Where to go ? Wandering aimlessly now that Augrabie's been reached… The only other "wanna do" anywhere in this area, is to see, visit if possible, the Square kilometre array in the Carnarvon area of the Karoo. Other than that, I simply want to explore this wonderful, alien (to me) land.
"Just GO", says "the Gypsy"
"That's easy for you to say, but I have to turn this bloody big wheel"… Oh my God, now I'm arguing with myself !
NORTH… Kgalagadi, we might not come this way again.
Okay, Kgalagadi it is, but via Upington, they'll have number plates there.
My dear departed Mother used to say, often, "There's no fool like an old fool". Whilst at Douglas, I discovered, to my horror, that when Nyati was officially "put back on the road", a new registration number was issued… I hadn't noticed & driven all this way on the original plates… "Yes Mom, I know".
20 Kilometres outside Upington, I thought aliens had landed…across the veld stood a seriously lekker bit of experimental technology… Check out the pic… I'm told that they're magnifying the sunlight (plenty of that around here) to superheat salt (that too) into a liquid, store it in the tower, producing steam, & the end product is electricity fed into the grid… I love it… Cheap electricity I hope… More power to them & to our wonderful, adventurous, robust nation.
Upington on a Friday is bloody busy. Chaos, but, if its possible, orderly chaos. People appear friendly… I like the place, it's pretty clean & much bigger than I'd ever thought.
The plates appeared quicker than it took to drink a couple of Fanta oranges. So I filled up with diesel, found the main drag out of town & set sail for the Kgalagadi.
A little way along the arrow straight tarred road is "spitskop".A camp site with nothing going for it except location. Perfect, I stopped there for the night.
Dawie & his lovely wife, they're from the Eastern Cape, told me to just turn around & forget about getting in to the park without a booking ! !
Well, they ARE from the Eastern Cape, so I discounted their very well meant advice.
However, they sounded like genuine, experienced, people, & I decided to indulge myself in a little "off the beaten track" adventure that would, if I made it, get me to the park gate after the unofficial long weekend holiday.
WOOPSIE on the number plates mate, I just looked at the pic of the Beast on your blogg and on some documentation recently received and vwolla…………………..wow
Yup, that's where I caught it.
People come and people go…. some of them, well… to say the least, you’re glad when they leave… others, they’ll always stay somewhere in your heart and in your mind, you’ll miss them long after they have left…. This morning, Kabous and Christene left De Rust, same as you old friend, they will always be part of a piece of my heart! De Rust is now green after the little bit of rain the last week or so, a lot of new people is booking in and out every day but, they’re like leaves in the wind, they’ll blow past you and you’ll hardly notice them…. Nyati’s place near the dam is still empty and I can’t stop thinking of that RV and its driver every time I walk past that spot.
Look after yourself dear friend and enjoy every kilometer in that truck!! God bless you!
You are now in my part of the world…. Now you’ll understand why I love that piece on earth with all my heart!
Charlie
Hi Charles, As usual you're so very right about this Kalahari. It's a truly amazing place filled with amazing people.
I met a couple of bushman trackers the other day. They were mesmerising in the way they described hunting jackals & Caracal.
In the middle of the parched desert, I almost lost Nyati in the mud…mud out here… No rain for years, & suddenly, mud.
Night skies like this should be bottled… They're orgasmic Man.
Enjoy the passing parade, Nagdigter my friend, there ARE diamonds amongst them.