Days 30 - 32

Day 30

We made another visit on day 30, this time down south to Walvis Bay, a more industrialize version of Swakopmund, which when Namibia was under South African control, was the only bay that was allowed to develop into a trading post; it seems the South African government was hoping to hold on to it even after Namibian independence. We were saddened by the drive in as the signs of segregation were very much apparent - roughly 1km out from the main town there was a very obviously poorer area, separated from the town by a stretch of sand. When we got into town it was very evident that the black community lived in this less affluent area and the white in the more attractive ocean facing settlement. This certainly marred our impression of Walvis Bay right from the start, although the main area was very beautiful; it boasts the \Walvis Bay Lagoon’, a 5000 year old lagoon which is a safe haven for over 150,000 birds; we spent the whole afternoon there watching birds and drinking milkshakes in a bar built on stilts over the water. Nevertheless as we drove out on our way back to Swakopmund and saw once again the two separate towns we were left with a distinctly uncomfortable feeling - it would seem that the wounds of apartheid forced on Namibia by South Africa have yet to heal.

Day 31

After 4 nights in Swakopmund it was time to move on again, this time South-east towards a town called Keetmanshoop, roughly a day’s drive from the South African border. On the way out of the Namib Desert we stopped beside ‘Dune 7’, the largest sand dune in the area, to climb to the top. It was a though climb as your feet sink into the sand up to your ankles and it is incredibly steep there. But it was certainly worth the effort as the views from the peak were breathtaking. After that we drove continuously through more of the huge private conservancies we’d seen on our way to Windhoek till we reached Keetmasnhoop, a rather depressing weather-beaten town. We were lucky to spot a campsite on the outskirts of town which saved us having to camp rough on the side of the road since the town itself held no accommodation options for us. Our campsite was on the edge of one of the private conservancies and offered game walks, pony trails and quad-biking. For us it offered a safe place to sleep with surprisingly powerful and scorching hot showers.

Day 32

Roughly an hours drive away from Keetmanshoop lies the ‘Fish River Canyon’ so after leaving our campsite early we headed there, a stunning road that took us along a dust road which wound itself around the cliffs on the edge of the Canyon. We had been hoping to stay at the Ai-Ais hot springs but sadly it is currently closed for renovations so instead we stopped at the northern end of the Canyon to have our brunch at a view point which looked out over the central part of the Canyon, over the deep scar left in the rock by the Fish River. It was incredible to gaze out over that huge landscape and to hearing nothing but the wind and your own breathing - I now understand the expression ‘the silence was deafening’ for after several minutes my ears were ringing from the strain of trying to pick up any kind of noise from out of the void of sound that enveloped the area. After walking around the edge for as far as regulation allowed we got back into the car and drove through the Fish River National Park to Nordoewer, a town on the banks of the Orange River, from where you can actually see the South African border. Tomorrow we will cross over into South African and probably make for Springbok, which will take us within 600km of our landmark destination, Cape Town. I have enjoyed Namibia because of the sheer enormity of it and the fact that it has one of the lowest population densities in the world, but I feel that Namibia still has a long way to go in terms of overcoming the legacy of the apartheid - it seems that 18 years just isn’t long enough. It will be interesting to compare this impression with how I will feel in South Africa.

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