SEPTEMBER 2020

DAY 4

Ai-Ais/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park (“De Hoop” campsite)

Today will be a lazy one … we will stay one more night here at De Hoop camp site, before we move on tomorrow. We therefore don’t have to pack up and can just relax next to the river – awesome!

And what a glorious sunny day … that turned out to be quite a hot afternoon.

It was breathtaking to see how the colours on the mountains changes as the sun rises. One could literally just sit here for the day and watches as nature is displaying its own movie!

Carel and Estelle were quite busy in their kitchen before our trip – they baked delicious rusks back home – which meant we had a few steamy cups of coffee (and tea) with homemade rusks for breakfast!

We’ve enjoyed most of the morning by just sitting next to the river and chatting about how blessed we were to be on this trip in such a beautiful part of our country.

Since it was a really pleasant day, the men took out their fly-fishing rods to see whether they will have any success in catching a fish. Fiela later joined them – probably just to get into the water 😃. Estelle kept me company, while I’ve done some washing of our clothes.

No-one caught any fish, but that only made us hungry! Berto prepared a mouthwatering chicken liver dish on the gas cooker. It was almost not necessary to wash the pan, since we’ve cleaned the pan with bread, soaking up the last bit of sauce that was left over.

After the morning’s exercise (fly-fishing) and eating delicious food, we had to rest a bit – that is what a break away is all about! Some went to lay down for a while and others read a book or just relaxing in their chairs next to the river.

Late afternoon, we all got a bit hot from the sun and decided to walk through the river to the island in the middle – the water was quite shallow there. On the other side of the island, where the water was much deeper, some enjoyed a swim or just lay down in the cool water – what a relaxing afternoon!

Berto prepared a delicious sauce in which we’ve marinate chicken pieces – tonight we are having chicken over the coals! Me and Fiela prepared sandwiches filled with onion, tomato and cheese to also find their way to the fire (known as your typical South African “braaibroodjie” … it could be translated as a “South African grilled sandwich”).

It was such a nice day of doing … nothing! But we’ve felt recharged by nature’s energy and ready to pack up tomorrow to see more of this beautiful park.

Just a side note (and fact):

There are definitely scorpions in the Ai-Ais Richtersveld Transfrontier Park … we found one yesterday when we’ve lifted a rock close to our camp side … but we did not bother him further and he did not bother us. Yikes 😬

To read about Day 5, click here …