AH SURE AZURE

Category: Namibia revealed

  • Day 3 Gariep river

    Day 3 Gariep river

    View from hill behind chalets

    Felix Unite campsite.

    27th October 2023

    Day 3

    the day dawned gradually over the vinyards of Highlanders lodge.

    I made my way up to the swimming pool bar where Raul had coffee on the go at 6.30 am. 

    Pretty soon, the two Rhodesian Ridgebacks made their appearance, the younger one, Geoffrey with a tennis ball in his mouth, covered in slime and drool.

    I still threw it for him , he was so adorable.

    Soon, he was joined by his larger companion, Troy, same breed, but twice his size. They gambolled about( if that’s not a word reserved for lambs) while I attempted to drink the coffee in between it spilling everywhere as they bumped and nudged me to play.

    Breakfast was at 7.15  and the coconut yoghurt went well with fresh fruit, around the now extinguished campfire.

    Swise and Tawanda rallied us after the washing up was done and we left the Cederberg for new pastures. 

    We spent the day driving north, punctuated by loo breaks (bushie bushie) and a longer one for lunch.

    Terrain becoming desert-like
    Stops along the way
    Stretching our legs

    One of these breaks was in Springbok- formerly famed for the amount of these beasts that inhabited the area before man came along and killed off so many of them. I was fascinated that the rugby team actually had a place. The Springbok is the emblem of South Africa.

    We were still in Northern Cape, the largest of the nine provinces in South Africa.

    We kept going until we got to the border to leave SA. We had to produce our passports to the police who stamped them and gave them back to us, thankfully.

    On a few miles and out again, this time to enter Namibia.

    We had to fill in forms individually and another stamp was applied to our passports.

    When I got back to the bus, I read my Irish passport for the first time ever. It is full of patriotic phrases and welcoming sentiments towards immigrating people. It has images of ancient and modern Ireland embossed on it that are very impressive.

    ‘The harp that once through Tara’s Halls’

    We crossed the Orange River, now known by its original name, Gariep River,  and were officially in Namibia. It was formerly German South West Africa and gained independent statehood finally in 1990.

    Felix Unite, our accomodation for tonight was only a 10 minute drive.

    The chalets are set looking over the Orange river, as it swirls and eddies along. We can see where it had flooded, leaving reeds and grasses on the higher ground.

    There is a manicured lawn in front of our chalet with outside chairs and a table.

    At last a chance to break open the bottle of red from Robertson winery that I bought 2 days ago – or was it yesterday? – the days are melding into each other.

    Dinner will be at 1845 and river canoeing awaits us tomorrow.

  • Algeria, Cederberg Day 2

    Algeria, Cederberg Day 2

    A glorious buffet breakfast in the V and A got us off to a good start.

    As instructed, we placed our bags next to our tour lorry, to be loaded by Swise and we were off again.

    We soon learned that seating on the bus must rotate in a clockwise direction. Once that was organised , we set off.

    Our guides proved taciturn about the day ahead. We drove North out of Cape Town, stopping for shopping and Bushie bushie- loo stop- and we were advised to get enough booze and water to last three days. 

    I got a couple of six packs of the local Castle beer and a nice bottle of Robertson wine with five litres of water, portered out to the bus by an obliging attendant.

     We were to get enough Rands for Namibia too- SA rand being accepted there.

    We passed  through Citrusdal, so called because of the vast amounts of orange and lemon trees. The fields were covered with white sheets of netting that looked like water, to protect them from insects.

    White nets to keep flies off citrus trees driving north on the west coast of South Africa

     Soon, as we moved into the Cederberg mountains,we saw the Roobois tea plants, unique to this region, lining the roads.

    Eventually, we stopped at a lodge called Algeria, after the town of that name in the area.

    We set up for lunch, then Swise dropped the bombshell that the hike that afternoon was a three hour one.

    We all opted to try it except for two German ladies.

    It turned out to be a difficult hike in the hot sun, up rocky terrain with loose rocks making it more difficult. We got strung out along the trail and soon, four decided to go back to the camp, while the rest of us, about six, continued on with Tawanda. Swise had actually found it difficult himself and he took shelter from the sun in a rock like cave along the path. 

    We made it to the fork in the road where we could continue on up to the waterfall at the top of the mountain or take the circular route back to camp. We opted for the latter and from then on, it was downhill. Still tricky, as it is as easy to fall downhill as uphill.

    Looking at the mountain from a distance, it seems to be all rocks with the occasional low bush or shrub. Once you are on it though, you see lots of colourful plants and trees. The Cape is known for its huge array of indigenous or endemic flowers and plants. 

    Back at camp, the group that had turned back were only just in before us. We still had an hour’s drive to our lodge for the night, Highlanders, further north, in the middle of a vine growing region.

     We were greeted in  Highlanders by Raul who showed us our rooms. They were simple and decorated with old wine barrels for bedside tables and headrests for the beds out of cask boards. 

    The day wasn’t over yet! 

    Next ,we had a wine tasting with the aforementioned Raul, an Afrikaans/ English speaker who was a witty and charming host.

    Highlanders in Cederberg mountains

    Next was dinner by a wood fire, prepared by our guides . Chicken casserole with rice was very welcome after the day’s efforts and, of course, the wine. 

    I had to turn in early as I was totally exhausted. 

    A super night’s sleep followed in the comfort of our lovely chalet.