last but not least!

It turns out in the hotel reception there is some dioptase - it really is the most stunning green but as you can see from the sign - not for sale!

Dioptase livening up the old calcite

And then it was off - another long straight road to head down

We passed a castle that someone was randomly building… guess it’s affordable when it’s built out of concrete

Old train carriages spotted on the rails…. we never saw a moving train in Namibia

In the distance you can see an orange termite mound

We stopped for coffee and a loo break alongside the railway line

No safety fence here

No corners either - this is looking the other way

We stopped in a town for a pit stop and found the three Beares 

And later Woody refuelling...

We also went over the road to the wood carvers market where there were about a hundred stalls all pretty much selling the same thing. Had to learn to barter quickly. Time was limited here and I think with time I would easily have bought more but as it was I got a nice wooden bowl which we think was made of a local balsa wood type

And yes! more long straight roads…. one of our group compatriots was sick today so we had extra stops for him to offload. thankfully he was better the next day. Woody was most kind in helping him on and off the bus and whenever needed and everyone appreciated him

Happy holidays!

A long off road track about 11k near Windhoek and we reached our lodge at our last night

And here was our lovely room…. we used the log burner just because we could

Sun Down sign showing the way to a thatched and semi walled outhouse to watch the sunset from - we just went to the bar

A weaver bird nest on a wind pump - the windpumps bring up underground water for animals and irrigation 

A lovely place to spend our last night

And this wasn’t our drinks but the sun lit the green glass beautifully

Watching the sun go down - you can see the waterhole ahead and whilst we were eating supper outside on the stoep we saw water buck drinking there

looking back towards the lodge

in the bar! where else?!

Venus reflected in the pool

and the wood burner in action

There were some interesting wood prints around the place

And breakfast the next day, again out on the stoep with a lovely view and good food

We went into Windhoek - on the way Beverley gave me an amazing starter lesson in crochet - on a bumpy gravel road it was pretty impressive and something I will try and continue with the help of friend Manda and YouTube videos.

We drove into the town seeing the presidential palace in the distance with its gold welwitchsia plant decorations and stopped at a craft centre where most went in for some shopping. Woody and I however headed into town to try and seek the ever illusive dioptase and a safari shirt for him.

We saw these jazzy outfits 

We went into several jewellers and one shop that our guide recommended who said she hadn’t had dioptase for 20 years. As they mine it with the copper it was probably then when the mine shut that they stopped getting it. 

And finally finally did we find some dioptase! Having seen another jeweller who had been busy with someone and on a return chance his staff had asked him and he did not have any we tried a few others. It was hard to find anyone who even knew what I was talking about. I saw one jeweller and thought this is the last one we will try and amazingly they had some! She said they hadn’t sold it for a long time - the last time had been a lady from Germany. She also said it wasn’t very fashionable (perfect) and tended to be worn by old ladies (no problem there!) and I bought 2 pieces of it. She would have loved to have made it into jewellery for us but as we were flying that day we took the stones as they were. We are now hunting to find a gem cutter who can get it into workable pieces. The Windhoek jeweller gave us a contact number but he can make the jewellery but not cut the stones, a jeweller in Hermanus also needed it cut before he could work it. The Cape Town jeweller gave us a gem cutter phone number but there has been no answer to several phone calls but we may have a lead today with another Hermanus jeweller suggesting somewhere we can try but he wasn’t sure they would so small outside jobs but always worth a try….

At the airport now - 100% pure Woodward!

As we had been through the town we had passed a lot of police outriders and Heidi had said the Angolan flag had been flying. At the airport we were just about to get on our plane and were walking out to it when we could see the red carpet out and lots of dignitaries and some dancers in traditional costume (well mostly traditional as they did have tops on!)

We saw a private jet land and lots of oom pahs and dancing 

We suspect the Angolan president arriveth

And as we went out another private plane landing (maybe with the real president on it!)

View from the windows on the way back to Cape TOwn

There was a noticeable difference in the emptiness of Namibia and the farmed lands of South Africa. We also saw this crater or volcano but apparently it was just rocks pushed up when the plates were all moving together

And a serious face for the end of the Namibian holiday!

Totally recommend it and Landscape Tours to anyone who may be considering African travel.

Will be some highlights of our extended stay in South Africa and love to all Woody & Bertie xxx