Today's the day we find out if we cross into South Africa & continue on with the tour or if we spend more time in Namibia. We've spoken about all the possibilities at length & made plans for many possible options.
We are prepared to be turned back at the border & think this is the most likely outcome. We have Namibian dollars, US dollars, a tentative hotel booking in the town closest to the border & a contact number for a taxi in Namibia.
We've also made very positive plans for extra time in Namibia, such as spending more time in the capital Windhoek & visiting their museum's, art galleries, restaurants etc. We even discussed going back to Swakopmund to do some desert tours & quad biking.
Our guide, Jurumba, isn't giving us any hope & we've heard him, Joseph & Steven discussing & arguing about our predicament in Swahili, on multiple occasions these last few days.
We are trying our best not to stress & enjoy our last couple of days on tour in Namibia, but the not knowing is a tight ball of uncertainty & anxiety growing bigger every day.
Regardless of how today goes or which side of the river we end up on, as long as we are together & safe, we will be just fine.
It's a 3 hour drive from our camp site to the Namibian border. The Namibian desert continues to be replaced by more fertile dirt, rock's & vegetation. There is farmland & right before the Namibian immigration we drive past vineyards.
It's a bit of a process because of the truck which needs to be weighed multiple times.
Eventually at 11.15am the all clear is given & we all get back in the truck & drive across orange river, which is the border between the countries. There is about 1 kilometer of 'no mans' land in between the border outposts, which we will likely have to navigate back through.
Canoeing took us quite a few hours & on our arrival back, I was really worried that my arms would fall off!
-Alli
We are prepared to be turned back at the border & think this is the most likely outcome. We have Namibian dollars, US dollars, a tentative hotel booking in the town closest to the border & a contact number for a taxi in Namibia.
We've also made very positive plans for extra time in Namibia, such as spending more time in the capital Windhoek & visiting their museum's, art galleries, restaurants etc. We even discussed going back to Swakopmund to do some desert tours & quad biking.
Our guide, Jurumba, isn't giving us any hope & we've heard him, Joseph & Steven discussing & arguing about our predicament in Swahili, on multiple occasions these last few days.
We are trying our best not to stress & enjoy our last couple of days on tour in Namibia, but the not knowing is a tight ball of uncertainty & anxiety growing bigger every day.
Regardless of how today goes or which side of the river we end up on, as long as we are together & safe, we will be just fine.
It's a 3 hour drive from our camp site to the Namibian border. The Namibian desert continues to be replaced by more fertile dirt, rock's & vegetation. There is farmland & right before the Namibian immigration we drive past vineyards.
It's a bit of a process because of the truck which needs to be weighed multiple times.
Eventually at 11.15am the all clear is given & we all get back in the truck & drive across orange river, which is the border between the countries. There is about 1 kilometer of 'no mans' land in between the border outposts, which we will likely have to navigate back through.
I'm really starting to get nervous now, while Tom looks as cool as a cucumber. I don't think he realises how much I admire & love him in moments like this.
Tom is second in line to have his passport checked, once he hands it over the immigration officers realises we are a large tour group & asks to see the driver. Steven appears at the window & hands over his paperwork. Tom has his passport scanned & put back on the counter while she deals with Steven's paperwork.
Once that's done she looks at Tom's passport again & you can see a moment of hesitation while she has the stamp in her hand. She then asks the lady next to her if New Zealanders need a Visa or not? The other lady replies "yes" & then Tom is asked where his Visa is.
Tom then apologises & hands over his South African paperwork, explaining he is a citizen of South Africa. There is a lot of confusion at this point & from my position 5 people behind Tom, it's hard to hear anything. For some stupid reason there is a thick piece of glass separating the immigration officers from the civilians, with no speaking holes or microphones & only a tiny crack big enough for a passport to slide through.
The immigration officers are also sitting down behind a computer which makes it hard to even lip read. Tom keeps bending down to put his ear to the crack in an attempt to hear.
There is a few tense minutes where the 2 immigration officers are looking at the paperwork & animatedly gesturing & shaking their heads.
It's not looking good. Jurumba is at the window standing next to Tom, listening & obviously understanding their language. He is shaking his head slightly & cringing.
I'm trying really hard not to fidget & be as cool, calm & collected as Tom.
I can feel the sweat dripping down my back & hear my heart rate increasing.
Someone who is a manager walks out and is handed the paperwork. He is a big Afrikaans man with an honest & understanding face. He asks Tom a few questions and takes the situation out of the ladies hands, who are both getting loud & emotional about the exciting decision to turn Tom away.
The manager then comes to the front & leads Tom through to an interview room where they can better speak without the glass.
These are some of the most tense moments I've experienced in awhile.
Tom reappears after 5 minutes with some paperwork, a mild face that gives nothing away & goes back to the front desk. The immigration officer is told by the manager to stamp the New Zealand passport & supersede the Visa requirement. Tom is given a written warning that is recorded in his passport.
In future he needs to get a Visa if he travels with a New Zealand Passport, get a South African Passport or become an Australian citizen & get an Australian passport.
While in the interview he is questioned about his use of a New Zealand Passport & Tom explains he now lives in Australia & has not been back to South Africa in 25 years & has not needed one. He is apologetic, sincere & pleading ignorance as his reasons. The manager explains Tom's options for the future, explains his options for today & the warning in his passport.
A lot of rules have changes in the 25 years that Tom has not been in South Africa, which are all explained. Tom is given his passport & is free to go & can cross into South Africa.
Tom's demeanor remains stoic as he walks outside to stand with the people who have already been stamped.
I'm quietly bursting with the pent up exhilaration & relief I have been telling myself for the past few days, that I won't get a chance to feel.
My passport is stamped & the immigration officer barely glances at me.
Once outside Tom is still deflecting questions & remaining calm, so as not to appear too emotional which could easily be misinterpreted. We are obviously very grateful, extremely lucky & relieved.
I walk across the road & sit with Jurumba, Steven & Joseph, the crew, who are absolutely amazed & relieved. It is a big relief for them, they have had passengers on tour turned away & it's not fun for anyone.
I am not as good at holding in my emotions & a few little happy tears leak out of my eyes & are hurriedly wiped away. Approaching a border crossing with this much uncertainty & conflicting information is very stressful & not something we would ever recommend or want to do again.
After 30 more minutes the truck is all cleared & we pile on & drive into South Africa. Once the official buildings are behind us, Tom cracks a big smile.
Welcome home Tom !!!
Once that's done she looks at Tom's passport again & you can see a moment of hesitation while she has the stamp in her hand. She then asks the lady next to her if New Zealanders need a Visa or not? The other lady replies "yes" & then Tom is asked where his Visa is.
Tom then apologises & hands over his South African paperwork, explaining he is a citizen of South Africa. There is a lot of confusion at this point & from my position 5 people behind Tom, it's hard to hear anything. For some stupid reason there is a thick piece of glass separating the immigration officers from the civilians, with no speaking holes or microphones & only a tiny crack big enough for a passport to slide through.
The immigration officers are also sitting down behind a computer which makes it hard to even lip read. Tom keeps bending down to put his ear to the crack in an attempt to hear.
There is a few tense minutes where the 2 immigration officers are looking at the paperwork & animatedly gesturing & shaking their heads.
It's not looking good. Jurumba is at the window standing next to Tom, listening & obviously understanding their language. He is shaking his head slightly & cringing.
I'm trying really hard not to fidget & be as cool, calm & collected as Tom.
I can feel the sweat dripping down my back & hear my heart rate increasing.
Someone who is a manager walks out and is handed the paperwork. He is a big Afrikaans man with an honest & understanding face. He asks Tom a few questions and takes the situation out of the ladies hands, who are both getting loud & emotional about the exciting decision to turn Tom away.
The manager then comes to the front & leads Tom through to an interview room where they can better speak without the glass.
These are some of the most tense moments I've experienced in awhile.
Tom reappears after 5 minutes with some paperwork, a mild face that gives nothing away & goes back to the front desk. The immigration officer is told by the manager to stamp the New Zealand passport & supersede the Visa requirement. Tom is given a written warning that is recorded in his passport.
In future he needs to get a Visa if he travels with a New Zealand Passport, get a South African Passport or become an Australian citizen & get an Australian passport.
While in the interview he is questioned about his use of a New Zealand Passport & Tom explains he now lives in Australia & has not been back to South Africa in 25 years & has not needed one. He is apologetic, sincere & pleading ignorance as his reasons. The manager explains Tom's options for the future, explains his options for today & the warning in his passport.
A lot of rules have changes in the 25 years that Tom has not been in South Africa, which are all explained. Tom is given his passport & is free to go & can cross into South Africa.
Tom's demeanor remains stoic as he walks outside to stand with the people who have already been stamped.
I'm quietly bursting with the pent up exhilaration & relief I have been telling myself for the past few days, that I won't get a chance to feel.
My passport is stamped & the immigration officer barely glances at me.
Once outside Tom is still deflecting questions & remaining calm, so as not to appear too emotional which could easily be misinterpreted. We are obviously very grateful, extremely lucky & relieved.
I walk across the road & sit with Jurumba, Steven & Joseph, the crew, who are absolutely amazed & relieved. It is a big relief for them, they have had passengers on tour turned away & it's not fun for anyone.
I am not as good at holding in my emotions & a few little happy tears leak out of my eyes & are hurriedly wiped away. Approaching a border crossing with this much uncertainty & conflicting information is very stressful & not something we would ever recommend or want to do again.
After 30 more minutes the truck is all cleared & we pile on & drive into South Africa. Once the official buildings are behind us, Tom cracks a big smile.
Welcome home Tom !!!
The campsite is only 10 minutes drive away, on the banks of the Orange river & once we arrive a bottle of red is cracked.
We have a big reason to be happy & celebrate. The smiles on our faces are huge & untouchable, making up for the shortcomings that our most recent, small smiles have made.
It's really good to cancel our tentative hotel booking in Namibia, say goodbye to Namibia & go back to looking forward to South Africa & specifically Cape Town. One of my all time favourite places in the world. It's a beautiful blend of old & new progressive Africa. It has impressive history, art, culture, food & scenery. We can't wait to arrive!
The other good thing of passing through the border & more specifically staying with the truck is that Tom only had 30 pages of the Green Mile left. It would have been a disappointment all on it's own if he couldn't finish the end of that book!
It's really good to cancel our tentative hotel booking in Namibia, say goodbye to Namibia & go back to looking forward to South Africa & specifically Cape Town. One of my all time favourite places in the world. It's a beautiful blend of old & new progressive Africa. It has impressive history, art, culture, food & scenery. We can't wait to arrive!
The other good thing of passing through the border & more specifically staying with the truck is that Tom only had 30 pages of the Green Mile left. It would have been a disappointment all on it's own if he couldn't finish the end of that book!
Jurumba does his usual new country information spiel- South Africa is the biggest country in Africa we have visited yet, 1.2million square kilometers, with a population of 60 million. South Africa became independent in 1994 & Nelson Mandela was the 1st prime minister.
After our late lunch at the campsite, we put our swimming clothes on & hopped in a big truck which would take us down the river. The afternoon would be spent in a blow up canoe paddling 7km's downstream back to our campsite.
The afternoon was perfect. We were giddily happy from the wine, today's outcome, being outside & the exercise endorphins. There was a mild warming sensation from the sun, combined with the cold, fresh water in hues of blue & green under the canoe. Above us was the bright African sky & the large orange mountains reflected in the water. I was easily mistaken for thinking it was called Orange river, due to the orange reflections from the mountains. But orange river was actually named by the Dutch. The river that is the border between the countries & the landscape either side is very very beautiful.
Canoeing took us quite a few hours & on our arrival back, I was really worried that my arms would fall off!
The afternoon melts into evening & finds us at the bar celebrating with the few people aware of our situation. I retire to the tent at 10.30pm, it's nice to be back in the tent, especially when I didn't expect to spend another night in it. Tom joins me shortly after & we continue our intended projectory around the world, but first it's sleep.
-Alli
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