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November 29, 2014

Swakopmund
When last I wrote I had just arrived in Swakopmund the second largest city in Namibia and as I said, Swakopmund is a bit like Queenstown in New Zealand in terms of adventure activities.

So since I am on holidays I decided to participate in some adventure activities. The afternoon we arrived I booked onto a 6 hour tour of the skeleton coast.
The skeleton coas is a large portion of the Namibian Coastline. It gets its name from the large number of ship wrecks that are dotted along the coast line. It is apparently some of the wildest seas in the whole world.
The skeleton coast runs parallel to the Namib desert. There are plenty of stories of people surviving ship wrecks and making it to land only to die of dehydration because there was no water. Alternatively if there was water in the rivers this would bring the lion an leopard down from the interior and the ship wreak survivors would then be devoured by the lion and leopard!

The Portuguese sailor/navigator Diago Ca arrived on the Skeleton Coast in 1482, planted a couple of wooden crosses and promptly sailed away, determining that there was noting of value that could be exploited for the Portuguese King. Now that tells you something about the barrenness of the landscape.

Quad Biking and Spa
I decided to book myself in for a Quad biking and Spa excursion as well in Swakopmund..... I have never ridden a motor bike or a Quad bike before so a 2 hour Quad biking adventure across the sand dunes just outside of Swakopmund sounded like great fun. Which it was and I am proud to say that I only got the Quad bike bogged once and did not take any tumbles at all.

The bonus with the Quad Bike adventure is that I got a facial and leg sand dermabrasion as part of the package (no need to book into the spa in town for an exfoliation afterall!) As you zoom around and across the dunes the sand is whipped up and cuts into your legs and face. Silly me, I should really have worn long pants. And of course I could get seriously sunburnt.
For the Mad Max fans out there, Mad Max 4 was mostly filmed around the deserts in Namibia.

Wine tasting in Swakopmund
There are a couple of older Canadian gentlemen travelling in the group and they figured out that I liked wine and together with an Irish girl we had an amazing wine tasting and 5 course gourmet dinner in a guest house in Swakopmund, all for the very reasonable price of $650 namibian dollars, which is about $60AUS. Th guest house is run by a Swiss German hotelier who came to this part of Namibia in the middle 1990's and never left.

After two days in Swakopmund enjoying hot running water, restaurants, airconditioning and Wifi it was time to really experience Africa. We headed up north to Etosha National Park. It was a very long drive and as we travelled north the temperature continued to climb.

Okaukuejo Reserve
For the next two nights we camped at Okaukuejo Reserve which is just inside the park and operated by the Namibian Wildlife Service. The reserve is fully fenced in by a 2 meter anti-predator fence. The Reserve had a range of accommodation styles from basic camping right through to luxury 2 story chalets that overlooked the waterhole.

A fine african tradition when one is staying in the parks and reserves, is to wander down to the waterholes at night just on sunset with a drink in one hand and your camera in the other. You then sit or stand very quietly and then before your very eyes the animals start to emerge from the bush after a long hot day to enjoy the waterholes in the evening.

Last night I was privileged to see 18 giraffe on the edge of the waterhole and there were 3 black rhino wallowing in the waterhole. Truly magical. The photo on top of this page is of the waterhole, taken before all the animals arrived.
If you look carefully you may just be able to make out the one giraffe that was at the waterhole.

Windhoek
After two nights of camping I am happy to report that I have now arrived in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. Tonight we had a farewell dinner for those members of the group who are leaving the tour here and a welcome dinner for the three new people who are joining us as we travelling into Botswana and Zambia.

Tomorrow we leave and are expected to make the Botswana border at about lunchtime and we stay near Ghanzi on the edge of the central Kalahari desert in a traditional San Bushman camp - definitely no air conditioning but there is a flush toilet (it is the little pleasures in life that you look forward to).

My time in Namibia has been one of surprises. Amazing landscapes, interesting german history, extraordinary wildlife and peaceful evenings camping and taking in the glorious night sky.
I have now reached the half way point of my african adventure.

Cheers and best wishes, Christine