No Fixed Abode: Out of (South) Africa

Thu 16 Jun 2016 - Ai-Ais Springs

Today we head into Namibia so we wanted to be off early so we could stock up with food, Namibian shops are an unknown entity, and get on our way. What we didn’t know was that it was a public holiday in SA so the shops didn’t open until late leaving us waiting in the car park. Anyway, we eventually filled the cool bag and headed north along arrow straight roads through countryside that started as fynbos, then short stubby plants then plants with large spaces between them scattered around piles of rocks that looked as if the giants had been sweeping up.

By late morning we approached the border post and were greeted by a border officer who took our car details, gave us a slip of paper then told us to go to room 1 or 3. We drove a short way to the building complex, parked the car then found the room 1 where we got our passports and the slip of paper stamped for South African exit. Remarking how smoothly that had all gone we drove to the SA exit proper where we were asked by another officer for the slip of paper. He told us we were missing a stamp and needed to return to room 3 so we backed the car away from the barrier and walked back to room 3 to get the required stamp - it seems the first officer must have said room 1 AND 3. Now having the appropriate stamps we were allowed out of the control post and across the bridge over the Oranje River, which forms the border.

Still congratulating ourselves on the smooth transition we rounded a corner and were faced with a Namibian border post. With the usual road passage blocked for roadworks we were uncertain where to go as there were, of course, no helpful signs but we drove around the side and spotted people exiting a doorway so figured that must be where to go. Inside was the immigration desk manned by a single guy. We found some forms that needed the usual life history then joined the queue to have our passports processed and noticed many people presenting handfuls of passports for clearance. It seemed not to matter that their owners were not present - great security.

Having waited quite a while at the passport desk we then joined an even longer queue at the road tax desk, also manned by a single person. As a condition of entry each car driver is required to pay around £12 to help towards road maintenance - quite a plan that maybe the UK should adopt. Not only did this poor girl have to enter all the details into a computer and print out a permit but she also had to handle cash payments. Needless to say it took ages, however, after about 1:30 hrs in total we in Namibia. Immediately the landscape turned to arid desert and we soon found a rest area to pull over for lunch.

With our hunger sated we set off north along the main B2 road through the sand and rocks until we came to a sign for Ai-Ais, today’s destination, indicating a left turn down a gravel road. Driving more cautiously on the loose surface we followed another arrow straight road through, what can only be described as, the surface of Mar - miles and miles of sand with the odd rock outcrop bisected by the dead straight road that disappeared over the horizon. The only sign of life was the odd cattle grid and the fences on either side though we’ve no idea what they were keeping in check. We drove for 100km, over an 1:30hr and didn’t see a single other car. The only other living thing was a man with a small goat herd absolutely miles from anywhere. Goodness knows how he’d got there.

After what seemed like an age we joined another gravel road and wound our way down through a steep, barren, rocky gorge until we finally arrived at the Ai-Ais Hot Springs resort. Run by the Namibian national park service the resorts sits beside the Fish River at the head of the eponymous canyon and is famous for its hot, spring fed pools that are supposed to impart well being. The Fish river is a bit of a misnomer as it only flows for a few weeks a year during the short wet season and this was not one of them, however, the sun was shining and the air was warm, which was a welcome change from the last few days, and we soon found a couple of recliners to soak up the heat.

Once the sun disappeared over the valley wall we went for a bit of an exploration and surveyed the large campsite with its various roof tents (like we had in Maui) and trailer tents that had been erected. It seemed the public holiday had brought lots of South Africans up for a long weekend break. The end of the camping was taped off and as we returned to our room a large truck arrived bearing the sign of a local beer brewer. Maybe some event was coming to town.

After a nice cuppa and a close encounter with the local baboon raiding party we donned our swim wear and went to the indoor pool just below our room, where we spent a relaxing hour soaking in the warm water before changing and going for dinner. At the dining room we ordered a couple of Eland steaks, another new meat for us to try, then noticed a single lady arrive who we invited to join us. She explained that her husband was running an ultra marathon through the canyon and was due to finish here tomorrow so she had come to meet him - that explained the arrival of the truck and why we hadn’t been able to extend our stay for another night.