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Kennington to Cape Town
We had heard from a reliable source that the best place in the whole of Namibia to get a Landy looked at was at Seinfeld Garage, run by the amiable Johannes and Ina Strauss. The garage is situated 70kms from the nearest town in Keetmanshoop, in a secluded valley with it's own canyon. The farmyard garage must be one of the most picturesque Landy garages in the world.
The welcome was so hospitable that even though we only needed some spare parts it turned out that we stayed a few days. When we met Ina, a plump Africaan's woman in her fifties, she was making homemade oryx sausages. She told us that it was tradition to eat as much of the fresh sausage on the day it is made as possible. We, along with Bill and Claire, certainly took on the challenge when we were invited for lunch in their 1950's kitchen. The farm had a wonderful family atmosphere and we felt very welcome. Ina let us bush camp by the private canyon and furnished us with great meat for our barbeque - oryx sausages, kudu steaks and fresh biltong and drywors (dried sausage). What a feast, in a magnificent setting.
During the day Johannes checked over our suspension and helped adjust an exhaust bracket that had taken to rattling a bit. We also changed the prop shaft UJ's, which seemed a prudent thing to do before returning home. We quickly felt a part of the family when we were invited for another lunch, (this time oryx and kudu pie!) and taken on a scenic drive of the farm.
We would thoroughly recommend any over landers driving a Land Rover to check in on Johannes and Ina at Seinfeld Garage, but be prepared to stay for longer than you think due to their magnificent hospitality.
There was just one more place to visit before we crossed to South Africa, the Fish River Canyon. Surprisingly this canyon is relatively unknown outside of Southern Africa even though it rivals the Grand Canyon in the States. The canyon measures 160kms in length and reaches up to 27km wide and 550m deep (big by anyone's calculations!). It was a good location to finish the four weeks we had spent in Namibia. We spent the evening with Bill and Claire contemplating our trip home, and quickly forgot about it by guzzling more red wine and enjoying our Kudu steaks.
Before driving across our final border post at Noordoewer, we spent a final morning driving through a dried river bed near to the Orange River. This was a great drive but made sad as we knew it would be the last time we would be driving Biggles off road in Africa. Our Landy has served us incredibly well and we have grown to love it. It has coped with the most taxing and difficult situations and has excelled in all of the toughest conditions. It is no wonder they call it 'the best 4x4xfar'!
Namibia has been one of the best countries we have visited on our trip so far - every road contains breathtaking scenery, there is abundant wildlife, fascinating people, and, if you want them, facilities similar to that of a western country (campsites, supermarkets, banks etc). Where ever life takes us we know we will find a way to return and hopefully we will bring better weather with us next time!
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