10th April. This Post Should Have Been First

10^th March. Windhoek.

The main city before we start to get into the interesting part of the trip. It was a long drive from Pretoria and most of it through not that interesting country. The border crossing was a surprise though. The actual border is the Orange River and as we dropped towards it, vineyards and citrus orchards started to appear. Quite unexpected as the land before it was very barren semi desert. The bird life on the river was profuse with the massive Goliath heron standing sentinel downstream a little. It was one of those quiet border crossings where one has the time to pass the time with the officers who usually mellow a little from their original formality. 

After crossing we headed for Keetmanshoopand the quiver forest there. These trees are quite amazing with their shape. Unfortunately the bloke there was quite rude and and put us off staying.  We drove on expecting to see a camping sign but alas, after a further 200kms, making our drive for the day over 700kms, still nothing. We ended up at a resort recommended called OppiKoppi. However it looked like it had closed some years earlier. The track to the resort was however ideal for some bush camping: well off the road and no one around. It was a delightful evening with the full moon lighting the surrounding grassland.

It was full on today, so much to do but everything went so well. Car rego renewal, more books to read, French & Portuguese dictionaries to purchase, gas bottles filled, bakkie booked in for service tomorrow, a few purchases at Campworld, some shopping, Joan's haircut, it all went off without a hitch. We also dropped into Asco Car Hire where we met up with Robbie, now the manager but when we bought the vehicle from them 2 years ago, he was the one to explain all the workings of it. We spent an invaluable half hour with him going over what we should take with us as spares and other tips to lessen the chance of hassles on our trip Once the vehicle is serviced tomorrow we will head off. Should cross into Angola Thursday or Friday.