On the edge of eternity …..

Second posting of the day - trying to catch up! 

I wake just after dawn and go outside to the most beautiful early morning light - this is such a fabulous place I wish we staying more than one night. We only have two one night stops on this trip - we try to avoid them, but sometimes they’re necessary. 

Over breakfast we watch weaver birds manically ‘weaving’ their nests, so entertaining, and incredibly clever. The gardens of the Manor House are beautifully laid out with swimming pool and lounge area - though we have neither the time or inclination to make use of either. Although it’s definitely hotter than our other SA stops, early morning and nights are chilly - so much so that we resorted to the electric blanket provided last night! 

We now need to drive to the border, passing vegetation that becomes increasingly sparse and desert like as we go north. It’s such a contrast to yesterday’s colour. 

Borders are always strange places. Inevitably you arrive expecting problems and delays, but as borders go, this was fairly straightforward.  First it’s three separate buildings on the South African side - immigration, customs and police I think. Then the short trip through no-man’s-land to Namibia. First there’s shoe and tyre cleaning to stop the spread of foot and mouth, then another three checkpoints - here road tax being one. I fully endorse the idea that foreign traffic should pay to use Namibia’s fledgling road system,  it have to smile at the mission statement that aims to make the country’s road network world class! And that’s before we’ve actually experienced it in person. 

Eventually we’re on our way, stopping at a Wimpy for a coffee which G feels he’s earned. By now it’s about 1.30, and when I use the last of my SA network coverage to check, it seems it will take us nearly 6 hours to reach the next lodge - taking us to after dark. The instructions we have in our pack suggest a shorter route, so as they’ve come from the local agents, we decide to go with them - though they’re not very detailed and we’re grateful for our Namibian map. 

We start off on the B1 which is perfectly adequate, then follow instructions to turn onto the C10, which varies between gravel and (mostly) hard packed sand. There are no clear signs to our lodge, so we take other C roads in the direction of Fish River Canyon..The scenery is other-worldly. There are stretches of flat semi desert, with towering mountains and crumbling cliffs in the distance. We come across our first wildlife - a small heard of gemsbok or oryx, and later a few springbok. It won’t be until Etosha that we see much wildlife, so these are a real treat to spot. 

Finally, just after 5 hours of often very bumpy driving, we reach a government rest camp at Fish River Canyon. This is NOT our destination - but the receptionist there s very helpful. She looks at us with concerned sympathy, showing us the route to where she thinks our lodge is - it’s not marked on the map, but google maps recognises it. She phones our lodge to check - and yes indeed, she’s correct. It’s at least another 3.5 hours drive, a huge route around the canyon as we are staying on the opposite rim. Is it safe to drive in the dark, we ask. Yes it’s safe, she says, but do you want to? G - bless him - says he’s up for it, and off we go. 

Most of the journey is on similar C roads which require constant attention to the driving conditions - and all the time the sun is getting lower. We have a relatively short  run on a B road before a turning which will take us back down south along more C roads.  At least the lodge is now signposted as being 117 km - not that far, but when you’re often restricted to speeds of 25 kph, it’s a long way! Much of the road is heavily corrugated, and there are regular narrow cattle grids. 

At last we turn into the Fish River Lodge Nature Reserve. It’s only 29km to go, BUT this is apparently the most challenging road we’ll encounter on our Namibian journey AND it’s been pitch black for some time! 

At last the lights of the lodge come into view. We basically stop the car rather than park it, and stagger towards a member of staff who is coming to greet us. Just leave everything, he tells us, we’ll sort it afterwards, and we follow him in admiring the words on his uniform tee shirt - ‘on the edge of eternity’ ….. it certainly feels that way. 

It’s nearly 9pm by now, and thankfully we have 2 minutes before dinner service closes. We stagger into the comparatively brightly lit restaurant much to the amusement of the remaining diners. We look both bedraggled and shell shocked. 
 
Dinner is both welcome and delicious - we haven’t eaten since breakfast. Justice, one of the guides, comes go discuss tomorrow’s activities.  We’re booked for a full-day hike and a sundowner drive. The hike has always been doubtful from my point of view, but now G is also reluctant.  Why not do the full day jeep trip into the canyon, he suggests. It leaves at 7.00. I’m still not sure - I just don’t think I’m up to it. We’ll see. 

Finally, it’s a case of parking the Fortuner properly, and making our way to our room - which unbelievably is the furthest from the lodge. I’m sure the view’s fantastic, but it will have to wait until tomorrow …..