Namibia, Namibia, Namibia ....... so much to say, so little space to say it.
We got lucky on our two flights out 18 hours of flying and both planes were half empty giving
us space to spread out. Having said that our first flight was an hour late and due to changes in
flight times due to the whole Qatar / Yemen paying for a prince to be returned issue our first
flight actually landed 5 minutes after the second boarded. We ran through about 3 km of airport
crossing transit security and several fights almost breaking out before we reached the gate.
Some of the last few passengers only 2 minutes before the gate closed we made the last bus to the
plane.
As we pulled up on the tarmac we were the only plane other than a couple of small private planes.
We trundled up to the terminal which had two doors: Arrivals, Departures. After being scanned to
make sure not sick we got to queue at immigration for an age. As soon as we cleared customs it was
clear we were in Africa. A bit more chaotic and less managed. Thankfully we found our driver with
ease. We had to wait for the other people renting a 4x4 with us before we were transferred to the
guys house where he run the rental business from in an old school VW bus.
We knew the rental 4x4 was going to be old, but we didn't know the exact condition. Upon picking up
the rental we were pleasantly surprised that the vehicle seemed to be in ok nick. A Toyota Hilux
Double Cab 2.4 L diesel. It had A good 261,000 km on the clock, slightly bald rear tyres and a rear
boot lid that you had to punch twice; once on each side before you could lock it and the key had to
be inserted to a specific mm precision in order for the key to turn. This was Africa however and you
wouldn't want the flashiest car where we were going.
First impressions of Namibia was that there were hardly any roads. We'd come in flying low over desert
for quite a distance and hadn't seen anything except sand tracks. Things became more apparent how sparesly
populated the country must be when we realised that Namibia didn't even have enough famous people for its
notes of money and that instead they had had to reuse people for different notes.
Day 1. The first of what was to be many early starts. We left Windhoek heading south on route to the
Sand dunes. Our primary reason for having first looked up coming to Namibia.
Our journey started by turning onto a main tarmacked road, crossing a roundabout and heading straight
for about 120km. Passing small villages on route. Eventually we reached our turn off and the tarmac
ended. Onto a soft surface gravel road we turned. I engaged high 4 wheel drive and we ploughed on as
almost the only car taking it steady and it was hard to imagine that we were only 120km from the capital.
We barrelled down the road passing the odd remote village but largely not seeing anyone else. In one
small town a dog ran out and I had to perform an emergency stop and take evasive action. Luckily at the
last minute the dog ran away a second or two before going under the huge off road tyres which would have
crushed it in an instance. This had been our first taste of the dust we were likely to endure. As far
as I could see behind me in my mirrors all I could see was my dust trail. It must have stretched for almost
a kilometre. For lunch we stopped at a lay stop by the side of the road. Conveniently located in a pass where
the ground was literred on monkey bones and skulls.
Our first day had been a long one, we'd seen tourists with punctures from not driving carefully enough on
the razor sharp gravel, but we'd decided to continue on past our camp stop and aim to check out if
anywhere closer to Sossusveli had accommodation. This meant an extra 90 minutes of driving. We drove down a
road that was wide open between mountains like about 100 km across and the surface was very loose gravel.
The strong near total cross winds and the roof tent on the car meant that we were blown across the road a
lot and it was very hard to wrestle the car on to keep it straight. Eventually we arrived though at the first
lodges that we thought were close enough. We were in luck, the women on the desk was even shocked by it.
Our gamble had paid off and we had somewhere much better to stay.
It had been a rough night. Half cooked food followed by a horrific storm that had kept us up for most of the
night. Our accommodation had been part house, part tent to give us a more rustic camping feel. It certainly
felt more "outdoorsy" as the 100mph winds hit the side flaps and the door blew open and sand filled the room.
It was an uncomfortable night. Even the bottle of wine and couple of large beers couldn't help us sleep through
it. However we were pleased not to be in our roof tent as we were supposed to have been.
We woke up in a sandstorm. Unable to see anything more than a few feet in front of us. Regardless of the weather
we headed towards the sand dunes hoping that by the time we reached them the weather would have settled at least
a little. This being our only chance to see the dunes we knew that we had to take the chance. The national park
entrance was manned by a guy trying to protect himself from the whipping sand like razors as he waved us on through.
Welcome to the second oldest desert in the world.
It was about 65km to our destination, thankfully the road was tarmacked even if the sand was sweeping over it making
it hard to see. The further we got the storm did settle a little bit and we managed to get some photos in the morning
light. We skipped over stopping at most of the sand dunes that the groups stop at on route in favour of big daddy. The
tallest dune in the park. Standing at 325 metres above sea level we knew we had to get to the top before the sun got
too hot. In order to reach this dune we had to drive through deep sand and dunes requiring us to switch to low range
4 wheel drive. Even with the car like this we struggled in the sand having to shift as soon as possible into 3rd and
then 4th gear. Trying not to stop as we passed brand new 4x4 rentals without low range. Typical people not knowing what
they were doing and getting stuck in the deep sand.
Eventually we managed to navigate the maze of channels to the car park through the sand storm covering all the old tracks
in minutes. We hoped out the car and put our bandana's over our faces to protect our noses, mouths and our sun glasses to
protect our eyes. We thought we were well prepared as we headed from the car park towards the dune in order to climb it.
All was fine to start until we started climbing higher and higher and we started to be whipped in the legs by sand grains
like they were fragments of glass tearing at the skin on our legs and filling our ears. This while being painfully steep
and hard to breath. Kat began to struggle with the climb. We made it to a top ridge overlooking DeadVlei (the dead forest)
before we decided enough was enough and the view was not really worth it with so much sand in the air. We ran down the side
of the dune descending the hour long climb in only a few seconds straight towards deadvlei.
On our way back from Deadvlei we couldn't see the car park as the storm had gotten so bad. We were having to follow the
rapidly disappearing footprints from those who had passed this way before us. Eventually though as the foot prints were
mostly faded we caught a break and could see the large tree signalling the location of the car park. We had made it back.
Survived being in the desert in a full on sandstorm. We had come to the desert and the desert had shown us how hostile it
could be. We saw little point in staying in the area any longer as the weather had got so bad so we headed back up to the
park gate entirely unable to tell at points if we were on the road or on a dune because the sand was covering all the tarmac
and a hazy mist had descended reducing visibility to maybe 15 feet in front of us. Eventually though we managed to escape
its grasp. And we welcomed back the dust and gravel roads which didn't whip up as much in the strong winds.
We entered the Namib Naukluft park on route from Sossusvlei to Walvis Bay and the Skeleton Coast. We hadn't expected much
from it. It was more the most logical way to transit across from where we were. Upon entering the park we were greeted with
great passes and rugged moon like landscapes. Quite different from the dunes of Sossusvlei. It was also very flat for the
most part and quite arid. The only trees here being those planted for campsites or the odd one gathered around the collections
of occasional large rock formations which seemingly spurted out of nowhere every so often just to break the flatness all around.
As we passed through the park we realised that we weren't going to reach Walvis Bay early enough and we would have been left
driving through arid land covered with rocks and potholes at night. So instead we waited for campsites, we knew there was a
couple from our maps. After checking a few out and deciding otherwise we eventually arrived at one of the last spots. Two huge
slightly weathered rocks with spots carved into the face every so often and with natural erosion allowing people to camp slightly
sheltered. We drove right around the rock and ended up camping on the back side out of sight of the main road. This was our first
time to pop up the roof tent on the car and use the gas stove. The tent was very easy to assemble and we had no issues. The stove
on the other hand was so dire that it took 90 minutes to even part boil some pasta and we ended up having to bail and eat crisps
for diner instead. The camp spot was beautiful though and the rock very grippy so I had managed to climb clean up almost vertical
parts for a great view over the car and the expanse. Since we came here from the dunes and having been whipped in the face by sand
we really needed a shower. Given the total lack of amenities here we had to use the cooking tap water can in the car and tip it over
our heads as we stood stark bollock naked in the middle of the vast park looking out other the expanse. Thankfully our only visitors
that night were the desert jackals who tried to steal are half cooked pasta and sauce. Once it got dark and growing fed up of
chasing the jackals away we retreated into the tent. Despite it having been 35°C during the day; after sunset the temperature began
to drop sharply so much so we needed to sleep in thermals inside are 3 season sleeping bags.
The next morning we climbed the rock overlooking the entire expanse in the morning light before we headed off to drive through the
rest of the park before finally reaching Dune 7 and Walvis Bay. Dune 7 was nowhere near as great as the dunes in Sossusvlei, and
it had been turned into a bit of a tourist attraction giving it laid on the outskirts of Walvis Bay between the airport and the town.
We still climbed it though and enjoyed the view out. It was distinctly colder here though. The day time temperatures on the coast
were only 16°C with night time temperatures being much colder. Walvis Bay had a feeling much like Cairns as a very deprived coastal
town in close proximity to several large tourist regions. We had been supposed to go out kayaking with Seals while here, but the
temperature had put us right off and we had already snorkelled with the same seals.
We then spent a night just up the coast in Swakopmund a much nicer more tourist centric town. During our time here we headed back
into the Namib Naukluft Park and explored the Welwitschia Drive. This turned out to be a really great day with views over canyons, the
famous 1,000 year old plant and since we had a 4x4 the ability to drive off into the unknown exploring the snakes and bends of the
canyons up close, driving over steep rock faces and having the feeling of being entirely insignificant while surrounded by natures
power. The only people we saw while exploring the canyons was a tourist scenic flight that flew over us once and must have seen us
as this tiny white dot immersed in this great big expanse.
Our next stop was the Skeleton Coast. I had known what to expect, but it still threw in a couple of surprises for us along the way.
First things first just how sparsely populated it was even in the southern regions technically residing outside of the national park.
When populations did exist they were literally towns built on top of the beach / dune sand. The entire coast line as far as one
could see from left to right was sand. The only break in the sand to the left was the sea. It wasn't long up the coast before we
started to see shipwrecks and oil rig ruins. Because of the total lack of buildings, lights etc and the fact the land was all flat
many ships crews had been unable to see that this was actually land fall until it was too late.
On route we had planned to stop at the Cape Cross Seal sanctuary. We really didn't know what to expect from it. It turned out that
80,000-250,000 seals call this point their home. On a beautiful rocky corner of the coast we found the seals. They had taken over
the picnic spot and were sleeping / playing on every bit of rock, concrete or ground that they could find. They were making an awful
lot of noise, running down to the water's edge together, fighting and laying in the sun. As usual they had an unforgettable stench though.
The whole skeleton coast was lined with beautiful beaches, although very little in the way of shelter. I can imagine it would be a prime
surfing destination were it not for the fact there's no amenities or help for miles around. We ended up staying at the northern tip of the
coast, as far as we were allowed to drive. We didn't see them but we knew there were desert lions in the park. We did see their foot prints
though in the moist sand and there was again plenty of jackals around at this weird end of the road outpost.
The next day we headed back down the coast on route inland towards warmer climates and Damaraland.
For a video of seals, see below:
It was clear from the number of locals trying to sell goods, to the number of locals taking over tourist spots as community projects and
then charging way over the odds for them that we were closing in on more densely populated areas of the country and also getting closer
to the main tourist attraction; Etosha National Park.
Damaraland was mainly made up of passes between mountains and red sandy roads. The quality of the roads here hadn't improved but the
volume of traffic had increased dramatically and there was an increase in the number of nervous tourists driving further complicating
issues.
During our time here we visited the burnt rock, organ pipes and ended up driving off the end of a road down a proper 4 x 4 track. At
times we had the car on 3 wheels and were climbing very steep inclines. It was all up and over and around rocks. The car held up well
though. We stopped at a stall with some local himba women selling homemade jewellery and we bartered with them as we brought different
wares. We also gave them water and sweets as they were desperately thirsty and hungry. Unfortunately we didn't have move food to give.
That night we headed towards Grootberg and our lodge for that night. On route we drove up steep passes which totally dismantled
the fridge and broke it. Roads so rough they ruptured plastic water bottles which in turn leaked all over the boot. The wine bottle
remained intact though. :) The roads we passed had warning signs for elephants crossing the road and we were surrounded by beautiful
scenery. At the top of a pass we arrived at the lodge. A bit confused the guy offered us a lift to it. It was up a brutal incline of
about 40% and required low range to even stand a chance. Once we made it though we were pleasantly surprised. We checked in to a
fantastic room overlooking this gorgeous pass. We were served a welcome drink and had a great three course meal while here. Unfortunately
we didn't have any time to do there excursions as they were all full day events and we knew we had a big drive the next day. But this
had turned into one of the best roadside stopovers we could have ever planned.
The next day we left on route towards Etosha and our lodge for this night.
On our way to this private reserve we stopped for a roadside bush bathroom break. Upon turning around I couldn't believe my eyes when
I spotted 3 giraffe right by the other side of the road that we had just driven past without noticing. We turned back and parked up nearer
them, watching them and taking photos. From here we carried on a bit and then turned off down yet another D road. Turns out Namibia saved
A roads for the roads they were yet to build. B being the main roads, C being gravel roads and D being not much more than areas without
bushes or trees. As we drove further and further down the road through cattle control fence after fence after fence through tiny villages
with shaks and roads with huge dips, including one we bottomed out on having not been able to see it and been driving towards it at 70km/h
Kat began to question whether we were going to be murdered upon arrival and speculated that it had been a bad decision as we drove down this
road, further and further through more and more fences.
Upon arrival at the lodge, Kat was eating her words......
For a video of elephants, see below:
Etosha National Park was a state run park which allowed you to self-drive. We spent two days here with a night in a basic safari lodge. It was a unique but very bumpy experience.
Additionally as with most self-drive safari's you aren't allowed to deviate from marked tracks which slightly limits your options. On the positive though you can sit for however
long you want as a watering hole enjoying the animals or stop at a designated sight for lunch, toilet break.
Having already seen so much wildlife in Namibia (a lot unexpectedly) we weren't overly fussed by how much we were going to see here. To us it was more about the variety of experience.
We did however have a few cool sightings: elephants drinking out of toilet block water supplies, a dry lake pan where a lion simply walked up and forced all the other many animals to
make space for him where he then proceeded to lay for a while (clearly he wasn't hungry) until the elephants forced him to move on, and a chance encounter with a rhino and a female lion
as we were departing the park on the second day.
While I would recommend Etosha National park to anyone visiting Namibia there are far better private reserves surrounding the park and around the country. The main perk of Etosha is the
self-drive aspect.
Namibia showing it still had more to offer on our way back to the capital. Dinosaur fossils and footprints marked into the rock faces. Our stop for the night being the AfriCat foundation. An organisation who rescue, rehabilitate and promote the conservation of large carnivores. As part of our stay here we were funding their cause and we also went on a small game drive proceeded by a game walk to see the local leopards being cared for. This followed by a sunset beer on the ridge line overlooking the plains (seemingly a common tradition in Namibia's game drives).
Namibia had been a surprising country with so much to offer. A place where you really must do it self driving and with some rural camping.
By adding in a few private game reserve stays you'll not only be able to experience the desert, dunes, amazing rock formations but also see several of the big 5 safari animals.
From here we left on route to Doha, Qatar where we had a few days to relax, unwind and recoup before our flight home.
