We woke up early in the morning with the rising sun streaming in our tent and the sound of a car slowing down on the road right near where we were staying. They kept driving, but we immediately got up, packed up in about 3 minutes and got on the road. We drove a little ways and then stopped to watch the rest of the sun rise, use the facilities and make breakfast. The last thing that we had decided to do before we crossed the border was go into the Ai-Ais Resort where we would be able to access the bottom of the First River Canyon. There were also some hot springs that we thought we would check out.
When we arrived, we found the hot springs, which were not as exciting as we had thought they were going to be. What we really wanted to do, however, was to walk in the bottom of the canyon that we had started our trip our with. It was cool to be walking in something that was connected to what we had seen before - it was like we ended full circle, back where we had started, but in a new perspective. After soaking up as much sun as possible, we got back in the car and started the long drive to the town were we were planning to stay for the night. We crossed the border without any trouble, got another stamp in our passports and were struck with the almost immediate difference in environment. As soon as we crossed into SA, there was much more vegetation and greenery.
Before we even left, we planned to meet some of our friends from Stellenbosch who were just starting their road trip at a campground near Springbok, SA. We got there earlier than they did, so Neil and I set up camp, played frisbee with the owner’s little boy and enjoyed hot showers - something that hadn’t been done in a few days. They were a group of 5 and their car was extremely full. It was nice to see them, but it was even nicer (Neil and I both agreed) to have someone new to talk too. It was exciting to hear their plans about where they were going and to give them some tips about where to stay and what they should see.
One of the perks of getting up so early, even though we were a little scared we were going to get in trouble...
Absolutely nothing to see here. This was what we saw looking out of our windows for awhile. We stopped just to enjoy the fact that there was literally nothing to see.
If you actually looked at the ground, you could find these tiny little plants. The leaves were super thick (probably to help retain water in the dry climate) and were very small. It was interesting to see, how from our perspective, there was nothing, but when you looked a little bit closer, there was life!!!e
The road towards Ai-Ais. It was still dirt, but the scenery was a little more exciting that earlier in the day.
This was one of the hot springs. You couldn't feel the water (for safety reasons), but when standing next to the fence, you could feel the heat.
The bed of the canyon.
This was a town right near the border to South Africa. It was interesting to see that the houses looked like they were made out of a more natural material, while the towns that looked like this in South Africa seemed to be made out of metal.
Back in South Africa - on a lovely paved road.
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