We woke up to a lovely morning. The river was flowing strongly and we could see just how high the water had come. Our campsite from the previous trip had been completely under water. Marianne went to explore a bit and nearly got stuck in the thick clay layer deposited by the river. A cardinal woodpecker gave us a good knocking show while we packed up. He was tapping holes in a telephone pole! There was only one other couple camping and a few of the cottages were occupied. The place had obviously been upgraded since our last visit and there were some very large and luxurious cottages with lovely views from their decks. Or first stop was the Agrimark Service station where the diesel was much cheaper than at the regular service station at the corner and we filled up both Troopy’s tanks. At our previous stop there they had load shedding and we could not fill up at the Agrimark, but had to go to the expensive place at the corner! Marianne had a quick look to see if we could not get a kettle at the Agrimark shop, but no luck. We soon were on the road again. This part of the route winds through the hills alongside the river and the going is slow. We pass the Grootdrink settlement and think back on our funny Landrover experience when we gave a worker a lift home hanging on to the back of the Landrover with plastic bottles filled with cheap wine in his hands! It always amazes us to see the wide green strip of cultivated land alongside the river all the way to Upington and of course beyond. It really is the “Nile of South Africa”. In total contrast was the drought stricken and overgrazed land on the opposite side of the road. We made a stop next to the road for morning coffee. There was not much traffic and we soon arrived in busy Upington. Our first stop was at the Mega World 4x4 shop and the huge Midas which also has an excellent camping section. But neither had any kettles that we could use on the fire. We filled up at the local Agrimark where the diesel was once again much cheaper than anywhere else in Upington and continued our quest for a kettle. We decided to try the new Mall, but initially got a bit lost. The Checkers there also had no kettles and also no milktart. So we had to go back into town to the local Shoprite and here Marianne had success and came out with the much needed kettle! She in desperation tried the Spar in town and the Pick ‘n Pay for milktart, but no luck. So we left Upington with a kettle and no milktart, but we were glad to now finally head for the Kgalagadi. We soon picked up the road north and there was a wonderful sense of anticipation knowing that the Kgalagadi lay ahead. About 50km along the road, we came across the Kalahari Padstal and briefly popped in. It had nothing special, but next to the farm we stopped at a picnic site with a huge Camelthorn tree for shade for lunch. Then it was on again through a different Kalahari with the red dunes covered with tall green grass. The two big pans next to the road were both rather wet and it was apparent that they had already dried considerably since the heavy rains a few weeks before. We stopped at Askham for diesel, but were tempted by the Diamond T coffee shop. The coffee was excellent and the view over the dry Kuruman River bed more so. The water had almost reached this point after the recent rains, but had disappeared into the sand about 200 m upstream. We actually managed to buy a milktart at he coffee shop! We filled up the tank we had used from Upington, not being keen to buy fuel in the park where it is always very expensive. It was now about 70 km to the park. The good tar road twists and winds it's way following the course of the Nossob River. We passed a donkey cart with a very friendly driver and were again amazed by the extensive grass covering the dunes that are usually bare of vegetation. As we could only camp in the park from Wednesday we stopped at the Kalahari Lodge and booked a campsite for the night, being surprised that there was only one site left. Then it was into the park - at no cost thanks to our Wild Card! The campsite at Twee Rivieren seemed to have some empty sites, but the reception lady insisted that there was no space available according to their system! We had about three hours and decided to go as far as Kijkij waterhole. We had a few lovely animal sightings, but there was quite a lot of traffic, with the park being full according to the "system". We took a turnoff to the right that did not have a no entry sign and found ourselves on a minor track in Botswana that was great fun and gave us good views of herds of gemsbok and wildebeest. We also saw several secretary bird pairs and lots of Kori's. But it was also slow and when we got to KijKij, where there were beautiful gemsbok, we were shocked to find that it was 18h20. The gate closed at 19h00 so we had 40 minutes to cover 30 km - at 40 km/h! It was very tight and the speed had to creep up a bit. The road was also very dusty and we were driving west into the setting sun. We saw a jackal pair in the thick dust, but we could not stop. But we got to the gate at 19h05. However there were no questions when we left and we headed to the Kalahari Lodge. The campsite was good, with private ablutions. Supper was another pre-made meal and we enjoyed the Kalahari silence until we discovered that our neighbours were part of a 4x4 group. When the leader arrived in his fancy 4x4 things got a bit noisy. He was rather fat and slumped into his chair to entertain the group with his tough guy stories. We will also remember the "dancing lady" who seemed unable to stand still. We went for a walk to the restaurant and enjoyed the moonrise at about 21h00. As it would be about an hour later each night, it would not be much use to us on our trip. When we got back "the big talk show" was breaking up and the tough guy drove 100 m to his chalet. The showers were excellent, but the lack of ventilation - windows had to be kept closed to keep out the goggas - made the interior stiflingly hot. But it was pleasantly cool in the Cruiser with the front net in place. We slept well.

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