Sea, sand and sweeping views

Swakopmund is a very popular destination, yet it has a weird vibe that is hard to describe. The cold sea provides permanent air conditioning, a welcome from the hot interior, and the mixture of old and new architecture adds to its charm. The wide streets lined with shops and bars are lovely to explore and there is plenty to keep you busy. Finding accommodation was difficult – maybe because it was a weekend. Yet on a weekend, the shops close on Saturday afternoons and on Sundays! I guess most people are off sand-boarding and quad biking in the dunes, throwing themselves out of planes, eating at local restaurants, or riding the waves in a boat. We decided to skip the sandy bits and did the wet ones instead. We were picked up and taken to Walvis Bay for a morning boat ride, complete with drinks and lunch. 

There are local seal colonies, Heaviside dolphins, whales and plenty of gulls and sea birds. It seems to be the thing to do as the pier was filled with tourists all eager to board the various boats. It was a lovely morning out (especially since I didn’t get sea sick), although the weather was a bit cool, and we spent the rest of the day exploring the town. Namibia has a lot of natural minerals which are mined extensively and you can see the variety of crystals found at a local museum. All sorts of colours, sizes and shapes – and the energy inside was incredible.  

After chatting to some locals we decided to change our plans and head inland towards Etosha, instead of the Skeleton coast road. 

We drove up the good salt road to Henties Bay, through the dramatic desert where we stopped here and there to admire the views, take some pictures and even explore the rocks for gecko’s and lichens – all of which thrive out here.

We then turned inland, through the desert, towards the Brandeberg, Namibia’s highest mountain. Slowly you experience the environment change from the barren, rocky and sandy desert, to larger shrubs and finally bushveld and savanna with the Brandeberg Mountain dominating the landscape. 

We visited the famous ‘white lady’ rock painting, a 40min walk (or run if your guide wants to get back for lunch) through the majestic rock formation, littered of rock paintings where you find the white lady who is actually a man, surrounded by various animals – all 2000 to 6000 years old!

We were now in Damaraland, known for beautiful mountainous scenery and lots of places to explore. We headed to Twyfelfontein, and pitched our rooftop tent at the large and friendly Aba-Huab community campsite, on the banks of a dry riverbed. 

We were serenaded to sleep by the local choir who were performing for some tourists. Early the next morning the dawn chorus of birds roused us from our sleep and John was off running down the river after some Rupppel’s parrots. I turned down this opportunity knowing the other campers would think we were totally bonkers as we scrambled around in our pyjama’s with binoculars in hand (it wouldn’t be the first time). This was a mistake as I am yet to spot the endemic parrot L I did have breakfast with some bare cheeked babblers and red billed francolins as a consolation.

While in the area we checked out the ‘organ pipes’ which are a really impressive geological formation of rocks. We did a tour of the rock engravings at Twyfelfontein, a World Heritage Site, where there are literally thousands of engravings all over the area. It was fascinating to read all about the interpretation and meanings behind the engravings – the bushmen who inhabited the area over 2000 years ago even drew maps showing water points and animal concentrations.

It was a very special place and in the morning light, the surrounding mountains were stunning.

We continued along the undulating dirt roads towards the Petrified Forest. The first sign for the forest did seem rather informal but G-man (our GPS) confirmed it as the location of the forest so we pulled in and drove up to a little ‘office’ where we waited for our guide who came running from the closest homestead. The very polite and welcoming (yet slightly sweaty) boy took us on a little walk and showed us some great examples of whole tree trunks that had become petrified (fossilised) over time and with the right conditions.

You can even see the growth rings in the trunk, now turned to stone. He also showed us some Welwitschia plants – another endemic plant to this region which grow very slowly and has adapted well to desert life. At the end of the tour we bartered some food for some crystals – and with both parties very happy indeed, we left. Further down the road we passed more informal signs, as well as a very official looking Petrified Forest office where all the busses were parked! I think in the end we got a more personal experience, and enriched the lives of some of the entrepreneurial locals J

Our experience of Namibia so far has been great. What strikes you at first is the lack of people (as opposed to the rest of Southern Africa) and when you do encounter some locals they are all friendly, non-harassing and welcoming to tourists - of which there are many. It seems Namibia is well advertised in Europe as the safe, friendly African destination to come and explore. There are hired 4x4’s everywhere, mostly driven by older German couples. There are also lots of tourist groups for the less adventurous and we have sat and chuckled on more than one occasion as a group pulls in and gets a lesson on how to erect the roof-top-tent and inevitably someone sets the rented cars alarm off in the middle of the night and scrambles to find their keys and the circus continues.

The tourism industry here is booming and there is no shortage of places to stay or German tourists. You even find yourself on the odd occasion saying things like ‘Zuper’ and ‘Nein’ and occasionally feel you are in some strange province of Germany. But that aside, there are also some great spots which are off the beaten track where you can get away from all the tourists and enjoy the peaceful and majestic surroundings. The wildlife and birds here are also all new and interesting with lots of reptiles and insects which have had us delving into the books (see the Namib Rock Agama in the photo).  

From the Damaraland we headed to Hobatere Lodge and Etosha for an amazing wildlife experience – which John will chat about in the next blog.

Regards to all, we are looking forward to catching up with everyone in December.

Love Liz

QUIZ: The last blog I asked if anyone could find the grass hopper. Here are the 2 pics showing the little guy in disguise and then I have pulled it back in the same position he is lying. Hope you can now find him. We will do another quiz in the next blog.