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Evening all!
So, day 15 i think im on now, currently at a campsite by Fish River Canyon in Namibia - what a gorgous place! I've officially started my Gap Adventures tour now, well actually im 2 days into it and loving every second! Everyone in the group is great, and i mean GREAT - everyone is different ages and from different countries but we all seem to have mixed really well - me thinks this is the start of some beautiful friendships :P
Going back a few days then, my trip to cape town was NOT a happy one! not only did i nearly miss my coach because i got dropped off in the wrong place but i then had to change bus in Joberg - which i hadnt been told - and im not even kidding, it was one of the worst experiences of my life and if i never go back i will be a very happy camper. So i got to the hotel a tad later than planned, late enough in fact to miss the introduction meeting, only to walk in 3 minutes before the end with a sheepish look on my face asking 'is this gap adventures' - not the best start. However, this was swiftly altered by the prospect of pizza and beer with two of my new aquaitances - Tanya and Shobian - in the hotel. Damn culture and damn fine dining, after hours of walking and buses and coaches and planes and taxis and doing 28 hour trips in the space of 8 hours, a margareta with peroni on the side was a beautiful way to start my very traditional african adventure!
I could very easily list everyone in the group so that whoever finds themselves reading this dribble knows exactly who everyone is - but where is the fun in that?! i think instead i will just randomly include someones name here and there and leave it to you guys to figure out who they are and what the hell they are doing in my blog...Alex by the way (and you will probably hear quite a lot about her) is my roomate / truck buddy seat next to me person - there see i gave you a head start!
But getting back to it, everyone is great. And our tour leaders seem just as awsome so im def looking forward to hanging out with them a but more! Yesterday then, was technically our first driving day - 12 hours, so just a short one to get us started! and apart from the tire blowing out within the first 2 hours it was actually quite a pleasant experience - plus one of our trou guides (conrad) kind of looks like tarzan - even more so when he fixes tires, so that was a nice bit of umm entertainment for the girls :P
We got to Orange River yesterday and set up camp for the first time - and i mean the first time, Wimpy (our main tour guy) actually took my tenting virginity - i mean he did it nicely and all but lets face it, girl guides and camping in the back garden do not compare with bush camping in africa with a load of strangers. However, the nice river to swim in and bar to drink copious amounts in and flirt with other boys from other tour groups who happened to be there as well, did soften the blow of missing out on any chance of 5 star resorts for the next month.
Next morning i found myself, to some amazmenet, canooing 7km down the Orange River with, strangly enough, a bit of a hangover - and for fun no less! No, it was actually really good fun, and everyone just ended up splashing each other and racing down the river etc so a great way to start the day in my opinion - everyone should try it, its a fantastic hangover cure! From there we moved to Fish River Canyon where, tonight, not 3 hours ago, we got to walk about 2km along the edge of the canyon for the sunset - i got some AMAZING pictures so ill try to get them up as soon as i can! Wimpy, COnrad and Lindie even put on a great spread for us for dinner, including the african equivilant of philidelphia with sweet chilli sauce gooped all over it - OMG i almost just shoved my face right in it! how did i not know about that combination?? and to think ive been wasting my time with cranberry sauce and cheese all these years! But anyway... so yeah, after dinner we all had some champagne to start the tour off with a bang (another one!) and preceeded to watch Kavan (one of the MANY canadians on the trip...seriously, i think most of canada is here) down a box of wine within the pace of about half an hour. Shocking though it must be, i later was signalled by him via torch to help him find his tent after he had been sitting directly in front of it by himself for half an hour after everyone else had gone to bed...something i will definitly not let him forget in a hurry...
Right, signing off for now - got a v. early start tomorrow to watch sunrise on the dunes - later xx
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