...Continued from last blog, Cape Town, South Africa...

Since a good chunk of our morning had been eaten up by the excitement of the morning, it was nearly noon by the time we caught at taxi to Table Mountain, a big plateau in the middle of the city. It's a 4-minute tram, with a rotating floor, up the mountain, or a 1.5 hour hike if you're really ambitious. The view was..spectacular. From on top of the plateau you could see the city stretching out on all sides, and the ocean extended out into the sky. We could see Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was held prisoner in his fight for freedom and equality, and the new soccer stadium being built for the 2010 World cup. The scenery was beautiful from all vantage points and in all directions. Cape Town is picturesque, with low-lying clouds over the city and the ocean, and the rocky terrain of the plateau and mountains in the city centre. After a few hours hiking the top of the plateau Dad and I took the tram back down and then made our way to the Tulip Inn to claim our baggage and transport it to our new hotel.

That night we met with our GAP tour leaders and group at the hotel to prepare for our departure the next morning. We were an eclectic group of 15, with three tour leaders, Janet, Charlene and Hein, discussing the details of our 2-week trip and our departure time, 7am, the next morning.

It was a long day of driving, but we eventually arrived at our first camp site just South of the Namibian/South African border, along the Gariep River. We set up camp with our two-person canvas tents and set to making dinner and socialising at the outdoor bar, overlooking the river. The next morning many of our group members went kayaking in the river, but I stayed back at the site to do some much-needed laundry and organisation of my bags from the past few days.

We took off on the road just after lunch, crossed the border into Namibia, and then drove to our camp site near to the Fish River Canyon, the second largest canyon in the world (Grand Canyon being first). The sun was inching steadily towards the horizon as we rushed through setting up camp and then re-boarded the truck in order to make it to the canyon for the sunset. The canyon is almost majestic, the way it has been carved into the earth, and bends and juts and flows with harsh angles and sweet curves, the river forming its languid spine down the centre. We enjoyed hand-rolled sushi, home-made guacamole, and champagne as we watched the sun falling, the last desperate rays of the day dancing on the red walls of the canyon. The view, partnered with the champagne buzz, manifested in me a feeling of awe and deep contentment. I could have sat for hours without a thought or a care. There is just something about Africa that captures moments in time, instilled with reticence, that seem to last forever, and yet, not long enough.