Moving down the western coast

Well, I clearly haven’t gotten better at the blogging part, but I’m back with a long update. 

So let me take you back to my last days in Namibia.  I made it to Sossusvlei, where the picturesque sand dunes are.  I camped at the Namibia Wilderness Reserve campsite in the park, where I met Vezemba, who took me on a tour of the Deadvlei, and unfortunately, had to also help me push my car out of the sand.  We had stopped to help other people (rule #1 – never stop in deep sand) and then got stuck (rule #2 – remember to deflate your tires in sand… I had forgotten rule #2).  Baby Blue was struggling, but made it out.

  On the first day, I woke up before dawn to summit Dune 45 (the most popular of the five you can climb) before the sun rose.  While I didn’t make it before sunrise (no one did), it was beautiful watching the sun rise and great to be able to climb the dune with bare feet in cool sand.  I climbed the largest dune, Big Daddy the following day.  All I can say is driving around for 2 months has not helped my fitness levels. The views in Sossusvlei were spectacular.  I’ve never seen scenery like that, and highly recommend it (especially to my friends already in Africa).

 

I then made my way to Fish River Canyon, the second largest canyon in the world after the Grand Canyon.  I was unfortunately (or fortunately maybe) a week too late to actually do the 5 day hike within the canyon, so I had to settle for the viewpoints.  So instead of trekking through hot desert, I went to another NWR camp in Ai Ais, where there are natural hotsprings and a spa… tough life.  As a note for anyone traveling to Namibia, the Namibia Wilderness Reserve has great lodging, including both rooms and campsites.  They are always spotless and everyone is super helpful. I got pretty used to having running water and electricity at my camp sites J

My last stop in Namibia was a three day canoe trip on the Orange River (it creates the border between SA and Namibia) with Felix Unite.  The scenery was amazing, but the highlight was going down not one, but two rapids backwards due to our lack of canoeing skills.  But somehow, we all made it through the three days without capsizing (and with a hilarious video of us that will make its way to Facebook at some point).  A great way to end a visit to a country with some of the most awe-inspiring, and varied, natural beauty I have seen in Africa.

And then HELLO South Africa! I took my time getting down to Cape Town: a day in Namaqualand (I was about 10 days late for the flowers blooming.  Disappointing, but the few remaining blooms were beautiful), a day hiking in the Cederburg Mountains, and a day in Paternoster – a small fishing village on the Atlantic coast.  I’ve actually gotten pretty good at traveling alone.  Then I was in Cape Town J 

I spent the first few days adjusting to city life, getting Baby Blue checked out (only to have her come back with more problems. Cape Town was not a good stop for Baby Blue, but she is back up, running, and with a new air compressor), and having LASIK surgery.  Yup – I decided to have surgery while on vacation.  I’ve worn contacts for 20 years, and now I have 20/20 vision.  Miracles can come true J  And recovery isn’t so bad, when you spend it at Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, Two Oceans Aquarium and the Fringe arts festival going on.

And then I had friends!  Aliza and Chelsea came all the way from the US, to meet me in Cape Town!  We had some packed days (busier due to Baby Blue’s appointments at the garage), but saw a lot: Table Mountain, penguins at Boulder Beach, Chapman’s Pass, shark diving (very cool except for the seasickness that prevented me from watching the sharks from the boat.. oh well), Cape Point and wine tasting in Stellenbosch.  There were a few things that didn’t work out as planned (a full moon hike up Lions Head turned into a rainy night at home) but some things were spur-of-the-moment but worked out (stopping by Hermanus ended up in 2 hours of whale watching of southern right whales!). It was amazing having them here, and even though it has been years since we’ve all been together, it was just like a regular weekend in the Slope… with a lot more beautiful and exciting things to do J.  Sadly, it ended as quickly as it started and 6 days after they landed, Aliza and Chelsea flew off to safari in Kruger, and I continued on through the Garden Route.

I’m going to end it here, and hopefully blog again before I’m back in Dar.  I’m right now just over 2/3 of the way through, and funny enough, my trip is feeling rushed.  Who knew three months on the road could feel like too little?  (more pics coming once I have strong internet :))