http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Namibia/Swakopmund/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Africa , Namibia , Swakopmund en-us Tue, 08 Dec 09 23:28:56 +0000 Tue, 08 Dec 09 23:28:56 +0000 2nd October 14th OctoberHilux Allterrain 4 x 4 checkFull tank of petrol checkRoad map of Namibia checkTents sleeping bags pots pans and all camping accoutrements check2 cool travel mates to share the laughs and costs checkEvangelical Born Again Christian guide.hellip.hang on a secondhelliphellip.After a fruitless couple of days in Botswana trying to organize a car hire that w http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Namibia/Swakopmund/blog-452192.html Day 37 Swakopmund 4909Woke up with added excitement this morning as Pascal Danielle Cat and Duncan were getting into Swakopmund this morning. Wondered over to the Swakop Lodge where they were staying at 10 and was greeted in reception by a Duncan sized hug. We all chatted told our stories and what we had been up to since we departed company. We all went into the Far Out Booking Office http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Namibia/Swakopmund/blog-448474.html Day 34 Windhoek Namibia 1909Arrived in Windhoek in the early afternoon making my way outside the terminal to the airport shuttle bus. Like most other buses I've tried to use since I've been here in Africa it wasnrsquot leaving until it was full. The airport shuttle cost 150NB against the taxi which would cost 280NB a local lady came out of the airport building she started rooting ar http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Namibia/Swakopmund/blog-448194.html Hi everyoneSo I think last time I left you I was in Rundu Namibia. Well the amazing times have been getting better and better since thenWe left Rundu....early in the morning once again and drove to Etosha national park. The park has 3 campsites in it one on each side and one in the middle so the plan was to stay at all three and drive through the park in BOB Bright Orange Bus our very old a http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Namibia/Swakopmund/blog-442353.html Adrenaline TopUpNot content with throwing ourselves out of a perfectly servicable airplane we've met up with our travel group to start our overland trip up to Etosha though Botswana to Vic Falls who are a really nice bunch.Before that though there's a chance for us to take a trip out to the desert for a spot of sandboarding which of course has to be done adrenaline junkies that we've now bec http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Namibia/Swakopmund/blog-438399.html Don't Try This At HomeFirst of all apologies to the parents for not telling you beforehand we're sure that you appreciate that we were only concerned about how much you would worry...There comes a point in everyone's life where they find themselves in a situation and ask themselves 'At what point exactly did I convince myself that this would be a good idea' We can now tell you that when you're http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Namibia/Swakopmund/blog-437911.html Leaving Etosha behind we visit a local village belonging to the Himba tribe a striking group of people who cover themselves in red pigmentation made from ochre. As this is our third village visit Irsquom a little reluctant to go and the experience mirrors those of previous visits although as ever the children are a constant source of entertainment particularly one youngster who insists on http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Namibia/Swakopmund/blog-433743.html We have arrived Amazingly they let us on with all our luggage with no extra baggage charge I think Adam gave the man a lsquospecialrsquo smile. First night we spent in Windhoek the capital of Nambia. It was a strange placehellip. Dusty barren streets and then a shopping mall that could be in America. Had to get shuttles everywhere at night not safe to walk. Spent the night at Joes be http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Namibia/Swakopmund/blog-432935.html Hey allemaalInmiddels aangekomen in het plaatsje Swakopmund in Namibie en voor mijn gevoel weer helemaal in de westerse wereld dus ook weer tijd voor internetIk zag dat ik m'n vorige blog geeindigd was in Lusaka en vanaf daar zijn we dus naar de Victoria Falls gereden. Heel spectaculair om daar te staan zeg Niet normaal hoe mooi wat een watergeweld komt daar naar beneden zetten En een hoop http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Namibia/Swakopmund/blog-428389.html I loved loved loved quad biking. I was actually a bit nervous at first but after a few minutes I couldn't wait to go faster and didn't want it to end. I am learning more each day that I am a speed junkie.The second part of the journey was full throttle full speed. So much fun I wish I could do this at home.When we first pulled out of the quad biking center we drove very slowly on a paved http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Namibia/Swakopmund/blog-427540.html What fun this was. We spent two hours sandboarding down the beautiful sand dunes. I chose to do the lay down option of boarding vs the standup like snowboarding.They lay down people got to fly down the dunes at high speeds. The board is basically just a floppy wooden plank. you lay down on your stomach and hang on I made the rookie mistake a few times of dropping my hands. When this happe http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Namibia/Swakopmund/blog-427539.html We have spent the last 3 days in a small town that is just like Leavenworth or a small German town. The town is located on the coast of the Atlantic and it takes only 10 minutes to walk from one side to the next.The ocean waves are huge here. I would never go into the water it is so cold the weather reminds me of Ocean Shores not at summer time.Since I have been here we saw the movie Hangover http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Namibia/Swakopmund/blog-427535.html I signed up for a Township Tour. I am so glad I decided to do this. We were fortunate to spend 4 hours touring a local Namibian Township. We got to meet locals learn about the culture and try the local food.We met Thalia a local lady who let us try on her handmade traditional dresses. This dress is to symbolize the cow. The hat is to symbolize the horns of the cow. When you were this dress http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Namibia/Swakopmund/blog-427532.html 52809Today is the last day of our Northern tour. I was awake quite early as the guy in the room next to us had an alarm that started going off at 4 a.m. every 10 minutes it would keep going off. So then I was awake Joyce got up to go use the internet connection at the reception computer. And I could not get back to sleep so I went ahead and got up around 545ish. Packed and resorted. http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Namibia/Swakopmund/blog-414468.html Day 12 Saturday 02May09 JRJ Up at 830 after a great nights sleep. Went for brekkie and then for a walk around town for a hours. Got back to room at 1pm and finally ate the delicious cheesecake from Solitaire. Lots of the group went on activities today such as sandboarding quadbiking and skydiving although we didn't sign up for any because of feeling ill. Stayed around hotel until 530 then http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Namibia/Swakopmund/blog-406787.html Day 11 Friday 01May09 JRJAll up at 6am we felt very weak and still a bit rough. Alex could hardly talk. He looked like we was going to die. Left camp at 7am after a difficult tent dismantling session. Stopped off at a town called Solitaire were the rest of the group went to a cafe to have their world famous also from Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman's 'Long Way Down' apple crumble. Sadly http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Namibia/Swakopmund/blog-406784.html hier der Trip zu unserer Vollversammlung in Swakopmund von mir zuhaus ca. 1000km in eine Richtung. Also habe ich in Windhoek eine Pause eingelegt und bin mit den anderen Kasperkoeppen Zelten gegangen. Natuerlich wie immer ohne Zelt. http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Namibia/Swakopmund/blog-394657.html Day313 170209After a fantastic sleep following our first night in a real bed in ...ages. We enjoyed a sleep in until 10am when we were woken by a knock at the door the cleaner was desperate to clean the room it wasn't that bad. We grabbed some brunch and mags from the supermarket and relaxed in the sun. With the imminent sky dive scheduled for 2pm we kept busy at the internet for a couple http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Namibia/Swakopmund/blog-392112.html We arrived into Swakopmund early in the day and settled on a backpackers that was close to town where we could camp. It was a strange place ... the owners were not very welcoming or friendly. When we rang the bell to be let into the yard the owner opened the gate and said what do you want. Gee I dunno we are two foreigners with a pile of backpacks at our feet and you are running a lodge http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Namibia/Swakopmund/blog-388720.html Finally a place to blogSwakopmund. This blog entry will have to be short for reasons which will become clear later.South AfricaWe left Cape Town Friday morning first heading south to see the Cape. On the way we visited a penguin colony. Then at the Cape did some hiking watched the clear line where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet then got a group photo at the Cape of Good Hope marker. http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Namibia/Swakopmund/blog-387243.html