You have to get a heart valve replacement … and soon.”
This isn’t a message which you can prepare yourself for. But it was enough to make me reflect on life for a change.
Alison and I realised we had to break away before the operation, face the inevitable head on, and spend as much time together as possible – just in case …
It didn’t take us long to decide where we wanted to escape to from our busy lives for two months: Namibia.
We neither booked anywhere, nor did we have a fixed itinerary. We simply wanted to get away – to the bundu.
Eventually we would crisscross just about all of Namibia: through the south to Sossusvlei, thereafter north through Damaraland, slip-sliding through a waterlogged Caprivi and south again through the desolate Bushmanland.
More than 10 000 km later my mind was clear; I was ready for the operation date to be fixed.

Sorry, but we don’t have any tyres

There wasn’t much time to prepare my Land Cruiser, and my trusty steed duly refuses to start after we had stopped to refuel just outside Cape Town.
Maybe I need to explain first: The Cruiser has two petrol tanks, each with its own pump. A few years ago I replaced one of the tanks with a 160-litre tank, but this extra tank leaked and its pump gave endless hassles.
After quite a battle these problems were solved … Until now, that is.
I immediately realise the extra tank has left me in the lurch again, and I switch back to the working main tank. We turn back.
In Cape Town I get in under the Cruiser, fiddle with the wiring … and suddenly the recalcitrant extra tank is working again. Probably a loose wire, we think.
After the day’s drama we overnight in the hotel in Kamieskroon because it got too late to camp. The next morning problem #2 awaits us: a flat tyre, the work of a stone that had cut the side wall.
On top of it the early-morning heat makes us reflect on the wisdom of visiting Namibia in summer. And we haven’t even crossed the border yet …
After an almighty battle to jack up the heavily laden Cruiser with its grasshopper
suspension, we change the wheel and hit the road to Springbok to replace the tyre.
But in Springbok we seek fruitlessly for a tyre of the right size. So we settle for having the side wall repaired and putting a tube in (fortunately we still have two spare wheels).
During the next two (problem-free) days we put our feet up for a last time in air-conditioned luxury next to the Orange River. And while there, we plan a tentative route for the next week or two, based on the following criteria: it has to be remote, and as far away as possible from other people.

To the rainbow’s end

The Vioolsdrif border crossing is fast and painless. But shortly thereafter, on the way to Rosh Pinah, we encounter the first signs of heavy rain that had fallen over the area.
The bridge across the Fish River has been irreparably damaged, which forces us to turn back and detour past the Gondwana Park … where the extra tank’s pump dies again. We can still go on, but are restricted to the main tank and therefore have a limited range.
On the way to Lüderitz, where we want to have the tank fixed, numerous roads are closed as they have been washed away or are submerged, but fortunately the GPS shows us the detours.
No one in Lüderitz is prepared to remove the tank to get to the pump, and I decide then and there to make a DIY plan.
With a length of fuel pipe and a fuel pump I bought from a spares shop, I devise a system to pump fuel from the extra tank to the main tank, but this means every 300 km or so we have to stop for 40 minutes.
Yes, it’s an irritation, and what’s worse, a fire hazard, but we decide not to waste any more time. From Lüderitz we aim the Cruiser back at Aus, and then turn north on the D707.
It’s not without reason that this route between the (usually) red dunes of the Namib Naukluft Park to the left and the Tiras Mountains to the right is known as the Garden or Rainbow Route.
This wide dirt road that takes you to Sesriem is probably one of the most scenic routes in the whole of Namibia.
And now, after the good rains, the red dunes are literally green, and the grass grows in abundance on the plains.
Most of the time, nothing “happens”, and that’s exactly what we’re after.