So, when did you change a tyre the last time in desert sand???
Like always we got up with the birds around 5:45.Like a true engineer, Frank took his shower and faster than a speed of light. he had the spare tyre in his hands. He explains the following: You open first the nuts (but only a little bit, otherwise your tyre would later fall off), put a board in the sand and lift the car with the jack. When the tyre is loose, unscrew the bolts and exchange the tyre. Put the bolts on slightly and release the car. Finally you tight the bolts. Voila, changed in 20 minutes!
By the way: 2,5 are way too much for gravel, it should be set to 2,0, max. 2,2. And there we are, heading off to Sesriem National Park with a full set of tires. As we drove down the road we noticed several tyre repair shops and a tyre repair clinic but we needed to wait for Walvis Bay to use our voucher.
Update from Shelly:
What a beautiful campsite!
We got the last one #10. We were situated under a massive birds nest which forced Frank to wear earplugs to bed. I wasn't worried because I knew the minute the sun went down they would settle down. Besides a leaking tire, our back hatch wouldn't open. We enjoyed our dinner under the tree and the showers were nice and warm. Since Aus has an altitude the night was cold. We were the first up and the first rolling out of Aus despite the fact that Frank had to change a tire while I packed our things.
Next came the grueling 360km drive through shades of color changing sands. The sand change indicated a change in road conditions. We were excited every time the sand was grey or white. We discussed how this alien landscape would make a perfect science fiction movie and then we proceeded to discuss the different plots that could be developed in these different ever changing desert mountain settings. Once in a while we see cows or a house and then nothing for miles.
We finally end up at Helmringhausen. A place that looks so surreal that it is hard to believe that aliens did not pick us up and set us back down on the earth again. The street contains a tire repair shop a hotel/restaurant and a couple of other little shops. The hotel had one of the most beautiful gardens that we have ever seen. The sign in front indicated that it had the best apple crumb cake in Namibia. We can testify to that! The service was fantastic and we were on our way again traveling the dusty road to Serierem National Park.
Arriving at the park, we decided to tank up and adjust the tire pressure for the sandy roads. The parks here are expensive but that's just like everywhere else in the world.
Our campsite was great. We were far from everyone and had a small bathroom/shower which was hardly used by the other campers. The food provided by the park service was mediocre and the swimming pool was so badly designed that it was hard to find any shade after getting out of the swimming pool.
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