Did you say Scorpions?

I forgot the ground was so hard camping - even with a sleep pad. Steph was up at 6am to get breakfast out and hollered at 6:30 "GOOD MORNING SOUTH AFRICA! Wakee, Wakkee WAKEEEE!!!" I'm pretty sure everyone in the country was awake after that.

Brad went to take a shower but all the hot water was gone - he used the term "brisk" to describe it. Breakfast was cereal, fruit, yogurt, coffee and tea. We got to watch a beautiful sunrise over the mountains.

After breakfast a quick clean and pack up of the tents. We have to check under the tents when we're packing up in case a scorpion has decided it would be a nice place to sleep. Everything loaded into the truck and we're off at 8 am (only 30 minutes over schedule... we're getting better)! The truck had been making some funny noises and Tony had decided it needed looking after so we ended up waiting while they replaced the fan belt anyway. I strolled over to look at some birds who were building nests next to our camp. They are weaver birds and build nests that look like upsidedown straw baskets. Lots of chirping and activity! Steph said that the male builds the nest and if the female doesn't like it, he has to start over and build a new one.

The day is sunny and clear, a bit cool but really not all that bad.

do you ever wonder
why you wonder
wandering in wonder
wondering in wandering
what will you find?

We stopped in Sprinbok for a chance to stretch our legs and hit a bank machine. We stopped at the Super Spar for snacks and water. We've been driving for over 3 hours! We're not having lunch until late and we were a bit hungry so we had a Moroccan Chicken Pastie (no, not the kind you twirl in the girlie shows).

Springbok was named because there were once vast herds of, yep you guessed it, Springbok. Steph says that now you can only really see them in the game reserves and that they are protected.

Anna's ipod is hooked into the sound system and we're cruising along listening to an instrumentalist named Manuel or Ricardo or something Gabrielle. I like it. There is plenty of napping on the truck with these early wake up calls..

The land stretches on endlessly in all directions... so far that the clouds almost seem to sit on the earth. There are random piles of boulders like some giant has been stacking stones at the beach for fun. Then there is the steep sided valley cut through the rocks... not mountains really... just big rocky hills.

We arrive at the Orange River Bushwacker camp. Another nice camp site... bar, swimming in the river, HOT showers. Everything is grass thatched - rather rustic. There are two dogs here - Sam and Mamboza. Mamboza looks just like Arusha. I'm told that they are brother and sister (sooo cute!!!)

I'm on team leopard (full participation camping!) and our job today is to clean the truck after dinner. We have to keep it swept, tidy and the most important, keep the windows clean so we can spot the animals! Dinner was a pork spit. We had a great evening of drinking in the bar and listening to 80's music. The cider here is excellent - not too sweet. Some good wine, some good eats, tired and decided to get to bed.

Some of the more adventurous stayed up later into the evening playing Orange River Dare Jenga. It was very loud and went on very late... I heard some of the strange requests... wear a bikini all night, eat a moth... of course, if you didn't, you had to finish your drink (probably why it got so boisterous!) Fun yes... but I was too tired.