I was woken yesterday morning by a spotted eagle owl calling in the tree above my tent Hu-hoo….. As is turns out it was wake up time. So natures alarm clock today. It also marked the start of a great day. I had to cross this open plain which was 20km by 15km. The dunes on one side and the Tiras Mountains in the distance on the other. As the sun hit the dunes the sunrise was spectacular. There were these 2 Oryx ahead of me and when I got to about 500m from them they would sprint on for a km or so. This happened most of the morning and we both ended up walking 18km. I think I was a bit more tired than them though 😉
It is amazing how the desert reacts to a bit of rain. There is not much grass around as you can imagine and then there will be a few km’s of green grass where clearly it must have rained recently. There was even an area with these beautiful yellow flowers
The moon is coming back around I see. I have been really enjoying the dark skies recently. After dinner i take out my mattress and lie outside. I see soo many shooting stars. There is 0% light pollution here. The closest town is 97km away and they are a population of about 500. I am trying to learn the different stars and constellations and have this app on my phone (that plays cheesy darth Vader music) but it is actually hard as there are so many more stars out here. I am also looking forward to the full moon so I can do some night walking. I walk every morning for about an hour in the pitch black. I hear these animals next to me and am shitting myself, then as the sun comes up inevitably it is a pea brain ostrich looking at me ……….probably saying…………..Whaaat yooou doooing!!!!
I have now entered the Hardap region so have officially walked across the whole Karas region 😉 My clothes are definitely looser (I am not just trying to wish it to happen) and the baby elephant on my right side (that most people call a liver) is now just a small St Bernard 😉
This morning the east winds were here again. I had to walk uphill into the wind and if you are my size that is no easy task. So Rodney made us a mess of eggs with some ham and sweet tea and we then went in search of some shelter from the wind. Somehow my inbuilt GPS has found a desert lodge with Wi-Fi, beer and a lunch menu (go figure)
Tomorrow we will bush camp and then move to a camp site @ Betta (in the south-west of Namibia on the map) we will be there a few days I guess then start the trek to Sesriem/Sossusvlei. I wonder what my chances are of finding a TV for the lion’s/crusaders game on Sat afternoon.
Ps, I was beemed up to the mothership for a raaaaather important meeting and apparently we are not wearing enough hats!!!
Pss anybody ever seen a Zebonky???????? A cross between a Zebra and a Donkey??????? Welll here it is……
Chadmanwalking 