Overlanding Through South Africa

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Girls will be girls: comparing hairstyles in Langa township

The morning of our overland tour we said our goodbyes to Lee as he dropped us off on his motorbike one by one laden with our gear. Taking a tour of any kind is not really our thing, but embark on an Acacia Africa Overland tour from Cape Town deep in to Namibia, we did! Independent travel is not the easiest in the desert of south-western Africa, so a large 24-person 4x4 tour-truck was our carriage. 

On our way out of town we drove by what used to be District Six where mixed race, coloureds, blacks, asians, used to live in harmony, but then got sequentially re-distributed by the government in the 60s, 70s, 80s to shanty towns outside of the city to make way for a white suburb. Terrible! Next, onto the townships where these people were moved to. We get uncomfortable with 'fish-bowl' tours and don't like the feeling of invading peoples' privacy. By getting stuck-in meeting and interacting with the locals, we hope that we make the idea more tolerable to them and the experience more comfortable for us.  I got the distinct impression that the people appreciate that there are benefits to allowing tourists to visit and educate the world to the challenges of their lives and their country. Sitting in the street, some young teens were lengthening their hair and so I went over and started to compare my hair length and style with theirs. They absolutely loved it! Martin and I found ourselves holding up the tour because we just kept saying hello and chatting to everyone.  South Africa had literally just won the Rugby against Fiji that morning and people were in very good spirits.

Locals outside the Sheebeen

There a number of townships outside CT and this township, Langa, a medium-sized one, has a population of 70,000 people, all living in a variety of conditions - some more affluent in decent houses, and others still living in tin shacks. We were welcomed in and visited a 'shebeen' - a pub where homemade beer is shared and passed around in a big gallon bucket. It had an unusual flavour to say the least! Eeeww!

 

High Five!

South African Rugby Fan

Succulent Quiver Tree

As we left CT we left the lush and green behind as the landscape turned dry and rocky heading north. At times it was pretty flat and then rolling hills with the last of the wild flowers. Occasionally we would pass a lonesome Quiver Tree - a funky succulent tree with thick leaves that seemed to glow in the afternoon sun.

Our first overland stop at the foot of the Cederberg Mountains is where Roibus tea is grown in South Africa. In the reddish sandstone rock formations important primitive fish fossils have been dated in recent years  - back 450 million years. Crazy! As we enjoyed fresh fish cooked on the braii (BBQ) everyone chatted, but it was a quiet night and the majority of our group turned in at about 9pm.

An early start the following day for our journey heading north to the Orange River at the Namibian border.  After a fairly long day of driving passing through the nondescript town of Springbok, we were glad to get to our camp at the Orange River looking straight at Namibia. I was still very much hurting from our Table Mountain climb two days ago (!), so I didn't go with Martin for the climb up the hill above camp for sunset. *Mush