DAY FIFTY-THREE We woke up to a cold mist blowing over the tops and by the time we were all up it was raining. However, it had cleared by the time we had packed up and we headed off into the clean, freshly-washed hills. The road was good apart from a few stretches of mud and broken tarmac and we sailed into Ngaoundere at 10:30.
We changed money at a hotel then hit the market where we bought food, fruit and veggies, and lovely tasty satay sticks, cold drinks and, wonder of wonders, chocolate!!
We ate lunch just out of town then drove all afternoon in the heat as around us the country dried out and the forest turned slowly to pine plantations (so much like the McKenzie: hot dry winds sighing through the pine trees growing in a hot dry land)¹.
We pulled up for the night early, about 4:30, beside a river flowing between grassy hills. After we had pitched the tents, Linda, Ian and I climbed up a nearby hill. It was pretty much a waste of time as we had to slog our way up through shoulder high grass only to find that the view from the top, while worth a look, wasn’t spectacular. We nevertheless took a few photos then thrashed our way back down.
We finished the perfect day with a bath in the warm, fast flowing creek then a tasty meal of steak, spuds, salad and peanut sauce.
The night was uncomfortably hot.
¹The landscape reminded me of the Mackenzie Country, a high alpine plain where I had worked as a shepherd.
CurseOfTheTraveller 