Trips and tips: Namibia vol IV - the sea!

Resuming from where I left my previous post, I must say for one more time that the ultimate experience in the desert is contact with nature and especially looking at the sunset. As the horizon in Namibia has no buildings, while you are in the desert, you will be able to experience pink, purple, orange, yellow skies at their best!

Moreover, the sky’s stars are visible in all their grandiosity! Amazing stars’ formations and falling stars will take place in front of your amazed eyes. The same if you happen to wake up early in the morning to travel: the blues, purples, greys, and light pinks skies are unforgettable!

We left the Sossusvlei and Deadvlei region to travel to the seashore, in the Atlantic Ocean. Our trip kicked off at daytime and we reached our destination at night. Not only due to the long distance… We had a flat tire in the desert which took us some time to change! And it was a bit risky as the desert is isolated, no cars passing by and what’s more, no cellphone signal! I forgot to tell you that once we reached Namibia, we bought a regional sim card to avoid international charges. It is very easy – you can buy these at the airport.

This is a solitaire we run into on our way...

Further to the flat tire, we also got stuck in the desert and then spent even more time to free the car from the sand…

Adventures seem to take place at the worst place and time..! But luckily we reached the sea, Swakopmund..or else German-land! It is like we left the desert and Africa and entered a small town in Germany! Indeed! My top advice is to refrain from staying there a long time as these cities don’t represent Africa. They are there to host you for a while, mend the flat tire and off you go! You don’t need to see Europe in Africa.

We stayed in Swakopmund for three nights at a nice comfortable house, named the Beach Hive. The hostess was very kind and positive to our ask for extra heating as there was just one heater in a 150sq.m. apartment, while the temperature outside was at 0 C degrees!

A pub we visited which was really nice:

The main activities during our stay in Swakopmund, were to reorganize, fix the tire, shop some gifts, travel the coast by boat and, as an extra, we took a day excursion in the desert. We rent a 4x4 jeep doing off road 4x4ing with a professional driver - throughout the barren desert by the sea, in the Namib Naukluft Park! This was an amazing experience - for the men of the group; I was not thrilled as I got a bit sick. But as an experience it was good. Especially as the scenery combined desert, sea, and a few animals! The cost stood at €125 per person for about six hours.

The next day, we took the boat from the nearby town, Walvis Bay, and visited some seals at a small nearby island, saw a lighthouse, some dolphins and pelicans - at the price of €60. I enjoyed this more than the other activities as the sea was very calm, although in mid-winter.

Next stop Damaraland! Enjoy!