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Published: December 19th 2010
Hi everyone,
This is James here putting in his first entry of the trip! Where to begin... We are now in Swakopmund which is one of Namibias biggest towns. The place is a haven for backpackers looking to jump out planes or rush down massive sand dunes the size of 30 storey buildings. Really nice vibe to the place and great to finally hit civilisation after a few weeks bushcamping. Quite bizarre though as it is hard to believe we are still in Africa. Very strong German influence in Swakopmund - from the buildings to the people to the food. Went out last night and did a bit of partying which was fun and bit different to the chilled out few weeks we have had in the wilderness.
Also tried our hand at sandboarding yesterday. Probably most bizarre experience of holiday yet - shooting down massive sand dunes in the Namibian desert while listening to the Pogues blasting out of a nearby car. Think we both struggling to get our heads round the fact it will be christmas in a few days. Think the Bear gonna be on the prowl for some turkey come next Saturday! But sandboarding so
Sand Boarding
Shortly after this was taken I fell off my board and rolled down the dune!much fun - reached speeds of 70km/hour! Going quadbiking across the dunes this afternoon which is meant to be the highlight of any trip to Swakopmund so will let you know how that goes in the next update. Other highlight of Swakopmund has been the grub. Ate an enormous Springbok burger for tea the other night which was really good. Need to start making use of that meat back home! Claire had the Springbok stir fry which was maybe even more tasty. Fish is also everywhere and we had probably our favourite meal to date down looking over the beach. Lots of fresh fish and mussels with chips and ace tartare sauce, worth every penny!
Anyway picking up where the last blog finished I will fill you in on all the adventures we have been up to the in the last week before arriving in Swakopmund (apologies if this turns into a massive entry)....
After leaving the Delta our next big stop was Etosha National Park - Namibias premier game reserve and home to the Big Five (allegedly..!). On route our guide Chris stopped at a place called Tsolido Hills for the night. Although none of the group
Tsolido Hills
...and our truck expected much from the stopover it turned out be one of the most amazing places we have visited on our tour to date. Sitting in the middle of the desert sits these huge red rock formations - we spent the evening climbing up massive boulders. I think we were all pleased to get some exercise after a long day on the bus. We were actually supposed to be on a tour with a local guide to look at ancient rock paintings on the hills but quickly lost interest in that activity - mainly due to the extremely disinterested guide who simply said "eeerrr..i dont know..dont ask me questions!" every time we spoke to her. We eventually sent the guide packing and got on with some climbing! Spent the rest of the evening around the fire before hitting the hay.
After another stopover camp we arrived at Etosha the following day. Expectations were exceptionally high that we would finally see some big cats and the group were in high spirits - everyone with their eyes peeled out the windows with binoculars and cameras at the ready!!!Fast forward 3 hours...everyone is fast asleep on the bus after a disappointing mornings viewing.
On the plus side we did see some elephant, zebra, giraffe, wildebeest etc. That night was more of a success however. After letting off some steam at the pool we spent the evening at a floodlit watering hole. Here we finally got a glimpse of the animals everyone comes to africa to see - a lion as well as three rhinos getting in a bit of a tussle. To add to the excitement a jackal squared up to me outside our tent. The thing actually chased me to the nearby utility room and (baring in mind I skimped on the rabies jab..) meant I was stuck in there for ten minutes until it finally lost interest!
The next day we headed for a nearby cheetah conservation project. Apparently the Namibian government treats cheetah as vermin due to the cats regular attacks on local livestock. The project was set up by some farmers - the story goes that years ago the farmers shot a cheetah who wondered onto their land only to discover the animal they had killed had three cubs. After taking the cubs into their care the farmers decided to set up a conservation farm for the animals.
Now any cheetahs who are threatend with being shot by locals are housed in a reserve. The three original cubs are now fully grown and completely domesticated. It was quite bizarre stroking a grown cheetah. We could literally play wit them like a domestic cat. It was a great experience but we couldnt help feeling the animals belonged in the wild. On the otherhand the animals would not be here today without the conservation project. That night Claire and I were in charge of cooking the group dinner. We rustled up a tasty chicken strogonoff which I think the group (who were all abit tipsy by this point) much appreciated.
Our final stop before Swakopmund was in Spitzkoppe Hills. Wow - probably most amazing place you could ever camp. Also saw without question the best sunset in my entire life. We camped under a 1500 metre peak known as "the Matterhorn of Africa". This massive red stone blew even Tsolido Hills out the water. I think we both agreed this was our favourite bushcamp to date - absolutely stunning. The sunset was incredible - panoramic views where the desert spanned out in every direction until it hit the blue
sky on the horizon. The only features across the landscape were two dark hills in the distance. We all watched the sun come down between those two hills before clambering down the rocks and camping out under stars. Know that sounds a bit cheesy but Spitzkoppe was a special place and well off the tourist trails and radar of any guidebooks.
The only other place we stopped on route to Swakopmund was the Cape Cross seal colony. Yuck! I dont think any of us were prepared for the sight we came across. 100,000 seals clambering across each other in this tight little area. Was quite disturbing as there were dead seals and orphaned pups absolutely everywhere. The smell was completely disgusting. That is the closest I have seen Claire to spewing without a drink in her hand! Amazing sight but won't be going back.
I think that brings us up to date. Sorry for the rather lengthy blog but been a packed week and could bore you all even more when I think of all the things we have done. Next up is Fish River Canyon before Christmas time in South Africa. Will be in touch soon.
Spitzkoppe
Best Camp Site Ever! James and Claire x
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Auntie Nick
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Happy New Year!
Happy new year Claire and James. Enjoy your trip. Love you lots, Auntie Nick, Alastair and Olivia xxxxx