We took it slow again on day 6, but we didn't have far to go, we had a lazy breakfast, although I think ours was nuts and some weak tea, and then strolled slowly towards the end. Probably having some bitter sweet emotions. The Fish was something I've always wanted to do, a Bucket List item, and before 2012, or perhaps late 2011 I really had never thought it would be safe for me to do it.
My physical condition this year has really been fantastic, even when you consider the eye and the operation I've had subsequent to the hike...wait for the post....I really have felt unbelievably strong and fit, and I attribute it to the Primal Blueprint mostly. Losing 14kg must have helped, hell my backpack was only 3kgs more than that! But the point is, it's a remote hike and if anything had gone wrong I would have put myself and other members of the hike in danger, and before this year I really wasn't prepared to do that.
So having minimal drama was something of a wonderful anticlimax. I had prepared well enough, was pretty fit by my standards, and didn't struggle at all. I had said I wanted to be fit enough to enjoy the scenery, and I did!
What is also interesting is that we actually had a perfect hike, the weather was perfect, there was tons of water, we had great company, with only a minimum of tension between the people wanting to finish earlier and us lazy ones. There is a dam just outside Ais-Ais, literally 200m from the camp site/hotel and as we crossed the dam wall, the wind picked up. There was sand blowing in our faces and as we drove home there was rain and the weather really started to come in. It was as if the weather was waiting for us to finish. As I said, a perfect hike.
We then had to get back to Upington that evening, to be in Pretoria late Sunday evening to go to work on Monday. So we had time for a nice soak in the hot baths and a beer with the peeps to say bye and to promise to hook up in Cape Town and to hike again. And then it was 90km on dirt road back towards the Namibian border at Ariamsvlei and then to find a backpackers to stay the night in Upington. The place we wanted to stay in was full, but they referred us to another place, where we slept and were up early for the long slog back, with some more stamps in the passport. Next mission? Otter trail! Who's in?
So having minimal drama was something of a wonderful anticlimax. I had prepared well enough, was pretty fit by my standards, and didn't struggle at all. I had said I wanted to be fit enough to enjoy the scenery, and I did!
What is also interesting is that we actually had a perfect hike, the weather was perfect, there was tons of water, we had great company, with only a minimum of tension between the people wanting to finish earlier and us lazy ones. There is a dam just outside Ais-Ais, literally 200m from the camp site/hotel and as we crossed the dam wall, the wind picked up. There was sand blowing in our faces and as we drove home there was rain and the weather really started to come in. It was as if the weather was waiting for us to finish. As I said, a perfect hike.
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| The 6 slackers |
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