In which we cross the border and find the sun again.
We had more rain overnight, but the morning dawned with clearing skies. The hotel driveway was barely recognisable as the obstacle we cleared last yesterday and was an easy exit to the bitumen.
From Springbok we headed north – it was initially chilly with the threat of rain (hence rain/windbreak gear for most of us) but apart from a few spits and specs we saw nothing of real note. And the further the day progressed, the better the weather got, and this afternoon it is brilliant blue skies and mid-20ºC temps. Just glorious.
Our tour leader, Mike, is of the same school of thought as one of my previous off-road riding trainers – the only time you don’t want petrol is when you are on fire. We time our fuel and break stops together and the fuel attendants in Africa really like to top off your tank, so I’m yet to drop below half a tank.
We reached the Namibian border crossing around 10:30am. Passing out of South Africa was pretty smooth, but coming into Namibia was a palaver… we arrived in just after 11am and left around 1pm. Lots of arguing/negotiating between our guides and the crossing officials about paying road taxes and other charges, but we got there in the end.
Lunch was another fuel top-off and then it was a short, easy run to our destination at the Norotshama Resort on the banks of the Orange River. The landscape has changed already as we have dropped into a wide river valley with lots of grape plantations along the river. We stopped at a spot along one of the straights, with great views of the surrounding terrain.
It was also selfie time…
The resort is very nice but concerningly there is an air horn in my room. Apparently it’s in case you find a snake in your room – give it a blast and their staff will come and escort him out. Now I’m afraid to go looking in my room… 🐍
Dave is our resident serious camera guy and is the source of the great wildlife and bird photos. He’s delivering some amazing photos, but we’re not sure that his subjects are always as he says…
Tomorrow we have about 5 kms of glorious Namibian tarmac until we then spend the rest of the day on dirt, riding into Fish Valley. If the conditions are like this (as is predicted) it should be awesome.
Leave a Reply