NAMIBIA 2008

THE COOLEST „ROAD TRIP“ EVER

 

DAY 1 : ARRIVE – Drive 60km, weather : sunny 35°C

Its empty… coming here we flew over “empty” land, part of the Kalahari Desert I believe. Now we are at the Hoseo Kutea Airport inWindhoek, still empty ( meaning very little better than totally deserted), there’s only one other airplane here, Air Namibia, nothing else.

Going through Passports & Immigration is fast, no wonder with so few people, a guy waves, signals me to come over: Residents / diplomatic passports the sign says, never thought I would enter Namibia this way ! We fetch the rental car, are lucky and get an upgrade. A Hyundai jeep, no power but nice and high, and as good as new with only 12’000 km on it. From here it is 45km to Windhoek, the town is still nowhere to be seen, honest the countryside is deserted, a few bushes and shrubs, dried out yellow grass, a distant mountain range. It’s beautiful ! I already love it here, and that after 10 minutes.

The B&B in Windhoek is great: Guesthouse Terra Africa. Friendly welcome, nice reception, cool room, we relax at the pool with a Windhoek Lager. They have lots of good and useful information for us, and book us a table at Joe’s, a famous restaurant here in town. Well, that was a surprise, it’s very touristy and the main feature is meat, but you have to go at least once, this is a must do, go see for yourself. I had a bushman skewer: ostrich, crocodile, zebra and kudu ! Liked the kudu best. We are really tired with all the travelling and jet lag so soon after dinner we head home. It’s still 28°C at 21:00, baie mooi !

Check out the webpage : www.terra-africa.com

DAY 2 : WINDHOEK CITY – Drive 15km,

weather : sunny 32°C

Slept well, great breakfast, we’re ready to hit the town. Park at the big secured parking lot at Independence Ave. There’s not really a lot to see or do, we are more the nature lovers and towns are not really our favourites, half a day is enough to see it all. We did a stop at the bank to get some cash. ATMs won’t let out more than 1000 Namibian Dollars, if you want more go into the bank and stand in line for a while, and do bring identification ! Explore the town, Independence Ave crosses Fidel Castro Street, there’s the one famous church everybody photographs, the Christuskirche or Christ Church dating back to 1910, and the Alte Feste and Reiter Denkmal, honoring those who died in the Nama and Herero war from 1903-1907. Then the Post Street Mall, some shops, a few souvenir stands and Zoo Park, misleading name, no zoo just park. There are a few Himba women selling bracelets and necklaces there, taking their photo costs. Since we are not really going to Himba county I do pay and get my pics. They look spectacular with their red body and hair colour, lots of Himba “jewellery” and fancy plaited hairstyle. Back to our B&B for an easy afternoon. Dinner at Am Weinberg, they recommended it.

Took another culinairy risk….springbok in nut crust with chocolate and chilli sauce, it was fabulous ! Juerg had oryx, a Namibian game steak. Boy, the things they eat here !

DAY 3: WINDHOEK – OKAHANDJA – WATERBERG 

Drive 305km, weather : sunny 28°C

Okay let’s hit the road. Get provisions in the gigantic shopping centre  close byand head north on the B1.

Here’s the plan :

WINDHOEK – WATERBERG – OKONJIMA – ETOSHA – VINGERKLIP – TWIJFELFONTEIN – SWAKOPMUND – SESRIEM- NAMIB RAND – KALAHARI – WINDHOEK

Getting onto the B1 was a small problem, we somehow missed the ramp and ended up in Katutura, one of the homelands, not really what we’d wanted, us two whities in a new white jeep…better leave here as fast as we can, turn and head back to the city and try again. We found the correct road quickly, had missed a turn-off at the roundabout. Juerg’s driving very well, considering we are “on the wrong side of the road”, the only thing that tells us off is the windscreen wiper on a bright and sunny day, every time we take a turn… After about 50km we reach Okahandja, famous for it’s really big craft market. Actually there’s two, one on the north, one on the south side of the little town.

They have just about everything: 4m tall giraffes, hippos as big as our livingroom table, animal carvings in any size, masks, necklaces, batiks, you name it, they have it (or will get it for you).

At stand nr 1 it was fun, at the end at nr 27 or so, not so much anymore. Visit one shop and you have to go see them all, hello my friend, special price, come see my shop too… you can’t just visit one ! So we saw them all, honest ! Bought a mask from a fat lady and a small carving from John. Somehow I would love to help them all, buy something from each and every one, but seriously I can’t ! Sometimes I feel really bad when they beg   “ I am hungry , please give me some money”, and me, well fed and filthy rich compared to them, I tell them I have no change and walk on.

From Okahandja to Otjiwarongo, still a tarred road, little traffic, easy driving. After 150km straight on we take a right turn to Okakarara, another 40km and a left to the Waterberg Plateau Lodge, and that’s were the dirt road started.

Dirt road is one thing, extreme washboard another. It vibrates so bad any 3^rd teeth would have spontaneously jumped out of your mouth, thank God it’s only 25km to the gate of the Waterberg Wilderness lodge.

The road changes from dirt to sand. Before our driving style was go as fast as you can, we found out if you drive fast ( max 100km/h), the vibrating is a little less and the vibrating time is less too. Now we had to change back to second gear, slipping and sliding till we got to the reception area. One more very steep track to get on top of the plateau. Up there it is amazingly beautiful, wow, the view , endless red land as far as you can see. The room is really big and even has a fireplace, hope we won’t need that ! We watch rock dassies drink from our plunge pool and just sit and enjoy the view untill they come to pick us up for the game drive. Not much wildlife around, some oryx, springbok and kudu, guinea fowls, wart hogs and giraffe.

It was great anyway, wonderful weather, savannah and bushland around us, driving through, the wind in my hair, the special light, the smell of dust, the scenery, peaceful and simply beautiful. I’m happy as can be.

Check out the webpage : www.waterberg-wilderness.com

After the afternoon game drive we have some time to freshen up before we head to dinner, I feel so dusty ! The dining room is sort of in a cave, the entrance partly covered by a piece of corrugated steel on two poles almost like a veranda or porch, inside only two lamps, most of the light comes from the campfire in the corner and lots of candles, so romantic ! Yet another dinner novelty: Kalahari lamb, it was very good. Back in our room we sit on outside for quite a while and enjoy the perfect view on a moonlit night.

DAY 4: WATERBERG – HERERO TOUR – Drive 77km, weather : sunny 39°C

Didn’t sleep very well, it’s hot, there was a storm and the roof was clattering, dust came in through the mosquito mesh windows, no worries, time to get up early anyway. We drive down to the main lodge for breakfast where we leave at 8:00 sharp, with our guide Eben, for a town called Okakarara.

First we visit a very poor family, they live in a hut of 3x4m made out of material from a termite mound, mixed with cow-dung and water, it’s really hard and solid, and of course very red, like all the soil here. Beside their house a little storage room, around the whole thing a fence and that’s it. They own a few goats and hens, which really doesn’t mean much here, it’s cattle that counts !

The next family is definitely wealthier, 2 cars and 30-40 heads of cattle. Cattle is important, one cow will cost you about 2000-3000 N$ ( about 300-400 US$),

as a comparison, getting married will cost you 2000 N$, ( one average cow) unless your future wife is from a very wealthy family or very well educated, than it’s more…

They actually prefer to get married within the family so as not to lose any cattle. There are two Herero women here, dressed in their typical Herero dresses, the wider the skirts the more important the wife, and of course with big wide hats, which are supposed to look like the horns of cattle, great photo motives. In the middle of the kraal is the holy fire, the husband gets up at 6:00 every morning and blows it to life again, sits there and talks to the ancestors. The son may sit on his right, the wife to the left. Children live with the parents, when they get older in separate huts, boys to the right, girls to the left of the parental house.

We continue to the town where we visit the primary school, it’s a small school, about 1200 kids. Each class has about 36 children, the first year is taught in Herero after that in English. Going to school costs 100N$ per kid per year, normally it would be 130, but this is a government school and they help out. For a small price the children can buy lunch: maize porridge, cooked by a few elderly women in gigantic blackened pots. We get to talk to the headmaster for a while, that is why I know all this. He tells us the best students in their final year do a trip to the coast, please donate… so we do, that is a good cause !

From there to a lady which sows the traditional Herero dresses, I could even try one on, pink, very pink and much too short. Now the hat, my head is too big and they can hardly fit it on. I look like a total idiot and they have a ball and  laugh their heads off.

A group of five Herero woman sing for us, they stamp their feet, clap their hands, we don’t understand a word, but a big smile does wonders and they do another song specially for us.

Herero choir

Lunchtime, at a roadside stand, we sit at one big table with some locals, and we get our portion of maize porridge and beef in a sauce. To my surprise it tastes rather good, but the portion is gigantic, so I share mine with Eben who is more than happy to help me out. As one of the cooks gets up to give him another scoop I must have looked at her rather big bottom in amazement, the other cook sees me looking, smiles and says :   “ big ha ? “. As I nod the whole table roars with laughter,

the lady with the big bottom even seems pleased with the comment, and does a few extra wobbly shakes with her bum.

After a short visit to the cattle market we head back to the lodge. That was such an amazing trip, I am very glad we did it, it was good to see what life is like for the people here, you don’t get to see that a lot staying in beautiful lodges, away from everyday life in the towns. You appreciate your very good life and lifestyle a lot more after a trip like this. Relax at the lodge, have a wonderful dinner and off to bed early, we are getting up early again tomorrow.

DAY 5: WATERBERG – OKONJIMA – Drive 114km, weather : sunny 30°C

Our Waterberg Plateau hike starts at 8:00, it’s not too hot yet and the light is great. Red rocks, green trees, blue skies, great contrast.

Going up is steep, but not too far, on top it is easy, nice and flat and the view is spectacular. At noon we leave for our next adventure : Okonjima, the Africat Foundation.

At the gate we get a nice surprise, upgrade to Bush Camp, the very luxurious, very expensive one….yes, yes, yes ! Just 24 more kilometres and we are there, boy this place is so cool !!!

Check out the webpage : www.okonjima.com

After a welcome drink and briefing we are shown to our room, which is also totally cool. The front part is made out of canvas and can be opened, a 180° view of the bush ! The room is beautiful and even the toilet is to my liking ! I think I will just stay here all day. No I won’t, at 16:00 we meet for tea and cakes, then leave for the game drive: leopard hunt. They have 4 in 4000 acres, good luck ! With our luck these days we will probably not see a thing, but who cares, it’s just great to be here and out in the bush. Our jeep is also an “upgraded” one, with really thick soft seats, and the Okonjima logo embroidered in the seatback. Barely in the park our guide Dean already spots giraffe, followed by lots of antilopes, steenbok, oryx, impala, dik dik, wart hogs. One of the leopards made a kill yesterday, some remains are in a tree, the leopard is in the bushes below the tree, we barely see it, will return later. We see zebra and a hyena which we walk closer to, this is exiting. From the hyena we head back to camp. After dinner we go to the night hide with a guide and the remains from the kitchen. Seconds after he drops the food the porcupines show up, they grunt, sip and quaff, finish the lot in no time, they are so funny to watch. They are really big, at least 50cm or so, much bigger than the little hedgehogs we see back home.

DAY 6: OKONJIMA – ETOSHA – Drive 431km, weather : sunny 38°C

At 6:30 we get a wake up call, half an hour later after tea and muffins I slowly start to wake up.We get going at 7:00, straight to the cheetah enclosure. No matter how well we look, how many times we drive around, we don’t see them, our luck again….. Even Dean is slowly getting desperate. Good for us in the next enclosure we do see the cheetahs, almost posing for us on a termite mound. ther should be eight of them in here, and we do see all eight. Back to the reserve to try and find the leopard, she’s on the rocks, quite far up but we do see her.Dean gets a radio message, the disappearing cheetah problem is solved, they have all been sedated and are being treated by the vet, no wonder we didn’t see them, they were not there !

So we head to where the vet is, turns out not to be a vet, but the cheetah dentist.

Because the cheetahs get much older here than in the wild, they have problems with the abrasion of the teeth.

Because of all this bad luck we get a special surprise, we all go into a hide, Dean thrown a big chunk of meat in front of it…..and a big male leopard shows up. Wow, this is a beauty, and so close ! At one point, I swear, he looked me straight in the eye. Took at least 40 pics of this leopard, that was so amazing !

From there back to the lodge, pack and move on. Next on our list is Etosha. We do a short stop at the spar supermarket in Otjiwarongo, and at the ATM for some more cash. TIP : FNB is difficult, Standard Bank worked fine for us every time we tried. Via Otavi and Tsumeb to the Lindquist Gate on the east side of Etosha. Our next lodge is just before the gate, Onguma Bush Camp, after 9km dirt road we get there.

Check out the webpage : www.onguma.com

Good choice again, do a quick check in, leave the bags in the room and off into Etosha. Which took a little longer than expected… 1) at the gate : fill out form, drive to Namutoni with this form, 2) go to office and pay, 3) from there go to shop to get a map of the park, 4) then get going.

After a little confusion as to on which junction we are, we decide to turn right to go to Klein Okevi waterhole, wrong !

We were told there is a lion family with cubs there, and hope they are still around. Instead we end up at Fishers Pan, where there are thousands of flamingos, if you are there the right time of year…  which we are not, it is deserted. So we go back, turn left at Namutoni and the next right turn get us on the right track. The lions are really there, a big male, 3 or 4 sub adults and 2 cubs ! We stay as long as we can, even an elephant shows up, at first the lions look like they are going to move away, they decide not to, the elephant doesn’t dare get closer and leaves again. We really have to go now gate closes in 15 minutes ! Barely time to shower and change. Dinner was great, but we are so tired, off to bed at 21:00 or so.

P.S. Saw some hard working gardeners today, 6 of them there, 5 were watching and commenting on the one who was working… he was watching the water sprinkler on the lawn.

DAY 7 : IN ETOSHA – Drive 231 km, weather : sunny 38°C

Sleep late till 7:00, head into Etosha by 8:00. Nothing going on at yesterdays waterhole, continue to the next waterholes, Tsumob was deserted, at groot Okevi exactly one oryx and one giraf, move on. According to my book Kalkheuvel is good. Almost there an elephant family crooses the road right in front of our car, the waterhole is the best yet. We were there from 11:30 to 13:00, the time most normal and sensible tourists stay at the pool in their lodge.

There were many zebra and impala there, but that was nothing compared to what came next. No kidding, at least 50 zebra and as many impala visited the waterhole, it was like a major crossing in a big city,

one zebra started to make a noise, almost like a donkey, one dazzle ( okay I looked it up, but that’s what a group of zebra is called) left with him, the next promptly arrived, soon the next dazzle came, you could hardly see water most of the time because there were so many animals. It felt like sitting in the middle of a BBC World Wildlife documentary !

After the impala a kudu family arrived, after that it was zebra again, suddenly in the back the elephants showed up. We almost had a heat stroke, the temperatures in the car were unbearable but we could just not tear ourselves lose from this scene, 1,5 hours went by like nothing. We had to move on, wanted to see more and other places so we left this fabulous place and went to the Etosha look out, drive into the salt pan, wow ! It is very big, empty and white, and hot I must say.

There’s nothing, as far as you can see, just nothing. The air shimmers, the land is totally dried out, salt crusts, torn, white, but somehow spectacular. Want to stay out all night, but we must go back, it is 18:00 by the time we get back to the lodge, and head straight for the pool !

P.S. Must officially note that I hate these ignorant assholes, I mean the ones that get out of the car at the waterholes and slam the cardoors closed, in doing so chasing away any wildlife. Sorry guys, I have to pee too, and we change drivers, but on the main road, where there are no animals !!!

 DAY 8 : ETOSHA – VINGERKLIP – Drive 401km, weather : sunny 36°C

We leave exactly as planned. Unfortunately I forgot to return the room key, so at namutoni we turned the car and headed back once again. One of the guides in camp recommended Chudop waterhole, not bad, was probably just the wrong time… shortly after the Kalkheuvel turnoff elephants beside the road, more at Rietfontein, coming from the waterhole towards the road. They cross, about 20m in front of our car, about 35 elephants, the little ones are absolutely adorable !

A little further on three lions under a tree, lying there pretending to be dead, quite far from the road, no good sighting so we move on. A side trip to Salvadore and Sueda wasn’t very successful, except for some nice landscape photos. Ondongab and Kapupuhedi should be fab according to the guy in camp, sorry not even an impala to be found ! We are not giving up, the people that told us about Klein Okevi said Gemsbokvlakte was good, let’s see what their tip is worth, but this is out last stop for today. There were lots of springbok, impala, a jackal and an oryx which walked away. I wanted a head-on shot of an oryx so we followed it to the road. More oryx arrived at the waterhole and this one moved away from the road, so we headed back to the waterhole again. Juerg was slowly getting impatient and fed up with my : drive here, move there comments, and threatened to move on. Suddenly I noticed a cloud of dust in the distance, something is coming and it is not a car. A herd of elephants coming straight towards us, about 30 of them.

Just us, 30 elephants, and a deserted waterhole. That was so good, so impressive, so close, so beautiful. The herd crossing in front of our car was great, but this is awesome, amazing, sensational. The best wildlife experience in my life so far !

It won’t get any better so we leave Etosha and move on to Vingerklip. From the gate it’s a tarred road for the next 200km, such luxury ! The scenery changes, it’s almost like Monument Valley in the USA, I expect the Marlboro man to come riding around the very next corner. It is by now around 17:00 and the light is gorgeous.

Check out the webpage : www.vingerklip.com

I really do like this lodge from the moment we arrive, first impressions are usually right, and it turns out to be a great place to stay. Thatched roofs, lots of cactus and yucca, terraces, little paths leading to the rooms, 2 pools, a bar, a nice restaurant, time for a cold beer. Dinner was great, again something new, a roast of eland,very good ! Juerg wants to look at the stars after dinner, heads for the pool so he can lie on his back and look up and almost bumps into two kudu on his way there. South Africa was great but I like this better, it’s bigger, wider, emptier, rougher, unspoilt and amazingly diverse and beautiful. I am happy and feel priviledged to be able to travel here and see all this, such an incredible country !

P.S. As I asked Juerg what the best thing was today, he said : the sex before breakfast, such an idiot ! He can have that a home, well then his secondbest was the herd of elephants in front of our car. Personally I loved our private viewing at the last waterhole, the herd approaching.

DAY 9 : VINGERKLIP – TWIJFELFONTEIN/MOWANI –

Drive 196km, weather:  sunny 36°C

Good for us the humidity is only about 20% here, the daily temperatures are at 35-40°C and no clouds insight, on the first few days it was hazy, but since Etosha the skies are a bright clear blue. Today we enjoy the last 50km or so on a tarred road, no more of that for a while now. The Vingerklip looks even better in the morning light and after some last photo’s we move on. Next destination is Twijfelfontein, a place in the middle of nowhere, famous for its rock-art: bushman paintings.

As any good tourist we arrive at noon, in the heat of the day… pay the fee and wait till a few more stupid tourists show up, when we are 6 people the guide beckons us to come along, 34°C and no shade in sight.

We walk along a path to the rocks where the guide explains them to us, it is actually quite nice, the landscape is pretty, the paintings are well preserved and you can see them well and close up. The guide turns out to be a real friendly guy, he asks Juerg if we are on honeymoon. Ha ha , not bad after 17 years ! juerg answers, no not honeymoon, but still in love, so sweet ! From there to the famous organ pipes.

All pictures I have ever seen of it, must have been taken with a wide angle lens to make it look bigger. It is one very small gulley beside the road, one side of which is rocks which, with some fantasy, look like organ pipes. All around is just emptiness,bare, flat and dusty. It is by now 13:30 and really bloody hot, I’ve had it, take a quick photo and move on, let’s go to our next lodge, the Mowani Mountain Camp. Wow, this lodge is amazing, so beautiful, the reception area, the lounge, the dining room, just everything ! Our room is a huge tent on a wooden deck, a small veranda with two chairs in front and spectacular views wherever you look.

Check out the webpage : www.mowani.com

There are big red boulders all over the place, like when a giant randomly threw out a handful, or rather buckets full of marbles, decorating the yellow and green plains with red dots. Further back are reddish hills, lined with more yellow and green. It looks like a painting, surreal.

This view is the best I’ve seen in the whole of Namibia, so far that is !

And I thought Okonjima was the best ever, this is even more spectacular, wilder, remoter, yet still very comfortable and fantastically decorated. The lodge is so well camouflaged, you hardly see it even when you are 10m from it. At sunset we all climb on a big rock where we get our sundowner, enjoying the most beautiful sunset over this red paradise. Oh, I love being a “rich bitch”, could definitely get used to this sort of thing ! We stay put even when the sun is long gone, it is so gorgeous up here, and besides… they brought us another beer and more snacks, and those are very yummy, would be a pity not to eat them. Dinner is very good even though it is only a very normal beef fillet, we have only had venison since we are here, this is the first” normal food” in days. Back in our tent I don’t really want to go to sleep, but it is pitch dark anyway, can’t see a thing, might as well sleep. Promise, will get up early tomorrow to get some sunrise shots.

DAY 10: TWIJFELFONTEIN – SWAKOPMUND – Drive 429km, weather : Mowani sunny and 27°C at 9:00am, but only 17°C and fog in Swakopmund

 I am up before sunrise, it is so stunningly beautiful here, have to go and enjoy it for as long as I can.

Unfortunately we have to leave after breakfast, we are now heading for the coast. Once on the C35 we notice the diffenrence, before 80-90km/h was top speed, no we can easily do 100, I feel like a rally driver, probably look about as dusty as one too. After a coffee break in Uis, where Juerg, being our geological expert, bought some rocks from a few guys hanging round near the hotel parking lot.

All the mines here are closed, lots of unemployment, this is how they make a little bit of money. Very little I must add, there’s hardly a soul driving through here, and even fewer stop. He bargained them down to 100 N$, 5 guys, that makes 20 each, fair deal !

Another 120 km get us to Hentiesbaai, the vegetation is getting scarcer and scarcer, just sand as far as you can see, and totally flat. Now I’m from Holland and used to flat, but Holland is nothing compared to this. It is almost as in the Etosha salt pan, except that was white and here it is beige and pale yellow. I should be driving straight on which is really hard on sand, it is rather slippery and you must take great care to stay in the track, one can hardly see where the roadside ends and the desert sands start, concentrate ! We change driver every hour till we get to Cape Cross, where there’s one cross and about 1000 seals. People say it stinks like hell, it’s not too bad though, thought it would be much worse.

It’s sort of a mixture of fish, salt and piss, not really nice but at 17°C and offland wind quite bearable.

There must be more than a thousand here, and so close together, they just climb all over each other for lack of moving space. Even from the boardwalk you have very good viewing possibilities.

We move on to the town of Swakopmund and our next B&B, the Atlantic Villa, which is on the north side of town which now is very convenient. No sunset photo today, the sun sets in the fog over the ocean, it’s cold here, I’m freezing ! I somehow miss the bush, it is so town-like here, so organised and civilised, almost like back home, and equally cold ! If I’d brought one, I would wear my beanie now.

Check out the webpage : www.atlantic-villa.com

 TAG 11: in SWAKOPMUND – Drive 40km,

weather: a.m. fog 12°C, p.m.cloudy 17°C

Easy day today, no hurrying it’s cold grey and foggy outside anyway. Must admit I like the town, colourful houses, lots of palms, quaint little shops, and the sun is trying really hard to break through the clouds. We walk along the beach, check out the old jetty, walk through the shopping arcade and find a nice spot for a morning coffee. We stopped by the Bushbird company to pay for this afternoons flight over the dunes. Boy their prices have gone up, about 50% more than what our friends ( who went last year)  had told us. They also told us it is a must do, and so it shall be.

I brought 3 sickbags from the flight coming to Namibia, and am taking my pills just to make sure, don’t want to get sick ! With a van we are transported to the airport…airport ???

A dirt strip, 2 small buildings and a windbag, that’s it.

We depart at 16:00 and fly in direction south-east to the Kuiseb Canyon, Tschondar Vlei and then directly south on to Dune 45 and Sossusvlei. This is so amazing !!! It is a very bumpy ride but I am too busy taking photo’s to get sick. The canyon is awesome, one green strip between a lot of desert. This is one of the most remarkable moments of my life, this is so incredibly beautiful, and in this light,gorgeous !

Don’t know what can beat this experience !

Juerg beside the pilot is not doing to well and only sees the bottom of the sickbag, feel so sorry for him, a 450$ sickbag sighting…. From Sossusvlei we head north-west, over a few deserted diamond camps to the coast, and along the coast, passing a few ship wrecks on the way, back to Swakopmund.

Back to our B&B and after a dinner in a very average tourist restaurant off to bed. I look forward to the peace and quiet, and good food in the “rich-bitch” camp we are going to tomorrow, it’s awful expensive but once I saw it on the webpage I just had to book, let’s hope it is as good as it looks.

DAY 12: SWAKOPMUND – SESRIEM – Drive 444km,

weather : sunny 27°C ( as soon as we left the coast)

This town is nice but the weather is horrible ! We leave at 9:00 for Walvisbaai where the tarred road ends, then head land inwards. At first just flat, empty and lots of sand, then the Kuiseb Canyon. It’s funny the Kuiseb Pass is not like back home going up, over the pass and going down. No, here you go down, over the riverbed and up again. Same thing again at the Gaub Pass. After that it was yellow grasses, like “little house on the prairie”, but without houses and people in sight. This was followed by yellow grass on orange hills, green bushes dotted between, now there’s rock formations visible, mountain ranges show up in the background.

Namib Rand this area is called, and it is one of the most scenic I have ever seen.

After 270km we arrived in Solitaire, a road stop ,restaurant and petrol station in the middle of no-where.

As they say, sometimes they run out of petrol, but never out of cold beer ! Only 80km more to get to Sesriem, the gate to the famous bright orange Namibian dunes. We stayed at the Sossusvlei Lodge which was fine.The room is half concrete, half tent. The windows can not be zipped open because all the zippers are jammed but who cares, we are only there to sleep.

Check out the webpage : www.sossusvleilodge.com

After a beer at the bar we head for the gate. We cannot buy a 2-day-pass, only one for today, typical African burocracy. From the gate a very good tarred road leads into the amazing dune landscape, speed limit 60km/h, but with nobody around one can do 80-90…, us dirt-road racers, we are having an easy day here. We stop a few times, but most dunes are too far from the road to get good pics, so we put on the big lens, that’s better. Our favourite dune is at km 40, we continue on to dune 45, as the name says at km 45.

Back to the gate at full speed it closes at sundown and we are pretty late ! We head directly to the petrol station, have to be prepared for tomorrow. Sorry, no unleaded ! Now what ? We have to go to the dunes and back, to Wolwedans=100 and the next day from there to Maltahöhe : 120+70+200= 390 km and we’ve only got petrol for maximally 120km, shit, shit, shit ! A guy at the petrol station even calls his pal, who is a driving petrol truck. The pal is at Solitaire right now, so they will surely have petrol there tomorrow. Now we are forced to book the morning tourist trip to Sossusvlei in the lodge, we have to go there ! After that we will drive to Solitaire to get petrol, return here and then move on to Wolwedans.

That is a 150 km de-tour, and a good lesson ! Always fill up when you can, even if only half empty, you never know what’s coming !

Look on the positive side, if we hadn’t found this out now, we would have been stuck at the lodge tomorrow and have been too late to book the tourist tour. Will have to go and get drunk now ! Dinner was very good, all sorts of meat from the BBQ, a choice of zebra, wart hog, kudu, eland, oryx, impala. believe it or not: the wart hog was the best. Informed Juerg of the price of this whole trip during dinner, he almost choked and nearly fell off his chair. I try to distract him, oh well, you only live once, and it is absolutely great here ! Juerg still hasn’t recovered, threatens to take me to a very cheap camping in Italy next year….

 DAY 13 : SESRIEM – WOLWEDANS – Drive 96km, weather: sunny 30°C

Rise and shine at 06:15, but we only leave at 7:00 ! and this guy drives at 40km/h. After 10km a first stop, information, walk a bit, look for tracks…aahhh ! I want dunes ! We will never get there in time !

At 7:45 he did “step on it” a bit, it is freezing cold on an open jeep at 60km/h but at least we got to the dead vlei by 9:00, me almost 15 minutes before the others because I almost ran there. Still no use, the sun has risen and there are no cool shadows to be photographed. The good thing is that it is almost deserted, and still dramatically beautiful. After a breakfast at the parking lot we walk up another big dune called big mama, after that back to the lodge. Good thing we went yesterday afternoon and got some cool shots. The petrol shortage is also over and we fill our tank before we head for Wolwedans in the Namib Rand. Just 100km but a rather bad road, lots of loose gravel and extreme washboard surface, and so dusty, the airconditioning in the car is getting worse by the day, I believe it is broke. Quite busy here, we cross paths with 3 cars ! They all wave friendly. Since the airco is not working so well we leave the windows open to get some fresh air. You have to be real fast when a car approaches, close it all, or eat dust !

At the Wolwedans property border I get out to open the gate, look back and get a laughing attack. Our back hatch is open ! Has probably been open since our last stop, no wonder it was dusty, and no wonder everyone was waving frantically… There is red dust in the back of the car, on all the bags, well actually just about everywhere in the car, wah ! So now we tackle the last 20km farm road to the Wolwedans reception area. Farm roads, those are the worst ! And it really was, we took 40 min for 20km, nice average speed. At check in we receive a cold beer and they promise to clean our car till we return, all is well again.

From here we are driven in a camp jeep by our private guide. The room is again a tent on a wooden veranda, a huge one , with separate bathroom tent and spectacular views.

Check out the webpage : www.wolwedans.com

At 17:30 we get picked up for our sundowner drive, just the two of us. We drive down onto the plains, sit on the hood of our jeep, drink cold beers and eat some snacks whilst watching the best sunset of this holiday. Really the best because today is the only sunset with clouds, a lot of clouds.

There are only 6 tents, so we are just 12 for dinner and all are seated at one long table. The menu is read to us in Nama, the funny clicking language, ( and after that in English ) and the food is very good, even more when you see the very small and simple kitchen these guys are cooking in.

 DAY 14 : at WOLWEDANS, weather: sunny 30°C

As the days before I rise to watch the sunrise, you just have to it is so beautiful, and cold … it is only about 7°C but warms quickly as the sun rises ! Breakfast is wonderful with lots of fine foods to choose from. At 10:00 our drive starts with our private guide Felix at the wheel.

He drives us through the most beautiful landscape, we go to a viewpoint, he explains us the fairy circles, shows us different sorts of trees and seedpods, shows us tracks in the sand.

The most beautiful landscape

We visit Nadeet, a project where school classes spend 4 days in the desert and learn about the environment, how to survive in the desert, how to take care of this beautiful land. Everything is solar powered, even the oven ( it takes about 4x as long but works ). From there to Boulders Camp, the most luxurious Wolwedans lodge. It looks a bit like Mowani with all the big boulders, only these are black not red. To be honest, I prefer our little bush camp, much cosier and our views are way better ! Drive by the “Hard Rock Cafe”, over the plains, through the red dunes and back home by 16:00, what a wonderful day ! We go and relax at our tent, open the bottle of wine we have been dragging along since we left Windhoek, and just sit and enjoy the sensational view. Today we do a sunset photo just behind our tent, not quite as spectacular, because of missing clouds, but nice. We sit at the camp fire and watch the bush TV till it is time for dinner, which is again very good, and so is the company.

DAY 15 : WOLWEDANS – MARIENTHAL – Drive 350km, weather: sunny 27°C

At 06:30 I was outside with a cup of tea and a woollen blanket, again an awesome morning, I don’t want to miss one minute of this. I am truly sad having to leave here, but see it Felix’ way : “you guys are filthy stinking rich and privileged to be here, and to see all this”, how right he is ! We leave after breakfast, the bill has to be paid in the curio shop. Very smart, the bill is zero because really everything is included here, but of course you see a thing or two to take home…. We did a new personal best driving from reception to the main road, only 30 min ! ( for 20km). A rather good dirt road takes us to Maltahöhe.

The breathtakingly beautiful landscape slowly changes as we get closer to the Tsaris Pass. This is one like back home, we are going up. The mountains are totally flat on top, like cut with a knife, and there are more and more trees. Almost at the top there is a big “puddle” on the road, I let Juerg out of the car once we are through, and go through again so we can get a nice splashy photo…I know, stupid, silly tourist thing, but it was fun ! Maltahöhe is a tiny town where everybody walks on the highway. Probably because there’s hardly ever a car coming through, and it is paved from here.

From here the drive is long and boring, it’s empty, flat, a few sparse shrubs and yellow flowering acacias are the highlights. You can put cruise control in, and steer with one hand, which is utterly boring when you have just gotten used to being a dirt road racer.

Mariental ,110km further on is a little bigger, but also a sleepy little town with only slightly more tourists than Maltahöhe ( where we saw about 5). A short stop for money at the ATM, petrol and our beloved tennis biscuits. Only 60km more to go, and we are delighted when it turns into a dirt road again as we take the turn-off to the lodge. Juerg can let it out one last time, slipping, sliding, drifting, not a soul around, so who cares. The landscape is prettier once again, bright orange dunes almost like in the Namib rand, green bushes and lots of trees, a bad sand road ahead of us. We manage to get stuck in sight of the lodges reception area, it is only a little slope, but so much sand ! One of the staff, with a broad smile on his face, comes to our rescue and drives the car up for us. The lodge is okay but after Wolwedans a serious downgrade. Lots of dark leather furniture, a deserted bar, nice view on a field full of yellow grass dotted with acacias. The room is rather worn down, the curtain is little better than a rag, the tiles in the bathroom are falling off the wall, the chair is so wobbly we do not dare sit on it. After dinner we’re off to bed, it gets really cold at night and there’s not much to do here anyway,and hardly any other guests. It’s kind of lonely after having dinner at one big table for the past few days, now it’s just the two of us.

Check out the webpage : www.intu-africa.com/lodges/zebra-kalahari-lodge/

DAY 16: at KALAHARI ZEBRA LODGE, weather:  sunny 30°C

At 8:00 I join the Bushman walk, 3 small, wiry, thin San Bushman who enthousiasticly explain us everything. Unfortunately in their language, not ours ! It sound funny, lots of clicking supported by wild gesticulating with hands and feet. Good for us one of the lodges guides is with us to translate.

That was such good fun and very informative, incredible what these guys know about surviving in the desert, about what to eat, what not, where to find it etc.

After an hour we’re back and I get Juerg out of bed, lazy bum ! We have an easy day today, sit at the pool, read, write, swim, eat, drink, thats it.

DAY 17 : ZEBRA KALAHARI – WINDHOEK – Drive 266km, weather: sunny 34°C

The phrase of the day by a spoilt old German tourist lady yesterday evening :” this place… this here, it is not plain, it is primitive!”, silly goat, sure it’s not the Hilton and hardly worth 3 stars, but it wasn’t that bad.

At 9:00 we leave, drive a little faster they tell us, so you won’t get stuck again. So Juerg drives off with 60km/h leaving all the staff behind us in a big cloud of dust.

At Kalkrand we’re back on the B1 and tarred road all the way till Windhoek, the final 187km lie ahead. On this road that doesn’t take long. Was quite surprised, I had to wait to overtake a bus, oncoming traffick, that’s new ! Before it was maybe one car per 50km, now it’s at least 10, such a stress. We reach Windhoek city by noon, the room at the Villa Verdi is not ready yet. They just leave us sitting at the poolside, the unfriendliest welcome I’ve had in Namibia, can’t recommend, and will not place a picture or webpage even though the place looked really nice. We leave the bags at reception and head into town, buy some last souvenirs and some more tennis biscuits, damn our last day here, I don’t want to go home ! At 17:30 we finally get shown to our room. Dinner at Joe’s once again, that wasn’t too good either the meat skewer was half raw, so were the fries, not the cooks best day. Too bad, last time was so good we’ll just remember that.

 DAY 18 : leave WINDHOEK – Drive 50km to the airport, weather: sunny 24°C

After breakfast we leave for the airport which is 50km out of town. Returning the car takes about 5 minutes, so we have enough time to sit around and look through the souvenir shops. Our plane is an hour late which is not too bad. Our jouney is not yet over, we are now flying to Maun for 2 luxiourious nights  in the Okavango Delta

Botswana here we come !

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Copyright text and photo by Astrid Bluemel for bluemelphoto