Map of our planned route.
 |
| Collecting Alex's Money Alex |
 |
| Boarding "Janis" |
Ken Baldwin drives me into Cape Town's Green Market Square located in the central part of the city. I unload my packs, say goodbye to Ken and enter Nomad's Cape Town's HQ. I met our guides...Morrison (driver and head guide), Yolanda (Yo-Yo) cook and Milche (German Translator). I pay my $295 local fee, we board our bus and head out of town in our safari truck. There are 12 persons in our group representing South Korea (4), Japan (1), Switzerland(3), Holland (2), Wales (1) and USA (1) countries. More about my traveling companions as the trip progresses. As I begin this trip, I feel like Charles Marlow, the main character, in Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" exploring the unknowns of Africa.
We leave Cape Town heading north and stop for a "photo op" at an area called Table View which provides us with a beautiful picture of Cape Town's Table Mountain. Nearby is a small shopping mall where Yo-Yo and Milche purchase food for the next few days and we purchase water and other small essentials suggested by Morrison.
 |
| View of Cape Town's Table Top |
 |
| Packing Food for the Trip |
From there we continue our journey north to the Cederberg mountain range with its reddish sandstone rock formations laced with bands of shale. The group seems to be personable and I think that this should be a great trip.
We stopped for about an hour at the "a!khwa ttu" San Cultural Center located about an hour north of Cape Town. We learn about the San people, their culture, their click language (!) and how they were able to live in the desert.
 |
| Making Shell Jewelry |
 |
| Explaining San People Travels |
We continue our journey and the surroundings remind me of Wyoming with its large desert/shrub areas and rising buttes. WeAfter a long ride on Janis, we arrive at 5 PM at the Rondeberg Resort which offers cabin and tent site accomodations ....the showers and bathroom facilities give us a feeling of home. Since this is our first night tent camping, Morrison demonstrates how the tent is raised, taken down and stored......now it is our turn and with a little encouragement from Morrison....we struggle through the process...not too hard.
 |
| Morrison Instructs |
 |
| Morrison- "Now Do It" |
After a lake swim, hot shower we have dinner (pork chop, potato, corn, salad). Around our campfire Morrison spends about an hour explaining how we will operate, rules for getting along, how cooperation is essential....meaning we help each other and assist with clean-up. Morrison appears to be a take-charge guy and a good leader, time will tell. Our daily schedule..up at 5 AM, break down tents and stow all gear in Janis, breakfast at 6 AM, clean-up, police camp site, depart at 7 AM. Should be a fun trip.
 |
| A Refreshing Swim |
 |
| Evening Briefing |
No comments:
Post a Comment