Stage 1: Orange River

So here we are eight days and roughly 2000km (factoring in detours and tire changes - more about that later) from where we began. Our first date with the fray went well and barring some cuts, bruises and aching body parts, all is well. Our journey is begun!

After a leisurely drive (and an unfortunate speeding ticket) we crossed the border into Namibia on the 8th of July and made camp next to the Orange River, where we met Susan and William (Elsje's mother and brother) who had driven down from Windhoek. We found out that we had arrived a day early so we took the opportunity to relax, nap, read, take walks and enjoy the general splendour of the land. After two nights of camping we were off!

Our group (22 people, us included) was made up of an eclectic bunch made up of mostly Capetonians, a sprinkling of Namibians, a pair of jolly Scots and a lone Irish lass. We also had three awesome guides, true river-rats and exceptional specimens of humanity, Sean, Bonnie and Kyle aka "Seagull."

Even though it is winter at the moment, you wouldn't have known it. It was surprisingly warm and even hot at times, although the water was freezing as we soon found out. On the second day, while trying to dodge one of our fellow paddlers, we crashed sideways into a tree and went for a swim in one of the bigger rapids, bouncing over rocks as we went. Initially refreshing, but bone-chillingly cold. A little bit scary too, but all part of the adventure.

Must say, this was one of the most amazing things I've ever done. Elsje did this trip in high school (with the same company, Felix Unite) and she's raved about it ever since I met her. You get to see a truly unique landscape which is pretty inaccessible by any other means other than the river. I'm talking volcanic mountains, dramatic rock formations and, of course, lots of water in various moods. Plenty of stars too. Basically you get to see the power and the action of the natural world, get to live in it and soak it up for a bit. The silence and desolation of some parts of the land around the banks is often quite disturbing and it makes you wonder what could possibly survive in such harshness. I fell in love with this part of southern Africa the first time I came to Namibia to visit Elsje, when she was still working for De Beers at Oranjemund. She took me to a place called Brandkarossie, a once citrus farm on the South African side of the Orange River which had been turned into a little getaway place for locals. It was the first time I'd ever swum in a river and we periodically swam backwards and forwards between SA and Namibia, noting how stupid and arbitrary are borders between what is essentially the same piece of earth. We even took a little stroll into the swirling black masses of volcanic rock which form part of the Spergebiet, an area forbidden to travel in because of "potential diamonds." The whole experience just solidified for me just exactly how insignificant we as human beings are when confronted with such magnitude and how what we try to impose on the land is, in the final analysis, a bit silly really.

Ja, basically words and photographs just don't do that painfully beautiful place justice, but here are some piccies anyway. Note the hairy, fat tailed scorpion we found on one of our walks.