Karas

Settling in at ‘Senderlingsdrift’, in the Richtersveld last night reminded me of the Grootfontein and Oshivelo 'deurgangskamp' back in '79😖

Tucked away between the sandy football field and the heavy duty machinery garage's and workshops was our overnight spot. The campsite completely empty and no where to hide!

Brent, the Park Manager told us on the phone last week, that he would never stay here, is now very obvious why.

At 6:00 this morning very heavy, bulldozers, Caterpillars, trucks, tractors and trailers moved out towards the mines like an army convoy, belching black clouds. Shouting louder than all these engines, every worker like a Sergeant major on the parade ground! After two months of complete peace, the cacophony of yellow giants and people is a gentle reminder of the real world, and I so want to rewind, to mid-March again!

Is there no longer any respect for the fatigued elderly?🤷🏻‍♂️😖 The struggle is real!!!

Our late arrival yesterday was because of the !@#$%^& closed pont, (which we were not advised of earlier), by signboard or anything)!!!😖

This only added an extra 3 hours to our drive, to end-up exactly just across the Orange from we were in Nam!

From early this morning things started to regress. Firstly all the start-up chaos and then a persistent grader siren in my ear, constantly reversing! Screaming and shouting people followed, much like a strike or riot organized by the 'National Union of Mineworkers'. Turns out only to be a few ladies walking happily down the road between their 'Diggs' and their place of work, with only a very transparent dried, reed fence-screen between us!😖

After chatting to Brent, who was most helpful, giving us the best possible route around the 'Richtersveld Trans-Frontier', Karen did some last minute shopping in a scant little operation, merchandised with very little other than emergency rations.

Fueling up with the most expensive Diesel ever (R24.54/l) when someone has you by the 'sinker's', nothing is ever going to end well😖 Oh wait, we're back in the RSA, how the hell does Namibia have cheaper fuel and better roads?

After passing a number of diamond digging's, we headed into the park, proper.

It turns out we are the only people in the park today. 162,000 hectare's of, (apart from the road) untouched virgin countryside, unlike you have ever seen elsewhere. Magnificent mountain ranges, desolate, mainly rock formations,...... The park boasts having the biggest, most diverse collection of flora anywhere in the world. Whilst animals are few, the landscape and the complete wilderness adventure is unreal!

Sadly my vision of looking like ‘Kingsley Holgate’ by the end of the expedition, was stoned-dead right there as Karen insisted on cropping my beard!

Tonight in the 'Potjiespram' Campsite in The Richtersveld, and after devouring one of two mega T-Bone's, purchased from the same butcher in ‘Springbok’ town, who supplied the restaurant we ate at, and Karen mashed up the last of the potatoes, we called it a day. Where as in the past we had the sound of the ocean and wind, here there is not a breeze and only the sound of crickets and a huge rapid, slowing the raging Orange River outside. With the recent heavy rains in the Orange and Vaal catchment area's, all those dams are full and the Orange River is at full spuit. Judging by the recent high water mark, it must have been quite a spectical. In addition to the Senderlings border crossing being closed several others have also been temporarily shut, firstly the Covid-19 crisis and then even before that ended, the flood waters have ensured that these smaller ports, will also remain closed.

Instead of people destroying my day, the monkeys are here in numbers!

Love, Peace and Light
M&K
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