*~ Namibia - Part 8 (final) - Amanzi Noordoewer to PAARL~*

The following morning, we headed to the camp reception to collect our gear for our row down the Orange river. It was our last day in Namibia and we were going to make the most of every moment! We met a couple of other South Africans who joined us with our row down the river... It was incredible. There wasn't a breath of wind and it was a perfect summers day... We had such a good time, chatting and laughing in our canoes :)

The view from our tent early in the morning...

Once we returned to our campsite, we made lunch and Kylan and I headed up the river to take a swim down. The current was strong enough to pull us all the way down where we got out by our campsite. We all went and had a shower to freshen up. We had packed most of our things in, as us four were planning to sleep on only our mattresses and sleeping bags under the stars for our last evening. But all of a sudden, we saw a mist in the far distance which looked like rain... But, it wasn't. The wind began to blow at an incredible pace and before we knew it, we were in the middle of a sand storm. It is the worst weather I've ever experienced. there was sand everywhere, we could hardly stand up straight and all of a sudden we heard a bang. As it calmed down a bit, we wiped the sand particles and dust from our eyes, ears and mouths and saw a thick branch of a tree had broken and fallen onto another campers' bakkie. Luckily the damage wasn't too hectic, but it still left bad marks... That was the quickest pack-up session we had endured that holiday. Our plan to leave in the morning fell away and before we knew it, we were making our way to the South African border... Just like that, our holiday came to an unexpected end... It was still amazing though...

Our campsite.

Kylan rushing to get all the gear packed and ready to go...

The sand particles from the sand storm.

I had the most incredible time and had an even better time than I had expected... Namibia is a true gem and I'd love to revisit it and tour the rest of the country one day. My amazing holiday was also due to the people I went with and without them I wouldn't have had the opportunity to go. We had lots of fun!! I formed a new kind of appreciation for nature and Namibia as a country with all its beauties and upsets. I would urge any and everyone to experience it in their lifetime, you don't know what you are missing! ;)

*~Namibia - Part 7 - Amanzi~*

The following morning we got an early start, as it was a long drive all the way to the Namibian side of the border, i.e Noordoewer - Amanzi Trails (Campsite). We stopped by Helmeringhausen for their legendary toasted ham, cheese and tomato sandwich on their farm bread, yummy! :) We then continued the drive and stopped for a bathroom break by one of the smallest towns in Namibia, Seeheim. It only has a hotel and train station. The strangest thing I had seen that day was a very tame Gemsbuck who was surrounded by chickens, sealed off by a chicken mesh fence. It was just laying there very happy with all his friends surrounding him, too cute. :)

The yummy Toasted ham, cheese and tomato :)

The Gemsbuck and his chickens :)

We continued on the long road and took a detour to the Fish River Canyon. It was breathtaking. We read about the 5 day hike that you can do with a tour guide, which we all seemed very keen to do one day... :) We took some pics and headed back to the main road...

The Fish River Canyon.

The four of us by the edge of the Fish River Canyon.

We arrived at the Amanzi Trails campsite just as the sun was setting. The campsite is located right on the Orange river, and our site was almost in the Orange river, absolutely stunning! :) We set up camp and started the fire for our dinner... A long day on the road with a well deserved meal and sleep...

The view of the Orange river from our campsite...

*~10 most unexpected consequences of being online~*

A few unexpected consequences that I think result from being online...

1. Becoming an online addict (social media specifically).
2. Wrong information being portrayed to others about yourself.
3. Getting caught in an online scam of some sort (there are so many online geniuses out there trying to catch the not so genius online addicts).
4. Being listed on a site that you do not wish to be associated with.
5. SPAM SPAM SPAM from all over!
6. On the positive side - being continually up to date with the world and its happenings.
7. Competition increase as a result of all the many powerful marketing tools online can offer.
8. Being able to communicate at the fastest pace possible, reaching the masses.
9. Your personal information being provided to the wrong people or companies.
10. The pace of production reducing to a minimum due to the large amount of hours employees spend  on online sites.

*~Namibia - Part 6 - Sesriem continued~*

The following morning we had a good breakfast an headed for Sossusvlei. Here, we embarked on the extremely long and steep walk up the Big Daddy Dune. It was tough, definitely not for the faint hearted, but so worth it once we reached the top... Usually the Sossusvlei "dam" is dry, but due to all the rain they had had, it was pretty full. Kylan and his moms fiance couldn't help but take the moment to dive in and have a cool down... It was literally a once in a lifetime opportunity...

The BIG Daddy dune, longest and steepest walk, but stunning!

We then headed for a picnic spot to set up for a brunch to regain our energy for our next walk. We drove to the beginning of the next starting point for the long walk to the "Dooie vlei". It was one of the longest, toughest and hottest walks of my life. I hadn't thought of the heat of the sand and what it would do to my feet. 1/3 the way, my feet started burning like they had never before. Kylan had to walk all the way back to the bakkie to fetch my tackies... Shame, I really felt bad, but had no other choice, my feet were on fire and going to be filled with blisters. Anyway, after the long walk, we reached the destination point. It was stunning and incredibly quiet. Absolutely breathtaking. On return to the bakkie, we each helped ourselves to a drink.You could say my prayers were answered, the Savanna Light was frozen and NEVER tasted that good. :)

"Dooie vlei"

We dusted ourselves off and headed for the Sossus Canyon. It also had some water in it from the all the rain, but luckily we could walk through it... It was amazing :)

Walking through the Sossus Canyon...

It was time to head back to our camp where we enjoyed a braai and couple of round of cards. It then started to drizzle so we headed for our beds... Left with the sounds of the jackals crying, with only material separating me from them, yet I felt safe...

*~The elephant in the room~*

So we have all heard the popular phrase: the elephant in the room. for those of you who are not familiar with its definition, it can be defined as an important and obvious topic, which everyone present is aware of, but which isn't discussed, as such discussion is considered to be uncomfortable...

Personally, I am someone who hates awkward or uncomfortable situations. I hate having an elephant in the room. I prefer to always raise the topic which is causing an uncomfortable situation and sort it out. After all, we are all human and we all know what is going on around us most of the time, so if we all know about the elephant, why not place a mouse in front of it and get it out of the way. That way our social surroundings will be much more enjoyable.

*~Namibia - Part 5 - Sesriem~*

Our next destination was Sesriem. It was quite a long drive, but the scenery was beautiful. We stopped in Walvis Bay where we headed to the 'lagoon' filled with beautiful flamingos. I haven't seen so many of them in real life... We passed Dune 7, which is one of the tallest dunes in the world. We didn't dare climb it, but the closer we got to it, we saw more and more people on journey up to the top. They looked like the equivalent size of ants, it was kind of scary... But, incredible... We then reached the Tropic of Capricorn mark and stopped for a quick pic :)

The intense Dune 7 with the little ants ;)

We then stopped in solitaire for the very famous Apple Pie by the biggest baker I've ever seen. The bakery/ restaurant and hotel looked a bit  like a hillbilly ranch, but we weren't going to let it ruin our craving :) It was packed with tourists, some very rude ones, but as we headed for the counter, a fresh batch had just been removed from the oven. It was divine and worth the wait! :)

The famous Apple pie at the "hillbilly ranch" in Solataire :p

We finally arrived by Betesta campsite which was about 30min from Sesriem. It was beautiful. We immediately set up camp and I then realised that we were back to the plague of 'vet-gat krieks'. My night was about to get interesting, but luckily Kylan knew...the bodyguard was ready ;)

Setting up camp for our next 2 nights at Batesta campsite!

We started the fire and got ready for dinner. A long day on the road with a well-deserved good nights' rest... The next day would be action packed in Sesriem!

*~Every day is a good day~*

I wouldn't say that this statement is 100% accurate. If we have to be honest with ourselves, not every day is a good day. It can't be, because life would be kind of boring then. Life tends to throw us a curve ball every now and then, and this may cause our day to not turn out the way we had hoped it would. We need a bit of negativity every now and then, even if it is to just make us appreciate life that bit more. So, instead of being completely dishonest and say that every day is a good day, I would like to say that every day has something good or positive that we can take from it which leads to making every day filled with some form positivity and happiness! :)