Orange River Rafting

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We went river rafting on the Orange River at Noordoewer, Namibia. On the way there we stopped over in Upington and arrived the next afternoon at Noordoewer.

There we met our ‘guide’ and they prepared a braai for us under the Milky Way and explained how to pack our container and dry bag.



The next morning we packed our bags and raft and we were off. The pace was very slow and we also stopped for lunch next to the river. The ‘guides’ carried and prepared all the food during the trip. Just about 100m before we reached the 1^st camping site a crazy wind almost blew us back to where we stared and we had to paddle our little harts out. Luckily the ‘guides’ brought us a tent to use with and we set it up with the help of rocks for it not to blow away.

Dinner was Chicken Potjie and we were starving! After almost sitting in the fire for heat we decided to go to bed. The whole night it rained softly and the wind did not stop.

With sunrise we were up and played a game of Frisbee to heat up while breakfast was being prepared. The weather did not look promising and the ‘guides’ gave us the choice to turn around but we decided to continue. The whole day the weather was cold and windy but all was forgotten when we got to our 2^nd camp site. It had a cave and after some investigation we decided that that is where we will be sleeping the night. By now the wind also subsided and the stars were coming out again.

Dinner was spaghetti bolognaise and with full tummies we for our cave. We enjoyed a warm fire there before we went to bed warm, dry and safe from the elements in our cave. You would wake up and see the wonderful Milky Way and then later wake up again and see the moon. It also rained during the night but the cave was nice and dry.

After an amazing sleep we decided to go fishing while the ‘guides’ are packing up. The fish was just teasing us by jumping but not biting. It was our last day on the river and after lunch not far down the river we were picked up and taken back to the base camp. The warm shower was a welcome luxury and the night 2 more couples arrived to take on the cold Orange RiverW

The next morning we had an early start to our day and left Namibia to go to the Augrabies Falls National Park just outside Upington. We spent the night there and the next day we braved the long road back to Pretoria.

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