town.  Some [...]

Highlander’s Birdfield Wine

More crazy weather at Highlander’s Camp.  The rain is coming down in buckets, and the wind is howling.  We stay inside all day reading and playing games: table tennis, Scrabble, darts with one dart, massage, etc.  All our tents are inside the garage on the cement.  Only Rowan and Lee-Anne have bravely set up theirs [...]

Cederberg

We spent two nights in the Cederberg Mountain area at Highlanders Camp.  On the drive there we stopped in the town of Springbok.  The town was bustling on a Saturday morning.  The people looked faded, tough and weathered.  Springbok rose up from the copper mining industry of Namaqualand. The first copper mine was established in [...]

Orange River

We crossed the border back into South Africa at Vioolsdrift.  Our camp is near the border, and you can pretty much swim the Orange River between Namibia and South Africa from our camp.  I can get air time for my South African SIM card now.  We’re back in contact.  That being said, it’s been wonderful [...]

Fish River Canyon

Fish River Canyon is the destination of a long drive day (640km).  The canyon is the 2nd largest in the world (the Grand Canyon is first).  It measures 160 km in length and 27 km wide at the widest spot.  It’s 550 km deep.  The scenery of the area reminded us of Arizona, with high, [...]

No sushi in the desert

We drove through Namib Naukluft Park on the way to our desert walk in Sesriem (gateway to Sossusvlei).  The dunes are numbered from the sea inland, and are some of the highest in the world.  There are many types of dunes as well.  The Namib dunes shift with the winds giving them the desgnation “dynamic [...]

Sandboard Namibia

Clearly Swakopmund is a tourist town. Hotel managers, activities instructors and shop-keepers all wait for the next crop of tourists to roll in be it on overland trucks or in group tours from Germany (most likely). Tourists are ripe for the picking, too, looking for adventure and ready to embrace a new experience.  At the [...]

Outjo and Onward

We stocked up on provisions at Outjo(settled in 1880).  There was a yummy German bakery there, and lunch was sausage rolls and meat pies. Mmmm.  By late afternoon we reached the Cheetah Park.  This conservation project is run by a farming family.  The boys of the family grew up there, and have taken over most [...]