We sleep tonight in Mata Mata, a camp near the Namibian border. We reached this camp after a 240km drive through the national park on dirt roads. We saw a lot of game, including 3 jackals and a Cape fox but also a beautiful gemsbok. The camp is very basic and especially very crowded. So busy, in fact, that we didn’t find a place with a power connection and as a result we have now are far away from the rest. Our solar panel provides power to the refrigerator and can recharge most devices. Only the kettle is too heavy a load for the inverter but we have gas cylinders for that.
The park is built around two, dry, rivers that host the most wildlife. Probably the riverbed in the rainy season is full of water because it is relatively green. We first followed the eastern river along the border with Botswana. After about 80 km we turned left and crossed the ‘plain’ between the two rivers. Suddenly there was a loud bang in the car and we were scared to death. Turns out Lisa had brought half a bottle of champagne and the cork had been blown off by all the shaking.
Arriving at the second bed we noticed that the road here was bad with corregation (washboards) which made driving very unpleasant. It got better when I had some air blown off from the tires but we came across the best solution halfway through. The scraper that leveled the road surface again. Tomorrow we have an easy ride hopefully.
Last night it was -1 degree at the campsite and during the day 27. I’m sure it’ll be cold again tonight.
Tomorrow we will go back to Two Rivers, partly the same way, and then out of the park. Where we sleep, I don’t know, but it’s somewhere towards Uppington.
It was cold last night. There is a 60 l tank in the camper but the water in the pipes was frozen. Another beautiful starry sky and the hyenas we heard ‘laughing’ during the night. Last night we were surrounded by meerkats that sat next to you. They were clearly used to people and not shy at all.
On the way to Two Rivers we saw another 4 jackals and several giraffes that were even fighting (they then clap with the necks against each other). The road was still very bumpy and then 125km is quite long if you can’t go faster than 40km/h.
At the exit I put the tires back on the normal presure and after some stamping we were able to get out of the park.
We have now heard from Lisa’s brother that her mother is now in Cape Town with her granddaughter and that a whole plan has already been developed to keep her there for a long time. Few people know that we are in South Africa and they are also abroad themselves. We try to stay undercover for another two weeks and then take over from the family in Cape Town.
Tomorrow, Uppington and stocking up on stuff. We are now on a campsite along the road (at a nice distance). Beautiful places, beautiful braai place that we are now inaugurating with Kalahari sausage. I don’t know what it tastes like, but it’ll be pretty good.
Again, there is no mobile internet. Only at Two Rivers did we have a brief, brief, connection. We’ll be better tomorrow, but I don’t miss it at all.
August 4th
The braai was delicious and I ate meat again for a week. It was Kudu sausage with baked potatoes and salad. And a local white wine! Last night wasn’t so cold but it was very quiet. We are here on a site 2 by 2 kilometers with maybe 10 campsites and 10 chalets. We are the only visitors and then it is really very quiet during the night.
Before the sun set, the swallows treated us to a concert and they did the same at sunrise. In the night, the alarm went off from the 12-220V converter. Because I hadn’t parked the car smart, the battery wasn’t properly recharged in the afternoon by the solar panel. So the battery was empty, so I got an alarm. Oh, yes, you can get to it!
The morning is beautiful but with a cold breeze directly over our parking lot so we have to sit somewhere else. Tonight we will probably sleep in Augrabies near the waterfalls in the Orange River
August 5th
We sleep in Augrabies NP, near the waterfalls of the same name where we arrived yesterday. It sleeps fine here especially after the long walk we took yesterday. Supposedly it was 2.5 km but there were almost six and it was about rocks and through rivers. The photos speak for themselves and show the desolate landscape we walked through. It was quite warm during the walk and as a result we lost a lot of moisture. Along the way we came across a pair of baboons whose male was the same size as Lisa and showed a few navigable teeth. Baboons are not really friendly and steal everything but are also just aggressive. He reminded us of someone, but who would that be?
Last night we slept wonderfully partly because it finally didn’t get so cold in the evening so we could sit outside for a long time. On the campsite it is bursting with monkeys and one of those animals stole a loaf of bread from the car of a fellow camper. As I write this, I have to chase one away from the car.
Today I’m going to do some bookkeeping and go for a walk and finally see the waterfalls. Tomorrow we go to Springbok and from there towards the coast
I enclose two pictures of the two walks we made. One at Oranjerus and one yesterday at Augrabies.
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Zo zie je maar weer, dat het uiterst onverstandig is om een halve fles wijn te bewaren ??
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Mooi verhaal weer! Jullie vermaken je wel volgens mij. Mooie foto’s ook! Gezellig, die stokstaartjes om je heen. Is weer eens iets anders dan de kinderen. Veel plezier!
Ruimte genoeg daar…. en de ervaring van zo’n diepe stilte, ik herinner me dat van onze tocht door de woestijn van Algerije tot aan Mali, ‘s nachts onder de sterrenhemel en ook vaak koud ja. En overdag heel warm, de rotsen gaan dan lawaai maken want die barsten… weer in de ongepolijste wereld, dat maakt diepe indruk! Voorzichtig he Peter, straks wordt lisa nog ontvoerd door zo’n Baviaan….