Namibia

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Geo: -22.5648, 17.0931

We arrived back in Cape Town quite late and only managed a few hours sleep before we needed to be on the road and making our way to the airport for an early flight. Not that we needed to have bothered as the flight was delayed for three hours due to fog. So we bided our time, ate a big breakfast courtesy of South African airways and eventually made it to Windhoek by mid afternoon. Our guest house at Windhoek was another pleasant surprise. Although only a small property they managed to provide pretty much everything a person could want to feel relaxed and at home. Everything from the rooms to the small gardens was made to be very pleasing to the eye. We were happy to chill out on the veranda for a few hours after a fairly hectic day where not too much seemed to have gone right until we arrived there.

Spent the next day at a small government run wildlife reserve about 20km out of town. We were starting to think the car they gave us in error was a better alternative in the end. It seemed having a 4 x 4 was going to come in handy even though we had wanted something with a bit less off road ability and bit more comfort. Turned out that most of the park was closed but we did manage a bit of game drive and a short hike to a waterhole. Among other things we came across families of baboons, giraffes, warthogs and what we later found out to be blue wildebeest. Also spotted some hornbills in the trees which looked a little like toucans.

Headed south to Namib-Nauklift the following day. Once again we were constantly surrounded by spectacular mountain ranges of various shapes and sizes although the landscape was predominantly made up of layered escarpments and giant boulders. So much so that I sometimes forgot to look out for wildlife and found myself looking out for cowboys or indians that might be laying in wait for an ambush at the next pass. We arrived quite late at our desert lodge but just in time to see the full moon rise above the mountains and watch the sun light up the sky to a burning bright orange as it made its way beyond the horizon. I immediately felt the peace and solitude that would stay with me during my time here.

As is the requirement we rose before sunrise the next day and were on the road by five am heading for the park gates. Unfortunately with the wait for the gates to open and the long drive to the dunes we missed the famed sunrise. We could at least take advantage of the cool morning air and the abundance of active wildlife. Saw loads of ostriches and springbok and as well as a solitary jackal. Andrew was pleased to see a couple of groups of oryx. They stood stock still and watched us in an apparent pose for our many photos.

The last five kms to the dunes was low ratio 4W driving through sand. By the time we got there the wind had picked up and it was a little unpleasant being out of the car with sand being whipped up around us so we ate our breakfast packs and headed back. The views of the dunes were inspiring. Some of the biggest in the world and looking as classic as a movie set. Perhaps what you can't see from a photo or a movie is the smoothness of their appearance and the preciseness of their edges, like a softly crumpled satin evening dress with a perfectly ironed crease. As we drove back towards the park entrance I was somehow disappointed as the dunes made way to mountains once again. After our criminally early morning we were happy to spend a lazy afternoon back at the lodge. We were happy to relax in our room and take in the views of the desert grasses and the mountains from the large open window.

Determined to see a sunrise we were up early enough the following morning to see the sun ascend over the mountains to the east and to photograph the eerie shadows cast across the ranges. We were served a breakfast fit for a king. The lodge being part of a farm and so remote, they grew all their own veggies and herbs and made all their own breads, cakes, muffins, pikelets and the best cheese scones I've ever tasted – and I don't even like scones that much! We then headed northwest towards the central coast. The mountain ranges continued to span north with us. They now appeared striped as the lines of escarpments ranged from green to brown to black. As we travelled the mountains changed into gorges and then to hills and then to piles of red boulders. Before long we were gazing out over endless fields of golden grasses, but these grasses too eventually became sparse until the fields all the way into the distance were little more than dust, just like the road. We appeared to be driving through an excavation zone. Where a road gave way to a washout it was simply a matter of pointing the grader in a different direction to make a new road. The landscape quickly changed again to dirt and grey rock, a scene resembling photographic images of Mars.

We knew we were close to the coast when the sand dunes started appearing, golden this time, not red like those further south. We stopped in Walvis Bay for lunch overlooking the lagoon. It was Mother's Day and all the Mums and Grandmas were out enjoying a seafood meal with their families. We drove around the lagoon, past the salt works to where all the flamingos were busy searching for a meal. They would move forward a few steps to a likely spot and then back scoop with their long beaks whilst stirring up the mud and sand by bending and stretching their long legs, creating an awkward kind of dance.

We moved on to Swakopmund and eventually found our guest house after a bit of searching. Namibians seem to have a habit of changing their street names to those of people they admire while neglecting to realise how difficult it becomes to find an address. Took a short walk from our digs down to the Strand and along the foreshore but the skies soon turned grey and the air cold so we retreated back to the warmth of our room.

During the ensuing couple of days we came to know the pattern of the weather there. Cold and foggy in the morning then with a bit of luck a fine sunny day or just a few sunny breaks and then cold and foggy again in the evening. Although we were lucky enough to see one spectacular sunset from the rooftop veranda. We stayed outside as long as we could before the cold again got the better of us. For a city north of the Tropic of Capricorn it was surprising that it only managed, at the very best, the temperatures of Sydney in winter. And the icy Antarctic currents apparently prevent the sea temperature from rising above fifteen degrees, even in the middle of summer. This didn't seem to deter the surfers, and the odd courageous soul who ventured into the sea in the middle of a fine sunny autumn day. On such a day the playground and the swimming pool at the seashore seemed a more popular place for the numerous children we saw out enjoying the sunshine. We spent a few hours here watching life go by. We saw young girls with fancy little plaited hairstyles on sweet little dark heads and boys with wide cheeky white grins. These people seemed to enjoy a better lifestyle and standard of living than most, despite their origins.

We visited the aquarium and the museum and ate ice cream in the sun by the sea. We went quad biking for a couple of hours in the sand dunes on a cold foggy morning and our fingers went numb from pushing the throttle. I didn't get a lot of time to enjoy the scenic dunes as this type of riding required a fair amount of concentration, up and over each dune and around the sides like a hippodrome. But we did stop a couple of times to enjoy the solitude and get some circulation back into our hands.

We were keen to move further north to warmer weather and headed up and inland to Damaraland. The mountain ranges appeared again, very rocky and ragged. We stopped at Nambia's "Matterhorn" which appeared out of the desert singular and noble like Ayers Rock from a distance but resembling a giant chocolate ice cream up close. It was good to see that the park was run by locals although the visit to the restaurant was a little weird in that they didn't actually serve any food, just lukewarm Windhoek Lager or coke. We continued on to Twyfelfontien, once again watching the landscape continually change. As we ascended each crest we wondered what we would see next. The descent into each valley was anything from awe inspiring to jaw dropping. Our lodge at Twyfelfontien was built high into the rock with views out over the rocky landscape, the desert and its cold blooded creatures. We sipped champagne and watched the deep colors of the sunset from the vantage point of the veranda bar.

Continuing north the following day we passed through the Great Table Mountains which as the name suggests was a seemingly never ending series of large flat topped mountains. Eventually this range gave way to flatter plains streaked with wide dry river beds. Occasionally we would see a trickle of water in a river and a patch of denser vegetation and we searched hopefully for wildlife that would perhaps be drawn to such a place. This more habitable land was dotted by small villages made up of small homes built of iron with fences and corrals for livestock made from large sticks. The local people seemed to be mostly self sufficient, cultivating small lots of crops and herding goats and the odd cow. They moved around in small donkey carts, seemingly needing as many donkeys as there were passengers to get moving. They attempted to supplement their income selling crafts to tourists although I'm not sure how successful an enterprise this would be given the distinct lack of traffic on the road and the somewhat hit and miss approach of trying to stop passing cars by waving their arms from the roadside or running across the fields holding small items for sale.

We did see the odd springbok and giraffe as well indicating that wildlife as well as the livestock could survive quite well here on the unique desert vegetation. The thorns on the shrubs were razor sharp yet they somehow managed to get their tongues to the tasty foliage.

We arrived at our lodge mid afternoon, a guest farm of seven thousand odd acres run by a local couple and their two adults sons. The prime attraction was the cheetahs they had rescued from neighboring farms. Not long after we arrived we boarded the back of a truck along with a group of overlanders many of whom were Aussies. It was interesting talking to some of these travellers as they had been on the road from Nairobi for several weeks. With the two sons in the front of the truck and all of us in the back, we picked up a drum of donkey meat and headed into the farm to feed the cheetahs. They approached the truck in small groups, circled, watched and waited to see if they would be fed, which was bit disconcerting as we felt as if we were the meal. One of the sons would get out of the car with little more than a stick to defend himself and throw each cheetah a large hunk of donkey meet. Once fed the cheetahs took off with the meat however we were given plenty of time to take photos prior to that. We headed back to the lodge just as the sun was setting and had time for a beer in the bush bar before finishing the day with a fine homecooked Namibian meal of oryx pie and a selection of potatoes dishes.

The following morning we went to see the tame cheetahs. They were lazing around the gardens of the farmhouse along with the dogs. There were two adults and a six week old cub. The cub was still a bit unsure on his feet but he hobbled around sniffed the flowers and sharpened his claws on the trees. We were able to pat and scratch the cheetahs and they purred and licked our hands like domestic cats. One of the adults started howling for food as we were leaving. He sat up on the top of a block wall attached to the house and meowed like our own cat which was pretty entertaining.

It was time to head back to Windhoek which meant the end of our journey through Namibia however we were pleased to find out that the road would be tarred all the way. This route turned out to be much more densely populated and there were several towns along the way where we could actually stop and buy food or drinks if we wanted to. The towns seemed to be filled with the rural poor who had perhaps come to town from the small villages to make their fortune but had ended up living on the streets with little more than the ragged clothes they stood in. This was quite a different side to Namibia for us. Although there had been homeless people in the capital, it was sad to see that the streets of these towns seemed to be filled with these poor souls with apparently nowhere else to go.

By mid afternoon we were back at our lovely guest house in Windhoek. Time to get ready for the next leg of our trip in Botswana. Then a relaxing couple of hours watching the birds circling at day's end from the garden courtyard balcony. We dined that evening at the Namibian Institute of Culinary Education or “Nice” where our meal was prepared by final year apprentice chefs. Not only was the food and service outstanding but the setting and décor was stunning. Modern and tasteful furnishings in reds, browns and whites that would rival the best restaurants in Melbourne or Sydney. It was almost surreal to be cosseted in this atmosphere when only a few hundred kilometers away the locals lived in tin shacks herding goats and driving donkey carts.

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