So we were off and running (driving technically!) just under a month ago with a full truck of 24! Yes folks high season has arrived!
Robert and I were super excited to meet our fresh faced 24 passengers on a rather cold and wet Cape Town evening, yes it is a lot of people, but more people means more possibility for fun fun fun! The first day is always a long one, and as usual is full of activities….this includes meeting fellow travelers, those that you’ll be living with whilst on tour 🙂 The Township tour is a great way to see the other side of South Africa and learn the history behind Apartheid. For all it is a real eye opener and a huge contrast from enjoying the sites around the city such as Table Mountain.
So we drive north towards the Northern Cape and the wine regions. Our first two nights are spent at beautiful campsites wine tasting sessions and a pre birthday party! I always love having birthdays on the tour as what a birthday present for folks…and it is also an excuse to spoil my group with a birthday shindig….this time we celebrated at the Fish River canyon for sunset, an incredible view and a great way to enjoy the day when we finish our sunset walk with a typical kids birthday party, champagne and silly hats!
By day 4 the group has really started to gel, 24 people who didn’t know each other on day 1 had turned into a group of 24 friends. All of who were looking forward to climbing sand dunes and enjoying a Namib Desert walk in that order. We catch up with another Acacia group on the morning that we climbed Dune 45, no races up the Dune sadly 🙂 but all passengers thoroughly enjoyed it! We have some budding photographers so it was great to review their pics from the top, and I had started the ball rolling for the jumping photos, a little bit of a cliche but it gets everybody excited about group photos…and a chance to giggle at each other!
By the time we get to Swakopmund on day 6 the group is definitely ready for a nice comfortable night in accommodation and activities….and to escape the cold! Yes folks, it is winter in Africa, and whilst you may think that it doesn’t get cold in Africa or in a desert please think again! By day we have enjoyed nice warm weather but this time of year at night is COLD COLD COLD!! Wrap up warm and bring a good sleeping back, this will make things far more bearable 🙂 After a two day rest, group meals and a spot of karaoke we move onwards towards Etosha NP. And by this time I am preparing for a 30th birthday at our bushcamp at the iconic Spitzkoppe; I sent the group off for an organised walk to find the bushman paintings so I could get busy decorating the truck and preparing a meal….plus of course cake and candles! We had a great evening and some of the group even joined me sleeping outside under the stars!
Etosha was incredible! Game driving is always a lottery but lady luck was smiling down on us as the waterhole at our campsite was full full full. Zebra, antelope, gazelles and giraffe were frequent visitors, but our highlight has to be a small her of elephants and 6 rhino all at the same time!! You could hear the silence as people watched in awe as nature unfolded a few meters away, wow!!