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Alexander Bay
Apologies for the continuing scatological tone of these postcards but I do have to mention the sheer unadulterated pleasure that going through the "normal motions" gave me after 5 days of pebble dashing sundry toilets!
Confident that I could keep the hatches battened down or rather up, we took a day trip to Alexander Bay, the western most point of South Africa and the estuary of the Orange River.
It may have been partly due to the shroud of Atlantic mist but Alexander Bay was neither photogenic or indeed, a bay. The town is famous for diamond mining and that is really it. The buildings are uniform and drab and the whole place has an air of army camp about it, an impression not helped by the need to sign in at the gatehouse when you arrive.
We tried to see the Orange River estuary mouth but the 4x4 route to it had recently been washed by the ocean on a high spring tide and we didn't fancy having to move trees and debris before driving the car into unknown depths of sand and mud! Of the 95 species of birds present in this area we at least saw a flamingo and a brown duck (not the name of a duck, it was brown and that's about all we know of it!)
Not wishing to have driven a 480km round trip for nothing, we attempted to see the "world famous" lichen field on a hill outside the town where 26 species co-exist in an area the size of a football pitch. Alas the location of the hill was a new request for the security guards so the lichen field will remain an enigma to us.
To retrieve the day we had lunch at Port Nolloth, 60 kms south of Alexander Bay. The Rough Guide warns of a town with an air of diamond intrigue and smuggling and they are not exaggerating, many of the locals look like extras from the Maltese Falcon! (I know it's a reference to a very old film but as Jessica and Gaye were always quick to point out to me at my last place of employment, I am as old as their parents!)
Angela dropped some unsubtle hints to me about diamonds but after a quick scan of the beach I couldn't find any. I did, however, get her to pose by the De Beers "Diamonds are forever" sign, the closest she will get to a diamond on this or any other trip!
Safely back in Springbok and mindful that we will shortly depart for Namibia, we filled ourselves up at those traditional restaurants, Wimpy and KFC. The car and trailer are full of tinfoil, clingfilm and kitchen roll, expedition essentials that are surprisingly scarce in Namibia (actually supermarkets and towns are scarce in Southern Namibia!)
What we do in Namibia and how fast will largely be determined by the visa duration we get at the border, let's hope they are feeling generous. Let's also hope they don't look in the trailer, as we are somewhat over the alcohol allowance.
Finally if anyone knows why corn crickets (see photo album from Springbok) drop out of trees and die, please let us know, four have done it since we arrived. My theory is that the smell of Angela's trainers is too much for them!
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