In the nick of time
Early last year, the Cooks went on a road trip and made their way to Namibia for their first visit. They didn’t know it then, but they did it just before the Covid-19 lockdown. Terrence tells us more…
We left our home on Thursday,
6 February 2020. We had a late start as we had to stop in Springfield Park for a quick repair to our home for the next three weeks (our rooftop tent) at Canvas Safari Tents. Nelson, the owner, who I have known to always go the extra mile, assisted us and within no time we were on the N3. I wanted to get to Bloemfontein for an overnight stop and had booked at the River of Joy caravan park just outside the city.
We only reached our destination after 19:00 and as we did, the heavens opened up and it started to rain. Bertha , the resort’s manager, was waiting for us, we settled our account and she told us we could choose any stand. The park is clean, and we felt safe.
We set up our rooftop tent in no time and then settled down under our awning to braai. Through the course of the evening, the campsite’s friendly cat and ducks came to say hello.
AS WE LEFT a busy Bloemfontein on the Friday morning, we set our GPS for Sandgat, a campsite on the banks of the Orange River near the Van Der Kloof dam. We did not know what to expect, as we’ve not been there before. I had been talking to the owner Lisa on WhatsApp, and she had sent our stand number and pin code to be used at the gate. Once again, the heavens opened as we passed Koffiefontein and Luckhof, and the heavy rain made it difficult to see the potholes in the road.
By midday we were at the gate and drove a short distance on a dirt
