The second day

Border crossing South Africa to Namibia

This morning we got up very early (4am) to cross the border. But before this we had to get some money out of the Atm. A little bit like in a movie we drove to the Atm in the dark, two of us got out and two stayed in the car ready to drive off. One went to the Atm and the other one had to look out and give a warning if anything looked concerning. Once we had the money we sprinted back to the car and took off quickly. Of course we got lost before we finally left the town.

Around 6am we reached the boarder and we were lucky there wasn’t much going on. Inside we got a stamp which states that we are leaving the country and then we have to show our car at the customs. They are very nice and interested in the actual reason for the Put Foot Rally. They are wondering why the day before so many cars came through. We inform them that we are just the first one for today and that there are plenty more to come, this causes one of the ladies to say that she will call in sick today.

On the other side in Namibia we receive our entry stamp. At first the gentleman is a bit grumpy but when he discovers that I am a bar attendant he lightens up and wants to order a drink. He says that he would love to come with us and that it would suit him well as he is off the next few days.

Just in time for the sunrise we drive into Namibia, into beautiful scenery.

Fish River canyon Roadhouse, an accident and German apple pie

Full speed we are heading towards Fish river canyon and our first but not last dirt road. The dirt roads are unexpected good and very comfortable to drive on. For some reason more and more other teams passing us going in the other direction, we start to think that we might be late again. Who cares, we just keep going. Unfortunately we didn’t see the Canyon, because the road didn’t lead where we thought it would, but we found a very cute Roadhouse. At the roadhouse we also meet a few other teams, which means we are actually not late.

Back on track we come past an accident, one of the cars of another team rolled over on a dirt road. We get out and check if everyone is ok, the team is already gone and the people we meet are actually not involved in the rollover. They are another team and we are all a bit rattled so we agree to meet for a chat and a German apple pie in the next town Helmeringhausen. In the restaurant we find out that the team who had the accident is all well and gone to organize a pickup truck. The apple pie tastes even better now. Somehow it feels weird to eat a German specialty in the middle of Namibia.

Hill Billies

Today we drove the whole day and all we want is a place to camp and sleep. Unknowingly we are making our way to the Büll Sport Guest farm settled in the hills. Our mood is good as it looks like a nice place to stay for the night. A friendly girl opens the gate for us and we drive in to the parking area. A young tanned gentleman comes towards our car. As we open the door he greets us with a “Guten Tag!” like you would expect to hear in Hitler Germany in 1945. His eyes are extremely blue and he acts a bit weird. We get out of the car and follow an elderly gentleman to the reception; he seems a bit creepy too. Inside we get told that they had a campsite about three kilometers away and a staff member will bring us there and show us how to heat the water for the shower, unfortunately there is no electricity. And on top of that they are asking a little fortune for this adventure. While we are discussing about the high price we suddenly hear a female voice from the room next door. She sounds like a commander and says that this is the price and there is nothing she can do about it. She appears in the door; tall, thin with short hair and a weird looking lazy eye. She says we could drive another 50km to the next campsite. A quick look at each other and we are more than happy to get out of here. We almost sprint back to the car and drive out. What f.. did we just see? During the drive to the other campsite we are imagining what these Hill Billies would have done to us if we had stayed there. In our thoughts we already send our goodbye messages to our loved ones.