Arrival in South Africa and the Orange River

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Today we crossed the border into South Africa. Charmaine was told to expect problems because she wished to switch back to travelling on her British passport from her Irish one. After crossing the Namibia/South Africa border with relative ease we arrived at a lovely campsite in time for the midday sun where we lay in the shade most of the day. Canoeing on the Orange River was an option that nobody except Darren was interested in so he didn’t go in the end. We spent our day sitting on the banks of the river and Darren did a bit of swimming. In the cooler hours we pitched our tent. (We still can’t grasp why everyone else on the truck rushes to put their tent up every day in 35C heat instead of waiting until later in the day when it’s much cooler. It’s been a consistent occurrence every day so far and will probably remain so until the end of the trip).
Charmaine cooked a wonderful dinner this evening for everyone. Pasta Carbonara. It went down well and every plate was licked clean.
That evening was a very eventful one in the bar. It all started with a “boat race” game. The two teams included the Northern Hemispherers Vs the Southern Hemispherers. We stood in our teams and the aim of the game was to “down” a pint, place the empty glass upside down on your head and then the next person began. First tem finished was the winner. Of course the Northern Hemisphere won as our team consisted of a bunch of English and Germans! Charmaine, who doesn’t drink beer by the way, went first! After guzzling as much as possible without vomiting she decided to pour the rest down her front before placing the empty glass on her head!
A lot more drinking and a very late night pursued with many hangovers the following day but not a lesson learned!

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