Life on the road

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Day 9 (Wednesday 29-Apr-09, JRJ)

Up at 5am to go on a sunrise walk at Fish River Canyon as we missed the sunset walk last night due to timing issues. Wasn't too bad having to get up so early, and we were glad of a nice walk in preparation for the 10 hour driving day. Fish River Canyon is the second largest canyon in the world after the Grand Canyon, but it doesn't seem as spectacular for some reason. After walk, had brekkie and off we went.

Stopped at a small town called Bethanie for a quick toilet break and bought some Biltong (sun dried strips of meat). I had chilli bites of wildbiltong (a mix of Kudu and Oryx antelopes) and Nat had Beesbiltong (beef). On the way, we saw a few herds of Springbok, a couple of Oryx, ostriches and a monitor lizard. So far, the Namibian landscape is beautiful and not a barren as we thought it would be. This, I'm sure will change when we get to the desert.

Stopped at road side to have lunch. And also a few toilet stops at the side of the road as this area is so remote. Need to watch for scorpions and snakes biting your bits. Also I was aware of the 'ball biter' ants that the bushman warned us about - which do exactly what it says on the tin.

Got to 'Sesriem campsite about 4:30 and set up tents etc. Natalie, Josh and I prepared evening meal of lamb stew and mashed potato. Got to say it was the best food we've had so far. The night sky at this campsite was amazing. The stars are so bright and the milky way is unbelievably clear! Definitely the most beautiful sky we've ever seen. Tried to take a few photos of the stars, but weren't too successful. Went to bed around 9 as did the rest of camp.

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