We drove via Walvis bay to see the migrating flamingos and then hundreds of kilometres on dirt roads.
Something to do with a goat
This one didn’t make it through the desert
We passed the Tropic of Capricorn. So we’ve been to the equator (Ecuador) and the tropic of the goat within one year. We stopped to see some Quiver trees. They survive in the desert as they are a member of the Aloe succulent family and hold water in their sponge-like body. The local bushmen used them for something to do with their bows and arrows, hence the name. After arriving at the Sossusvlei camp site we pitched our tents for the second time to Michelle’s delight. Sossusvlei apparently means “get stuck” after the failure of peoples over the centuries to traverse the dunes. After sunset, the stars were amazing with little light pollution around, and we had fun with the Google Starmap app to identify them.
In the morning we headed in 4x4s to “Dune 45” which we climbed and then walked to the eerie dead forest.
Top of Dune 45 – needs a more inspired name -I call it Ronnie’s sandpit
Paint pot
Spooky wood
After two nights in the camp site we drove through the desert to the Seeheim hotel. Michelle was glad to get a bed again and an indoor toilet. We stopped at the Quiver tree forest where we found a “rock rabbit”. Yes, it was in the rocks but it isn’t a rabbit. It’s apparently a distant relative of the elephant. I’m sure Warner Bros could have done something with that. As it was my birthday the group had bought a cake and some candles. The choice of candles was limited, so I got a number seven. Very creatively it’s correct if you add the digits of my number of years.
Rock Rabbit
Giant’s playground
The following day we had another long drive to the Norotshama River resort. It’s part of a massive vineyard which stretches for around 20km. It was started by a Serbian guy who saw the opportunity for Namibian grapes in the desert, irrigated by the Orange river. We had a wine tasting which wasn’t very convincing, both in the quality of the “Norotshama” wine and that fact that it’s not made in Namibia, and possibly not even from Namibian grapes.
The next day we drove to Fish River Canyon – arguably the largest in Africa and although a bit smaller, comparable to the Grand Canyon in the US.
Fish River Canyon
Group selfie by Duncan
We had a long drive on to Cape Town with an overnight stop at Lamberts Bay. We crossed the border into South Africa, and got back onto tarmac roads, but not much interesting to see except the Roibos tea plantations.
