A long drive today of over 1000km to Tsumeb in Namibia from Livingstone in Zambia. The Hotel we stayed at in Livingstone (Zambezi Sun) was fantastic and I would highly recommend it.
1000km might sound like a lot but there were only about a dozen bends on the whole route - mostly an arrow straight empty road as far as the eye could see for hour after hour with the occasional village or town to top up with petrol and grab a drink. Temperatures reached into the 30s again until we hit some heavy thunderstorms in Namibia to dampen everything down.
I liked Zambia, mostly green and lush with likeable helpful people and I suspect some of the best holiday venues.
The passage through the border into Namibia was pretty straightforward and not too busy. We had to be disinfected though as part of a vetinary scare. This was also repeated twice en route. It consisted of our wheels being sprayed and having to wipe our feet on a disinfected towel.
We had hoped today to see some elephants near the road but we were told later that they usually appear only in the morning or evening when off to find a water hole. Despite signs warning of elephants for much of the way, we didn't see anything other than some baboons and a variety of colourful birds.
As we drove further into Namibia, the landscape changed as more large scale farming became evident. I was told that some white farmers moved here from Zimbabwe when their farms were taken from them.
Later, we moved into a hilly area surrounded by cultivated land and the wealth of the area seemed to become more apparent compared to the smaller villages of huts on the road from Zambia. More expensive cars on the road, better filling stations and better stocked road-side stores and fast food restaurants. The influence from South Africa seems clear here and even the Namibian Dollar shadows the Rand at 1:1. Indeed, the currencies seem interchangeable and you can spend either in shops.
Tomorrow, we are back into serious competitive rallying with a punishing day of tight timing on Namibian gravel roads.
No comments:
Post a Comment