Day 16

Day 16 - Gariep Dam


A gorgeous start to the day, the sun rises over the dam and looks superb in the early morning light, what a great setting this hotel enjoys. We head for breakfast and decide today is a chill out day, no travelling, no shopping, just taking it easy. A walk to the nearby dam sounds like a good idea and so we all troop off down the hill and enjoy the fresh air. After about 15 minutes a car pulls up and out jumps a Blackpool supporter who’s travelling in South Africa on his own. We have a chat at the side of the road and he decides to join us for the morning. We enter a tunnel that takes us into the bowels of the dam and meet a guy called Murphy who gives us a guided tour. He’s worked here for 45 years and so he knows it reasonably well. One of the silt gates is open and the rush of water cascades into the Orange River at the rate of 55m³ a second. Murphy goes inside and closes the gate before opening it up again to demonstrate the workings of the dam. We enjoy about an hour of his company while he explains some of the details; construction started in 1966, took 6 years and was opened in 1972. It’s the largest structure in Africa standing 88 metres high and 914 m long. The body of water behind the dam is about 5,670.3 million m³ and looks spectacular.

A quick sandwich, a beer or two and we head for our arranged boat trip around the lake. It starts out quite well but soon we get bored as there is so little to look at. We spot a Fish Eagle but not much more than that and so we’re very happy when the boat docks back at the jetty. It’s a great setting but needs a bit of life injecting into it. Back at the hotel we start firming up our new travel arrangements, but this could prove to be tricky as we all have different requirements at the moment. So far I’m due back in the UK on Monday morning and my discussions with KLM have not gone very well. I’m a bit annoyed to say the least.