This year, my Easter Holiday was celebrated in an unconventional manner. Instead of the usual church attendance, egg hunt and family brunch; I spent the 5-day weekend in Namibia on a rafting trip down the Orange River.
We left early Friday morning, driving nearly 9 hours to the Namibia/South Africa border. From there, our base camp was just a short 45 min drive away. We spent the evening swimming in the river and preparing our boats for the rafting trip that would commence at sunrise the following morning. The first hour of the trip was quite discouraging. Our 2-person raft clearly had a mind of its own and we spent about 5 km zigzagging down the river until we finally ‘mastered’ our paddling/steering abilities. Regardless of our efforts, I’m pretty sure our guide considered us to be the ‘circus boat’ for the rest of the trip.
Each morning, we awoke at sunrise for a quick breakfast before getting back on the river. Throughout the course of the day, we would have paddled 6-8 hours interrupted only by a short break for lunch along the riverbanks. In the evening, we set up camp alongside the river and spend the night sleeping beneath the stars. Lacking any type of city light pollution made for a breathtaking view of the nighttime sky.
The less glamorous side of the trip included the use of ‘jungle bathrooms’ (as our guide called it), finding scorpions in our clothes, and a stampede of wild cows raiding our campsite. In addition, I have discovered that my driving abilities in a boat are just as bad as they are on the road. Now, I have gotten into an accident with a rock in both a car and a boat! Check that off the bucket list J
Other than that, the trip went quite smoothly. Thankfully, we all made it home safely and not too waterlogged. All in all, this was an Easter holiday that I know I will never forget.
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