Completely dry. The south of Namibia is a long endless plain of dryness. As we continue our journey southwards across immaculate tar roads the dry desert countryside rolls past. We pass over countless number of dried up river beds and watch the sand and dust being blown about when the winds pick up. It's due to the dryness of the country as to why the roads are so good. Without adequate rain, the farming possibilities in Namibia are extremely limited and as a result the country relies on supplies brought across the South African border by road. Huge trucks and lorries thunder past on the large and well maintained highway. Of course off these main highways the roads are gravel roads but in extremely good condition that our Toyota Corolla has no problems (so far..). Freezing cold. The nights have dropped below zero several times in the last few days. -7C our car registered one morning making the nights extremely uncomfortable. This temperature climbs to 25C in the daytime making a huge temperature differential. No precipitation and no clouds... this part of the country is a real desert.
Unemployment. The unemployment level in Namibia is according to our taxi driver 51% down from a high of 55% last year due to the government hiring more police officers and army personnel. We pick up the occasional hitch hikers who is trying to get from one town to the other to get to work. "God bless you" is what the Namibian's say when you have been nice to them. We've received five so far :).