A strange night and coincidental first game of the RWC

After the bikes were serviced and the washing hung out to dry I popped over to the bar to fetch drinks while Tania prepared stunning 2-minute noodles with salami, our budget speciality for the trip so far. We had supper in a lonely campsite – we expected the few small tents’ occupants to come home to roost, but no one did.

When I went to for a shower I stumbled into a conversation with two friendly guys who made a business proposition which left me a bit uncomfortable for the rest of the evening. They seemed harmless, but we were alone in the camp so I made friends with the owner, Freddie, who assured me we are safe. We still decided to set the alarm early and leave before sunrise. The fact that there was a local trade show on the grounds next to the campsite didn’t help, so we listened to the very load live music and DJ-ing until around 2h00, after which I awoke every hour to see whether it is light yet.

At the garage where we filled up we had a Vienna-roll, Milo and coffee for breakfast and a lovely chat with the attendant, Augustinus, who asked us about our trip and told us about his three daughters. What a proud father and kind man. We found this everywhere in Namibia. The guys at the stations love the bikes and ask out about our trip. I regret not getting photos with them all.

By coincidence we arrived at Otavi just as the Springboks’ first Rugby World Cup game started and watched them (ook maar net) beat Wales. We met some more nice people. First Nico, who pitched on his Yamaha R6 and Chris, the owner of the Camel Inn bar where we had lunch watching the game. We also met Pieter and Tanya on their way to the Northern regions to educate the unemployed youths about how arts and drama can help with every-day problems.

After the game we said goodbye and headed North towards Grootfontein. The landscape has been steadily changing since we passed Okahandja yesterday, first into Savannah and bush-veld, then today we saw the first Palm trees. The birdlife has also changed from the South, with regular sighting of Rollers and Hornbills.

We arrived at Roy’s Restcamp at 15h00 and spent the afternoon in the lovely cool pool (with water in it!) and are now lazing under the shade of the thorn trees (and being eaten alive by the flies) in the camp. As soon as the sun has set we’ll make our noodles-of-the-day around the camp fire. This is the good life.

Tomorrow we’ll head for Rundu and are looking forward to our first time in the Caprivi. Thank you for the great following which has been rising every day since the start of the trip! Cheers