Wow, wow, wow. This is what we do this for. We had 6 nights in Nossob. We survived, we thrived.
I know many of you reading this think we a little mad. Maybe we are. But its worth it. I speak about this in one of the 4 videos of this part of our trip. We have never felt more alive than we do in the Kgalagadi. All our senses are awakened, we feel connected to life and nature so much more acutely and the troubles of everyday city life vanish - and I mean just vanish.
We arrived and set up camp under a large camelthorn tree, very beautiful. We checked the weather forecast at reception and rain was predicted for the next 3 nights, with one night looking a bit scary. We felt so much better than the 3 HOT nights we had at Twee Rivieren and looked forward to the change of climate.
We have a awesome night around a campfire, feeling ready for the next leg of our trip, albeit a little nervous after hearing all the horror stories about other cars and damage. The first night it rained, we slept so well and it seemed like a regular rainy night. The next day, super excited we when north. Not far out of the gate we had our first encounter with water on the roads, not to bad we thought, we can do this, and then... it carried on, and on. One flooded river section after another... feeling long and deeper each time. While I was quietly terrified, Jay was having a blast. I sought comfort in the Fortuner driving in front of us, taking all the chances I didn't think I could take. To be fair, we didn't make it too far before we could not see the end of the flooded road and even the Fortuner in front turned away. Imagine being stuck, in one of the most remote places in Africa, lions everywhere, with a broken down car stuck in a flooded road? Yip, that's why we turned :)
A bit further back we came across 2 beautiful male lions following a stunning female, and we followed them a bit, now feeling a little more confident. What a sighting in such an incredible place.
We got back to camp finding a pile of licence plates and car parts at reception when handing in our permit. We have to hand in out permit everytime we back and they diarising where we going - so that at the end of the day, they can check who is not back. By the way, they actually do drive to every person not accounted for to make sure you are safe and if you not in, they go out looking for you. People have found themselves stranded in the park overnight for a variety of reasons, usually motor vehicle related, and they always advise taking extra water and fuel incase it becomes you.
After the most fabulous day/night soccer match in camp, backlit with the approaching thunderstorm, we ate and settled in for the night - or so we thought. As our footage best describes - it was crazy. we never slept until the next morning. People where forced into cars and evacuating campsites because of flooding. It was unreal.
The next day, us and other campers got to spend time getting to know each other while repairing, washing, cleaning and salvaging. It was actually a wonderful day, and according to the weather sites, the worst was over and the next 4 nights promised some peace, with cooler weather. The owls where out and we got many evenings with some beauties. Lots of flooded roads and new side paths where formed.
We experienced great sightings of the herds coming in, snakes, scorpions, raptors and scavages. We cooked, made bread, and laughed til late with new friends. We finally made one trip to Polentswa and Lijersdraai picnic but really the rest of our trip was made in camp. The bush is a spiritual place, and after a storm we felt so much gratitude and enjoyed nature waking up from a slumber. The littles things, you soon realise, make it all worth it.