Most Inspirational Moment
Difficult. Standing on top of a massive sand dune at sunrise? The 800 year old dead acacia trees against the white salt pan, red dunes and blue sky in Deadvlei? Or elephants drinking at a water hole at sunset? I cannot decide.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Our group leader, Ronney, was excellent. Nothing was too much trouble, constantly attentive, we lacked nothing. He seems to do the camping trips end-to-end so there's a good change of getting him.
Advice for Potential Travellers
In July/ August the desert is COLD. A duvet jacket is not out of place, as are fleece trousers, warm socks and a hat. The days can also be cold despite the sun, only warming up towards midday. As you go north, after the third day, it gets warmer and the warm gear becomes unnecessary.
Camping is fun and confortable, the tents are easy to put up (the staff are supposed to do it, but we found it more fun to do it ourselves, which they appreciated) but getting organised in the dark in the tent is a pain. I would recommend a lantern to hang from the centre loop of the tent roof (intended for mozzie nets which aren't necessary most of the time) and of course good head torches are vital. Don't bring a cheap one.
Toilets at the campsites are immaculate at virtually all the sites. As are the service station toilets - you could eat off the floor in most of them. Even the longdrop toilets (thankfully very few and none in the campsites) are clean and don't smell. The whole country is clean: I don't think I saw a single piece of litter the whole trip. It puts our country to shame.
Everything gets a bit dusty and sandy. Packing clothes and sleeping bag into dustproof bags (or even drybags) helps to keep you organised and everything stays relatively dustfree.
For all but the most hardened campers, an inflatable pillow is useful. If for nothing else, sitting on it helps iron out some of the jarring on the dirt roads!
