South from Windhoek
There's too much to write about in this blog post. I'm currently sat in a restaurant in Springbok, South Africa, wearing the warmest clothes I have. The temperature outside is about 10 degrees Celcius and I doubt it will get much warmer in the days to come. "You've arrived at the wrong time of year", says Jan, the restaurant manager whose house I was invited to stay in last night.
I was soaked to the skin and freezing cold when I rolled into town yesterday afternoon. Talk about a change in weather conditions having crossing the Namibian border the previous morning. There the skies were characteristically blue and I was cycling in familiar shorts, vest top and sandles. Now my tan seems destined to disappear and it's hard to imagine wearing those clothes again between here and Cape Town.
Earlier today I booked a flight back to England. In exactly one month's time I will be packing up the bike, loading it onto an Air Emirates plane and leaving Africa behind. It doesn't seem like a fitting end to what will almost be another 3-year long journey. The Big Africa Cycle is very much in its finishing stages. As for what's next, well I'll leave that for another blog post.
The Namibian landscape continued to impress me as I cycled south from Windhoek, but rather than write about the wonderful sand dunes, breathtaking landscapes, irritating roadside fencing, numerous punctures, wild camping experiences, hiking the Fish River Canyon and the time-warped two donkey towns, I'm sharing some of the pictures I've taken in the past several weeks. Click on them to be taken to the Flickr page where I've added some notes.
Self-timing myself
Wild camping near the Fish River Canyon
Sunset from the Spreetshoogte pass
On the Spreetshoogte pass
Descending the Spreetshoogte pass
South towards Solitaire
Fencing to nowhere
Keep out!
Dune 45 at Sunrise
Deadvlei
Deadvlei
Dune at Sossuvlei
Sky at Sossuvlei
Sunrise on Dune 45
Resting at Sossuvlei
Scenery near Sesriem
Landscape in the Namib Rand Reserve
Oryx disappearing
Grinding along gravel again
On the edge
Camping above the Fish River Canyon
Fish River Canyon
Above the Fish River Canyon
Start of the Fish River Canyon
Descending into the Fish River Canyon
Descending into the Fish River Canyon
Moon rising in the Fish River Canyon
Setting up camp within the Fish River Canyon
Fish River Canyon
Within the Fish River Canyon
Morning Reflections
Morning in the Fish River Canyon
Hiker in Fish River Canyon
Yohan and Nami
Fred the Frenchman
South from Sesriem
Another puncture!
Rare spot of shade
South to Aussenkehr
Beer at a bottlestore
Salt stains
Into South Africa
