Starting the Day in Ocho
Good day, February 16th. Well, the day started with breakfast at the hotel, which was good, but we had to keep some room because there was a bakery in Ocho that Barend had recommended. And that’s about as far as we got in that town, to the bakery, which was very worthwhile. Very, very, very nice bakery, very big. And lots of goodies.
Journey to Aus
We had to go out of town the same way as we came in to go towards Aus, and that’s spelled U-I-S. That’s going to be still quite a day and all non-paved roads, but the scenery is just amazingly beautiful. And just like most days We did not have any reservations in any, any, any place because I don’t always know that I’m going to get where I want to go. So I— and since it is low season, there’s no reason to do make reservations except for the fact that most of the time I rely on Wi-Fi for my internet, and I only will have that once I am at a place, not to find a place. However, my Garmin system has GPS, and that as well lists hotels or places to stay. So quite often that can help out.
Finding Accommodation
So we ended up looking at a— we did see a sign called Petra’s Inn, but Petra was never nowhere to be found. And then another place was out of our price range, even though it was very nice, of course. And she pointed us to the Cactus Tea and Garden or Dauras Rest Camp. They should give them both the same name. Anyway, that’s where we ended up, and my golly, that’s a really beautiful place.
Desert Accommodation Experience
So it’s at the edge of the desert, or, well, the whole town is in the desert, but that’s in the edge. Has a bunch of cabins and they’re all detached from one another. And ours had 4 beds, 4 single beds, and an outside bathroom. So out to the open air, no roof on it, toilet, shower, but all working just great. Now when it came to the hot water though, it took a person that works there to heat up the hot water heater with a wood fire, and they had that down to a T. They just turned it on, and even in the morning we still had hot water. So that worked out really well. Then there was also a place that had a restaurant as well, so it really worked out good. And we even got lucky and got better internet than most places, just not in the, in the cabin where we stayed, but in another place.
Meeting Fascinating People
I ran into a person named Sue who lived next door, and she had a person visiting who is a Namibian by birth. But both Sue and the Namibian, they had left in about the late ’80s because of apartheid, and they were expecting that bad things would happen for white people. But then in the ’90s, they came back, or Sue came back, and she just says, I’m, I’m an African even though I’m white, and the black people are nicer than the white people. That’s how that works here. So she explained a little more about all that, and she basically used to manage the place and our room, but she’s not managing any longer. She just lives next door, and she’s got into arts. She now makes bags, so I told her that she decided to bag it. You’re right. Anyway, it’s a very enjoyable person. And the Canadian person, Canadian/Namibian person, still works in Canada. But for 3 months out of the year, for the last 2, 3 years, he’s been coming to Namibia and surrounding countries and just basically travels around. And when it comes down to retirement, which is just a few years away, he says he intends to come to Namibia. But his parents took him to Canada, so he didn’t have much choice in the matter at the time.
A Perfect Desert Evening
All these fascinating people, fascinating stories, and a desert with a little pool we actually made use of. A roof that was cloth and was flapping in the wind during the day, but it was quiet at night. So yeah, it made for a fabulous day in Aus. Welcome to Aus. Thanks for coming along.
