Blogs from Swakopmund, Namibia, Africa - page 7

Days 24, 25 and 26 - Swakopmund Today we left the isolation of Spitzkoppe and travelled to the coastal town of Swakopmund where we’re spending the weekend. This is an old colonial town which retains much of its original German character. Whilst it’s a very pretty town with some great shops and restaurants, there’s something a little strange about it - it feels a little out of place in Africa. After unloading our stuff into dorms at Swakop Lodge we had an activity briefing for things to do for the weekend. Swakopmund has tried to become the Victoria Falls of the desert with loads of adrenaline activities available. The main ones are quad biking through the dunes, sandboarding (standing on a snowboard and lying on a sheet) and tandem skydiving over the desert. I had been ... read more

Hi everyone So I think last time I left you I was in Rundu, Namibia. Well the amazing times have been getting better and better since then! We 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 and sad bus/truck that is no built for comfort. The campsites in the park are really good....hot showers, flushing toilets, pools and bars on site which were all well needed after a day of sitting in BOB in the hot sun. We had some fantastic viewings of animals and even found a male and female lion in ... read more

Don't Try This At Home First 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 crammed into a light aircraft making a steep climb to 10,000 feet in a jumpsuit clipped to someone you've never met before (who thankfully knew exactly what they were doing) and are about to open the sliding door and throw yourself out of a perfectly good airplane, that will be one of those times. We'd discussed whether we'd give this a go ... read more

Day 34 - Windhoek (Namibia) - 1/9/09 Arrived 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 wasn’t 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 around in her handbag looking for a business card for a taxi; I just sat there and watched here waiting for the shuttle bus to fill up. She couldn’t find this business card and didn’t look overly happy. She become doubly unhappy when she heard the price of the taxi so she started trying to negotiate with the taxi driver; she turned round to me and ... read more

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, I’m 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 formally shaking everyone’s hand. At least this time the proceeds go towards a local orphanage, so the commercialism isn’t quite as obvious. We make an early morning visit to the Cape Cross seal colony (noisy and smelly, and battered by enormous waves), then head to Swakopmund via one of the many shipwrecks which give the Skelton Coast its name. Arriving in Swakupmond is a bit surreal... surrounded by desert, we ... read more