Fish River Canyon to Okahandja
Hobas, Keetmanshoop, Mariental
4 May 2022
We were planning to get up early to photograph the sunrise at the Fish River Canyon but just couldn’t get up. (Nope, it wasn’t the bottle of red wine of the previous evening, it is my Commander’s mattress) I woke up when the sun was just coming out. (Too late to travel the 10km to the Canyon now) and just remember seeing this beautiful pinkish sky through our Conqueror Commander’s window. I knew that I seriously missed out on some excellent photos. (Mental note…don’t be lazy when you are traveling, you don’t see these places every year!)
After a quick 10 min pack up, coffee and rusks we were on our way. We took the C12 gravel road out of Hobas, turned unto the D545, and joined the B4 tarred road just outside Keetmanshoop.
Keetmanshoop
Miya’s Voortrekker officer, Corlia, was born and grew up in Keetmanshoop so Miya posed at the Keetmanshoop sign and sent a photo to Corlia. We didn’t spend a lot of time in Keetmanshoop, just filled up with petrol. Keetmanshoop will still play a big role in our trip on our way back after we had some serious setbacks. But for now, everything was going very well.
Our stop for the evening was Mariental.
For me the highlight of the trip. I will see Tannie Baba, her hubby Renier, and their spoiled little dog Stefanie for the first time in 12 years. My mom passed away about 10 years ago, and this was my first chance to connect with this part of the family. (Tannie Baba is my mom’s sister) Traveling is about new experiences, and this was a huge experience for me. It ended up to be even better than we expected, we were chatting like there weren’t 12 years between now and the last time we saw them.
We took them to Padlangs Padstal, a very nice restaurant in Mariental with lots of animals to see for Miya. I had a “plankie” A piece of wood with fried and sliced rump on it. Delicious.
Miya just loved the decor in Tannie Baba’s house and took photos of EVERYTHING. It is one of those houses with a million and one things bought in different places. And each and every one of those things has its own story.
5 May 2022
We said goodbye to Tannie Baba and Oom Renier the next morning. They made us promise we will visit them again on our way back.
Today we drive to Okahandja (343 km).
About 151km out of Mariental we crossed the Tropic of Capricorn It made me think of Kingsley Holgate‘s brilliant book of him and his family’s trip around the world on the tropic of Capricorn. An EPIC adventure. The Tropic of Capricorn is a very popular photo taking spot. We were traveling out of season, and there were literally two cars waiting for us to finish to also take their new Facebook banner photo.
At Okahandja we camped at the Ombro Rest Camp. N$ 175 per person. Nice place and beautiful ablutions. We saw some giraffes, ostrich, and lots of other animals there being fed. Miya befriended the local cat and called her Jelly. (Her actual name is Peaches) This is becoming a habit now, my child loves animals and makes a friend in every town, as well as taking at least 10 photos of every new cat or dog she meets. They have a beautiful restaurant there as well, but we are having a braai tonight. Lambtjops. And some Windhoek Lagers.
