Читать книгу TransNamib: Dimensions of a Desert - Gabi Christa - Страница 8

First Day – First Mishap

There is a funny smell in the car. What is going on? While Uwe is still relaxed and wonders, again, what I might have smelled, a mordant stinking stench of smouldering synthetics already starts throttling my bronchial tubes. Something seems to be burning. Why is Uwe hesitating so long about stopping and opening the bonnet? Doesn’t he smell anything? Maybe it’s due to the pouring rain or the fact that he’s not keen on troubles, having hardly started yet? When he finally opens the bonnet he releases a billowing cloud of grey smoke, instantly taken away by the strong north wind. Half of the lining underneath the bonnet is aglow. Undaunted, Uwe reaches for the water bottle and flushes water at the smouldering engine. It smokes and stinks even more. The second flush hits the engine block, hissing and smoking. When the rising cloud dissolves into the rainy skies, we can see again. The insulation fabric is but a wet stinking rag. With a knife, we cut out the burnt area, in order to prevent this mishap from happening again.

A large construction site hampers access to the next filling station. The workers are busy, in the stormy weather, dressed in tattered clothes, but all wearing the prescribed helmet. Standing protected under the entrance to the cash tills, the site foremen are talking about their activities after knock-off. In between, there is still time to shout orders to the men toiling on the site. Scattered sentences in Afrikaans, English and isiXhosa are exchanged. For today, Friday evening, everybody has his plans. During the weekend there will be partying and everyone knows places with cool women and good vibes.

Another downpour arrives. This much rain is beginning to bring misery to certain areas. If they don’t end soon, the cereals will start rotting on the stalks. The combine harvesters have been standing ready for a long time, in orderly lines. But to be harvested, the crop has to be dry.

The Olifants River is swollen with water, feeding into the Clanwilliam Dam. The dam is filled to the brim, so water is drained through two of the 13 locks. The dam has a capacity of 121.8 million cubic metres of water. With the help of a sophisticated system the vineyards and citrus plantations in the valley get irrigated. There is no lack of water for the fruits so they will surely thrive.