+485.jpg)
Quadbiking in the dunes+477.jpg)
Heather and Marina= excellent quadbikers+474.jpg)
Heather and Marina quadbiking on the dunes (MUCH higher than it looks!)+463.jpg)
Heather and Marina Sandboarding+437.jpg)
The moon-scapes+432.jpg)
Tropic of Capricorn Group Shot+429.jpg)
Water in the desert... at least at one time+424.jpg)
Again.+410.jpg)
Desert Walk+399.jpg)
MARINA HATES SAND+384.jpg)
Hiking dune 45 at sunrise+361.jpg)
Dune 45 at sunrise+355.jpg)
Sunrise+333.jpg)
Cool, Art-y shadows+327.jpg)
Canyon+316.jpg)
Heather and Marina at Fish River Canyon+309.jpg)
Fish River Canyon (2nd biggest in the world)+278.jpg)
Orange River at SunsetWeek 2: Desert Explorer Trip (South Africa, Namibia)
Day 1: Our trip luckily started in Cape Town pretty near school so since we did a pretty good job of organizing the night before we were able to have a fairly chilled out morning and arrive without any hectic-ness. After the initial check in we headed off to Table Bay which is a beach that has an incredibly good view of Table Mountain. After a walk on the beach we headed to a mall to buy water etc and since we had some time Marina and I managed to peruse the clothing shops and decided we would have to return. Next we drove north to the Cederburg Mountain Region, also known as “orange and lemon” country. We stayed at a very nice backpackers/campsite and I got to experience Marina-the-camper for the first time which was quite hilarious. After setting up we went on a “bushman’s walk” that ended up being more like a hike. It was neat- we saw bushman paintings on rocks and heard about all the animals and plants. We returned to camp in time for an amazing dinner, (food on this trip was much better than the first) a drink and a chat. We sat around after dinner and chatted and then went to bed.
Day 2: We drove to the Orange River- getting very sandy and texas-ish looking. Marina and I listened to some quality country songs in honour of the setting. Our camp was super nice- right on the orange river with a covered eating area and fun bar. We were so hot we went swimming in the orange river right after setting up our tents. It is pretty cool because it is the river that divides South Africa and Namibia so you can literally swim to Namibia. The water is very murky due to the rust (aka: Orange river) which is a little disconcerting but a lovely temperature. Afterwards we met up at the bar and chilled, played some beach volleyball, showered (in this awkward outdoor-type showers) and got some good pictures of sunset. That night for dinner we did the “stand up and talk about yourself” thing and marina and I had to go last so it was a little nerve-wracking. After dinner we all headed to the bar for a “springbok” shot which includes dancing and yelling and not using your hands- definitely a bonding activity.
Day 3: This morning we had a nice leisurely sleep in followed by a morning of paddling on the Orange River. They drove us up the river and dropped us with canoes so that we could paddle back to camp. The canoes here are not like the ones at home, they are essentially blow up rafts that you paddle with the kayak paddle. Marina was deemed the official “picture taker” aka lie on the canoe and not paddle while appearing to be doing something useful while I was in the stern paddling her along the river like the queen of Sheba. The river really was beautiful and whenever you go hot you could just jump into the water. Also there were a couple rapids which were very exciting except for the time our canoe got stuck on a rock and we had to get out and then the canoe almost floated away. That afternoon we drove to the Fish River Canyon which involved driving through large rivers- a bit hectic.
Day 4: Wednesday we headed off to the Fish River Canyon straight away. We didn’t hike which was nice since we were able to wander around and take pictures and hear about it. The Fish River Canyon is the 2nd biggest Canyon in the world and incredibly beautiful- see pictures. After taking some pictures and looking around we hopped back into the bus and drove for the majority of the day (thank goodness for harry potter audio version). We finished the day at another Canyon- The Sesriem Canyon. The water was running at this canyon which was a big deal since our guide had never seen it. We also took some very cool, art-y shadow pictures.
Day 5: We woke up VERY early in order to drive into the Namib-Naukluft National Park to climb Dune 45 for sunrise. We encountered a very large river on our way but luckily our driver managed to get us through it. We started the hike very optimistic but soon realized the whole “2 steps forward one step back thing wasn’t very funny”. The dune was much bigger than it looked plus the area you could walk was so narrow you couldn’t step to the side to take a break or anything. One of the ladies in our group got very freaked out and had to go back. We did make it up way in time for sunrise and sat for about half an hour watching the sun come up. It really was beautiful to see the dunes shine bright red and luckily my camera survived the sand. We hiked back down (much easier) and had a cooked breakfast at the foot of the dune. Afterwards we headed into the desert with a very interesting Japanese guide. (very enthusiastic!) The walk was really cool, we did a bit of hiking dunes and walked around in our bear feet. We also saw the Sossusvlei Dunes where there is water below (or at least was fairly recently so the ground is all cracked and white and there are attempts at trees). A very weird, but cool phenomenon in the desert. We had a very chilled afternoon as everyone was exhausted and headed to our next campsite where we ate their world famous apple pie.
Day 6: Today we crossed the Tropic of Capricorn (and got a great group pic) and also went by the moon landscapes. They are a series of hills that in winter have no grass on them and sparkle because of the minerals in the soil. Unfortunately they did have grass still but it was still very beautiful. We arrived in Swakopmund and stopped at the Desert Explorer office where we watched videos of the optional activities and signed up for everything. That afternoon we explored Swakopmund and rested before going out to dinner with the group to an Italian restaurant. The restaurant was amazingly good but the wait was forever since we were such a large group. Afterwards we headed across the street to the one and only club where ALL the overland trips were and had a good time on the dance floor.
Day 7: Today was the day reserved for optional activities. Marina and I had sandboarding in the morning so we were picked up at 9:30 and driven in the desert. After fitting our snadboards and boots we headed towards a giant dune that we were intended to climb. The first climb was very rough but we did manage to get to the top and since I was the only experience rider I was kinda allowed to do my own thing while the beginners had a lesson. It was really cool- a little slower than snowboarding especially when you carve but essentially the same. The only downside was that it took about a minute to get down and then you had to climb all the way back up. Marina did very well- although a couple bad words were spoken. By the end she could go down on both sides- very impressive. We also did lie down sandboarding which was like 100 times scarier than tobogganing and completely awful. I have never been so scared in my life and I was only going 52 k and hour (other people were going 80). After sandboarding they fed us lunch and took us back to our backpackers where we attempted to remove all the sand from our bodies (impossible) and rested for our afternoon for quadbiking. Quadbiking was absolutely amazing- one of the coolest things I have ever done. We went for 2 hours and it was just 3 of us plus a leader guy and we pretty much just drove through the desert and went up on sand dunes and caught some serious air. Marina got stuck once which was pretty funny but other than that we had no problems. It really was amazing- felt like very unexplored territory and I could have ridden for much longer. On our way home we headed to this bar where they were showing our sandboarding dvd- hilarious and then back to our lodge for another shower. Marina and I had a romantic dinner for two our and then went to bed at 8:30 because we were so exhausted.
The last day of our trip involved us getting on a bus in Swakopmund and driving to Windhoek and then to Cape Town. 24 hours in total. I will not go into much detail of this trip as “what happens on the bus stays on the bus” but all in all in was much better than expected. The only really bad parts were that it was actually more like 27 hours and we had to wait at 4:30 am at the Namibian boarder for 2 hours. Again, thank god for my ipod and grey’s anatomy. One of the girls from school was on the bus so we were able to get a lift with her back to school. Very relieved to be home and back in our comfortable beds. This feeling lasted about a half a day until we returned back to work and decided that really… holidays are the way to go.
Day 1: Our trip luckily started in Cape Town pretty near school so since we did a pretty good job of organizing the night before we were able to have a fairly chilled out morning and arrive without any hectic-ness. After the initial check in we headed off to Table Bay which is a beach that has an incredibly good view of Table Mountain. After a walk on the beach we headed to a mall to buy water etc and since we had some time Marina and I managed to peruse the clothing shops and decided we would have to return. Next we drove north to the Cederburg Mountain Region, also known as “orange and lemon” country. We stayed at a very nice backpackers/campsite and I got to experience Marina-the-camper for the first time which was quite hilarious. After setting up we went on a “bushman’s walk” that ended up being more like a hike. It was neat- we saw bushman paintings on rocks and heard about all the animals and plants. We returned to camp in time for an amazing dinner, (food on this trip was much better than the first) a drink and a chat. We sat around after dinner and chatted and then went to bed.
Day 2: We drove to the Orange River- getting very sandy and texas-ish looking. Marina and I listened to some quality country songs in honour of the setting. Our camp was super nice- right on the orange river with a covered eating area and fun bar. We were so hot we went swimming in the orange river right after setting up our tents. It is pretty cool because it is the river that divides South Africa and Namibia so you can literally swim to Namibia. The water is very murky due to the rust (aka: Orange river) which is a little disconcerting but a lovely temperature. Afterwards we met up at the bar and chilled, played some beach volleyball, showered (in this awkward outdoor-type showers) and got some good pictures of sunset. That night for dinner we did the “stand up and talk about yourself” thing and marina and I had to go last so it was a little nerve-wracking. After dinner we all headed to the bar for a “springbok” shot which includes dancing and yelling and not using your hands- definitely a bonding activity.
Day 3: This morning we had a nice leisurely sleep in followed by a morning of paddling on the Orange River. They drove us up the river and dropped us with canoes so that we could paddle back to camp. The canoes here are not like the ones at home, they are essentially blow up rafts that you paddle with the kayak paddle. Marina was deemed the official “picture taker” aka lie on the canoe and not paddle while appearing to be doing something useful while I was in the stern paddling her along the river like the queen of Sheba. The river really was beautiful and whenever you go hot you could just jump into the water. Also there were a couple rapids which were very exciting except for the time our canoe got stuck on a rock and we had to get out and then the canoe almost floated away. That afternoon we drove to the Fish River Canyon which involved driving through large rivers- a bit hectic.
Day 4: Wednesday we headed off to the Fish River Canyon straight away. We didn’t hike which was nice since we were able to wander around and take pictures and hear about it. The Fish River Canyon is the 2nd biggest Canyon in the world and incredibly beautiful- see pictures. After taking some pictures and looking around we hopped back into the bus and drove for the majority of the day (thank goodness for harry potter audio version). We finished the day at another Canyon- The Sesriem Canyon. The water was running at this canyon which was a big deal since our guide had never seen it. We also took some very cool, art-y shadow pictures.
Day 5: We woke up VERY early in order to drive into the Namib-Naukluft National Park to climb Dune 45 for sunrise. We encountered a very large river on our way but luckily our driver managed to get us through it. We started the hike very optimistic but soon realized the whole “2 steps forward one step back thing wasn’t very funny”. The dune was much bigger than it looked plus the area you could walk was so narrow you couldn’t step to the side to take a break or anything. One of the ladies in our group got very freaked out and had to go back. We did make it up way in time for sunrise and sat for about half an hour watching the sun come up. It really was beautiful to see the dunes shine bright red and luckily my camera survived the sand. We hiked back down (much easier) and had a cooked breakfast at the foot of the dune. Afterwards we headed into the desert with a very interesting Japanese guide. (very enthusiastic!) The walk was really cool, we did a bit of hiking dunes and walked around in our bear feet. We also saw the Sossusvlei Dunes where there is water below (or at least was fairly recently so the ground is all cracked and white and there are attempts at trees). A very weird, but cool phenomenon in the desert. We had a very chilled afternoon as everyone was exhausted and headed to our next campsite where we ate their world famous apple pie.
Day 6: Today we crossed the Tropic of Capricorn (and got a great group pic) and also went by the moon landscapes. They are a series of hills that in winter have no grass on them and sparkle because of the minerals in the soil. Unfortunately they did have grass still but it was still very beautiful. We arrived in Swakopmund and stopped at the Desert Explorer office where we watched videos of the optional activities and signed up for everything. That afternoon we explored Swakopmund and rested before going out to dinner with the group to an Italian restaurant. The restaurant was amazingly good but the wait was forever since we were such a large group. Afterwards we headed across the street to the one and only club where ALL the overland trips were and had a good time on the dance floor.
Day 7: Today was the day reserved for optional activities. Marina and I had sandboarding in the morning so we were picked up at 9:30 and driven in the desert. After fitting our snadboards and boots we headed towards a giant dune that we were intended to climb. The first climb was very rough but we did manage to get to the top and since I was the only experience rider I was kinda allowed to do my own thing while the beginners had a lesson. It was really cool- a little slower than snowboarding especially when you carve but essentially the same. The only downside was that it took about a minute to get down and then you had to climb all the way back up. Marina did very well- although a couple bad words were spoken. By the end she could go down on both sides- very impressive. We also did lie down sandboarding which was like 100 times scarier than tobogganing and completely awful. I have never been so scared in my life and I was only going 52 k and hour (other people were going 80). After sandboarding they fed us lunch and took us back to our backpackers where we attempted to remove all the sand from our bodies (impossible) and rested for our afternoon for quadbiking. Quadbiking was absolutely amazing- one of the coolest things I have ever done. We went for 2 hours and it was just 3 of us plus a leader guy and we pretty much just drove through the desert and went up on sand dunes and caught some serious air. Marina got stuck once which was pretty funny but other than that we had no problems. It really was amazing- felt like very unexplored territory and I could have ridden for much longer. On our way home we headed to this bar where they were showing our sandboarding dvd- hilarious and then back to our lodge for another shower. Marina and I had a romantic dinner for two our and then went to bed at 8:30 because we were so exhausted.
The last day of our trip involved us getting on a bus in Swakopmund and driving to Windhoek and then to Cape Town. 24 hours in total. I will not go into much detail of this trip as “what happens on the bus stays on the bus” but all in all in was much better than expected. The only really bad parts were that it was actually more like 27 hours and we had to wait at 4:30 am at the Namibian boarder for 2 hours. Again, thank god for my ipod and grey’s anatomy. One of the girls from school was on the bus so we were able to get a lift with her back to school. Very relieved to be home and back in our comfortable beds. This feeling lasted about a half a day until we returned back to work and decided that really… holidays are the way to go.
No comments:
Post a Comment