From Sossusvlei to Swakopmund

Although Sossusvlei is one of Namibia's premier tourist destinations it is rather difficult to get there. There is no public transport which means to either join an expensive guided tour or rent your own car. I did the latter and took the quickest route from Windhoek: south on the B1 to Rehoboth (80km on tarred road), then west on various C-roads through the Namib Naukluft Park to Sesriem (230km on gravel road) where I stayed the night. Although the scenery was starkly beautiful, the five-hour drive was rather tiring. I would recommend to bring an exact map as the signposting is rather poor. And it is also worth to remember that a dozen tourists or so die every year, mainly because they go too fast and too close to the edge of the gravel road.

There is absolutely nothing to do in Sesriem. In fact, Sesriem is nothing more than a run-down petrol station with an attached shop which sells a very limited (and over-expensive) range of products. The only restaurants (also on the pricey side) can be found in the hotels (expensive, again) which are scattered around the area. The bottom line is: if you visit, expect to pay astronomical prices for everything, in particular for accommodation. The best value-for-money accommodation deal I could find was at the well-kept Sossusvlei Desert Camp, some 4km from the entrance gate to Sossusvlei. The luxury safari tent offered a stunning view over the desert landscape and surrounding mountains. It also featured a comfortable bed and a decent hot-water shower which I both gratefully accepted after the long drive in the hot car. On top of that it came with an absolutely spectacular starry sky - for free.

Sossusvlei

Nothing prepares you for the sweep and scope of Sossusvlei's majestic sandscape. Sculpted throughout million of years by the wind, the voluptuous red dunes alternately glow like burnished coals or pulsate in hot glory. They are living sculptures, always changing. At a height of more or less 300 metres, Dune 45 [...] is putatively the tallest dune, and the place where most people decide to scramble - or attempt to scramble - to the top.
Catherine Dunphy, Toronto Star, 26 June 2008

The best time to experience the Sossusvlei area is at sunrise when the new light paints the dunes and desert plains into a variety of reddish colours. Keeping in mind that the distance between Sesriem and Sossusvlei is about 60km I had to get up early and arrived at the park just before it was opened at 6am. I got my entrance permit (N$20 for the car plus another N$80 per person) and drove down what is probably the longest cul-du-sac in Namibia: a 60km one way road which ends at Sossusvlei. The road is tarred almost all the way, except for the last 5km which were not suitable for my 2WD car. So I left my car behind and got on one of the 4WD shuttle trucks (another N$110 return, thank you very much for coming) for a short drive to Sossusvlei.

Sossusvlei is an enormous clay-pan, enclosed by mighty sand dunes. Some of these stunning hills of sand reach a height of 300m. Vlei is the Afrikaans word for a pan and the Dead Vlei is, you may have guessed it, a dead pan, littered with the twisted corpses of camel thorn trees. It formed after rainfall when the local river flooded and created temporary shallow pools. The abundance of water allowed camel thorn trees to grow but when drought hit the area sand dunes encroached on the pan and blocked the river from the area. The trees died, as there no longer was enough water to survive. The remaining skeletons of the trees, which are believed to be up to 900 years old, are now black because the intense sun has scorched them - and the wood does not decompose because it is so dry. The cracked white dry mud on the ground forms an amazing mosaic and contrast to the black trees, the red dunes and the blue sky. Finally, being surrounded by high dunes means this place is absolutely sheltered from wind which gives it all the more an eerie feeling as there isn't the slightest sound. My visit to Dead Vlei was a starkly beautiful experience.

Soon afterwards, the heat got too intense and I headed back to Sesriem. I arrived with my tank almost empty, only to learn that the only petrol station had run dry. The next petrol delivery was due "probably tonight, maybe tomorrow." Well, I wasn't prepare to hang around and find out. I stocked up on drinking water and set off for Solitaire. Since the fuel gauge was showing a near-empty tank I switched off light, radio and air condition and set off for a nail-biting journey of 80km. Just over one hour later, I arrived at a petrol station decorated with rusty hulks of old cars half buried in the sand - Solitaire. I filled the tank to the brim and left for Swakopmund, an exhausting drive which took me another 5 hours (230km on gravel road and another 40km on tarred road).

Swakopmund

Swakopmund (known as Swakop) is the country's biggest coastal town and sits at the edge of the Namib Desert - between endless sand dunes and the Atlantic Ocean. The city was founded in 1892 as the main harbour of German South-West Africa. Today, this curious desert town is perfectly situated to spend a few days relaxing in the cool climate, wander through the town to admire the beautiful colonial architecture. There's also the possibility to take part in adrenaline sports, sand dune boarding, take a scenic flight with an aircraft or jump out of one.

I did not jump out of an aircraft. But I was keen to experience an exciting flight so I went to Swakop airport and asked one of the pilots how he always manages to land the plane just after the first skydiver touches the ground. He grinned and said he would show me later - and he sure did. I joined him and a group of skydivers as a passenger (N$ 100) in the front of the Cessna Caravan. It took us 20 minutes to reach an altitude of 12,000 feet. One after another, the skydivers jumped out. As soon as the last one was gone the pilot immediately went into a steep nose-dive. The plane dived so fast that the hands of the altimeter went around in a blur. I experienced a few seconds of weightlessness, called microgravity, during the steep nose dive whilst a loud alarm went off, supported by quite a few flashing lights on the dashboard. We dived several thousand feet before the pilot stabilised the plane and headed back to the airport in a more unhurried fashion. Needless to say, we landed safely - and in fact just before the first skydiver touched down nearby.

I spent two nights at the Secret Garden, a lovely and well-kept B&B with a delicious breakfast buffet. The nearby Tug Restaurant is probably the best place in Namibia to watch the sun sink into the sea whilst enjoying a delicious seafood dinner. There is no such view at Ocean Basket ("We got a lotta sole") but the seafood is even better, and less expensive. The local museum is worth a visit, especially for the exhibition on the various Namibian tribes and their customs and art.

I left Swakop a few days before New Year's Eve and drove to Windhoek (350km on tarred road) from where I caught the Intercape bus to the Victoria Falls in Zambia.

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