I wake up in the middle of the night in our room at Naries, and hear a distant rumbling. Usually it is dead quiet on the farm at night, but not this time. I can hear the rumbling approach and then, as it passes the house, you can hear the structure sighs as it passes underneath. The quiet returns but, somehow, not the peace. We get up for our last day at Naries and, while waiting for breakfast to be served, read in the news that we had an earthquake the previous night! The epicentre was about 60 km away,…

A farmer shot in cold blood and diamonds strewn about, ready for the taking? Today we enter the world of pioneers and smugglers, of desolate mines and plains.  Danny is our tour guide today. He grew up on Naries his dad bought many years ago. We leave the farm, turning towards Kleinsee on the West Coast which is some distance off. The road is still tarred here going down the escarpment but it becomes a gravel road at the bottom.  Halfway down the hill we stop. There is a sign indicating a war grave. A local farmer collaborated with the…