Day 145… Monday 14th August
A leisurely start to the day and hot showers. Although there was a South African/Namibian border crossing to deal with, only 200 miles (4 hour drive) to cover. Flatter terrain with scrub grassland in this part of the northern cape. Very straight roads in exceptional condition. Hardly a passing vehicle. Almost flattened a mongoose into the road – it had a narrow escape! Border crossing very quiet. Friendly staff and the while process took 1 hour. We had earlier that day removed the meat and cheese from the fridge and hidden it elsewhere in the back of Greta as apparently meat, dairy, fruit/veg and firewood is not allowed over the borders but there was no attempt to inspect the vehicle. Only mildly disappointing as I wanted to see if our hiding place was effective. Saw several large bird nests on top of power line poles – impressive structures that would have taken months to build. Arrived at our intended campsite mid-afternoon ‘The White House’ and set up camp. Enjoyed the sunset, mongoose scuttling around their burrows and a herd of goats.
Allen’s perspective…
The border crossing this day had to be one of our best so far. The South African side was organised and had a fantastic side pointing to numbered offices, making it all very clear where to go. This is exactly what I’ve been moaning about over the last few months and great to see it in action, even if only at one border post. On the Namibian side it was a little less organised but still pretty smooth. There was a chap in a nice blue suit who I assumed was carrying out Interpol checks. He seemed pleased when I told him that he was the smartest man at any African border I’ve been to.
