The last entry of the Namibia series.
“Once you have traveled, the voyage never ends, but is played out over and over again in the quietest chambers. The mind can never break off from the journey” ― Pat Conroy
We drove straight from Spitzkoppe to Windhoek thinking we could make it to the border all in one day. We did not. However, we had one more stop and we were trying to outrun time.
We made an unexpected stop in a city called Mariental because we were just not going to reach our last campsite on time, and painfully paid hotel rates because there were no campsites in sight! Whatever happened at Mariental? All I know is that we had access to a full bar and we were the only people there. The following day we reluctantly gathered ourselves to find our way to Ai-Ais. This was going to be another great geological experience I had been looking forward to for years.
We arrived at our last campsite in Namibia on Friday 23 November, two days before we were supposed to be in Cape Town, and we hadn’t crossed the border yet. It was still pretty early in the day so we found some cold beverages and hung out at the swimming pool while we waited for the sun to set so we could go to Fish River Canyon for the sunset. I was deeply moved by the sheer size of the Canyon, and like everything else about Namibia, all I could think of was how vast it was. We marveled at this wonder for about an hour and a half before we had to drive back to set up camp. We had some Tafels in honour of this beautiful country and made a pledge to come back to explore the northern parts of Namibia, or to do the 5-day hike in the Canyon.
The first activity of the following day was a shorter drive to the hot springs of Ai-Ais ahead of the long drive to Cederberg as we had to be at the border before 16:00pm. We crossed the border safely and quickly, and stopped once or twice for lunch and fuel on the way to our last campsite in the climbers’ paradise that is Cederberg! The road signs switched from German- English-Afrikaans, to Afrikaans- English-isiXhosa, and just like that it was over. What began as a drunk text had materialised into some of the most beautiful memories and the greatest friendships formed. Alcohol really is the solution! Jokes. Drink responsibly but don’t shy away from drunk texting. You might end up in Namibia!
Views From The South 