Blogs from Sossusvlei, Namibia, Africa

Here it is, one more little trip. This is the first visit to Namibia for Tanya. I have visited once nearly 10 years ago and always wanted to come back. It is also my 7th country visited in 2021, not too bad in regard of the current worldwide situation. PCR test done, here it is a little easier as they do not apply the 72 hours rule, but rather the 7 days rule. The country has also entered their third wave, the same we have in South Africa. But Namibia is pretty easy as there is very little social contact without mask due to the few people living outside of the capital. I will publish three blogs on this little big week trip. We first spent some time for a little of golf and shopping/food in ... read more

We woke up nice and early to head out to the last big adventure and the one I was most looking forward to: Sossusvlei! We had a good breakfast on the terrace overlooking the desert with the owners feeding the local squirrels and birds and other such lucky wildlife. Our guides got us in the car to leave by 6:30 and we were off. A 45-minute drive to Sossusvlei. Along the way, of course, we saw some animals, such as a family of springbok before we entered the park. Sossusvlei Once we entered, we saw a bunch of oryx and even kudu hanging out in the dunes. We continued our drive to the literal end of the road where there was a picnic area set up. Here was our last chance to use the toilets and ... read more

C’est finalement lorsqu’on s’apprête à quitter Walvis Bay qu’il arrête de venter et que la température monte un peu. Après un déjeuner au bord du lagon, on reprend la route vers le désert du Namib. Alors qu’on pensait avoir les pires routes dernières nous, celle-ci est particulièrement atroce. JS est complètement brûlé et a le cou fini après 90 minutes de conduite et Richard doit prendre la relève (je suis exempté de la conduite parce que je n’ai pas de permis de conduire international…Et je dois naviguer …Et je dois documenter…Et je ne veux pas conduire à gauche). Au moins, les paysages sont spectaculaires avec des montagnes de plusieurs couleurs et un col dans le roc noir. C’est assurément la route la plus excitante du voyage. Nous faisons un bref arrêt au très adéquatement nommé hameau ... read more

Early start as we fly south west to the Namib Rand desert for our first real piece of African desert/wildlife. Up for brekky and we are on time (0630), unlike the 2 “boys” who have their clocks set an hour behind real time. Never mind, they had been awake waiting for the right time to come down for brekky, and ended up being late.... Into the van and off to the domestic airport for our charter flight to Soussasveli and into the winds of Namibia. Security check was interesting to say the least. Discussions about who was doing what meant our checks were a little slacker than what we are used to going through....... Into our small aircraft and after checks, etc. off into the wilderness. Finally landed and into the waiting safari vehicle. No sides ... read more

Woensdag 7 juni De volgende ochtend gaan we eerst het centrum van Windhoek even bekijken, en aangezien het heerlijk weer is pakken we hier ook ons eerste terrasje. Onderweg naar Desert Homestead hebben we een pauze ingepland in Bullsport. In eerste instantie hadden we een dorp verwacht, maar er is niet meer dan de Bullsport Guestfarm. We besluiten te vragen of we er iets kunnen drinken en de vriendelijke mevrouw geeft aan dat dat zeker kan. Ze moet alleen het koffiezetapparaat even opwarmen en voor iets lekkers erbij zal ze even op zoek gaan. Kortom om een prima plek om even te pauzeren. We vervolgen onze weg en arriveren om 15.45 bij Desert Homestead Lodge waar we werkelijk midden in de woestijn zitten. We komen heerlijk bij met een drankje bij het zwembad en genieten van ... read more