I realize that I couldnāt have done a better job of finding a early morning sunny spot to put my tent. Last nightās beers and a thirty degree 6am isnāt winning combination. I relocate outside and the rest comes easily. Two doves position themselves dangerously close to directly above me.
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I see a dove land and some small flapping wings next to it. The glimmer of hope is alive, and upon closer induction there Dorothy the chicken is. Sitting on the grass with mommy feeding her. The ugliest little dove, but a resilient one at that.
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General purpose store has everything from Grootconstantia wine though to heavy duty chains. Children outside push their vegetables on us. I mistakenly give them 100 Namibia dollars, to their parents frowns.
Vegetation becomes more arid and hot, weāre saved by the air-conditioning. Julian plays a version of āDesert Island Tapesā with me where I have to play songs from my teenage years and explain their significance to me. Gorillaz, Kanye, Pheonix, Red Hot Chill Peppers are more feature with nostalgic back stories.
We take a left and the road goes sandy. Palm trees surround us, small villages and cows with long leather straps around their necks. Hungry and slightly hungover we look for a quiet spot to stop for lunch. Expectations always make the worst travel companions and we forge on looking for this idyllic spot. The small houses are incredibly beautiful, making corrugated iron look elegant and tasteful. The lung spot actually arrives, we park in the shade and made a pretty fantastic sandwich.
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Itās my turn to drive, and wow I got the best part of the road. The sand deepens and the four wheel drive comes on. The speed decreases and it feels as if we are in a ship navigating an angry ocean of sand. Honestly it was one of the most enjoyable drives of my life. We traverse a the base of an enormous sand dune skirting the coast. Finally weāre wedged between it and dense mangroves. Bouncing along trying to keep momentum up. There was always just enough possibility of getting stuck to keep it exhilarating.
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The map shows that the ocean is just in front of us. And as Africa would have it the owner of the place that weāre staying is right there on the road, he holds on to the side of the car and directs us to a spot right on the beach that is a thing of beauty. After shimmying the car into a level position we take stock of what is around us: tropical beach, palm trees, loud ocean and a warmth that envelops everything.
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There is talk of the āAfrican Kirraā being here, a long right hand sand bottom right that has featured in a few magazines and videos. Julian and I take a stroll down the beach to a place that it starts to bend and looks like it might harbour such a wave. The sun is doing that classic African thing at sunset; burning orange and expanding to seemingly twice the size. Or maybe itās just that youāre able to stare right at it that makes it look so big.
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Crabs scuttle down the beach ahead of us. Seemingly playing in the waves. As the most evolved physical form of life, it appears that they have an abundance of energy to play games; go crabs. We chase a couple of them around to add to their fun.
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The conversation has kept coming back to the point that we donāt really want to leave here on Monday to go to work in Tofu, and trying to find ways to work from the beach here. We spot a light on in a lodge - and guess that they have electricity - upon Googling it find a photo with a perfect wave in the exact spot that weāre standing: bingo. Now we just need the wind to turn and the swell to pick up. Even if it doesnāt Iām so grateful to be here.
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Tents are setup. Dinner is prepared. Weāre getting the hang of this whole overlanding thing. I take a moment to repack the fridge after completely devastating any organisation that once was. I do the same with the food box.
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Itās good to get a lay of the land, and know where things are. The pasta sauce decides to swan dive out of the pan while Julian and I are discussing the hard problem of consciousness on deck chairs while watching the moon rise. Moral of the story: you might not have free will, but you seem to have the ability to move attention around. The pasta sauce survived and so thrived the conversation.
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As I lie down in my tent on the sand with just two yoga mats, I realize that my back hasnāt clicked nearly as much since Iāve stopped sleeping on a mattress.
