Well to be a bit more exact it wasn’t actually dark and it wasn’t so much a highway, but it was the C14 desert highway road from Walvis Bay through the Namib-Naukluft Park which is desert!
When we both think of the desert we think of sand and lots of it. Without any doubt we did get that on this road, but there was so much more. From the golden sandy dunes and grey moon landscape through brown, rocky outcrops and up and down steep dry gorges to vibrant burnt orange sand dunes edged with mouldy green and musty yellow meadows of tussock, the stark contrast of colours was amazing. It was a really mesmorising drive in the heat of the day on a fairly well maintained desert road. And who thought deserts were just full of sand???
It was funny to read the headline news written on the blackboard when we arrived at the petrol station at Solitaire – NZ to host 2011 Rugby World Cup. We hope that this time the NZ RFU will manage the ticket prices in a way that will get Kiwis to go to the games, unlike the recent Lions games where many of the provincial games were far from a sell out.
Well here is a surprise, I have been allowed to write again. It can’t have been too bad the first time.
So having driven vast distances with the paraglider in the back of the car and yearning to get up in the air flying, we arrived in Swakop, a place that we had been told was the best place in Namibia to fly.
Paragliding Practice
I was really excited having pictured myself soaring above the dunes held up by a seabreeze. Shaz and I drove out to the dunes and the breeze felt good but a little strong for me. I got set up and waited for about 15 mins for a short break in the wind and took off. 10 seconds and 100 metres later I was back on the ground, still it counts as a flight in the log book. Got myself set up again, waited and took off, this time stayed up for a couple of minutes. After that I decided it was time for a beer.
I had the phone number of one of the local pilots and arranged to meet him the following morning for some tips. The wind was the same as the previous day and I proceeded to get dragged all round the dunes, pretending to be in control of my paraglider but really it was the other way round. The only good thing about the situation was that 2 Swiss pilots had turned up and their ground handling was as bad as mine. I knew before that my ground handling (the ability to control the glider while on the ground and therefore have a good take off) was not good but I didn’t realise how bad.
Luckily Alex (the local pilot and instructor) agreed to come back in the afternoon and give us a proper lesson, teaching us a new technique for taking off in stronger winds and standing on a steep slope. Since then I have been out twice a day to practice and while I am still struggling a little bit I am no longer sweeping the dunes with my backside.
Taking off!
Dune buggy adventure
Actually yesterday I had a day off and Shaz and I did some touristy things. In the morning we went out on a Rhino, (as a fellow customer put it, a Golf Cart on steroids) it is basically a covered quad bike for 2 people. Well we went mad for a couple of hours, laughing like school kids. Shaz kept getting me to leave enough space between us and the guide and then flooring the accelerator to see if we could get airborne over the bumps, we managed a couple of times.
Sand dunes Swakopmund Namibia
Walvis Bay & Dune 7
In the afternoon we went to Walvis Bay just down the coast, went to see the Flamingos and then to see Dune 7 the biggest dune in the area. By this time the wind had picked up and we were in the middle of a sand storm, so we couldn’t really see the dune!
Anyway time to go and do my last days practice, we are probably heading off tomorrow. Not quite sure where but hoping to find a mountain so I can fly properly!
We have been in Swakopmund, Namibia for about 5 days now and really enjoying it. It is a little beach resort type town with very German heritage and quite a few cafes and restaurants. We have been treating ourselves at least once a day to dining out! And we are set up in a pretty nice campsite (Alte Brucke) with our own private toilet/shower, bbq area and washing up sink – it is practically luxury.
Alte Brucke Campsite Swakopmund, Namibia
The main attraction here in Swakopmund is for Dave – he can fly on the massive sand dunes that are just on the edge of town (at last his paraglider is out of the car!) and Sharon is using her time to work on her tan. Even with factor 30 she is now a slightly darker shade of white! And there is time to read up on a lot of the Fair Trade in Tourism literature.
Dave no doubt will write more about his flying at some stage, but it looks like we will stay here for a few more days of sand dune soaring, sun bathing (although we have had rain for the first time this morning) and dining out.
From here we will continue heading south towards South Africa.
If we thought that we were dirty and dusty after our week in Etosha, then we had another thought coming, we ain’t seen nothing yet! The sparkling results of our day of cleaning Chico and ourselves in Outjo (when we last updated the blog) were short-lived, but it did feel good while it lasted all the same.
To call the Damaraland region dusty would be an understatement. There was so much sand and dust that Dave turned ashen-grey in a single afternoon (no jokes please about Sharon’s already natural grey highlights which she will remedy by Christmas at the latest!). The distinguished salt and pepper look really suited Dave and now the prospect of him going grey is quite appealing!
Community Tourism
One of the reasons we persevered on the very dry, dusty and corrugated roads of the Damaraland was that we were in search of some community tourism projects that we had heard about. We wanted to show some support to locals and find out a bit more about how they operated.
All in all they were okay and surviving, but as we have found in Namibia in general, it was very hard to find information about places, there is still loads of room for improvement. One of the basic needs of a tourism operation is that it can provide a good service – this is still lacking somewhat. Still we enjoyed seeing what little there was to see – the ancient Petrified Forest, the rock paintings and engravings at Twyfelfontein and Brandberg.
Community Tourism in Damaraland
Campsites
The campsites we used were basic, but did provide good outdoor showers with piping hot water. In one site, Aba Hoab it was so windy we couldn’t put the tent up, but they did have little A-frame shelters so we managed to set up in two of them. We used one for our dining room, and in the other we laid down our mattresses for a bedroom and we were able to watch the stars at night. There were only 3 other campers in the site and they all had camper vans.
We are getting used to being the only English speaking people on campsites with a tent and in a private 2WD car (red) as opposed to white fully kitted out rental 4WD camper vans driven by German or Dutch tourists. We seem to stand out like sore thumbs and as much as we try to make conversation with other tourists we get nowhere; but we have had nice chats with locals and staff working on sites.
Driving
The drive to the coast was strange, it seemed the sea was right in front of us, but the road would continue for miles, some kind of optical illusion in the desert. Anyway it was a welcome sight when we did actually get there – Henties Bay – and we treated ourselves to fish and chips – so fresh and delicious, especially since the previous day we had probably the camping meal that ranks up there as the worst ever, wait for it… 2 minute noodles and a tin of corned beef! We usually eat well, but got caught out miles from anywhere with a limited pantry.
Apart from the fresh fish there wasn’t much reason to stay in Henties Bay so we drove the extra 70kms or so to Swakopmund, Namibia’s beach resort, and that is where we are now.
It’s not quite as drastic as ‘dead or alive’, but perhaps wanted in Namibia all the same. And it just applies to Sharon.
Since driving in Namibia we have come across many Police road blocks with Stop signs. It seems they are a dime a dozen and at first we stopped at them all, waiting for instructions which were not always forthcoming, but when they were it was just a wave from a cop in a roadside hut to drive on. That is until Sharon did not come to a complete standstill.
At one of these Stop signs a few hundred km’s north of Windhoek she just slowed way down, looked for the cop’s attention and moved off in 1st gear thinking that he would wave us on as normal. Not the case – he pulled us in and started the interrogation. Perhaps this is where he got confused and annoyed. Female driver speaking with an Irish accent, driving a South African car in Namibia, holding a British passport and a Kiwi driving licence, but now resident in South Africa, married to an English man. He couldn’t quite follow the trail of a global citizen!
Anyway he demanded an instant N$150 fine, but when Sharon demanded a receipt, his name and ID number he changed his tune. He apparently tried phoning and making radio contact with some of his colleagues somewhere, but to no avail. He told us that at the next road block they would be waiting on us and we would have to pay the fine there. Strangely enough we never came across another road block, and touch wood the Namibian Police Force have not yet tracked us down, but if anything changes we will let you know!
We have just driven out of Etosha National Park in north Namibia having spent the last week living the wild life there.
We got there a bit later than we had first anticipated due to our few car delays and then our change of plan to attend a local air show (more in a minute). We had wanted to get to Etosha before the rains came as apparently the game viewing is much easier and our car is only a 2 wheel drive; we made it and in fact there is still not much sign of rain.
Camping in Etosha National Park
Etosha is a massive natural salt pan and the place is just teaming with game. We camped at three different camp sites and just drove ourselves around the park in the mornings, swam in the afternoons, and then either did late afternoon drives or just sat at the camp site water holes (which were flood lit for night time viewing) to view the animals. We know how to live the wild life!
It was magic. We just loved anticipating the surprise of what we might see every day, and we were never disappointed. We saw dozens of giraffe, hundreds of zebra, springbok, oryx and impala, herds of wildebeest, several elephant, a few rhinos and lions on a daily basis. We did spot a couple of the smaller wild things and perhaps a bit too close for comfort. We had a snake go under our tent one night, and this morning Dave spotted a scorpion just as he was packing up the tent!
(We do hope to download some photos onto the blog site at some stage, but it is time consuming at internet cafes – perhaps when we settle back in SA we will get some organised.)
Otjiwarongo Air Show
Back to the air show. That was our first change of plan, and what a result it turned out to be. Dave had made email contact with some paragliders, and to cut a long story a wee bit shorter we ended up meeting up with them to see if he could get a flight. We had a great few days and got involved with helping set up and do things at the air show which was a fund raising activity for REST – Rare and Endangered Species Trust – with particular emphasis on the Cape Griffen Vulture of which there are only 12 remaining in Namibia.
Unfortunatley Dave did not manage to get a flight (condidtions were not right at the right time), but we had a great 4 nights eating and drinking at REST and met some lovely people and hope to meet up with a few of the flying guys again in South Africa.
Hi, we're Sharon & Dave an active and adventurous Irish & English couple who've been travelling together for more than 20 years. These posts are our travel stories and personal journeys. Follow our adventures to see where we've been and where we're going next!
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