Namibia is also VERY green, except for the dunes of course. This country has far exceeded our expectations and we have seen and done some really awesome shit. Hiking dunes is killing our quads !
AVERAGE PETROL PRICE:
South - R3.88
Central - R3.65
AVERAGE ACCOMODATION COST:
Camping - R30
Backpackers - R55
Bush camping - Rnil
DAILY GPS CO-ORDINATES:
S 28 00.809 E 18 44.836
S 27 54.958 E 17 29.405
S 26 36.782 E 18 09.998
S 26 38.855 E 15 09.288
S 25 44.589 E 16 07.699
S 24 29.034 E 15 47.916
S 22 48.516 E 14 32.711
The Long version:
The morning saw us heading back into Kakamas to pick up Brett's alternator (which didn't fit his brackets incidently) and then on to the Namibian border at Nakop. The vegetation slowly changed to one of desert and we head to Karasberg. Once there we booked into a backpackers and shared a dorm. We had agreed on having a beer for every 1000km's we did, so we set out to do the last 200m needed to achieve 2000km. While sitting next to the rood 200m later ,we saw a very drunk local trying to make his way across the bridge. It was hysterically funny as he dropped his hat and performed the full sequence of Swan Lake to retrieve it!
We stopped at the local bottle store to purchase our local Tafel Beer and settled in for the night.
Next we head for Ai-Ais in the Fish River Canyon. We bathed in hot pools and spent the day relaxing in the sun. Our campsite was once again set in the most gorgeous setting, in the canyon. We met up with two Swiss travellers who had shipped their car from Ghana to Durban and were on their way to the East.
The next day we proceeded to Hobas to view the full glory of the canyon. We ended up driving 22km on a really crappy road ,between farms, to reach the Fish River Canyon Lodge, hoping that it would be really cool. This proved to be a tedious task and camping was way out of our price range and we had to go all the way back. The owner of the Lodge had offered us accommodation in Keetmanshoop at a good price and gave Brett his cell to use when we got there. On the way we realised that this was a bad idea and that we were almost caught by the "lending of the cell". Instead we dropped off the cell and head to a campsite a third of the price. Once our camp was set up, we set about making our notorious bully beef potjie, which tasted beautiful!! The full moon smiled at us as we went to bed in our cosy tents.
Our journey continued as we made our way to Luderitz. The journey was interrupted by a stop at Aus's hotel for a cold beer. We admired the surroundings while eating our leftover potjie. It seemed as if God had drawn a straight line across the countryside, declaring one side to be desert and the other grasslands. It was gobsmacking! As we neered Luderitz, the temptation was too big and we had to stop and run in the sand next to the road. The feeling of the warm desert sand between our toes and the extreme expanse of openness just enforced our feeling of absolute freedom.
Luderitz is set where the desert and the sea meet. It is a strange consept to grasp, yet beautiful. Close by is the ghost town of Kolmanskop, where we managed to get a in for free. This is a photographer's dream.
Next we decided to head towards the dunes at Sossusvlei. It was quite a long drive and we encountered a storm which slowed us down even more. By sunset we had not found a spot to camp yet and decided to bushcamp. Luckily there was an easily accessable farmgate which we slipped through and drove behind a hill. From there we were hidden from sight. Words cannot describe the sunset that we saw that night.... The remains of the storm could be seen in the sky as the sun turned to a neon pink with lilac streaks through the clouds. Everything around us screamed perfection. We were in awe.
We arrived at Sesriem well after lunch and had to buy a permit to enter Sossusvlei. The drive out took another 90 minutes and we were perfectly timed to see the sunset. We had to climb up a huge dune to appreciate our surroundings. This was really tough and took a good half hour. By the time we reached the top our thighs and lungs were burning, but it was worth it. We had equiped ourselves with some ice cold brewskis and sat on the top of the dune enjoying it with our newly made friends. We had met Lisa and Brian at the office, as they didn't havea 4x4 needed to do the last 5km's.
After sunset we decided that the fastest way down the dune was only one way!! We tried to see who could run straight down the fastest. Darren was the winner by far and cruised down faster than Ben Johnson could ever hope to go.... and he didn't even fall!!! The adrenalin was racing when we got to the bottom and we wished that we could do it again. Alas, we had only an hour to get out the park gate. Speeding back to the gate, we barely missed a springbok, black backed jackal and owl. We arrived at the gate ten minutes late, only to find that it was locked. There was nobody in sight. We had the option of either bushcamping in the reserve or finding help. We eventually got out and slipped into the local camping grounds
The next three days were spent in Walvis Bay where we could catch up on admin, do chores and chill. On one of our chilling expedition, Daz and Lou went for a walk on the beach where they discovered a rock plastered with mussels. Of course this meant a free meal, so the plastic bag was promptly filled. When Brett got back from town, he was pleasantly surprised by the findings. Dinner was wicked, with mussels on the braai and mussels in white wine sauce. In fact, it was sooooo good that we decided to stay another night.