First of all, Namibia is VAST. As youāll have seen in my posts, Iāve included maps to give you some idea of its size.
We drove c3,230 miles (5,200kms) in 3 weeks and completely wore through a brand new set of off-road tyres, the back cab cracked from all the juddering so we had to duck tape the boot shut, Naomiās back number plate is lost somewhere in Etosha National Park and, of course, we flooded the back with gin when the lid shook off- disaster! We estimate that 80% of those miles were on gravel roads.
4×4ās arenāt a luxury in Namibia; theyāre a necessity. As the world grapples with climate change and, certainly in the UK, weāre being encouraged to switch to electric cars, this just isnāt an option in a country like Namibia where a gravel road of c200kms where you pass just one car all day isnāt unusual.
The Spar car park in Windhoek is wall to wall off road vehicles with a plethora of axes, spades, fuel and gas tanks strapped to their sides and every make of roof tent imaginable attached to the top.
For us, certainly, the destinations were fantastic but the journeys were more than often the highlights. The scenery changes constantly and the horizons are vast. If you donāt like driving then this definitely isnāt the destination for you!
Having said that you can, of course, be driven and stay in first class lodges and hotels but travelling by public transport isnāt really a viable option – we saw the occasional tourist bus but no obvious public transportation. We really loved camping on Naomiās roof, found it surprisingly comfortable, / and felt very safe at all times (Iām pleased to say that we never saw a snake {Matt wasnāt – he quite likes a snake!} but did share our showers with quite a few insects and spiders and, more often than not, a friendly lizard š¦ or agama to eat said insects.). The only downside of the roof tent is that once itās up you really donāt want to take it down again until morning so a āquick tripā to the lodge (some of which were 2kms away) for a drink or dinner wasnāt an option. We cooked on the braai more often than not and eating under the African star-filled sky was wonderful and a definite advantage of camping.
For such a huge country, the population is tiny (2.6 million), most of whom live in the cities, and they are universally welcoming, kind and incredibly polite – absolutely no conversation starts without a greeting and question of āhow are youā – a real lesson for some other nationalities š. Itās also impressively clean – like Mauritius, even the public toilets are immaculate and, unlike South Africa, the picnic spots by the side of the road (of which there are a LOT) are clean and tidy – so refreshing! We bought a pack of 9 toilet rolls at the start of our trip and still have most of them left because most campsites and even some public conveniences provided it – amazing!
As you can tell, we canāt recommend Namibia highly enough! In fact, we always used to recommend South Africa as the best introduction to Africa for people who are a bit anxious about launching into this amazing continent but now weād definitely recommend Namibia!
Iām writing this from South Africa so there is one final story that I can now tell you. As those of you who have read all my posts will know, for our final 2 nights in Etosha National Park we actually camped outside the park in a private reserve which is linked to Etosha so – technically – is still part of the National Park. In the morning before driving there we bought some frozen steak and sausages from the shop in Etosha for the braai and wrapped them up (well) and put them under the driverās seat to defrost during the day. As we left Etosha for the night, we checked out at the gate and were asked – very specifically – if we had any raw meat in our fridge. Any lawyers reading this will love this as we both said, ānoā – technically true, we had no meat in the fridge. The lady seemed quite surprised and asked to look in our fridge. We opened it up (full of booze, bread, cheese and chocolate). No meat. She still seemed surprised but let us go on our way. At the campsite, we retrieved the (now defrosted) meat from under the driverās seat, cooked it on the braai and very nice it was too. Mattās theory is that there is an excellent scam going on: in the shop we were asked where we were spending the night and no-one told us there would be a meat quarantine check. Our car was parked outside so they could easily see the registration. Clearly the lady at the gate was expecting us to have meat in our fridge and, presumably, if we had it would have been confiscated and shared amongst the various parties. If sheād asked if we had any meat we might have had to answer differently! TIA – two can play at their game!!! Of course, the policeman got his revenge the next day when he āhelped himselfā to two cold beers šš¤£š
And finally: do you remember the (almost) naked Himba lady in the Spar in Upuwo? Well, Benito told us yesterday that he has seen a Himba woman with such long, drooping breasts that she could sling one over her shoulder and feed the child on her back as sheās walking along š. Absolutely, genuinely true!
Matt was a bit horrified when I decided to lounge across it but, having worked out the cost, Iām glad I did. Got to get your moneyās worth!!
Once we hit the main road south we drove into a storm and itās been pretty much raining every since.
Into the Storm
Our last night under canvas was spent at Okanjima Nature Reserve, home to the Africat Foundation. As it was belting it down with rain and thunder and lightning was crashing and flashing around us when we arrived, we retreated to the lodge for much needed G&Tās and to use/abuse the WiFi. I managed to publish the Etosha Park blog from there but when we left, in the dark, it was still raining with added occasional crashes and flashes.
Luckily we have a huge, covered sitting area with running water, gas hob etc so we parked Naomi as close to it as we could. It wasnāt how we imagined our last night with Naomi but we certainly wonāt forget it! Looking on the positive side, thank God it was our last night and not our first. If it had been our first I would have been sorely tempted to drive back to Windhoek and get the first flight back to Mauritius!
The āfacilitiesā are open to the elements (loo with a view/shower with a view), which must be lovely when itās hot and sunny. Not so good when itās pissing down with rain – Matt actually dug out his waterproof coat for the first time this trip!
There was also a small swimming pool for the exclusive use of the 5 campsites. It goes without saying that we didnāt use it, having no desire to get any wetter!
Thank goodness we had all that space as it was time to dig all of our stuff out of Naomi and re-pack, ready for civilisation and to say goodbye to our home for the last 3 weeks š¢
Somewhere along the line I have lost my pink hat and there is the ongoing mystery as to what happened to a bag of apples which we definitely bought and then never saw again ā¦.
Our final night was back at the gorgeous Weinberg Hotel – the bed is huge after our little tent!
Today (Tuesday) we fly to Cape Town in South Africa for the final country of our 2 month tour. The sun is out and the sky is blue so, hopefully, we might get some lovely views from the plane. See you in South Africa!
Our itinerary from Namibia Tours and Safaris took us back to the frontier town of Opuwo and then down to the western entrance to Etosha National Park. However, Andrew suggested that we drive the far more scenic route along the River Kunene, parallel to the Angolan border for about 3.5 hours and then due south on the tarmac C35 (the blue line on the map below). Our book said that the first part of this route would be pretty rough going but Andrew assured us weād be fine so off we went.
The road was, indeed, rough in parts but the views (in parts) were fabulous. Matt wants me to tell you that he drove brilliantly, even through the sand – in low ratio – and we didnāt get stuck once!:
We were tempted but plugged on!
Some of the undulations were a bit excessive and, as you can see, it was quite cloudy all day:
94kms in, we reached Swartbooisdrift with its Dorslandtrek Monument, which marks the spot where a group of the original Dorslandtrekkers from South Africa crossed back over the border from Angola into what was then South West Africa in 1928. There were a few graves – one of a one year old girl who died in 1928, obviously whilst they were crossing back š¢
Himba Village
These cows had absolutely no intention of getting out of our way!
Once we hit the main tarmac road south it was about 200 kms to the western gate (the Galton Gate) of Etosha National Park. The C35 road is like driving the A1 in the UK (or A30 if youāre Cornish) but with the added excitement of no fences and quite a lot of wandering goats and cows. More than once we had to stop to led a few straggling goats cross to be with their mates!
Just before we entered the park we had to cross through the animal quarantine post (no raw meat can be transported south) and the (very charming) police officer agreed with me that it looked like rain, albeit a month earlier than usual, he told me. As we entered the Park the sky was beautiful but very definitely āthreateningā:
Etosha is about the same size as Wales and we would be here for the next 3 days. En route to camp we saw giraffe, red hartebeest, an ostrich sitting down, oryx and a herd of wildebeest lying down – like cows lying down in the UK, was this a sign that rain was coming?
The camp at Olifantsrus is in a great location but is pretty basic. The lovely manageress told me that it was originally a park office and then they opened it up as a campsite. It has a beautiful floodlit waterhole but only 2 showers for each sex and 3 toilets for women and 1 for men (Matt put on his leg brace and used the disabled one!!).
We enjoyed a quiet, cold beer/cider at the waterhole. The game was very quiet, although we did see two quite unusual brown hyaena, which Matt spotted from miles off. The sunset, though was spectacular and the light was incredible:
Back to camp and Matt was just starting to cook when the wind blew up out of nowhere and the rain came down. And, when I say āwindā and ārainā, what I really mean is a howling gale and lashing, thunderous rain. We retreated into Naomi. It lasted for about half an hour and Naomi shook and the chairs were blown over and it was utter carnage. About half way through Matt said, āyou did shut the tent flaps completely, didnāt youā and I said, āyes, I think soā and he said, āwell, if you didnāt then itās too late nowā.
You know where this is going, donāt you?
After half an hour of ferocious storm, the rain stopped and we got out to survey the damage. Of course, I hadnāt shut the bloody tent flaps completely and our bedroom was akin to a large puddle or small lake. Bugger.
Whilst I surveyed the damage, Matt carried on with the cooking. Priorities!
In the end, we turned the mattress over so only the bottom 6 inches was sodden and left the sleeping bags outside to dry out; Hoppyās theory being that they were wet anyway and they would either dry or, if it rained some more, theyād just get wetter.
And, of course, yes, it rained all bloody night!!!
In the morning we cleared up the chaos and were the last to leave the campsite, with the sleeping bags drying on the back seats, but the hornbills had entertained us:
They say with game driving that you should be up early to catch the best viewing opportunities, which obviously we werenāt š. It didnāt matter one bit. We had an incredible day. What we loved about driving ourselves was that when we got to a good water hole we could stop for as long as we wanted and just watch the game.
At our first water hole we saw a side striped jackal and some hartebeest and then the zebra turned up:
And then we saw our first Eli š, who was walking away but such a thrill:
And then, at our lunch stop water hole, two Eliās! šš. The one actually in the water was obviously the boss and was having a lovely rest/siesta and occasionally drinking and spraying himself with water. The other one made his way towards the water very, very slowly (he took about half an hour) and then started helping himself and spraying himself while the ābossā stayed put. Once the second one had finished he wandered off and as we left the original one was still in the water – clearly a true water babe! It was so wonderful to be able to just sit and observe them for as long as we wanted and, for most of the time, we were the only people there. Best lunch hour ever!
At the next hole there were no less than three Eliās! ššš Two were obviously very close (Mum and child maybe?) as they were literally hugging each other with their trunks š
A Troop of OstrichesA Dazzle of zebra bottoms
This could only have been taken in Africa!
African road block!
The roads in western Etosha are pretty unforgiving with dreadful corrugation so we were shaken around like two peas in a maraca and there were a couple of disasters as a result. Firstly, Naomiās boot kept flying open so – in Mattās ongoing series of 101 things to do with Duck Tape – number 89 – tape your carās boot closed:
But the biggest disaster was that the lid of the gin bottle was, literally, rattled off š± š so our pillows now have the gentle aroma of delicious blackberry gin and I havenāt been able to find any more. It appears that the drink of choice in Etosha is Scotch š¤¢
Night two was spent at Okaukuejo Camp, which is at the administrative centre of the park so has shops and a restaurant and (thank goodness) a petrol station. The campsite was good but, again, not nearly enough ablutions for all of us. We enjoyed a visit from a rather pregnant ground squirrel who enjoyed the fruit and nuts in our trail mix (given that she was āwith childrenā we thought it only fair to feed her up!).
Once again it poured in the night (we were better prepared this time!) but this time with added thunder and lightening. Iām not sure how people feel about thunderstorms generally but a ferocious thunderstorm whilst lying in a tent on top of a car isnāt the most comfortable of experiences. The nearest it got was about 3 miles (yes, I was lying there counting the time between the lightening and thunder!) and if it got any closer Iād already decided to make a swift exit into Naomi, rather than on top of her! My bodyguard (Matt) snored throughout the whole thing š³ š. It also (sadly) drowned out the lions roaring š¦
Day two started spectacularly, literally about 10 minutes from camp:
She was panting heavily so we think had just had an unsuccessful hunt. We had pulled over on a culvert, which she went in to and didnāt emerge from – presumably to have a well earned rest in the shade.
The middle of the day was a LOT of driving trying to find the elusive rhino (along the mis-named ārhino driveā – Matt is contemplating suing them under the Trades Descriptions Act), but we did see āmyā bird – the Secretarybird, Steenbok (as opposed to Springbok), an elephant skull (sad but this is nature in the raw), a stunning spotted hyaena having a rest in the shade and giraffe drinking (I love the way they splay their legs!):
And then, as we were giving up and en route to leaving he park, Matt spotted a grey shape about a mile away. We stopped and checked with binos and then drove round and, sure enough:
What an amazing spot, Hoppy (he was brought up in Tanzania, donāt you know, so is a brilliant game spotter). We had him/her entirely to ourselves for about 15 minutes and then he/she lay down so we left him/her in peace. Epic end to the day!
For our last two nights in Etosha we stayed at the private Onguma Tamboti Campsite, just outside the park gates but technically still in Etosha. It was camping bliss! Our own private ablution block with braai, washing up area and clothes washing area – we even had grass to sit on!
In the morning a little mongoose came round and had a little tidy up:
We had a gentle start to the day (clothes washing etc) and then headed into Etosha for our final game drive.
Spot the Kudu on the left – I told you Hoppy was good!
We headed round the Etosha pan and then:
Spot the elephant in the tree! He was HUGE; by far the biggest weāve seen so far. Amazing how such an enormous animal can hide so well just a few metres from the road.
Another mixed group at a waterhole – wildebeest and springbok:
And then this lone fellow quietly grazing by the side of the road. He let us know when heād had enough of us so we moved on:
A kaleidoscope of giraffe:
And, then, be still my beating heart – an entire family of elephant at a water hole, including some really quite small babies. This was obviously a group of females with associated babies of various ages and, from what we could see, the matriarch was not the biggest in the herd. They loved their splosh in the water:
What was amazing, though, was that we sat there for (probably) 20 minutes watching the interactions between the different members of the group; working out who the bosses were and watching the younger members protect the tiny babies. Then 2 more cars turned up, took their photographs and after about 5 minutes they shot off for the next āmust seeā.
We didnāt see the ābig fiveā in Etosha but we loved driving ourselves and spending as much time at each spot as we wanted – such a privilege.
And then, finally, in the distance another rhino and her calf (a black rhino we believe, as opposed to yesterdayās which was a white rhino – although I am very happy to be corrected):
Etosha has been awesome and itās been a fabulous few days. At the exit gate we had to check out and then our fridge was checked for raw meat again (thereās a quarantine in place due to foot and mouth). Matt took the policeman to the back and removed the duck tape round the boot and then showed him the fridge and said, āhelp yourselfā – as in, have a look in the fridge for meat. The copper said, āthank you very muchā and helped himself to one cold beer for himself and another āfor his colleagueā. Matt was speechless. TIA!!!
We high-fived each other when we read that the drive to Epupa Falls was āonlyā 100 miles or so but when I tell you that it took us 3 hours to drive that 100 or so miles itāll give you an good indication of the road conditions!
Epupa Falls is as far north as you can go in north-west Namibia – across the (crocodile infested) river from where I am currently sitting is Angola – you canāt get further north without a visa.
The road is gravel (obviously) and bad gravel at that but the thing that slows you down is the endless, endless undulations – down to a (dry) river bed and then up again. Some are lethal and unforgiving – poor Naomi bounces along!
This is Himba land, where most people live in either tin shacks or traditional round houses made from wood and mud. Itās a tough existence and we were constantly being waved at by people wanting food or money (we had been told in advance not to stop and not to give them anything – itās tough but tourists who give money are not helping the situation). We were amazed by the number of schools and clinics on the road and most of the goats were being looked after by men which, hopefully, means that the children were at school.
Some of the riverbeds that we dropped down through were really beautiful and fertile; itsās hard to imagine what they must look like after the rains (when, presumably, our road is virtually impassable).
And, suddenly, after 3 hours, we dropped down into Epupa which is – literally – the definition of an oasis. After hours of dry, arid, sparse land we came down to a band of palm trees and greenery with the hills of Angola behind:
We are camping at the Omarunga Epupa Falls Campsite and it is, quite literally, a little piece of paradise. Andrew, the Manager, was telling us (in the bar with a cold beer, obvs š) that during Covid they went round every room and every camping spot and cleaned and made sure that everything was working and as it should be. And then they went round and did it again. And it shows. The campsite is perfect, the ablution block is immaculate and very well planned and the staff are delightful. I was doing the (inevitable) laundry and chatting to Emily, who works here and was washing dishes (women of the world!). She said that lots of people died of Covid here, which for such a remote place was really quite shocking. I guess that once one person got it then it spread like wildfire. Emily has 6 children – her ālast bornā is 1 and her āfirst bornā is 25 and sheās hoping to have more!!!!!!!
Not a bad spot to blog from:
By the time we came back from the bar, the washing was dry (itās hot here!)
I make no apologies for the photos taken as the sun set:
It was very windy when we went to bed but dawn was as calm as a mill pond – not a bad view from Naomiās roof:
Question: have you ever been shat on from a great height by a vervet monkey?
Matt has.
Said monkey was trying to get close to our camp so Matt shooed him away and his revenge was to climb up the tree, line himself up absolutely perfectly and shit and pee over Matt and into his coffee. After the initial shock, Matt had to admire the exactitude of his aim! This is the little bugger:
Note his blue balls!
The rest of the morning was very chilled and I gave myself a much needed pedicure as my feet were in a truly shocking state of repair. A combination of the dust, sand and generally dry atmosphere, combined with wearing sandals all day, every day had not been kind! Iām pleased to report that theyāre now looking and feeling much better š£š£š£
We spent the afternoon quietly, watching a variety of reptiles, including a very rock monitor which I stalked around the camp:
Churchill had a nap:
And then as the heat eased off we walked to the actual Epupa Falls, which are quite impressive so – you will be pleased to hear – have made the cut into my upcoming best seller āGreat Waterfalls of the Worldā:
Tomorrow we move onto Etosha National Park for some serious game viewing so there will probably be radio silence until at least the weekend.
On Sunday we decided to head straight up to Opuwo (c440kms) as we were tired and very much in need of a hot shower!
For the first bit we had to backtrack on the route we had done on Saturday but, overnight, some Devilās Thorn had burst into flower and the views were spectacular:
And then we came across this:
And Matt said, āwhat does it mean when we see elephant pooā and I said, āit means that an elephant has been here and taken a shiteā.
For the rest of the day we were elephant spotting but, very sadly, no joy. We did see giraffe, ostrich, zebra, springbok and baboon (also lots of cows, sheep and goats) and the occasional dog. Spot the giraffe when itās hiding behind the tree and then playing peek-a-boo!:
The road was extraordinary (as ever):
And then we started to see the phallic termitesā nests, in a variety of colours, which entertained Matt enormously:
We are now in Opuwo and when we had to register through a āDisease Control Pointā today and the guy asked where we were going and we said, āOpuwoā there was a sharp intake of breath! We are now quite far north (but not as far north as we will be tomorrow) and Opuwo is an interesting town with a frontier feel. We are camping at the Opuwo Campsite, part of the Opuwo Lodge (which is very smart indeed) but far enough away from the lodge that we wonāt upset the posh guests. We are neighbours to 2 French couples who are camping in two tents on one car (cosy) and 4 Germans who are travelling in a convoy of 2 cars. So far, we havenāt heard any of them laugh once. I wonder why they take their travelling so seriously? Surely itās supposed to be fun?
Matt had to go to the shared ablution block for the āobviousā and the first time he went there there was an old German guy washing his smalls in the sink so Matt felt he couldnāt upset the peace with his (inevitable) explosion. Twenty minutes later he went back and there was another German guy in the loo next to him so he let rip and exclaimed āscheisseā in the hope that the guy assumed he was German and not the only Brit in the campsite!
The reality of the blog in the bush!:
Matt got a bit cheesed off with the distance between the car and the braai so we decided to cook on the gas for the first time this trip – springbok steak š – which turned out to be very tender but tasted like slightly gamey beef so, for the extra, cost I probably wouldnāt bother again.
Opuwo turned out to be exactly what weād thought – a frontier town with the added frisson of two different ethnic groups – the Herero and the Himba – who live happily side by side. Their appearance and dress couldnāt be more different – the Herero wear Victorian style, long flowing gowns and headdresses; a style which was introduced to them by the missionaries, who were appalled by their semi-nakedness. In utter contrast, the Himba wear practically nothing and cover their hair and skin in red ochre powder. However open minded one is (and I like to think I am!) itās still a tad disconcerting to bump into an almost naked woman with breasts down to her waist (having clearly fed numerous offspring) at the meat counter in the local Spar!
We found WiFi! We are now sitting in the most heavenly spot right on the border with Angola, which Iāll tell you about later. For now, back to Swakop –
From Swakopmund we had the choice of the inland (shorter) route or the Skeleton Coast (longer) one. Obviously we chose the latter – the Skeleton Coast being one of THE famous landmarks of Namibia.
The Skeleton Coast was so named due to the treacherous fogs and strong currents, which forced many ships onto the shifting sandbanks. Even if the sailors survived the shipwreck they were unlikely to survive the freezing ferocious sea and the Namib Desert.
The shore used to be known as a shipsā graveyard but, ultimately, the wrecks are broken up and now only a couple remain, also given the advances in GPS navigation technology, which keeps them far offshore. The first one that we saw was the wreck of the Zella, which ran aground on the 25th August, 2008. Luckily, no lives were lost – she was being towed to India for scrap when the towing line broke and she was swept ashore:
Heading north the road is incredibly bleak and feels like youāre driving over a salt pan. In fact, we were really lucky as this road is usually covered in freezing cold fog in the mornings and then gets boiling hot in the afternoons; we had a clear, warm but windy day.
Cape Cross, 140kms north of Swakop (as the locals call it), is known for two things – the place where the first European, Diego Cao from Portugal landed in 1485 and the enormous seal reserve.
Caoās original cross which he erected to mark his achievement was removed in the 1890ās and is now in the Oceanographical Museum in Berlin. In 1974 a replica cross (or two) was/were erected:
The Seal Reserve has about 100,000 animals and the moment we opened Naomiās doors, the smell hit us! The next thing to hit us was the noise. Mike and Jolene told us that the literal translation for seal in Dutch is sea dog and this makes total sense – the males sound just like dogs but the babies sound like lambs. We took way too many photographs (and videos!) but itās just so unusual to be that close to so many seals. Under the boardwalk was clearly prime real estate in the heat of the day and a lot of the mothers were nursing their babies there and were (really quite violently) kicking the big bulls out! The plan was to eat our lunch after seeing the seals but we had to wait half an hour for the smell to subside from our nostrils!
Itās hard to describe just how bleak this coastline is:
The mirage in the distance turned out to be loads of cars on the shoreline belonging to fishermen. I asked one of them what they were catching and he explained that it was a fishing competition – some were catching a fish Iād never heard of and some were after shark. Their lines seemed to be very close to the shore so another good reason (along with the freezing cold water) not to go for a swim!
Entry into the Skelteton Coast National Park was free but they clock you in and clock you out!
The second wreck we came across was the South West Seal, which ran aground in 1976. Sadly (and somewhat appropriately) there was also a skeleton of an actual seal:
Someone had done a bit of rock art (on the left) so Matt responded with his own effort (on the right) to mess with peoplesā brains #Banksy!
We stopped at the lagoon, which had the most bizarre sign. It worked! We donāt suppose for one minute that there were actually lions there but it did stop us (and the occupants of the other car there) from exiting our vehicles which, presumably, was the aim!
The next heap of metal was an old, rusting old rig – so bizarre!
And so the road went on and on ā¦ā¦ā¦..
Eventually we turned inland and the wind buffered us and blew sand across the road, which was āinterestingā.
There were melons and then masses and masses of Welwitschia plants (pronounced locally as Velvitschia because (obviously) the Germans pronounce W as V). They were even growing in the rocks and blended in incredibly well:
By now we were getting tired and were racing for our campsite (if only we knew!) but the scenery just kept on amazing us time after time:
The campsite, when we finally got there at 7pm, was decidedly āquirkyā. We needed to light a fire to get hot water and weād assumed that wood would be provided. Turns out that barbecue charcoal doesnāt work too well! The āelevated ablution facilityā was basically made from mud and chicken wire and Matt was really concerned that he might knock the whole door over! We rapidly agreed that, in the middle of the night, we would not be climbing the rickety stairs! Despite all of that, it was wonderfully quiet but it was the first night that we went to bed without a shower and we were both freezing in the night and discovered in the morning (our camera has an altimeter) that we were at 2,277 feet, which would probably explain it.
The morning bird life (and lizards) were amazing but I, for one, would really have preferred a hot shower! Turns out that hornbillsā beaks are really badly designed for eating bread and Mattās little friend drinking water from the tap whilst he was on the loo (did I mention that the āelevated ablution facilityā had no roof?!) was actually just waiting to have a peck at the contents of the bog brush š¤¢
The really extraordinary thing about this country is that, as we drive along, the scenery changes completely time and time again. Itās quite breathtaking. The drive to Swakopmund from Sesriem was supposed to be about 218 miles (350km) but we did an enormous detour through an incredible national park and didnāt regret one moment of it. But first, we crossed the Tropic of Capricorn again so we are now officially back in the tropics. To be pedantic, this photo is taken facing south because another car was on the other side of the road at the sign facing north!
The sign is covered in stickers from people passing through
We drove through the Gaub Canyon and then the Kuiseb Canyon, where there had obviously been some rain as flowers were starting to bloom:
We then started our massive detour through the Welwitschia Plains. On the map this looks like a relatively small area to the east of Swakopmund. In reality, of course, Namibia is vast and the distances were somewhat longer than weād anticipated but it was truly stunning so we didnāt really care! We found a wonderfully quiet place for lunch:
This is a Damara Euphorbia growing in a dried up river bed – they grow up to 5m in diameter:
A fabulous āwildā campsite, which we would definitely like to come and spend a night (or two) in:
Two completely random graves from 1895 which, after some googling, I have discovered were two German soldiers who died of malaria a day apart. What makes it all the more intriguing is that they couldnāt have contracted malaria here as there simply isnāt enough water and itās not a malarial zone (and wouldnāt have been back in 1895 either);
The road was quite āinterestingā in places but Naomi was a star:
And then these weird rock formations which, on closer inspection, were clearly caused by water action but obviously a very, very long time ago as this is now a desert!
There were even Quiver Trees!
But the absolute star, which gives the drive its name is the Welwitschia Mirabilis. Welwitschias are the most bizarre plant which only grow in a narrow area up the north-west coast of Namibia and into Angola; they grow incredibly slowly and the giant star of the show which we went to see (and which is surrounded by a wire fence to protect its delicate root system) is estimated to be over 1,500 years old. Itās one of the rarest plants in the world:
Itās undoubtedly a weird looking thing and there were loads of them around – the stone circles are to stop people getting too close. There are male and female plants and some were, helpfully, labelled:
Such weird, weird things and such a privilege to be able to see them.
By now it was getting late and we were getting tired so we shot through the moonscape – remember, this is ALL in one national park!
And into our luxury suite in Swakopmund (which I am STILL struggling to pronounce!). The suite is lovely and incredibly central but you have to know each other pretty well to stay here. The toilet is, effectively, in the corner of the room!
Swakopmund is on the coast and is noticeably cooler than the rest of the country weāve seen. This map is not 100% accurate but you get the idea:
Itās a slightly strange place – very German, with wide open streets and big, solid buildings, very clean and ordered but also very African! Our accommodation doesnāt provide breakfast but provides a voucher which can be spent at 3 cafes in town. We opted for the recommended Village Cafe and, from the decor alone, we could only be in Africa. Note the different breakfast styles!
Weāve had a much needed quiet day with some shopping (new flip flops for Matt!) and re-stocking Naomi for the next couple of nightsā camping and also visited the very good little museum as well as (as youāll have noticed) much blogging!
The big excitement this afternoon was dolphins in the bay and I must admit I was pretty chuffed to photograph one leaping out of the water
Today we are heading north up the Skeleton Coast and are camping for the next 9 nights. I think weāll have wifi at some point but Iāve really no idea when but Iāll try and update the blog at some point. Please just pray that Matt doesnāt get us stuck in sand again š
First job of the day – tea and coffee. Choice – get out the gas burner and boil the kettle or plug our travel kettle into the ridiculously placed electric socket š
Sesriem and nearby Sossusvlei make up the area in Namibia which is the famous desert scenery of the Namib desert and the classic postcard views which everyone associates with the dunes falling into the ocean. In fact, Sesriem and Sossusvlei are 60km apart with the (tarmac) road wending its way through the narrowing corridor with dunes on either side.
The dunes are numbered and the classic one to climb is Dune 45. As we parked at the bottom Hoppy had a serious sense of humour failure and claimed that he had no knowledge that āwe were actually going to climb the bloody thingā š. Obviously he has a serious dodgy knee but, after threatening to leave him at the bottom, off we set – I think he looks quite Churchillian with his new hat!
Turns out (quelle surprise) that itās actually quite steep and hard going in the sand:
After about half an hour the old man decided that enough was enough and his poor old knee was really struggling so I went on alone:
Actually, him sitting there gives a really good indication of the scale of the thing!
Eventually you reach the point where there are no more footsteps:
By the time I was coming down Hoppy had made it back to the car and took some photos of me:
From Dune 45 we moved on to Sossusvlei, where the last 5kms of the track are sand and itās strictly 4×4 only (shuttles are there for people who donāt have the right kind of vehicle).
I should say before I proceed with this that I have had full permission to take the piss out of Hoppy mercilessly for what happened next and please all feel free to continue this theme in the comments. We had been advised by Benito to drop Naomiās tyres to 1.6 pressure at this point but Hoppy decided he didnāt want to do that because we donāt have a compressor and would have to drive the 60kms back to the garage at Sesriem very slowly. It all started so well:
But, yes, as youāve probably all anticipated we got stuck. Well and truly stuck. There was a LOT of swearing (him) and a lot of biting my tongue from saying āI told you soā (me). We were just getting the spade out (he STILL didnāt want to drop the tyres) when a shuttle vehicle full of German tourists came along. The driver and the German guide got out and, basically, took over. Kicked poor Naomiās tyres, tutted (a LOT), released 30 seconds of air from each tyre and then the driver got into Naomi and, with a bit of to-ing and fro-ing got her out, parked her in the shade under a tree and told us heād send a car to drive us the rest of the way to Sossusvlei, all to much laughter and cheers from the Germans.
Well ā¦ā¦ā¦.. the earlier sense of humour failure now reached epic proportions (as Iām sure you can imagine). He wanted to drive Naomi but was – essentially – told that they wouldnāt let him! FURY does not even begin to describe it!! We were duly picked up by another shuttle (for a fee!) and driven off, leaving poor Naomi ignominiously under her tree.
Itās about a half hour walk to Dead Vlei from Sossusvlei and he stomped along in livid, humiliated silence!!
Dead Vlei is an old pan with the skeletons of trees left, some of them over 500 years old – itās one of the classic photographic scenes from Namibia:
Iām pleased to say that after all the stomping and silent fury, we met an utterly charming Belgian couple – Mike and Jolene – who had a compressor and arranged to meet us back at the first car park and pump up our tyres. Note to self: next time we come here (and thereās a 100% chance that we will want to come back!) make sure the car we hire comes with a compressor. Youāll also be pleased to hear that Mike (who is a policeman) took the piss out of Matt mercilessly as well and when we told the shuttle driver who took us back to poor Naomi that ours was the car under the tree he said, āI know exactly who you areā!!! š. I made Matt drive her back to the car park – the ultimate drive of shame!
Matt assisted Mike with re-filling all of the tyres and even gained a tiny bit of revenge when Mike couldnāt open his bonnet so the (essential) compressor had to be connected to Naomiās battery!
We ended up sitting in the car park, drinking a cold beer and chatting to Mike and Jolene for a couple of hours – one of those joyful serendipitous moments of travelling – until a German lady came along and asked if we could help as they were stuck in the sand!! They clearly hadnāt done any research as their car wasnāt even a 4×4 and theyād got about 30m in! Between us an another car which, coincidentally, came along, we hauled them out and sent them on their way!
By the time we left the sun was starting to set so we saw some of the famous dune shadows:
We also saw a lovely herd of springbok:
There had been a plan to get up early (some people were getting up at 4am š³) and re-visit the dunes at sunrise but weād both had more than enough of sand dunes by then and, in any event, Mattās knees wouldnāt have managed another one so that plan was quickly abandoned!
In a bizarre PS to our time in Sesriem, we heard a loud noise just before going to bed, which Matt thought was a hyena. When we went to the loo in the night one of his flip flops, which heād left at the bottom of our ladder, was missing. By the morning they had both gone! Not sure if a hyena is, even now, defecating out blue plastic or whether he/she has lined a burrow with them! Photo of prints seen near the back of Naomi with a Swiss Army knife for scale:
Our guide book (the Bradt guide to Namibia) says that the drive from Luderitz to Sesriem is āreally too far for comfort in one dayā but does āallow you to take the D707 and the C27 which ā¦ā¦ā¦. are among the most spectacular roads in the subcontinentā. Well, we did do it in one day (and we left late š) and it was, truly, one of the most spectacular days that you can imagine.
To explain the roads in Namibia:
A roads are few and far between – I think weāve been on 2 for just a few miles – they are dual carriageway and tarmac;
B roads are common and are single carriageway and tarmac;
C roads are very common and are gravel;
D roads are pretty common and are worse grade gravel;
So far, we havenāt been on an E or F road but they do exist!
From Luderitz itās 75 miles (120km) to the next town of Aus:
There really isnāt very much going on!
But the road does shadow the railway line the whole way so when we saw an abandoned railway siding and house, we pulled over to have a look. Can you imagine living here:
The famous D707 was another 75 miles, during which we passed precisely one other car. It was utterly spectacular:
We stopped at Betta – which is marked on all of the maps – but is basically a fuel station and shop/campsite/guest house. Fortunately, their card machine worked perfectly – phew!
And then carried on:
The Kalahari Melons were everywhere for a while, even thought this, technically, isnāt the Kalahari:
And then we bumped into these guys:
Fun fact for the day: the collective noun for zebras is a dazzle. There are two types of zebra in Namibia and these are Plains Zebra, which have brown shadow stripes on the white stripes:
There were also LOADS of oryx, which are also known as Gemsbok here. They are extraordinary as they survive with almost no water and can sustain a body temperature of up to 45 degrees š±. For such an amazing animal their collective noun is desperately unimpressive – a herd!
And so we finally rolled into Sesriem and our home for the next 2 nights. It was definitely the most ātouristyā place weāve stayed at and was very busy but, as you can see, we had our own ablution block with hot water, braai and washing up area so was all pretty civilised!
Just to give you an idea of our route so far – here is the amended map with the green dots showing our approximate locations overnight. We are currently in Luderitz on the west coast:
According to our itinerary the drive was about 240 miles (385km) and weāve realised that, for these huge distances, itās important to have stops on the way. Our first stop was at some very remote graves, which weād spotted on our way to the canyon. Weāve been shadowing the single track railway line pretty much all the way from Windhoek (but had yet to see a train) and had assumed the graves would be for railway workers. The railway line we were following was completed in 1908 and went all the way to South Africa and, rather than the graves being for railway workers, they are in fact the graves of German soldiers and one lonely grave of a 6 month old baby š¢. Across the road we thought we saw a most impressive ant hill but it transpires that it was actually an old lime kiln. Itās amazing what you can find out on the interweb!
The railway seemed to us to be very narrow gauge – hereās Hoppy giving an idea of scale:
The road to Luderitz is long and full of nothing and, somewhat unbelievably, it rained (yes, I know, wherever we go it rains!):
En route to Luderitz is the small town of Aus, known for its unpredictable weather (see the rain above) and its history as a POW camp. German colonial troops surrendered to the South African forces in 1915 and were confined in a POW camp just outside the town. Behind the townās cemetery (up a very dodgy dirt track) is a small cemetery maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. We quite like to visit these remote cemeteries on our travels so up we went. There are 61 German graves and 60 allied ones – almost all of whom were victims of the Spanish flu epidemic in 1918. It felt all the more poignant following Covid:
The last section of the route crosses the vast Koichab Pan, which is about 100 miles of flat, gravel plain ringed by mountains. In parts the road is dead straight and you can see the lights of oncoming cars from about 20kms away. We had some fun and took some photos:
As you can see, Naomi is starting to look suitably filthy. Donāt worry; Benito said that heās concerned that when people come back with clean cars it means they havenāt had a good time. No worries for us on that score!
We finally reached Luderitz after an incredibly long day and checked into the delightful Alte Villa āboutique guesthouseā. We assumed we were getting a room. What we got was an entire two bedroom apartment:
You know youāre getting old when:
Youāre too tired to go out so have hot showers and spend the evening in your jim-jams eating up leftover eggs and bread (washed down with wine and gin!);
You worry that you havenāt brought string for a washing line; and
Matt comments on how much easier it is to do your hand washing with a double kitchen sink šš
Luderitz is an old German town and, whilst quite interesting to have a wander around, most people come to visit the ghost town of Kolmanskop 10kms out of town. Kolmanskop was once the principal town for the local diamond industry but was abandoned in 1956. In its heyday the town was home to over 300 adults and 44 children and had a bowling alley, refrigerators, a concert hall and even a swimming pool. Now it has largely been taken over by sand and is an atmospheric relic of times past. We took far too many photographs! Here are a āselectā few:
Wallpaper!
It was an absolutely fascinating place and somewhere I would definitely re-visit. Some of the bigger houses – clearly for the bosses – were very smart indeed and I loved the details of the interior decoration, mostly painted but one with peeling wallpaper.
Matt decided to have his own little photography project:
Will he ever grow up?!!
Luderitz is an interesting little place – simultaneously very German and very African with wide open (very quiet) streets and big, solid German buildings dating back to the early 1900s and, after 3 days of shadowing the railway line we were thrilled to see a (freight) train about to depart. For our second night we did actually make it out for dinner and very nice (and very reasonable) it was and Matt was so impressed that we were offered a selection of hot chilli sauces without him even having to ask – clearly his reputation precedes him!
Our major expense here is fuel (fortunately itās about half the price of the UK!) We filled up in Luderitz and produced our card to pay (youāre served at the pump here so no need to go inside) and the poor guy waved his machine around desperately trying to get a signal. After 3 attempts, no joy, so we dug out all the cash we had and were about Ā£3 short. Off we went to the ATM. First one had no money! Second one did – phew! Back to the garage and waited for 5 minutes whilst they dug around trying to find some change whilst watching a huge overland truck going through the same rigmarole! TIA!!
Today (Tuesday) we head off on another long 290 mile (465km) journey to the famous Sesriem and Sossusvlei sand dunes where we are camping for 2 nights and where we know there is no internet. Next update on Thursday or Friday!
hopsons on tour 