Guess what? I had the wind from behind yesterday! But with the wind from behind, I could not outrun the midges which are a serious problem along the Orange River. This meant I had a swarm of "muggies" around my head! Can't win, it seems!
I left Augrabies at 7:41, after saying good bye to new friends I made in the camp. Joy and Braam are from George and heard about my trip at the hotel in Kamieskroon. Small world! They were leaving for Sutherland in the morning to take their kids 
to the Observatory to do some star gazing. A holiday, I am sure the kids will never forget.
to the Observatory to do some star gazing. A holiday, I am sure the kids will never forget.
The morning was cool with clear skies and a day one can only dream about. I made good progress, but had woken up in the morning with a slight headache. This got worse as the day got longer and it became a painful exercise to ride over any little bump in the road.
Kakamas, was my first little dorp and I made a quick stop there to withdraw money and buy airtime for my phone. Just outside town, I caught up with Thys and Nerina at the "Pienk Padstal" and was glad that I had cash on me. They sell the most divine fresh dates from Pella and other snacks.
Just outside town, you cross the mighty Orange river to the North bank. The landscape is absolutely beautiful, with orange and black rocky outcrops, green vineyards and yellow grassy plains.
Next town was Keimoes, after which I really started battling with my headache. It was from here that the midges became bothersome, but fortunately I dropped them after about 25km or so. The wind from behind was an absolute blessing and I got to the campsite at 14:25.
At the campsite I pitched my tent, chucked in my sleeping bag, grabbed two disprins and bombed out. I couldn't eat and after an hour or so, I got rid of the contents of my stomach! Then off to have a relaxing bath, after which I slowly started feeling human again.
Distance for the day was 122.35km, and I spent 6h44 on the trail (6h04 cycling). The going was quite good in spite of a total ascent of 652m. Wind makes a big difference!
Nerina made supper for us and we all went off to bed quite early.
This morning (the 20th) is a lovely sunny day, but the temperature seem to be dropping. Our vehicle has gone in for a service, so we are stuck in the campsite today. Thys has gone fishing in the Orange River (which flows past our campsite) and we will sort out all the packing for the Kgalagadi today. We will be leaving the trailer and bikes behind and need to pack carefully so that we can fit all necessary items in the bakkie.
Tomorrow we leave for the Kgalagadi and will not have mobile reception for about a week. So, if you don't hear from me, you know why. The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is a very big National Park, sharing land with Botswana and neighbouring Namibia. It is very dry there, with big red sand dunes. If the condition of the veld we have been traveling through is anything to go by, then I suspect that the Kgalagadi is going to be beautiful, with lots of grazing. This park is renowned for its big cats and I was fortunate, on my first visit there, to observe a cheetah kill. The birding is also good and I will try to add to my list of 170-odd for this trip so far.
Just to summarise: I have cycled on 24 days since 15 March and have covered a total distance of 1984.73km. If I had a measurement for suntan, I think I would be off the charts!
So, cheers from me, for now!
Dearest Karen I am worrying about you, are you just going a bit too hard? It certainly seems you are enjoying yourself but why do so in discomfort. Just take it a bit easier.
ReplyDeleteI am still wondering if you have been getting my Emails as no answers yet. Weather heer in Sydney is devine as it usually is in Autumn and I am loving it. Off to Perth in a few weeks for the IPPS Conf and a bit of a holiday.
Cheers M XOXOXOXXO