It was certainly nice to get a good night’s sleep after the long trip
the previous day, and the bed at the Windhoek Hilton was just what we needed.
Still, as we had a lot of ground to cover, and I was a little bit uncertain
what the roads would actually be like, we needed to wake up early so as to get
going as quickly as possible.
I had set my objective at being on the road by 10:00 latest, and after
a big breakfast and a quick stop to a supermarket for the basic necessities for
the trip, we did indeed pull out of the parking lot at 10:00.
Leaving Windhoek was really very uneventful, and rapidly disposed of.
No traffic jams, and given the size of the place we soon found ourselves on the
C26 heading towards Walvis Bay. The road was properly paved the first few
kilometres, but it was not long before this ended, and the gravel road took
over. This would be the sort of roads we would be experiencing for most of the
trip, and so I began by taking it easy so as to get used to the slightly
slippery surface.
I must say that the quality of the gravel road was excellent, with
little to no pot-holes, and only the occasional wash-board effect. However, one
must be careful coming in to corners and braking as the feel is similar to that
of driving on snow. I suppose the advantage was that driving around 70 to 80kmh
we had more time to check out the scenery.
And what a scenery!! You are immediately struck by the beauty of the
surroundings, and you can really profit from it as you are very much alone.
During our traverse to Walvis Bay I don’t think we met more than five cars, and
not a single over-take. But back to the scenery. It keeps changing all the
time, becoming more and more like a desert the more west we got. At one point,
a bit less than half way across, the terrain suddenly change as you go over a
mountain pass. It was perfectly dry during our passage, but I can imagine that
this would be quite exciting during heavy rain being on narrow gravel roads
with steep ravines just to your side. But the sheer beauty of it all forces you
to drive slowly so as to take it all in, and you simply have to stop a few
times for some obligatory photo shoots.
Stepping out of the air-conditioned car you are obviously struck by the
temperature. It was hot, and would get hotter the more we penetrated in to the
Namib Desert after the mountain pass. Eventually we pulled over in to a dry
river bed with a couple of trees providing a semblance of shade in order to eat
a quick lunch. It was not like we were really hungry, but you do need to eat.
And drink. Lots of water.
Since the start, Myriam was already in full wildlife spotting mode, and
we did a number of stops in order to take pictures of the first birds (a pygmy
falcon was first), first antelopes (kudu) and monkeys. Funnily enough, those
monkeys were about the only ones we would see on the whole trip, but more about
that later.
After the mountains, the road would get more and more straight and
flat. With the heat and draught having packed the surface, it was more like
driving on a smooth concrete road, and the speed would gradually increase to
over 100kmh. It was by this time that Dune 7 came in to view, and the coast was
very close.
We pulled over to get some good photos of this imposing sand dune,
among the tallest in the world, and we were struck by the cool temperature upon
exiting the car. With the cold Atlantic Ocean of the coast, the temperature had
easily dropped by half since just a few kilometres back, and it was suddenly
very pleasant outside. You could see the fog blowing in just down the road, and
we decided to keep going to our destination.
Zipping through Walvis Bay showed a fairly boring industrial town, but
we soon then pulled in to Swakopmund. This is a pretty strange place due to its
very German heritage. The buildings look like German buildings from 100 years
ago, and the place is very quiet. Our hotel for the night was to be the
Swakopmund Hotel, which is a former train station that has been turned in to a
hotel and casino. It is a quite beautiful building, looking something like a
big meringue in its light yellow paint with white corners.
We completed the check-in, and completely emptied the car. Not so much
for fear of theft, but more because we were expecting Avis to come and replace
the car the following morning. This was to become somewhat of a recurring theme
until the end of the trip, and even though the car never actually was replaced,
I suppose it was not a bad thing to not leave stuff in the car overnight. That
said, we never noticed any signs of rampant crime, and felt very safe all
through the trip. Granted, there is the common pick-pocketing, but nothing
ordinary travel vigilance will help avoid.
Pulling on long trousers, and getting our jackets out, we set out for
dinner. We were struck by the most stunning sunset, and had to take some
photos. This was far from our last beautiful sunset though. It quickly became
clear that eating in Namibia would be a little bit problematic due to the
German heritage. We are not fans of heavy meals with loads of cream and cheese,
but clearly all restaurants were German. We settle for a seafood place hoping
to be able to find something decent. I knew that over the rest of the stay fish
would not be easy to come by, and with the prospect of eating nothing but meat
for ten days, wanted to at least try and vary the menu at this coastal town.
Their seafood platter sounded tempting; under the condition that
everything was not deep fried. In the past we have had some bad experiences
along those lines, especially in New Orleans, but also in Australia. However
here, most would be grilled, and there were even live oysters served! Done
deal, the platter for two was ordered.
It turned out huge, and really far too much food. Still, the oysters
were fat and delicious, the grilled crayfish and shrimps excellent, and even
the fried fish was good. But there was no way we would be able to finish
everything, and so it was with regret we ended up leaving most of the fish,
having polished of all of the seafood.
After a fairly chilly walk back to the hotel, we crashed in to our bed
with our minds full of the images of the day (and a slight concern for our
stomachs since we had now started on the malaria medicine in preparation for
Etosha).
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