We woke up to another beautiful sunrise view from our campground. It overlooks the lake created by Gariep Dam.
Gariep Dam is the largest water reservoir in South Africa. The dam is on the Orange river. which plays an important role in providing irrigation power generation and domestic and industrial use. Recently there has been a lot of rain and flooding in the area, so water levels are very high. In fact, half of the campground was underwater. All of the gates on the dam were open. You can see the water is almost to the top of the dam.
We have been in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, and now are in the Northern Cape as we head farther north. The drive was much shorter today, but also much busier traffic wise. There were so many trucks on the road...reminded me of I70 in Indiana! Many of the trucks were hauling magnesium and iron ore for delivery to Port Elizabeth to be sent overseas to be processed. It's a courtesy for slower vehicles to move left over the yellow line to allow faster cars to pass. Here's a clip to illustrate what the traffic is like. (and you can see why I'm often holding onto my seat rather than taking pictures!) You can also see some of the landscape we've been travelling through.
Our stop tonight is in Maselspoort Resort and Conference Center in Bloemfontein. It is close to the airport, and close to the South African air force base. (I was surprised to see that South Africa has an air force!) Went by too quickly to get a good photo.
The campground is like a huge park, with a lot going on. As we approached we realized they were having some type of event--it ended up being a Sprint triathalon. I met one of the participants who said she finished 2nd in her age group--she's 65!!
We are lucky to have "ensuite" accomodations again. The little houses aren't updated like the last ones, but still, it's nice to have a private place. Another interesting thing about all of the campgrounds we've been to is that they all have a bathtub in the shower house, and the en suites as well--something I've never seen before. My Canadian friends who love their soak in a bathtub would love this!
There's also a pool at the campground, (the "resort" feature) and several from our group took advantage of the water to cool down...it was 91 degrees today.
We met for our travel briefing, and closed out the night with chicken on the braai.
PS. We watched mass on line with our home parish St. Christopher. I bet it's the first time Father Paul said mass in South Africa!
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