Day 192: Wild camp south of Tombua – Namibe
So calm. So pleasantly cool. So many stars.
We have breakfast in the slipstream of the car and then drive back to the main road and shortly afterwards turn back into the desert.
A few lakes that only have water intermittently and an impressive rock arch. Both can be seen near a small village and of course with a guide and “entrance fee”. But it's ok, friendly, not intrusive and worthwhile.
The funny thing is that a few locals hike through the lake knowing the paths that exist in the dry season.
Not funny: Our car no longer starts. For whatever reason. The power station was still well charged, so it couldn't have drawn much. Maybe using the compressor without having driven for a long time?
We can start with a booster battery (actually bought for the motorcycle), but once again we are totally unsure.
Nevertheless: Let’s move on to the “Colinas”. You drive through a small canyon to a wonderful rock formation, where you can curve around and take pictures and enjoy the wonders of nature. And again we think that Angola could have a lot more tourism. In many places people are aware of this, are investing, are making an effort – we keep our fingers crossed for the Angolans!
Today, on the extreme washboard slopes of the desert, we not only lose a shekel of the rescue rope but also three bolts of the underbody protection. You drive over 30,000 km and just before the end something shakes up. Such a crap.
We turn around, continuing to drive like this for more than a day, including the uncertainty about the battery, would be much too “nervous” for us. Annoying!
We miss the Flamingo Lodge in the direction of Namibe – after 20 kilometers we realize that our navigation system has sent us on the wrong track. What a shame, it would have been a spectacular location.
Not our day today!
But ultimately we are grateful that we can end a day like this in a hotel without worrying too much.
Oh, and one more thing: Yesterday we saw our first chameleon in the wild. First gray like the tar and then, as it fled from us, shiftling quickly to green like the grass along the road :-)