Goodbye Africa, until next time

Within fifteen minutes, we’re out of Mozambique and into Eswatini. We’ve never crossed a border so quickly. On the other side, the difference is immediately noticeable. The houses look better, people are better dressed and everything looks more cared for.

We camp overlooking a lake and decide to stay an extra night. A chance to catch our breath after the past few days. Though we don’t quite manage to do nothing. We book flights to the Netherlands and Guatemala, arrange our Spanish lessons and look for an Airbnb for when Donkey gets his new canopy. A productive day.

The only downside is that it’s suddenly cold. Around twenty degrees during the day, cloudy and no sun. We’re not used to that any more. Right then, trousers and jumpers on.

After one day in South Africa, we cross into Botswana. We stop at a local eatery for chicken and chips and a cold Coke. There’s nothing else on the menu, so that makes choosing easy.

Four street dogs settle down close to us. They watch every bite. Raimundo and I look at each other. Well, here we are with our chicken. Of course we can’t resist, and some of it ends up in the dogs.

We carry on and find a wild camping spot well away from the main road. Over the next few days, we head to Name Pan for some peace and quiet. For two nights, we look out over the dry plain. Wildebeest and impala pass by, we hear jackals in the evening and, over coffee, a lion calls somewhere in the distance.

It’s lovely to spend a little more time here before we have to move on.

At home at Monteiro

Back in Namibia, we head to Windhoek. First, we stop by Stefan and Esmee’s to catch up and arrange Donkey’s major service. Then it’s on to Monteiro Camp.

As soon as we turn into the driveway, it feels like coming home. Wessel, Hannelie, Opa and Oma are happy to see us again, and we’re just as happy to see them. After so many months on the road, it’s lovely to be back with these familiar faces.

Over tea, pizza and all sorts of treats, we catch up. We talk about everything we’ve experienced, but also, of course, about South America. Later, we visit Vanessa. Reghardt is still away in Johannesburg for work.

We stay for a week. Stefan gives Donkey a major service and fits new tyres. Meanwhile, we take everything out of the vehicle. Absolutely everything. With each item, we ask ourselves whether we’ve used it over the past few months. We also go through the things we still have stored in the garage. Quite a bit can go.

In between, we have coffee and cake at Slowtown and buy new camping chairs. Our old ones are really comfortable, but they have open backs. Lovely when it’s warm, less lovely when you’re sitting there in the evening with a cold back. With South America ahead of us, we’d rather have chairs with closed backs.

The week flies by. Once everything is back in Donkey, it’s time to say goodbye.

Monteiro has been our familiar base in Namibia for more than ten years. Wessel, Hannelie, Opa, Oma, Vanessa and Reghardt feel like family. We give everyone a big hug. There’s no need for long goodbye speeches, but it does feel strange to drive back down the driveway knowing we won’t be returning for a while.

That Frenchman!

We take three easy days to drive towards South Africa. Just before the border, we stop at the same petrol station as eight months ago. On the way, we wonder whether that lovely braai will still be there. And imagine if we bumped into that Frenchman again.

Sadly, the braai isn’t there. We get something to eat inside and are standing beside Donkey eating our snacks when a 4×4 pulls up.

We look at each other. Is that his car?

The man walks towards the shop. We can only see his back, but Raimundo wants to know and follows him inside. A moment later, he comes out with a big grin. It really is him!

Before we leave, we drive over to say hello. We ask how his trip has been. According to him, his English still hasn’t improved much. How nice to run into each other in this exact spot after all these months.

We drive via Kamieskroon to African Overlanders. Duncan is arranging Donkey’s shipping, and we meet the German couple we’ll be sharing the container with.

Life without Donkey for a while

We move into our Airbnb and empty Donkey as much as we can. First, he goes back to the company that applied his protective coating. Then we take him to R&D Offroad for his new canopy.

And there we are, waiting for an Uber.

Being without Donkey takes some getting used to. We have a perfectly good temporary place to stay, but our own home is somewhere else.

Luckily, we have plenty to keep us busy. We clean the camping gear, Raimundo works on the website and we catch up on the diary. We watch videos about South America and our language school in Guatemala. Every other day, we walk to Spar. Apart from that, we take it nice and easy.

After two weeks, we can pick Donkey up. He looks so good with his new canopy. A technical inspection at Snijman ticks the last thing off the list. Everything is in order.

There he goes

Back at African Overlanders, we pack our bags for the Netherlands and Guatemala. Everything else stays in Donkey. We get him ready for the crossing and go over the final details with the couple sharing our container.

Then Raimundo drives him into the container. The doors close, and a little later the truck pulls away.

We watch him go with a lump in our throats. There goes our home, with almost everything we own inside. We know we’ll see him again in two months, but right now it mostly feels very strange to watch him leave while we stay behind.

Feeling a little lost, the four of us walk back to the shared kitchen. Coffee first.

Over the last few days, we do our Duolingo lessons, finish the laundry and get our hair cut. We have bobotie one more time. And then it’s time for us to leave too.

We’re really looking forward to South America. But as we board the plane to the Netherlands, we also find it hard to leave Africa behind. We’ve experienced so much here and met so many lovely people. Some places have come to feel like home.

Goodbye, Africa. We’ve loved our time with you, and we’re going to miss you so much.