If we had been anywhere else - I would have though we were going to be engulfed in a veld fire. One of the biggest dust devils I have ever seen had gathered on the horizon. The convoy came to a stand still - wondering if we were going to have our cars sandblasted.
Fortunately this devil decided to leave us alone and make its way across the pans without engulfing us in its wake.
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The pans appear to be a baron waste land but it seems as if no matter how barren a place seems, there is always some form of life. This time there were no zebra or jackal but we did see life and of 'cause on any grasslands the inevitable cattle.
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On our arrival at Kubu - newbie was so excited he almost left the car with it still in motion. He disappeared in a flash to go exploring. Sis and bil left us to our own devices and set off to find out camp sights.
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After the obligatory photo's we followed the tracks to our designated camp sight. Hot, sticky and dirty I couldn't wait to duck behind the rear wheel of the car and have a bucket bath. One thing I was not concerned about - if any one happened to see me they would wonder why my "clothes" were so wrinkled and in need of an iron. At that stage of the game I couldn't care - all I wanted was to freshen up!
Amazing how little water is actually needed to make you feel like a million dollars and smell as fresh as a daisy!
The sky was cloudless so it would be a night under the stars for me. I through my mattress over a branch of a tree and waited for the rest of the crew to decide where they would be parking for the night. This always seems to take some time as the merits and demerits of each inch is discussed in detail. All I wanted was a bit of privacy and not too many rocks.
Time ambled by as we each amused ourselves in various ways - although all of us had a common interest - ice cold drinks!
Late afternoon and we wanted to watch the sunset from the edge of the pan. Grabbing sun downers we strolled the short distance to the pan edge and found a comfortable rock to settle on. Not for newbie. He was off like a grey hound onto a mini-mountain out on the pans.
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In retrospect I am sorry I didn't make the journey with him as he would have had a spectacular view of the rocks turning from gold, to purple to pink as the sun rays hit them from different angles. Although we had a stunning view of the pans and the rocks also the trees were a lot closer to photograph! Watching the rocks and the sunset was like looking through a kaleidoscope as the suns rays bounced off the rocks and baobabs in a stream of colours.
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The sun having said goodbye and the night arriving with a beauty of its own, it was time to head back for some food and drinks.
With everyone finally set up for the night - I found a place to throw down my mattress and sleeping back. I packed some extra blankets next to me in case it turned cold and I needed extra warmth.
Crawling into my sleeping bag, it didn't take long for me to fall into a deep sleep. What awakened me I am not sure - then I heard newbie calling my name. He sounded a tad alarmed.