Still in Namibia

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From Etosha, we had a quick stop at the Cape cross Seal Coloney where there are thousands of smelly smelly seals along the coast. Needless to say, we didn't stay very long before driving on to Swakopmund. Booked into our dorm rooms and then watched a DVD about all the activities on offer. Signed up to do sand boarding and sky diving!

Swakopmund is hugely influenced by Germany, which is reflected in the colourful buildings and the German speaking locals. There are many craft shops to explore and a beach with massive waves. Had a few good nights out there and some lovely meals. Tried pork schnitzel and SNAILS!!!

Sandboarding was a fantastically fun day out! We were driven out to the Namib Desert where we donned our helmets and elbow pads and got given our mode of transport for the morning - a very thin plywood board!!! Didn't look that sturdy! We had to trek up the dunes which was pretty tiring and then laid down on the boards head first and the instructors pushed us to start us off. Then off we went, flying down the steep dunes with only our feet to use as brakes! On a couple of the dunes, our speed was clocked and I got 61km/hr and 71km/hr which was pretty fast, scary and exhilarating! Ended up with sand absolutely everywhere imaginable! Ended the morning by having a wipeout on my last dune - gutted!

In the afternoon, there was no time to rest as we went skydiving. Out of 24 of us, 18 skydived! A massive amount. I was very nervous before going up, my stomach was doing somersaults!! lol. We had a safety briefing and then were kitted up by our skydiving buddy. Once ready to go, Neil, Helen and I were taken up to 10,000 ft in a small Cessna plane (you could hear the wind blowing outside and its was very small inside!). When you looked around you, all you could see was the Namib Desert and the Atlantic Ocean. Funnily enough, admiring the scenery actually helped to calm me down before the jump! Once we had reached 10,000ft, I had to help open the hatch that we were to jump out of! Pretty scary stuff as once it was open I could see the massive drop below! Didn't have much time to think about it though as I was soon sitting on the edge with my feet dangling out of the plane door and before I knew it, we were free falling through the sky for approx 30-35 secs. What an amazing feeling! I was pumping it was so great and the scenery was absolutely magnificent! When I reached the ground, I couldn't wipe the smile off my face and wanted go straight back up to experience it all again!

Our next destination in Namibia was Sossusvlei. We got up really early in the morning and drove to Dune 45 which we climbed up in time to see the sunrise over the dunes. Beautiful! Well worth the early morning and punishing walk in sand! Later on in the day, we travelled to the Nautedam River where we arrived late and had to put our tents up in the dark! Had a punch party that night which was great - saucepans make great makeshift punch bowls! Didn't realise till the next morning what a lovely peaceful place we were in. As we were up early we got to see the sunrise over the river which was again spectacular!

Fish River Canyon was next on the agenda. After the Grand Canyon it is the 2nd largest canyon in the world! A pretty impressive sight I can tell you. Difficult to capture how beautiful by camera. You just need to soak it up with your eyes instead! Once we had all taken pics, we drove on to Ai-Ais, which is situated high up in the mountains and has hot springs which were delightful! It was like taking a bath (and definately helped to clean us all, lol). We all spent a very relaxing day there! In the evening, Kate prepared a cheese and wine night for us - what a treat! There was so much delicious food that I think we all over ate (and over drank) that night!

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Comments

[Kim]

WOW it gets better
Hi Sarah, this really is an amazing experience for you, lucky girl. We would love to see your photos when you get back, please. See you soon Kim, Jem, Tom and Soph