Day 3: Overlanding tours are supposed to be basic but you wouldn't necessarily tell from our first stop in the Ais-Ais National Park, home to Fish River Canyon (second largest canyon in the world and over 600million years old). At the bottom of the canyon is a spa complex based around natural thermal springs, and use of the facilities is included in the park fees – happy days!
In the Namibian winter the indoor and outdoor heated pools are a huge bonus, but at the moment the 35-plus degree heat means that all the group wants is somewhere to chill.
We head to the canyon viewpoint for a sunset dinner – and luckily the sun comes out at the last moment for some picture perfect views. We also see our first animals of the tour – springbok and oryx.
Tip of the day: when camping in National Parks, don't leave anything outside your tents that you don't want to lose – Jackals and baboons will be more that grateful for these 'gifts'.
Day 4: The next day is a big drive – 600km – and due to some exceptional weather the roads are in a bad state, so getting stuck is a serious concern. If that happens the result can be hours of digging, and sure enough after about 2 hours on the road we come across another overland truck whose passengers have just spent an hour and a half doing exactly that. Fortunately for them, the place they got bogged just happened to be outside a plant which had tractors to pull them out. Fortunately for us, they were still there to point us in the right direction. Everyone got out to minimise our weight and Shashe splashed through the mud beautifully.
We camp at Seisreim, just outside the national park gates, which is in the middle of a dust-storm, and get a reasonably early night ready for the unreasonably early start tomorrow.
Tip of the day: don't ask your crew to stop for photos when driving on roads which are knee deep in mud. Likelihood of sticking = high. Likelihood of request being granted = low.
Day 5: At pre-departure we promise/ warn that one early start is non-negotiable, and this day has arrived. The park gates open at 5.15am so at 5 o'clock sharp (or nearly) we are waiting in line, ready to drive the 45km down to Dune 45, to be ready for sunrise. Dune 45 is the designated climbing dune (just one is chosen in order to protect and conserve the others) and at 210m on an empty stomach, it can be quite a challenge. This time the group assure me that everyone made it to the top, and in time to see the sunrise, so they get a full cooked breakfast as a reward. (Usual breakfast is a variation of french toast and beans, scrambled eggs, cereals and fruit).
Once we have finished breakfast we head to Edenvlei ('vlei' meaning valley or dry lake), where we find that the so-called dry lake is actually flooded, which we are definitely privileged to see (this doesn't happen often for sustained amounts of time - the park officials reckon only a handful of times in the past twenty years).
Mindful of the early start, we don't put tents down until we return, and after a quick shower we are on our way again, this time to Cha-Re, where we can bushcamp under the stars, and also take the opportunity to learn more about the local history, area and wildlife habits on a guided walk of the sand dunes and desert.
Quote of the day:
(Campsite owner) 'Don't worry, you can sleep outside and I guarantee nothing will bite or sting you'
(Mark, after a thoughtful pause) '...but what is one of us bites someone else?'
