The following morning we headed back to the internet cafe to make some phone calls regarding a rental vehicle. We would be arriving in Windhoek, Namibia during Easter weekend while everyone was taking family vacations, so finding a rental car was not easy or cheap. Eventually, between the phone at the internet cafe and the payphone at the airport, we reserved a vehicle then hopped our flight to Namibia. The rental agency picked us up when we arrived and we drove to their office where they introduced us to our truck and how to use all of its amenities.
The ride from the rental agency to the backpackers was a bumpy one since , of the two of us, Matt is the better at driving stick, and the word "proficient" at the time would have been an exaggeration of his skills. Eventually, we arrived at the hostel, set up our new car tent and slept like logs all night.
The following morning, we made a brief stop at the grocery store before heading out towards Sossusvlei. The drive took about 5 hours mostly along empty gravel roads. I had several opportunities to practice my driving during this time. We're lucky it was a rental because the transmission must have been in pain. When we finally arrived at the campsite at the entrance to the park, we found it would cost $80 US for us to stay there for the evening. After a bit of frustration directed at the "new management," we headed back the way we had come and drove 40 miles before finding a campsite.
Just before we arrived at the campsite, I saw something that completely lifted my mood and made me burst out laughing. It was a springbok. When you see how they move, you'll understand why I thought it was so funny. I wasn't able to record one, but the first minute of the video here will give you the idea.
When we arrived we parked the car and went in search of the owners. We discovered that they had gone out for groceries and we should just pick a campsite and come back up to the house when we heard a car. Except that when we returned to the truck, we discovered that we had somehow gotten a flat. At that point, it was dusk, we were exhausted and neither of us had touched food in ages.
It was decided that we'd drive down and pick a site, have a snack, watch the sun set, then in a new mindset, swap out the tire. We met some nice friends who welcomed us up to a good spot for the sunset, and afterwards, helped us change the tire. Then we set up our tent again and went to bed.
The following morning, we were up before the sun, making coffee and showering before heading off to Sossusvei. As we drove, the rising sun was covering the hills with its light and shadows. Even though we were traversing the same path as the previous day, our attitudes were much better and we were anticipating the splendour of the renowned dunes.
When we finally entered the park, the dunes didn't disappoint. I don't know how to describe them except as massive, otherwordly, deep red dunes. We enjoyed the off-road time in the truck before we arrived at Deadvlei and it was time to hike. We followed streams of footprints until we arrived at a large, dry white clay pan surrounded my massive dunes. The sun was large and hot and there was no protection around as Matt and I hauled ourselves up one huge dune to the left. Then I watched in admiration as he trekked far into the distance to the top of the largest dune around. This might not sound like much of an accomplishment, but some of the dunes can be up to 1000 feet tall and you barely gain ground with each step.
Following our walks, we headed back to the car for some much-needed hydration. After driving around the dunes a bit longer, we headed to Swakopmund, and it was another six hours before we arrived. Our backpackers was called Desert Sky and it had all the amenities. First, we set up a sandboarding trip for the following day, then cooked some dinner before bed.
The following day was a blast. I've only tried to snowboard twice, and both times I spent the afternoon on my butt. But sandboarding was much easier to catch on because it's slower than snowboarding and the surface is completely uniform. We spent several hours hiking up dunes and flying down them on the thoroughly-waxed boards. In the process, we met a bunch of cool people and got tons of exercise. Some of the friends we made were three American college students who were studying abroad in Windhoek, and we chatted with them for ages and ended up offering them a drive back to town the following day.
Upon returning from sandboarding, I took a nap until 5 or 6 when Matt and I made up some dinner and headed off to the Swakop Lodge. The photographer from sandboarding was showing our group video from that afternoon and offering pictures for sale. After watching the video and drinking a beer with our new friends, we headed back to our car/tent and went to bed.
The following morning, I was up early for a seal and dolphin trip. The car picked me up and we headed down and got on the boat. It was an interesting trip. Most people were on the boat to see bottlenosed dolphins, but I was there for the seals and the Heavysides Dolphin. We saw the unusual Heavysides dolphin within of few minutes of our trip then we headed out towards the seals, paralleling the duney shoreline as we motored along. Our captain slowed down at points to feed fish to the giant pelicans, seagulls and other birds who recognized us and flew along with our boat. When we reached the island with the seal colony, I was surprised at first by the smell. It was overwhelming. But as we pulled away from shore a bit, it was easier to watch the seals playing around with each other in the waves (if you're interested in the seals you can see video here). After the seals, we searched for bottlenose dolphins for a while before giving up and heading to the harbour for lunch. Halfway through our snacktime, a bottlenose dolphin showed up in the harbour right next to our boat. We followed him around for a bit, much to the amusement of the other passengers, before heading back to the dock. After I was dropped off at the backpackers, Matt and I had to gather our gear and make room to accommodate our new friends in the car before heading towards Windhoek.
It was a surprisingly short 5 hour drive. As we rode, we sang along with the odd selection of CDs which we borrowed from the car rental man and talked about Namibia and home. When we arrived in Windhoek, we dropped off Vaun, Jesse, and Ryan before returning the car to its owner and heading to our backpackers.
The following day was spent exploring the points of interest in Windhoek such as the historic buildings, government center and market. Then, the rain began to fall and made us scurry for shelter in a nearby internet cafe until it was time to meet our friends for dinner.
The chosen location was Joe's Beerhouse, which is well-known for its selection of game meats. We tried everything from crocodile to ostrich to zebra before the meal was finished and despite my initial horror, all of the pretty animals tasted quite delicious. Eventually, we parted ways with our friends and took a taxi back to the backpackers where we spent our last night in Namibia.
The pictures in the post are: our fancy-pants camper truck, pretty sights on the way to Sossusvlei, a massive dune, the view from the top of a dune, the clay pan with its scorched trees, the Tropic of Capricorn which we crossed over on the way from Sossusvlei to Swakopmund, me preparing for sandboarding, a Heavysides dolphin with dunes behind, and Christ Church in Windhoek.
Just before we arrived at the campsite, I saw something that completely lifted my mood and made me burst out laughing. It was a springbok. When you see how they move, you'll understand why I thought it was so funny. I wasn't able to record one, but the first minute of the video here will give you the idea.
When we arrived we parked the car and went in search of the owners. We discovered that they had gone out for groceries and we should just pick a campsite and come back up to the house when we heard a car. Except that when we returned to the truck, we discovered that we had somehow gotten a flat. At that point, it was dusk, we were exhausted and neither of us had touched food in ages.
It was decided that we'd drive down and pick a site, have a snack, watch the sun set, then in a new mindset, swap out the tire. We met some nice friends who welcomed us up to a good spot for the sunset, and afterwards, helped us change the tire. Then we set up our tent again and went to bed.
The following morning, we were up before the sun, making coffee and showering before heading off to Sossusvei. As we drove, the rising sun was covering the hills with its light and shadows. Even though we were traversing the same path as the previous day, our attitudes were much better and we were anticipating the splendour of the renowned dunes.
When we finally entered the park, the dunes didn't disappoint. I don't know how to describe them except as massive, otherwordly, deep red dunes. We enjoyed the off-road time in the truck before we arrived at Deadvlei and it was time to hike. We followed streams of footprints until we arrived at a large, dry white clay pan surrounded my massive dunes. The sun was large and hot and there was no protection around as Matt and I hauled ourselves up one huge dune to the left. Then I watched in admiration as he trekked far into the distance to the top of the largest dune around. This might not sound like much of an accomplishment, but some of the dunes can be up to 1000 feet tall and you barely gain ground with each step.
Following our walks, we headed back to the car for some much-needed hydration. After driving around the dunes a bit longer, we headed to Swakopmund, and it was another six hours before we arrived. Our backpackers was called Desert Sky and it had all the amenities. First, we set up a sandboarding trip for the following day, then cooked some dinner before bed.
The following day was a blast. I've only tried to snowboard twice, and both times I spent the afternoon on my butt. But sandboarding was much easier to catch on because it's slower than snowboarding and the surface is completely uniform. We spent several hours hiking up dunes and flying down them on the thoroughly-waxed boards. In the process, we met a bunch of cool people and got tons of exercise. Some of the friends we made were three American college students who were studying abroad in Windhoek, and we chatted with them for ages and ended up offering them a drive back to town the following day.
Upon returning from sandboarding, I took a nap until 5 or 6 when Matt and I made up some dinner and headed off to the Swakop Lodge. The photographer from sandboarding was showing our group video from that afternoon and offering pictures for sale. After watching the video and drinking a beer with our new friends, we headed back to our car/tent and went to bed.
The following morning, I was up early for a seal and dolphin trip. The car picked me up and we headed down and got on the boat. It was an interesting trip. Most people were on the boat to see bottlenosed dolphins, but I was there for the seals and the Heavysides Dolphin. We saw the unusual Heavysides dolphin within of few minutes of our trip then we headed out towards the seals, paralleling the duney shoreline as we motored along. Our captain slowed down at points to feed fish to the giant pelicans, seagulls and other birds who recognized us and flew along with our boat. When we reached the island with the seal colony, I was surprised at first by the smell. It was overwhelming. But as we pulled away from shore a bit, it was easier to watch the seals playing around with each other in the waves (if you're interested in the seals you can see video here). After the seals, we searched for bottlenose dolphins for a while before giving up and heading to the harbour for lunch. Halfway through our snacktime, a bottlenose dolphin showed up in the harbour right next to our boat. We followed him around for a bit, much to the amusement of the other passengers, before heading back to the dock. After I was dropped off at the backpackers, Matt and I had to gather our gear and make room to accommodate our new friends in the car before heading towards Windhoek.
It was a surprisingly short 5 hour drive. As we rode, we sang along with the odd selection of CDs which we borrowed from the car rental man and talked about Namibia and home. When we arrived in Windhoek, we dropped off Vaun, Jesse, and Ryan before returning the car to its owner and heading to our backpackers.
The following day was spent exploring the points of interest in Windhoek such as the historic buildings, government center and market. Then, the rain began to fall and made us scurry for shelter in a nearby internet cafe until it was time to meet our friends for dinner.
The chosen location was Joe's Beerhouse, which is well-known for its selection of game meats. We tried everything from crocodile to ostrich to zebra before the meal was finished and despite my initial horror, all of the pretty animals tasted quite delicious. Eventually, we parted ways with our friends and took a taxi back to the backpackers where we spent our last night in Namibia.
The pictures in the post are: our fancy-pants camper truck, pretty sights on the way to Sossusvlei, a massive dune, the view from the top of a dune, the clay pan with its scorched trees, the Tropic of Capricorn which we crossed over on the way from Sossusvlei to Swakopmund, me preparing for sandboarding, a Heavysides dolphin with dunes behind, and Christ Church in Windhoek.
1 comment:
The landscape shots in this post are amazing - I have one set up as my desktop and it looks amazing.
I was glad to see your partner at P2P this weekend, and sorry we missed you. See you soon I trust.
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