The sunset in its golden splendor

06/09/2014

I’ve always been one for cool, green landscapes. With lots of water. I simply don’t like heat. And I don’t do desert, sand and dust. And yet, that is exactly what we are up to currently. We’re on a roadtrip through parts of Namibia. And I’m super excited.

As always, planning took some effort, which I love. This time, I had one added consideration, though. Namibia is somewhat more rugged than what we normally do. And certainly more rugged perhaps than what we are equipped to do. We don’t do 4×4. And we would certainly be confronted with an abundance of gravel roads, even though most people assured us that these are generally in excellent condition. It is the potential discomfort of flat tyres that bothered me. And so, with our Marie Biscuit Spare wheel safely stored in our garage at home, and a car laden with two proper spare wheels, a compressor, and some cans of what sounds like magic stuff you can spray into your wheels to miraculously repair the cause of a flat tyre, we set off on the long trip from Cape Town to Namibia.

We decided to break the trip, by sleeping over at Vanrhynsdorp, which would mean that we at least get ourselves past far too many Stop and Go roadworks. I’m very pleased we did! By the time we got this very small town in Namaqualand, I was ready to go back home again. Having to rush last-minute things at work, and then set off through all of that traffic and disruptions, was the worst possible recipe for a transition from crazy rat-race into blissful vacation. It was a wonderful e-mail from a dear friend that I read whilst trying to do some last minute administrivia in the early hours of this morning, that managed to shake off all the stress and worries of the last few months, and set me slap bang in the depths of extreme explore mode.

I have never been much further up the West Coast than Vanrhynsdorp. It’s fascinating how the landscape can change so rapidly. In most cases, you seldom see anything higher than knee height maybe. Hardly any trees. Except for some mountains in places, although they are really more hills than mountains. It’s humbling, almost. Here we are as humans. We consider ourselves superior beings. We rule this place. We certainly stand taller than almost anything we can see around this barren landscape. And yet, this humble countryside would easily be able to break us. We should be far more appreciative of the privilege we have of being allowed to live on this planet.

After a rather weird breakfast in Kammieskroon, we continued up the N7, and managed to cross the border around lunch time. By then, the landscape had changed to just about nothing. Nothing except sand and dirt, with some hills that looked more like piles of rocks that the rest of South Africa tried to get rid of, and dumped here. But at least there was the odd scampy bush. Nothing could however prepare us for the barrenness of our first impressions of Namibia. It looked like someone had scraped and cleared the entire countryside. For the first few kilometres, we could not see a single bit of vegetation. We were worried.

I’m pleased to report, though, that some vegetation exists in Namibia. ;o) The countryside soon changed to what looked more like the Karoo, as we know it, and even to some savannah-like landscapes.

Our first stop in Namibia is at the Quiver tree forest just outside Keetmanshoop. Quiver trees are one of my favourite trees. I love the tidy symmetrical shapes, with the textured barks. The lodge is situated on a sheep farm, and it felt like we were being welcomed into the home of old friends. Tourists just somehow become part of this family’s daily lives. And to top it, we were told that they would be feeding the Cheetahs a little later! Here is a woman, who, with a flowy pink dress and bare feet, walks casually into the enclosure of a pacing cheetah to feed him. And then invites all the tourists in as well. And when he did not eat all the meat that was provided, she fed him some scrambled eggs and milk from her hand! I love it!

We headed off to the quiver tree forest for some sunset photo’s. I’ll just post the pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I still don’t like heat and dust, but so far, I love Namibia!

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