Day 12: Noordoewer, Namibia

Yesterday we crossed the border into Namibia.

The morning out of Strandfontein, 6 days ago, we were hit with a nasty dust storm and headwind. It was clear we were now entering a desert climate.

That day, we made it to the next town at a snail's pace fighting the wind and heat. We asked around for a place to eat, and we were pointed to the town bar. As soon as we walked in, the place went quiet and everyone turned to stare. It was dark, dusty and a little creepy. We turned to leave when it was clear they didn't have food.

Immediately the entire place shifted tone, and everyone insisted we stay and come with them to a braai (bbq) at one of their farms where they can host us for a night.

We agreed and went out to a farm, where we spent the evening with an interesting set of characters.

The farm house was full of large meat grinders, animal head trophies, and Jasper (above) insisted on showing us his pistol and shooting it a few times.

Another interesting place we stayed was what seemed like a semi-abandoned campsite, near the Namibian border.

When we got there, the front gate was locked and the place was empty. We called its number, and they sent someone to let us in. He showed us where to set up camp and then promptly left and locked the gate again, promising to return the next day to let us out. We made our own braai that night.

After staying at Jasper's, we hitched a ride to the city of Springbok. An Afrikaans couple picked us up. They had packed all their things in a trailer and were moving to Namibia. They had their farm broken into a several times and found South Africa too dangerous to stay.

I rode in the back.

From Springbok, we had a two day ride to the border.

P.S. this update is from three weeks ago, but delayed by lack of internet. Namibia update coming up soon!