Ai-Ais

Because I have been without internet for a few days today I am posting the last 3 updates

The Klein-Aus Vista Lodge

The car alarm goes off at 2 a.m. The whole compound is sound asleep including myself. I am dreaming and ignore it. A minute later it starts up again. Now awareness is slowly creeping in and so is the realization that this is my car creating a ruckus. Scrambling for my clothes and shoes I stumble in a sleep-drunk state outside, only to meet the wife of my neighbor who is out there thinking it is her car. We simultaneously hit our remotes twice to unlock and lock the cars again and go back to our respective rooms. The moment I lay back in my bed after having removed my shoes and clothing, the bloody thing starts up again. Wind force 7 to 9, which has been blowing for the last 2 days, is rocking the cars and now both of them are blaring for someone to turn them off. The region is infamous for its windy weather but this ferocity is unusual, even by local standards. The only way to get some rest will be to unlock the vehicles. The neighbor does the same as more alarms are going off. It is bedlam in the parking lot. We are far away from any civilization and I really do not worry about anyone breaking into the car, certainly not in this weather. By now I am wide-awake and shivering. Eventually peace returns and the parking lot crowd goes back to their hot-water bottle beds. From the outset it was my intention to return to South Africa via the Kalahari but it has been made clear to me by Chris that the night temperatures can dip to – 7o C, which is not on my “things to do” list. The alternative therefore is to meet up with Ben & Maryna in Cape Town for a few days and then take the Garden Route towards Kroonstad. That plan also opens up the possibility of visiting Addo, which is another highly regarded National Park. For the time being I will make decisions on a day-to-day basis. For my Sunday drive, dirt roads were the order of the day direction Ai-Ais. This spot had been recommend to me by Chris because of its hot springs. My expectations were to see hot springs in a natural setting but they turned out to be oversized bathtubs in a covered building.

It was more like something you’d expect to see and I have experienced in America, as opposed to Africa. The vistas en route were nothing short of sensational and photos just don’t do the 3 dimensional landscapes any justice. It is impossible to capture the 180-degree views you are treated to while driving through this part of Namibia. The GPS listed an old car wreck by the side of the road. Someone had propped it up with stones. Was this supposed to be a tourist attraction? Its radiator fan was spinning around a mile a minute in the wind. How long had it been sitting there or did someone plant it in the middle of nowhere?

These are the kind of pertinent questions that go through head when driving a straight dirt road for hundreds of kilometers. Pointless but you can’t help it. Driving further south I got to the Fish River Canyon, which is part of the Ai-Ais National Park and the 2^nd largest canyon in the world after the Grand Canyon. No motels, hotels, Mc Donalds or any other commercial entity.

After the canyon more open fields, which eventually gave way to the mountainous region of Ai-Ais.

 

The overnight stay is in the park’s lodge because the camping spots are very small, a bit like setting up tent in a parking lot. Somewhat disappointing but tomorrow I’ll be crossing the border again and spending time at Augrabies Falls before I start my descend to Cape Town.