Tankwa Karoo Camino 256 km 2 Provinces 10 days desert trek: cause; Red Cross Children's Hospital Day 6: 11 May 2016

Day 6 Tankwa Camino

The sunrise at Witwalle

I woke up with swollen feet, they were so bad that they did not fit into any of my boots. It was settled then I would walk in my Trek Sandals and hoped for the best..

Today it was a long 29.1 km to our next overnight camp Grootdam.

The stunning sunset

Some of the walkers making up camp while others were still sleeping

The mist rolling in around the mountains added to the early morning dramatic skies

I made up camp then made my way onto the road. We had a spectacualr sunrise at 07h06 till after 07h35 and the blue sky with its red and pink streaks across the sky were breathtaking. The Karoo can really turn it on and everyday we were treated to gorgeous sunsets and sunrises. One of the big attractions for me to this trip was to be able to witness the stunning skies and clear nights skies to see the stars. She did not disappoint.

The gorgeous pink skies creating incredible shadows over the Tankwa Karoo

On the road leaving the camp behind

Even thought the ground was a wet and muddy in some places it was still very hard and uneven to walk on.

Loved the long shadows the morning light was producing!

Incredible lighting and pools of water added dramatic refections for some really pretty photos

I walked for about 6km in my sandles, it was really uncomfortable on this terrain but it gave the swelling time to go down and I was now able to put my boots back on. I had carried them on my backpack with me hoping they would fit again.

Some of the walkers ahead of me in the distance and the sign board reminding us of the distance still to walk until we reached Ceres.

Water had run here hours earlier leaving interesting ridges in the ground as the water created new temporary river beds and channels.

An ant-hill - I had not seen one for many days!

Laura a paraglieder had now joined me. She would not tell anyone her age. She still paraglided on her own and was truly an inspriation to all of us. She is very spirited and has a sharp wit and had me laughing all the way. She decided that she would like to walk with me till the end and after spending 5 days mostly on my own it was a welcome relief to walk with someone, someone I could pace with. Sometimes we chatted and other times we walked deep in our own thoughts. It was really fantastic.

It seemed a lot drier here as we got closer to our next camp.

We spotted many butterflies and birds. I treid to take photos of them but my camera kept jamming. I spotted a brownish yellow lizzard with black spots, it was really beautiful but too quick for me to get a clear photo.

How stunning are the unusual cloud formations in both the photo above and below.

At the 15km Mark taking a break and putting the feet up to reduce the swelling. Feet were so itchy underneath so lots of rubbing against the fence and poles helped to release some tension.

Why I was doing this for the little people at the Red Cross Children's Hospital in Cape Town.

The colours of the rocks and pepples where breathtaking - such rich reds and oranges.

An entrace to a farm in the middle of now-where!

This stretch of this road is known for shredding car tyres and we found many tyres lying on the side of the road which bore testament to this, this will give you an idea of what strain this road was on our shoes, feet and legs!. I took a photo of this particular tyre because of the stunning reflections it was creating in the pools.

A lttle Oasis - I completely love all the rich colours of this photo in the middle of all the dryness and desert

After about 30 minutes of resting our feet we put our boots on and made our way to our next camp. We came across a cart which was being pulled by a donkey and a mule. Two guys were on board and they even had a bicycle tied on the back of the cart. We said " hi" and waved, they looked at us as though we were completely insane. We proberly were. If they were headed to Ceres instead of back to Calvinia I would have jumped on the back without hesitation, but alas it was not to be.

The bones lying here, white against the desert sand were a reminder of the hardship and death that occured here. These bones were of a larger animal, a cow or large antelope.

We also spotted two of the "road rats" who did not seem too afraid of us and managed to get some photos of them. I made the mistake of thinking they were squirrels as I had only seen them with their heads sticking out and I was then educated as to what they really were. I found them really cute and I cannot remember the local name for these little guys and why they specifically make their burrows so close to the road.

They looked half dassie and half squirrel!

Signboards just to remind us where we were!!

Just loved the rainbow of colours the photo above and below

At the 20km mark Laura and I came across a perfect picnic spot under some Acacia trees. We had grazing goats and sheep joined us as we sat and had our lunch here. We could sit on chairs and had a table. It was fantastic and I took out my packet of tuna and biscuits to much on. The meal had been carried with me from day 1 and 5 days later I was actually eating it!. Laura is a raw vegan and it was really interesting listening to what this involved and how she had organised her food for the trip.

Our amazing lunchtime picinic spot!

Those white dots on the photos above are actually sheep, not sure what they were grazing on as you can see just how dry and desolate it is here.

Nearly 160km done 100km to go Big Eish!!!

We walked on patches that were still muddy and wet and I was glad I had managed to put my boots back on, the terrain was not set for sandals. My bones on the side of my feet ached especialy the on right foot. More pain killers and another 9.1 km to go. My boots were feeling very tight and we got in just as the sun was setting.

Today was really hard and each time I wanted to give up I thought of the children at the Red Cross Children's hospital and could see all their little faces. They had suffered tremendous pain and suffering and what they went though and were still going through pales in comparison to my sore feet. I must carry on for them. For 6 days we had not had any contact or signal so I ws not able to see how much had been raised of my R20 000 goal.

The legend Laura up ahead of me

Laura and I were caught be surprise as the entrie camp site cheered and clapped us in. Our backpacks were grabbed, our tents were erected, coffee, cakes, hot water all arrived at once and Kelvin bought me a big ass sized glass of sherry. I think I needed that. Tjoe!! Everyone was so kind and helpful. Through everyone's trials and pain we had bonded and become a little Tankwa Family.

Camp life was funny at the best of times and early morning and evenings always brought about laughter as the men (we think it was only the men) would break wind in the privacy of their tents, this was then followed by giggles from the ladies throughout the camp then followed by funny comments from the men. One forgets that the tent walls are thin and that sound carries.

Every night was filled with laughter and stories. So many jokes. When I look back its those fantastic moments I looked forward to at the end of each day. Good hot food and great company with a bunch of great and fun people. It was such a blessing

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I was asked to give a little impromtu talk on what I do as a Paramedic for the Fire Department and why I was doing the Tankwa for the Red Cross Children's Hospital. Afterwards dinner was ready and we could eat. After our bible reading and prayers we made our way back to our tents to settle in for the night. My feet were really swollen it was hard to walk on them. I massaged them and did what I could and took my Myprodol and prayed for a better tomorrow. I still had 4 days to go and needed to have feet!