Day 126 to 130: Where is my Mummy?

Four days were spent exploring Upper Egypt's stunning sandstone temples and richly decorated tombs. Hot sun and refreshing Nile-side greenery welcomed us to Aswan, where a short boat ride brought us to the picturesque island temple of Philae. After enjoying wandering around the temple we spent time browsing Aswan's lively souk. At 4:30am the next morning we joined the convoy of other tourist vehicles to journey to the tombs of Abu Simbel. Scheduled convoys with police escorts used to be the norm for visiting other parts of Egypt, but now Abu Simbel is the last route requiring convoys and our Egyptian guide Michael thought the last convoy should soon disappear. We were impressed by the massive statues, pillars and detailed carvings in the tombs.

From Aswan we boarded a felucca (traditional sailing boat) for a day and night on the Nile. The trip was relaxing and a good time for getting to know other group members better. The drop in tourist numbers meant we only saw one other felucca sailing along. This made our journey very peaceful but it was sad to see how much the lack of tourists was hurting local people and businesses.

After leaving the Aswan area we drove to Luxor, visiting Edfu Temple and the massive Karnak Temple complex. That evening at dinner Michael (our tour guide) asked us if we'd noticed that all the local women had been covered up. He went on to say that this wasn't normal for Luxor, but the Muslim Brotherhood had threatened to hurt any Egyptian women who weren't fully covered that day. Hearing this definitely made things feel edgy, although we had felt very safe until that point. As far as we know nobody was hurt, but many Christians decided not to send their girls to school for the rest of the week.

On our final morning in Luxor we decided to treat ourselves to a sunrise hot air balloon flight over the Valley of the Kings. Tom and Caitlyn (the Australian couple in our group) joined us and we had a spectacular flight with beautiful weather. Ballooning was followed by a random donkey ride to nowhere in particular. They were funny little animals to ride and surprisingly difficult to stay on if your donkey decided to stop and munch some sugarcane along the way! As I rode along I thought of Jesus riding a donkey into Jerusalem: definitely not the normal choice of animal for a king!

In the Valley of the Kings we descended deep into the earth to explore the tombs of Ramses VI, VII and VIIII, as well as Merneptah who is presumed to be the reigning Pharoah at the time of Moses. The tombs ranged in size and the carvings and the vibrant paintings retained their colours. We really enjoyed seeing the paintwork in a similar state to what it once was, as the temples we'd recently visited had changed to mostly sand-coloured over the years.

Day 119 to 125: Those revolting Egyptians

Our first few days in Egypt were spent relaxing in Alexandria. The coastal setting and coffeehouse culture makes Alex a great place to unwind and catch up on washing, blogs and Skype with our families. After the recent upheaval in Egypt, life seemed to be continuing as normal on the streets of Alex. We saw a few army tanks along the seafront "Corniche" road, but they appeared to be protective rather than a threatening force. In Alex we visited some interesting sights, including ruins of a Roman ampitheatre and subterranean Egyptian burial chambers, which were discovered in 1900 when a donkey fell in.

From Alex we took a train to Cairo and checked into our hotel right on Tahrir Square, where the protests had taken place. I was surprised to find that Tahrir Square was mostly busy roads with pedestrian areas around the edges. On TV the massive crowds made the square appear completely pedestrianised. People we spoke with in Cairo seemed pleased that Mubarak had finally been overthrown. We saw lots of cars with "January 25" stickers on rear windows, marking the day the protests began. On a street behind Tahrir Square we came across barbed wire remnants of a road block, but otherwise Cairo was business as usual as in Alex, but with virtually no tourists.

We found Cairo more pleasant and much cleaner than we expected. Everyone we knew who'd visited the city had mentioned how dirty Cairo was, but to us it seemed fine - not as clean as Europe, but nothing that made us cringe. Perhaps our month in India has desensitised us to dirt! We had some time to ourselves before beginning our tour from Cairo, so we went to the sound and light show at the pyramids and explored Coptic Cairo and the old citadel. Wandering in downtown Cairo near Tahrir Square was lively and interesting. We chilled out with turkish coffee at a street cafe where locals smoked sheesha and sipped tea and enjoyed cheap and tasty Middle Eastern takeaways from the popular Felfela eatery.

The next day we began our final group tour of this trip. Low tourist numbers mean there are only 8 people in our group where normally it would be about 15. Fellow group members are an easy-going mix of Aussies, Canadians and one American. We spent the morning in the Egyptian Museum where the scarcity of other tourists made for a very pleasant experience. The amount of Egyptian artefacts was stunning and made the British Museum's collection seem tiny in comparison. The treasure from King Tutankhamen's tomb and incredibly well-preserved mummies were our highlights. We took a daytime visit to the pyramids and climbed the Grand Pyramid - more for the experience of climbing the ramps inside a pyramid than the dark little roo we arrived in after the energetic climb! That evening we boarded the overnight train to Aswan. With comfortable two berth cabins and airplane style meals, it was an agreeable way to travel south to see the treasures of Upper Egypt.

Day 117 to 119: End of the road in Nairobi

Finishing 41 days overlanding in Africa felt strange. When we began the trip in Cape Town it seemed such a massive journey and now we were almost in Nairobi. Our last African border crossing, our last bumpy day on the truck...though as we rose before 5am and packed up our tent in the dark we knew we wouldn't miss camping anytime soon!

Once in Nairobi we started farewelling friends from the tour. A small group of us went out to dinner with Emma at Carnivore, an atmospheric meat-feast, rated one of the best restaurants in the world. All four tour members who began the trip in Cape Town were present, so it was a fun way to wrap up the trip before people flew out or moved on. The next morning we headed to the giraffe sanctuary with Bree and Anna-Lisa, where Michael and I let the giraffe lick our faces and take a pellet from between our lips. By evening all our fellow overlanders had left and Michael and I spent our remaining time in Nairobi chilling out with free wifi and good coffee at Nairobi Java House and visiting baby elephants at the elephant orphanage.

Some of our favourite memories of our time overlanding in Africa:

- Fantastic animal encounters in the wild

- Stunning scenery in Namibia and green grass in the desert

- Receiving a warm welcome from locals and being befriended by great kids

- Sampling delicious game meats

- Enjoying the beauty of Zanzibar

Now that tensions have calmed in Egypt, we are pleased to be able to head to Cairo to begin the next stage of our adventure.

Day 111 to 116: The wild locals of the Serengeti

As we drove towards Arusha, gateway to the Serengeti, we were treated to rare clear views of Mt Kilimanjaro. Our visit to the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater was a highlight of our time in Africa. We spent three days game driving and camping in open campsites where zebra filed past in the background and an elephant and buffalo came to visit. We were fortunate enough to see the Big Five - lion, leopard, rhino, elephant, and buffalo.

In the Serengeti we came across a leopard and her cub at a little distance. As we watched, the mother dragged their kill to a tree directly in front of our jeep. We watched her lug the kill up the tree and stop in surprise as the main body of the kill snapped off and dropped to the ground. "Take two" of bringing the kill up the tree was successful and we watched mother and cub eat and relax. Normally leopards are nocturnal and aren't often seen in pairs, so we were lucky.

The Serengeti rains were later than usual, so most of the herds who would normally be on the plains were still in the woods waiting to migrate. We came across a massive herd of a few thousand zebra and enjoyed watching some of them repeatedly taunting a crocodile by drinking water as close to the croc as possible. We also saw a honeymooning lion couple up close and a large pride with cubs slinking through the grasses.

From the Serengeti we drove to the Ngorongoro Crater, the world's largest unbroken volcanic crater. Our game drive was picturesque, with cheetahs running along the crater wall in the morning light, scores of wildebeest slowly trekking along, and lions tearing into their kill while jackals and hyena edged in to snatch their share.

A much needed toilet break proved more eventful than we'd anticipated. As we headed to the toilet block, Michael started walking around a parked jeep towards the Gents. "Don't go there, there's a couple of lions" warned an American couple in the jeep. They sounded so cheerful we thought they were joking, but they assured us they were serious. So we all piled into the Ladies. Emma tried to have our guide come pick us up from the toilet block entrance, but I don't think he registered what she was saying as he just smiled and waved. Feeling rather nervous now, we "confidently" walked from the toilets to our vehicle. Once safe we turned to see a large male and female lion happily entrenched beside the Gents. Luckily for us they weren't in the mood for moving!

After all the excitement we relaxed at our campground near Arusha, learning about Masai culture from the Masai museum, visiting a local Masai village and shopping at the craft markets. To celebrate/commemorate our last evening camping we had delicious smoked lamb and dessert.

Day 105 to 110: Beaches to die for

Two long driving days brought us across the Tanzanian border to Dar es Salaam, the departure point for Zanzibar. Nightly rain was replaced with constant stifling heat, which didn't mix well with the choking stench of rotting fish wafting from Dar's fishmarkets.

We caught the ferry for a relaxing trip to Stone Town, Zanzibar's main town, where we were led on an amusing spice garden walk by "Ali T in da bush", a man who spoke like Ali G as he described the spices. We visited the old slave markets, now a church, and saw the awful cells slaves used to be crammed into before they were purchased.

From Stone Town we headed to Nungwi, where we spent two very chilled days on one of the most beautiful beaches we've ever seen. White sand led to vividly blue water where boats bobbed peacefully. However, the next morning the seas were rough and the boats were thrashing around. Our tour group had planned to go snorkeling, but none of the operators were foolish enough to set sail in such stormy conditions, except for one...By lunchtime we'd been approached by a company who was willing to take us out in a speed boat rather than a wooden boat and so off we headed on the roughest boat trip we've experienced. We did see lots of pretty fish and an intensely turquoise coloured sea like we'd never seen before, but as we began the trip back to shore I think we were all relieved to be approaching land. Conditions had become rougher while we were snorkeling and several times our small boat was nearly overcome by waves. After the engine flooded and plenty of water was bailed out, my trust in the boat owners judgment was quickly disappearing and I decided it was a good time to put on one of the life jackets lying around the boat floor. We made it safely to shore, but the waves were so strong that we had to anchor a little offshore. As the waves washed over the brow of the little boat, we jumped into the water and spluttered to shore. Our trainee, Arnold, hadn't grown up swimming and was very nervous of snorkeling in deep water, so nobody let him know quite how dangerous the trip had been until we were firmly back on land. Aside from that adrenaline-charged adventure, the rest of our time on Zanzibar was spent peacefully enjoying the beach, very affordable cocktails and good food.

Day 101 to 104: Lakeside life in Malawi

Lake Malawi takes up 20% of the country and is so large it resembles the sea. Camping alongside the lake was a relaxing way to chill and see village life unfolding. We enjoyed:

Dinner at Mr Smooth's house: Emma organised a local meal for us one evening. Mr Smooth's Grandma cooked a range of tasty veg dishes, spicy eggs, rice and pap/ugali - a thick glutinous maize meal porridge. We dined on a mat outside with a candle and a torch lantern for light, surrounded by plenty of onlookers in the shadows. After dinner we enjoyed watching local children dance with vigour. The medium-sized group of kids quickly picked up more and more children who wanted to join the performance, with us being pulled up to shake our stuff at the end.

Visiting a local daycare centre: Unfortunately our visit fell on a public holiday, so the kids weren't around, but we still enjoyed learning about the Australian lady who had been given land by the local chief to start the centre. Nutrition was an essential part of the centre's goals, so children who might not otherwise eat received a bowl of porridge each day. Emma said she'd once visited when the kids were having a treat - plain boiled potatoes. A long way from what we'd consider a treat.

Succulent spit-roast goat: Our group purchased a goat from a local named Kelvin. We were ready at 7am to see the goat being slaughtered, but Kevin was running on African time. He eventually showed up a few hours later while we were out and killed the goat without an audience. The cooked result was delicious eating, with Emma and Arnold cooking up a range of mouth-watering accompaniments and dessert. At the start of the tour Emma said it was her goal to make us gain 10 kilos through the food and we are becoming a little more "African pretty" than we'd like to be!

Day 98 to 100: The currency of clothing

Rainy season has made its presence felt, with storms and showers following our path north-east. Some cooler overcast days made a break from blue skies and searing heat. Fortunately most rain happens towards evening and we've only once had to put down our tent in the rain.

In Kafue, Zambia, we took a boat cruise to a remote riverside camping spot run by a nearby village. The boat owners cooked us a delicious dinner and we relaxed with terrible wine (purchased in hope from the onboard bar) and a game of Hearts, followed by marshmallow toasting round the campfire to the music of village drummers. Just as Michael and Satoshi tried their hand at drumming, a nearby thunderstorm suddenly moved in, forcing an early retreat to the tents.

A morning boatride and a walk in the bush brought us to the local village, where we were shown around by a man who had 10 children. The village had no electricity, but we found it amusing to see he had his priorities in order - his mud house had solar panels for satellite TV so he could watch the English football! I found it interesting to learn how World Vision was helping the village and surrounding area. While I was at Uni I'd sponsored a child through World Vision and it was great to see how sponsorship benefits communities.

From Kafue we drove to Lusaka, Zambia's capital, where we arrived in time for the Sunday markets. Armed with some socks Michael no longer needed, I had great fun haggling with local sellers. My negotiations secured a copper bracelet for two pairs of socks and roughly 70p, while the same amount and three pairs of socks purchased a pretty cloth shoulder bag.

The following day we crossed the border to Malawi. Another country, another currency. However, getting cash proved to be a "This is Africa" experience in Llongwe, Malawi's capital. There were no shortage of banks, but after to-ing and fro-ing and waiting for over an hour in long ATM queues, our debit request had been rejected by the only banks that accepted Visa. Fortunately we'd been given cash for lunch and in a last attempt before we left, the cash machines finally made contact with our UK bank and gave us cash to spend once more.

The Africa of our imaginations

As we drove through Zambia and Malawi, the picture of Africa we held in our heads came to life across the countryside. Small thatched mud or brick houses replaced the simple Western styled houses of Namibia and Botswana. Basic old fashioned looking towns became dirt streeted villages with a few shops and even capital cities felt like large towns with no high rises in view.

Adverts often lack the hype we've grown used to in the West. An internet provider promoted itself as "probably, the fastest internet connection in Africa" while Jaba Tea simply claimed "It's good, it's strong."

The comparative underdevelopment as we head east tends to stem from corruption and poverty. In Malawi many people live on $1 a day, which in local prices barely buys the plain necessities of life. Contrary to what we might expect, most people seem happy here. I haven't felt bad for being a rich tourist, rather I've been pleased to be able to give my business to locals. The handfuls of people who normally wave at our truck as we travel have become scores of smiling faces and children running to welcome us, which makes traveling in these areas very pleasant.

Day 94 to 97: Being refined in Livingstone - golf and high tea with "locals"

Our first four days in Zambia were spent enjoying creature comforts. Michael and I ditched our tents for a waterfront room on the Zambesi and a group of us headed out to the Livingstone Golf Club for the morning. We teamed up with Cho and Moon, who proved to be excellent first-time golfers. As a treat we hired caddies for a very reasonable price and enjoyed their expert advice and bag carrying service. After seven holes it was getting very hot and cold drinks at the clubhouse was becoming rather enticing, so we called it a day.

Comforts continued with a small group of us taking high tea at the Royal Livingstone, a very posh colonial-style hotel. Decadent amounts of delicious food were polished off, with a refreshing swim in the pristine pool and cocktails on the riverfront deck to conclude. Cheeky monkeys swooped onto our table to steal snacks and wrestle with Tanith for her cocktail. Tanith having successfully saved her cocktail, we farewelled the high life and were pleasantly surprised to encounter giraffe and zebra crossing the hotel driveway as we left.

While in Livingstone we of course visited Victoria Falls, Livingstone's star attraction. We were blown away by the power and immensity of the falls. Lax health and safety regulations let us get as close as we liked to the waters edge at the top of the falls and we watched one crazy adventurer paddle his body board scarily near the lip of the falls. The ways you could die by going over the falls were varied and gruesome, so none of us were tempted to take a dip for ourselves. The spray from the falls was pretty much torrential rain, so we emerged saturated from the viewing walk, with the exception of Cho and Moon who had their own incredibly waterproof ponchos (you could hire ponchos or wear a jacket, but the water still poured in any gap).

The adventure seekers in our group chose to bungy jump from a bridge over the Zambesi river near the falls. We enjoyed spurring them on, but I thought the jumps looked so terrifying I decided I'd be quite content to never bungy jump!

Livingstone was the departure point for most of our group, so we celebrated Bree and Cho's birthdays at a local Indian restaurant and enjoyed a laid back pizza night before saying our goodbyes. Four group members were leaving to continue their own travels, eight were joining another group heading to Johannesburg, leaving Michael, Bree, Satoshi and I continuing up to Nairobi. We had expected at least a few people, if not lots, to join the tour at Livingstone, but the only addition was a trainee called Arnold, giving us nearly as many crew as tour members. As we pulled out of Livingstone to start a new leg of the tour, the truck felt empty and a little lonely with so few of us on board. Still, we figured the next 21 days would give us time to adjust and come to appreciate the benefits of being a smaller group.

Day 92 to 93: Hungry hungry hippos

After a much anticipated punch night, featuring the cooler bin filled with a potent "fruit" punch (mostly alcohol) and punch-fuelled crazy antics, a 6am departure saw our truck populated with many subdued sleeping forms. Botswana's flat landscape was expected to be great for sleeping through, though several interruptions to see giraffes and elephants walking and drinking along the roadside were accepted.

Our destination was Chobe National Park, where the elephant population of 64,000 gave very good odds for seeing at least an elephant or two. An early morning game drive was an awesome experience. We saw hippos lumbering along the road, as well as lazing in the water. It was fascinating to see such a huge creature trot along at some speed.

A rare treat was seeing two prides of lions with cubs at very close range. The cubs were very cute and we enjoyed seeing their rough and tumble play. One pride had killed a kudu (a type of antelope) and we watched as herons edged closer and closer to the kill, until the lion leapt up and chased them off.

The park was rich in other wildlife, with impala, monkeys, elephants and warthogs crossing our path. We revisited the animals on a sunset cruise where we saw baby elephants swimming and chasing monkeys and male elephants locking horns in a fight.

Day 90 to 91: Mokoro journey to the delta

Narrow canoes carried us along reed-lined waters to the world's largest delta: the Okovango Delta. After being poled along for a couple of hours on a peaceful and increasingly hot journey, we made camp in a tree-studded clearing, with Haggis enthusiastically digging us a toilet nearby.

In the hot afternoon we headed to a safe swimming spot, guided by our polers, local Botswanians who grew up in the delta area. A fun hour was spent watching people try to pole the mokoros, with often hilarious results. The soft silty sand of the delta quickly became fuel for a mud war, with the boys specialising in drying balls of sand until they formed solid ammunition. Michael landed a couple of unintentionally destructive blows, with Tanith copping it on the face and Satoshi receiving a strong shot to a tender area. We finished our delta evening with s'mores by the campfire, drinking games and the tunes of Toto's "Africa."

The following morning we weren't lucky enough to spot game on an early walk, though we met interesting insects, tiny frogs and saw plenty of evidence that animals had been active before we got there. Our mokoros brought us out of the delta and 10 of us took a scenic flight to view the delta from a different perspective. From the air we could really appreciate the size of the delta and we enjoyed seeing lots of elephants, giraffes, hippos and buffalo.

Day 88 to 89: Walking with bushmen in the Kalahari Desert

A 480km drive and a border crossing brought us to Ghanzi, Botswana, where we stayed in a peaceful campsite surrounded by the Kalahari Desert. Most of us opted to upgrade from our tents to tiny straw huts for a more local experience.

The campsite supports a number of bushmen people who are expert hunters and live off the land. In Namibia bushmen used to be regarded as animals and it was legal to shoot them. Their way of life may not exist in 50 years, so it was a privilege to have a small group of bushmen lead us on a desert walk. Dressed in animal skins and carrying sticks and arrows, they demonstrated amazing knowledge of desert survival. As we walked they would start digging in the desert grasses and uproot medicinal or edible plants. We watched them build a fire from scratch and saw how they carry water in ostrich eggs to keep it fresh in the heat.

Our evening drew to a close with Michael, Leteloi, Satoshi and I relaxing around the campfire enjoying the quiet of a desert night.

Day 80 to 87: Green grass in the red hot Namibian desert

Plants and mountains covered in greenery aren't typical images of Namibia. Much of the country is desert where very little grows, but our visit coincided with the highest rainfall in many years. Rivers and pools had formed where the land had been parched. Even when we visited Sosussvlei (meaning Dead Lake) the lake had reformed.

The rainfall brought its challenges - over the week we encountered two other overlanding trucks who got stuck in the mud, but we were fortunate and managed to get through.

The week's adventures include:

Rising at 4:30am to climb Dune 45

With sand dunes stretching into the distance we watched the sun rise and climbed down to discover a proper fry up breakfast waiting for us, thanks to Emma and Letaloi.

Looking out for wildlife as we travel from place to place

Michael and I have spotted oryx, springbok, zebra, warthogs, jackals and even a couple of giraffe who had been imported to Namibia.

An evening's mad dash to cross a bridge before the river flooded

With party music blaring and a fantastic storm crashing around us, we raced against the rain and arrived in time to safely cross, saving ourselves an additional 600km drive the next day. Once we were out of the storm zone we found a clearing near the road and set out mattresses to camp under the stars and see a beautiful sunrise the next morning.

Quad biking on the dunes of Swakopmund

A fun couple of hours was spent speeding around the dunes, though disappointingly, there wasn't the option to do more adventurous moves as we had expected.

Watching tens of thousands of seals and their cute pups waddle and splash about

Unfortunately the seals stank - strong "wet dog" smell with a little something extra to really turn the stomach. While the hardier among us "adjusted" to the stench, Michael and I fought the gag reflex and were not ashamed to walk about with tissues stuffed in our nostrils!

Lions and giraffes in Etosha National Park

Letaloi's sharp eyes spotted a brownish object under a tree - which Michael's zoom showed in detail to be a strong male lion and his mate. We watched the male get up and walk a little, and although they weren't as close as we would have liked, we were fortunate to see them, as we spoke with a local who had never seen a lion in Etosha. We also really enjoyed seeing a number of giraffe up close, including some youngsters.

Seeing dramatic mountains and rocky plateaus formed from magma in Spitzkoppe

Wandering in Windhoek

Upon arrival in Namibia's capital city, our truck was greeted by an assortment of intriguing characters - newspaper sellers, blind people with paper sheets telling their story, keyring sellers, and a young man who claimed his brother had just been hit by a car and he needed money to get to hospital. Feeling "welcomed" we strolled around central Windhoek, finding it very similar to Hamilton, our hometown in New Zealand. A similar collection of modern and dated buildings, with nice enough streets to wander and no real standout "sights."

Eating delicious game at Joe's Beerhouse, Windhoek

After much recommendation, Joe's Beerhouse delivered the goods - my zebra fillet was succulent and peppery while Michael enjoyed flavoursome oryx.

Life as an overlander

For those of you who are wondering about day to day life on our camping trip, here's a quick overview.

Campsites are generally very pleasant spots and often have pools which is very welcome in the mid to high 30's heat. We usually leave camp around 7am to avoid driving in the heat of the day, so that means tents packed in the dark and breakfast around 6am. This is rather different from our usual style, so we're still struggling to transform ourselves into lively morning people! Mornings can be very busy to meet the departure schedule and sometimes it feels like we need to leave the moment we've finished breakfast, which isn't something we particularly enjoy. Later in the day we often have blocks of time to chill out and swim, so the morning rush does balance out with downtime later.

Most of our group like drinking and partying until late, so we're a little different in our enjoyment of a few drinks before heading to bed early to cope with the early starts. It would be nice to socialise more with the group, but our "old" bodies need their beauty sleep! The atmosphere in our group is great - everyone is happy to pitch in to make camp life enjoyable and there's a real acceptance of everyone as they are.

Most days we pack up and move on, with an average drive being four hours and a few long driving days of eight hours or so. Roads are generally on the bumpy side and in Botswana they are unfenced, so we make frequent stops while horses, donkeys and cows slowly saunter off the road. Shashe (our truck) is comfortable, with padded seats, some tables, glass windows, lockers, a freezer, charging stations and an iPod jack. In early mornings or as the day gets hotter it's easy to catch up on missed sleep as the truck rocks along.

We work as a team to take care of all the practicalities of camping, with rosters for cooking, truck packing and cleaning. Emma and Letaloi are wonderful - often we'll return from a bushwalk or other activity to find they have kindly cooked dinner for us. We also learn a lot by asking them about things we see along the way. Letaloi is from the Masai Mara in Kenya and we've enjoyed chatting with him and learning about his life.

Day 77 to 79: Rooibus and braais

A hot afternoon's drive from the Cape area brought us to a peaceful campsite with beautiful views of the Cederberg mountain range and rooibus fields. We relaxed with a wine tasting which included a flavoursome rooibus-infused vermouth and tucked into a delicious braai (BBQ) cooked by the camp owners.

The next morning we set off on a ~550km drive to the Namibian border, where we cleared customs in the scorching heat. Crossing the Orange River brought us into Namibia. Heavy rainfall had swollen the river so much that our planned campsite was several metres underwater, so our "change of plan" campsite was a few minutes away on higher ground. Some waterfront bungalows were flooded, but our tenting area was fine and Leteloi had kindly pitched our tents for us. The afternoon was spent relaxing by the huge pool, which was an interesting shade of green (probably due to all the rain) and had some friendly bugs in the murky depths. Still, it made a welcome relief from the mid 30's heat which was wilting us all. Another tasty braai (cooked by us now that we had our truck and proper equipment) and birthday cake were a fitting end to my 28th birthday.

Our next destination was the Fish River Canyon, the world's second largest canyon (after the Grand Canyon). The absence of health and safety regulations let us get as close as we liked to the edge. We dined canyonside and enjoyed seeing a large black and orange scorpion beside the truck.