28 July 2012

I slept well and got up early. We left early after breakfast. The journey wound around the mountains and out. The day was hot and dry. The ride in the purpose-built truck was reasonably comfortable. The landscape is semi-arid. From mid-August to September, this land will transform into a meadow of wild flowers. Some were already showing. The mid-day temperatures soared. In the middle of this vast dry region, the residents of the lively township of Springbok were busy shopping. They queued at the cashier counters with trolley loads of provisions and sundries. It is the month’s end and wages had just been paid out. This is the land of the Khoisan. Finally we arrived at the northern South African border town of Vioolsdrif. There were hardly any public transport or local population. Queues of overland trucks lined up for the formalities. Strangely, we were asked to give the serial numbers of our cameras. We diligently did. Finally, we crossed across the Orange River into Noordoewer, the southern border town in Namibia. Our campsite was next to the Orange River. Vegetation along the river was lush but beyond that, barren hill. Birds prospered with seeds from tall grasses and flowering plants. The Orange or sometimes reffered as Gariep River flows partly through southern Kalahari bringing with it tons of red desert sand and eventually depositing it on the Atlantic coast. This campsite is a good place to relax and revitalise. Rafting is a popular sport around here.