Blogs from Windhoek, Namibia, Africa

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Africa » Namibia » Windhoek January 15th 2021

We received our appointment for the Covid test in Windhoek. Also in Namibia the test centers are very busy, because the cases are on the rise. But far less than in Europe. The freedom we enjoyed here will soon come to an end. Due to timing of the test we were forced to leave Sossusvlei one day earlier. What a shame. It is impossible to time properly this 380km, 5h ride, over gravel, at times quite bumpy roads. And without the test results we can not leave the country. Again stopping in Solitaire for a coffee and chat, we continued D1275 over the Spreetshoogte Pass. A challenging gravel mountain pass even for an experienced Alpine road driver, with steep turns and serpentines, narrow, with no side rails protecting the car from sliding into the steep valley. ... read more
Good bye salt and clay and iron sand
Spreetshoogte Pass

Africa » Namibia » Windhoek December 5th 2020

We left around 9 the next morning to head back towards Windhoek. I was a bit relieved to go home and sad to leave this beautiful place. The scenery was nice, though noticeably less nice than the previous days... Day 9 Our first order of business was to take the Covid test. Again, I was nervous. Was like the 5th in line in our group at the local clinic - ready to get it over but afraid to go first. It was a long process. We had to sit on little chairs in a line, fill out lots of paperwork, pay our bill, and wait our turn. There were two guys performing the tests outside, so you could see the people in front of you. The girl in front of me... I know she had been ... read more
Freedom Memorial at the Old Fort
paella
oryxsalad

Africa » Namibia » Windhoek September 30th 2019

Die nächsten Tage waren ziemlich unklar für mich. Am 29.9. wurde ich nochmal operiert und bekam zwei Bluttransfusionen, gegen die ich mich erst mal heftig wehrte. Aber Dr Skinner versicerte mir, dass das Blut sorgfältig getestet sei, außerdem hatte ich keine andere Wahl. Ich war etwa 5 Tage in der Intensivstation. Es war alles recht ungemütlich. Das Kissen war prall gefüllt mit rreecht harten Knubbeln. Das Bett hatte kein Fußteil und ich rutschte im Lauf der Zeit immer weiter nach unten, bis meine Beine etwa 20 cm heraus ragten. Wnn das irgendwann jemand auffiel, kamen zwei Schwestern, die das pull sheet unter mir packten und mich mitsamt dem Leintuch wieder nach oben zogen. Meine Haare waren hinten zum Zopf geflochten und das war sehr unbequem, besonders in Kombination mit dem harten Kissen. In meinem Gepäck war ... read more

Africa » Namibia » Windhoek May 26th 2019

Yes, folks, you read that exactly right, 100th nation visited to date, and still counting.....! On the basis of the symbolism behind the nature of the experience, the 100th country visited to date just had to be somewhere of a sufficiently other-worldly and memorable nature to make it stand out at least in a couple of ways from the rest of the pack - take a step forward Namibia! Prior research had revealed Namibia to be a relic of a German colonial era, which had left a legacy in some fascinatingly positive way. Arriving at Windhoek international airport and picking up a rental car (for the entire week away), the plan of action was a typically widescreen ambitious plan which attempted to condense the highlights of one entire sizeable nation into one neat-looking package. Passing through ... read more
Brandberg mountain
Swakopmund building
Christ Church Windhoek

Africa » Namibia » Windhoek April 27th 2019

Hi, Continuing in Swakpmund with our rejigged plan we had four nights in total. It is a big tourist coastal resort with colonial links to Germany so some of the architecture was different. It is in the desert,the oldest in the world, and the town is built on sand but because of the air flows across the Atlantic there are 300 days when there is a fog or mist. If you are lucky it clears if not it stays all day. To be honest it was bliss , an escape from the relentless heat. I am not a person who is too bothered about their looks, makeup is a rarity for me and I have my hair short and an easy style but the time in the tent had made my hair like straw. I had ... read more
Can you see Rio?
More sand
This way

Africa » Namibia » Windhoek April 25th 2019

Hi and welcome to a bumper edition of my blog, a lot has happened since I last wrote and the delay is because we have been off grid for a while. I want you try and picture the scene of where I started writing this. It is 6am and the full moon is bright in the sky and in about 30 minutes the sun will start to rise. We are camping in an area called Damarland and the site is in the middle of nowhere. I drove about 30k on a gravel road, well gravel is not as you would expect it was compacted mud, sand and stones. The scenery is harsh with huge rocks and boulders punctuated by miles of sandy scrub and hardly any wildlife. We had power last night from sunset at 7 ... read more
Etosha
Etosha lioness
Chris with Braai version 2

Africa » Namibia » Windhoek November 18th 2018

Decided to use this format because it's easier to put together on a phone. Day 1: A f*cking long flight. A constant stream of food. Good movies. A cheeky 4 hour nap. Doha airport is huge. Day 2: Still flying. This time over the Horn of Africa for a sunrise and no one on my row of seats. Arrived in Namibia to a rather nonchalant international airport. Got off the plane thinking "it's too hot" - a stance I hold passionately by between the hours of 10am to 6pm. A hairy shuttle to the Windhoek, weaving between cars and trucks at an average of 120km/hr and briefly thinking, 'maybe it's over before it's begun'. Got to the quaint backpackers at midday, and started browsing the options for the days ahead. Went for a stroll to the ... read more
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Africa » Namibia » Windhoek July 28th 2018

Today is possibly the hardest day of the tour. Meet and greet day. Today we get to join our other travellers which is a bit like tattslotto, you never know what or when you are going to pick the right numbers (or in this case, interesting people....). Anyway, we start the day with blue sky and sunshine - nice from what we left behind in Melbourne. Breakfast done and we do chats with the family. Also find out our kitchen has been gutted - good and also interesting feelings of oh shit, here we go again with an new kitchen. At least we know it is going to a good place - our electrician who is bartering time for cupboards...... Good to catch up with everyone at home - even if the questions of where and ... read more

Africa » Namibia » Windhoek July 27th 2018

Another airport, another 3 lots of customs to clear and added bonus, our bags followed us..... Arrived in Joburg at 0515 and had over 4 hours to wait for the next flight. Luckily we had access to the South African Airways arrivals lounge so we could freshen up and have a bite in comfort. Only issue was this lounge was teeny tiny. Only about 16 seats and all self service. Never mind, it was better than sitting on airport benches for a while. We had checked that what we thought our bags would do (all the way through without any collections) was confirmed so only had to check ourselves in for the last leg. Eventually left the lounge and wandered into the terminal we had thought our flight departed from only to learn that we had ... read more

Africa » Namibia » Windhoek June 6th 2018

Eindelijk is het dan zover. De bij Sable Tours geboekte vakantie naar Namibië, Zimbabwe en Botswana gaat beginnen. We vliegen vanaf Schiphol naar Windhoek met een tussenstop in Luanda. De vlucht verloopt soepel, we moeten bij Windhoek alleen even in “de holding”, want het schijnt erg druk te zijn. Na landing zien we echter slechts twee andere vliegtuigen op het vliegveld staan, dat is wel even anders dan Schiphol. Maar zoals we verder in de vakantie zullen ervaren, is Namibië sowieso een land van ruimte en rust, iets dat wij in Nederland eigenlijk niet echt kennen. Bij Bidvest halen we onze 4x4 Toyota huurauto op, er staan slechts 15.000 km op de teller en de banden zien er dus prima uit, hopelijk blijft dat ook zo ;-) Met de routebeschrijving van Sable Tours vinden we Cullinan ... read more
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