Once again I was up before sunrise, in time to take a photo of the rising sun. The red dunes of the Kalahari were green after the recent good rain and the unique smell of Kalahari sour grass was in the air.
We decided to have a relaxing day, lazing about, reading and going for a short hike, including a brief visit to the Meerkat rehabilitation centre on site.
As always, my camera went along for the walk.
By this time we had realised that we had very limited cellular and internet connection and uploading photos and blog posts had become impossible. But this is part of the charm of traveling in these remote areas.
I was awake at 4:00 and saw that the previous evening’s clouds had departed. Quickly grabbing my camera, I went outside to photograph the moon.
As the sun was rising, I decided to take a walk to photograph the church in Britstown. It is noticeable that the church buildings seem well maintained in the small towns, even when the rest of the town is in a sad state.
Driving from Britstown, the road led us through Upington and past many small towns and settlements. Along the way, one sees many ruins.
Thanks to a leisurely driving pace and a few stops along the way, we reached our destination at Kalahari Trails/Meerkat Sanctuary quite late in the afternoon. Our rustic, yet adequately equipped, campsite was quiet and peaceful.
We set up camp and settled down for a braai as the sun was setting.
As the moon was rising, I decided to take some more moon photos.
We settled in to our rooftop camp bed early, for a good night’s rest.
Having done most of our packing the previous evening, we were nonetheless up early on our day of departure, doing the last bit of packing and getting the dogs settled. Soon we were on our way, making our first stop in Jansenville for breakfast.
Driving leisurely, we soon passed through Graaff-Reinet and set course for Murraysburg, where we stopped to photograph the church. Here we met Morris David Baadjies, who told us that the church had been recently renovated. When asked how he was, he told us that he got up that morning so was thankful to the Lord. He agreed to pose for a photo in front of the church.
Between Murraysburg and Victoria West, the R63 crosses the N1. Just after this, one sees multiple electricity transmission towers and power lines. Normally I consider these to be an irritation, preventing me from getting the landscape photos I want, but today they actually made for some interesting photos.
In Victoria West the main attraction seemed to be a soccer match between two neatly kitted out teams, but played on a pitch with hardly any grass in sight.
It appeared that the Karoo had some decent rain recently and the landscape we drove through, was beautifully green, unlike the soccer field.
In Britstown we met up with friends who would be joining us for the rest of our trip. A good meal at the Karoo Country Lodge, was rounded off with a tot of Pienaar and Son’s Tiny Batch Whiskey, before going to bed in our cells in the Old Jail.
Unfortunately, the clouds prevented me from getting a nice shot of the full moon.
One of the advantages of living in Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) is that it is just 40 minutes’ drive from our front door to the gate of Addo. We decided to do a day trip and picnic at Addo.
We spent more than an hour watching the elephants at Marion Baree Waterhole. One group was standing in and around the waterhole, with another group some distance away and a few lone elephants occasionally arriving and others departing.
There was constant interaction between the elephants around, with a few playful tussles.
One tussle appeared to be a little more serious, with one elephant appearing to be trying to prevent another one from getting to the water.
Some warthogs also tried to get to the water, but kept getting chased by the one of the elephants…
Etienne's Camera 