We set course for Upington, and stop to refuel. From here it's not far to the border. We reach the post at Nakop, and stumble around a bit before we confirm that we need to visit the SAPS counter first, before moving into customs and immigration. The guys here have a great sense of humor, but spend so much time flirting with the young Dutch tourists in front of us that we start to get impatient. They don't particularly like Dad's vehicle permission letter but smiles and jokes get us through... We then have to declare almost every electronic item we have with us, what a mission.
Dad drives ahead to the Namibian side of the border, but it's so far away (17km!) that he actually turns back, thinking he has missed something... This side goes quicker, and we just need to fill in some forms, pay an entry fee and go. We finally enter Namibia through Ariamsvlei!
The vegetation and scenery is already changing and getting drier, and the rock formations are pretty cool. We pull over at a convenient picnic spot and enjoy some cheese and biscuits, no engen one stops here!
We reach the first major town, Karasburg, and fill up with diesel. Here we get a feel for the poor side of Namibia, there is a guy walking around shirtless, sipping from a bottle of wine (at 9:00am) and yelling randomly... Another guy tries to make polite conversation in Afrikaans, telling us the shirtless guy used to be a general and asking about our holiday, but we know he just wants money. We give him food but that doesn't seem to make him very happy.
After Karasburg we hit the C13, a dirt road but in excellent condition. It's comfortable to go 100km/h or more... After some dodgy directions we find the road to the Gondwana reserve. We spot some animals along the way, oryxes, zebras and ostriches. Further up is the Canyon Roadhouse, where the Groblers are camping. We say goodbye to the Sanfords, who are staying at the Canyon Lodge.
The Roadhouse is a huge red roofed building, unmissable from the road, and tempting travelers in with its signs leading up to it (Hungry??... Tired??... Thirsty??... Burgers and Amarula cheesecake here :D). The inside is really funky, decorated with old rusted cars, number plates and petrol signage. Once we have checked in and set up camp, we head to the roadhouse bar for our first taste of Namibian beer - Tafel and Windhoek lagers.
The campsite is actually excellent, we have a huge tree for shade and shelter, a powerful light, electricity, nice braai area and super clean ablutions. The sites are well separated, and decorated with desert plants and a well lit path to the roadhouse. We decide on a chicken flattie braai, with Gitti's famous French farmstyle potatoes and salad. Desert is braai bananas stuffed with chocolate and vanilla vodka and topped with flaked almonds, yum!
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Location:Fish River Canyon
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