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Published: October 10th 2012
Today there is no hurry so we wake up later and eat the regular breakfast out on the terrace. There are lots of birds singing in the trees around us which is quite enjoyable. Again we eat eggs but at least we had a break the previous day. After that we pack and start south towards Walvis Bay and then SE towards Sesriem our next stop where there is a huge accesible field of sand dunes which is well known in Namibia. Passing through Swakopmund we take a few more photos of the town including of the lighthouse as we have to pass through the entire city again.
Right after leaving Swakopmund in the direction of Walvis Bay we notice a row of camels close to the road, probably a tour of the dunes in the area. The road to Walvis Bay is emptier today as it is Saturday and given that it is paved we make good time on it. After turning towards Sesriem the road continues to be paved for a few miles until the airport then it turns into a dirt road which in the beginning is in quite a good shape. Almost immediately we find a burned car on the side of the road - wonder what happened but it made us just a bit more careful as we continued on the road. There are impressive dunes on both sides of the road for the first miles but then the vegetation reappears and even a small bush.
We stop at a rest area, which are plentiful along the Namibian highways, and which is full as it is noon. We walk a bit in the desert and are surprised by the number of quartz crystals and other glittering stones we see all around us. There is a weird tree that we identify as our first quiver tree and lizards are flickering all around the stones. After continuing on our way we also see our first ostrich for the day and they become more plentiful as the day passes.
After driving for over 100 kms through the desert we arrive at the mountains. The road becomes much more corrugated and curvy as we first ascend to a pass and then descend down to the Kuiseb wash. The roads here were washed out by the Kuiseb river quite recently during some floods and everyone had to take a much longer detour through Windhoek to make the same drive but we do not see any remnants of this. As we pass twice through the washes of the Kuiseb we stop to walk a bit and examine the flora and fauna. At one though we hear what sounds like a hyena in the distance which convinces us to move along even though we do not see anything around.
Relatively quick after exiting from the mountaineous area we arrive at the Tropic of Capricorn. We know that because there is a big sign stating exactly that. There is no one when we arrive so we take a few pictures and take a short hike along the imaginary line. When we return at the car there is almost a traffic jam with multiple cars stopped to take pictures of the sign.
After passing the mountains the road remains corrugated but now the vegetation is more savanna like and we see lots of ostriches, zebras and springbok close to the road. The most impressive sighting is a family of ostrich with almost 12 chicken which is walking and eating near the roadway fence.
After all this excitement we arrive at Solitaire the only settlement along the way. It is actually more like a farm that evolved into a rest area with a fuel station, grocery shop and even a small restaurant that sells supposedly some great apple pies. We stop to take a look at the collection of abandoned cars and to take a look at the souvenirs.
There are lots of birds around making noises and flittering around. We rest for a bit enjoying the activity and then we start again towards Sesriem.
Around 4 pm we arrive at the Namib Naukluft National Park gate. Our accomodation is inside the park intentionally as it is the only way to get to the dunes before the crowds that stay at the lodges outside the park. We check in at the gate and then continue to the Visitor Center where we again check in and pay the park entrance fee. There is a drive of 4 km to our accomodation and we see it from a distance as the cabins are tucked beneath a mountain. The parking area though is behind another hill and far away and not really visible from the reception. We unpack and because nobody is coming to get us we start walking towards the lodge. Finally we get noticed and a bus comes and picks us up. We check in and then go to our cabin..it is beautiful with a private deck and we quite like it.
As we unpack we notice a springbok outside our patio and he is not scared even when we go outside and take pictures of him. He eats, goes for a drink and then relaxes. As it gets dark he starts some weird behaviour of gently hitting the grass with his head. It is enjoyable for once to let the wildlife come to you while you sit outside on the patio.
While studying the springbok the sun is setting so we take a few pictures of the beautiful sunset among the dunes and mountains. Everywhere we went in Namibia we saw lots of great sunsets and today is not an exception.
And then we have to go for dinner. We are allowed to wander around in the dark on the boardwalks and we watch the multitude of stars some of them never seen north of the equator. The dinner is included here so we each order a different menu (actually only the main dish is different). The food is great as almost everywhere till now which actually is bad news for our waistlines.
After dinner we sit outside and using our personal planetarium we identify the different stars especially Alpha and Beta Centauri. Today we go to sleep early as tomorrow we have to wake up at 5 am to get in time for the sunrise at the dunes before all the other tourists. In order to do this we order a breakfast bag which will be available for pickup instead of breakfast early in the morning at the lodge.
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