9 posts tagged “namibia”
We managed to see the dunes at Sossusvlei at sunset and sunrise – both were beautiful. At sunset, Ben and I were the only people walking up Dune 45 at sunset and we were able to appreciate the amazing nature of the sand – the patterns made by the wind, the depth of our footprints and the fact that it fell like water as Ben through handfuls down the smooth side. At 5am we climbed right to the top of Dune 45 (surprisingly hard work) and watched the sun rise, marvelling at the changing colours on the dunes and in the sky. We then did the 5km walk to Dead Vlei (or Sossusvlei, we not really sure), thankfully it was still cool and the walk was interesting because when we got to the end of the path, we weren’t really sure what we were meant to be seeing. It was good, more dunes, but a bit of an anticlimax.
This was another of those strange Namibian landscapes – layer upon layer of mountain, looking rather like the moon might! The route that the NWR recommend is a 3 hour route, spotting various little sights along the way including some army tracks left lying around after the First World War and a 1,500 year old Welwitschia. The road was all dirt track, badly corrugated, but it made the driving engaging and challenging. I did the whole thing and enjoyed the concentration required.
Riding quad bikes through the dunes in Namibia was on Ben’s list of things to do before we even left the UK – and I’d psyched myself to doing it. Ben seemed surprised that I wanted to and was pleased that I was going with him. I was quite nervous about it – I thought I’d be a chicken and be no good – but after half and hour or so I got the feel of the bike and started accelerating through the Ben’s and urging myself to go higher and higher up the dunes. We were part of a group of about 12 – but all of them were going sand boarding for the second half of the morning. That left Ben and I with a whole hour to ourselves, and a couple of instructors, to explore on our own. It was so much fun being a smaller group, it made us feel like tiny specs on such a vast and spectacular landscape. I was so hyper afterwards, proud of myself for getting so into it and loving the buzz.
How cool is this toilet? No roof , no floor, just a toilet sitting in the sand. And not just a toilet – a whole bathroom! We thought it might just be a pit toilet, but it flushed and everything.
We’ve seen lots of amusing signs in Namibia. It’s not often that you have to watch out for warthogs in the UK. We also loved this direction sign in the middle of the sand dunes.
Driving is also quite a different experience as well. For a start, and I think we’ve mentioned this before, the roads are very straight and very long. It is quite common, even on the main rods not to see another car for about 10 minutes. This doesn’t seem like very long, until you think about driving in the UK along a motorway at 75mph and imagine how many cars you’d pass! The other odd thing is the need for side lights during the day. A lot of people have their side lights on because it’s easier to identify them as a car in the mirages. When all you can see in the distance is a mirage and a vague blob, you’re very unsure if it’s a car, a person, an animal – or if it’s just your eyes deceiving you!
Old Joe’s Beerhouse quite a bizarre restaurant/bar in Windhoek. It’s huge, but it’s split up into different areas and sections, which are all filled with stuff. There are amusing signs, local memorabilia and bottles and bottles of Jaegermeister. The whole place feels like a German beerhouse (right down to the handle glasses) but with an African twist. It really messes with your head, trying to work out which country you’re in! The food fell into the African twist category. We had the most scrummy meal. Between us we had ostrich, crocodile, zebra, oryx, springbok and kudu. It was cooked rare, which worried me a bit, but it was delicious. Definitely the right choice. Ben’s came with a flaming schnapps in the middle – which I had to drink!
We started the day by visiting the rock carvings at Twyfelfontein. The name really amused me, it sounds upper-class British, but it actually means a rather mundane “doubtful spring”. A little guide to came with us, and it was good fun scrabbling around the rocks, spotting plants and animals, and the carvings were interesting.
Then we set off on the day’s driving. It was so beautiful and the drive was much more stimulating. We were on dirt roads most of the time, which makes progress slow but the driving is more interesting – although the corrugations are truly annoying. On the way to Skeleton Coast the scenery was astounding and changing. You’d go from brown mountains to slightly more fertile land to mountains that had bits of sand on them. Once we’d paid to get into the Skeleton Coast National Park it was breathtaking – the oddest scenery I’ve ever seen and just miles and miles of it. There were flat plains with little plants forming mini sand-dunes. There were bigger dunes, some white, some covered with a layer of dark soil. We saw mirages on the planes – I’ve only ever seen them on the road before – and as we got closer to the sea, it looking like the sea came further inland than it actually did, making it look like there were lots of little islands along the shore. We even saw mirages of bits of land stretching out into the sea. It was so strange, not being able to trust the things that your eyes were telling you. We saw stretches of salt under which lay water. Ben was very happy when we saw some wrecks. First we saw a little bit of wood on the shore that had clearly come from a boat. Further down we found the road to the boat, worn wood and a rusted engine. It all looked very atmospheric. Then, before we got to Swakopmond we saw a boat that looked like it was docked – and then I realised that it was on the wonk and it was actually wrecked – again, quite eerie.
On the way down we stopped off at Cape Cross to see the seals. When we found that it would cost N$90 (£6.50) Ben said “are you sure you want to go? We’ve seen seals in Skye”. We really hadn’t seen seals in Skye compared to this – oh my goodness it was amazing. The book had warned about the smell, and wow, it hit you when you opened the door. There was a wooden gangway for viewing and underneath it were loads of pups looking for shade. Along the shore were hundreds and hundreds of seals and pups. It was amazing, like something off a nature programme. The noise was quite phenomenal too, pups calling for their mums and some of the adults fighting. In the water there were yet more, hunting for fish, jumping out of the waves, being washed up the shore – it was fascinating to watch them all. The pups had been born around the 10th Dec and some were still suckling. Sadly, there were lots of dead pups scattered around the sand, and under the decking. The information said that in hot weather they needed to get into the water, but you could see that there was quite a push to get to the water and some just sought shade – but died in the process. It said that up to 30% of pups could be lost in just one hot, windless day. Finally Ben managed to drag me away because we still had a lot of ground to cover.
We got to Swakopmond to find no room at the inn. We tried a couple of campsites in town and in the end had to come 6km out of town to Mile 4 – and pay £20 a night!!! There’s no hook up point, taps near the pitch or toilet paper in the loos – it’s a rip off. Trying to find a restaurant for dinner was a similar story. We were amazingly lucky to find a table in this amazing German restaurant/museum because the couple who had booked the table didn’t turn up. It was gorgeous inside, like a German Christmas with a lovely decorated tree, a nativity scene underneath, swags round the doors and tasteful decorations from the ceiling.
We were truly unsure of what to do after dinner, and when Ben asked the proprietor why town was so dead (reminiscent of a ghost town) she said that most people go into the desert or to the beach and do their own thing – a braai, a campfire. We decided to go for a drive and found what was in essence a massive beach party. There was a bar and dance tent and all along the beach were people – families, teenagers, yoofs, groups with picnics, chairs, braais, rugs and cars. It was quite awesome. As it got closer to midnight, people started setting off fireworks and then they lit a MASSIVE bonfire that we were sat in front of that had a mast, and anchor and a sign on it saying: welkommen in. At midnight many people popped champagne and sprayed it over everyone. It was all rather wonderful and atmospheric.
Christmas was about as British as we could get given that we were in the middle of Africa in 30 degree heat. We spent most of the Christmas week staying with a lovely couple, Robert and Sheila, who are the parents of a girl from our church. We went to their church on Christmas morning and received a wonderfully warm welcome – although most of the carols were sung to American tunes. I helped Sheila make mince pies, we had a yummy Christmas meal and we opened our presents around the tree. The only thing that was different was going for a swim in the outdoor pool – on Christmas Day! How cool is that?!
Nambia’s tourist attractions are few and far between. Some are totally mind-blowingly awesome. Some are quite cool. Some are not much to write home about at all. We have no idea what category each fits into until we have driven for many hours to see them. Apart from about six “motorways” and around town roads all other roads are dirt tracks, some require a meaty 4x4.
Fish River Canyon fitted in the first category and has been compared to the Grand Canyon by many. It was one of the most amazing views I have ever seen. It’s hard to convey the view in words, and photos miss out on the 180° panoramic view and look a bit diddy and pathetic compared to the real thing.
Quiver tree forest is hardly what you and I would know as a forest – 250 trees spread out over a wide area doesn’t even rate as a small wood. But after driving for 3 hours and counting the trees on one hand 250 does
seem a bit of a forest! The trees are very odd and look
like they are nervous and quivering but that isn’t how they get their name. The locals used to hollow out branches and use them as a quiver for their arrows.
The Giant’s Playground sounded very exciting but I think we built this one up too much in our minds. It consists of lots of boulders stacked on top of one another. Quite something it you’re a geologist. Perhaps were becoming tourist attraction snobs! It was quite impressive and they stretched for miles. We felt a bit nervous at one point when all we could see were rocks, rocks and more rocks and no idea where the car was. I climbed up one particularly large stack, met a colourful lizard and spotted the toilet block in the car park.
Em has asked me to write this bit… the first thing that comes to mind is weird, weird, weird! The southern half of Namibia (below the capital, Windhoek) is covered in commercial farms, though it doesn’t look like anything could live here; animal or vegetable. The space here is BIG. We didn’t fuel up at the border as we still had half a tank. This was a mistake as there is very little in terms of civilisation. We were relieved to see a town on the map and the signs were counting down the kilometers quite quickly. When we arrived I was a little surprised to see half a dozen buildings and a small disused petrol station. Grunau turns out to be a farm and a hotel and maybe three houses and nowt else. I mean zippo, not a sausage, www.nothing.com. The true enormity, sparsity and aridness dawned on me. All the horror stories we’d heard and read of people breaking down, getting lost, dehydrating and dying in Namibia came flooding back. Fortunately a new shell garage had been built a few k’s up the road. We stocked up on water, cash and fuel and drove on. The garage was a hive of activity of mainly whites with their big 4x4s but also some locals who hang out there as it’s the most exciting thing this side of the bend in the road 300km away.
