A diamond in the rough: day 6
Posted by Piers Ward at 10:20AM on Wednesday 16 January, 2008 1 Comment
Yet another day of contrasts today. We left Lüderitz early and it was 20-degrees. By the time we reached the Fish River Canyon, the temperature had hit 42.
But what's so great about this Land Cruiser is that neither the oil nor water temperature climbed at all. In fact, it was probably running a bit cool. That's despite the aircon working overtime to keep us cool.
And that's what really impresses. We were on the road for a fair amount today and had our first taste of a D-road, which is another gravel road but isn't graded as often. It gets pretty rough, and Steve can't sleep on this leg at all. Poor chap.
We also pass the road where BMW does a lot of its hot weather testing. This is a tarmac road (an X5 on gravel? You must be joking), but the climb and 40-degree heat is what tests the Beemers.
The road runs from Lüderitz to Aus and it climbs more than 5,000 feet in 70 miles. But the key point is that it's a straight road, so the climb can be hard and fast. Not sure whether Toyota does anything here, but its hot weather testing must have paid off.
The aircon in the Land Cruiser is obviously working really hard and you almost forget just what it's like outside. It's a 20-minute drive to the Fish River Cañon Lodge (www.gondwana-collection.com). When we arrive I open the Land Cruiser door and expect a UK-style cooler-outside. But you just get this massive blast of hot air.
Even long after sunset, it's still touching 40-degrees. People are working in this at the Lodge, but it's got me beat. And be warned about having a shower in this heat. The water's stored in tanks all over the Lodge, so gets as hot as the atmosphere. Refreshing it ain't.
Photography: Stephen PerryAdvertiser links
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Enjoying watching this one unfold. I once heard of someone who drove one of these 100 yards down the street with a clamp on, wondering what 'that terrible scraping sound was'.