K+K Travels: Namibia

The last leg of our African adventure took us to Namibia. It was part of John’s mission but later transferred to the new Botswana mission. He never got to serve there but always wanted to visit. We got up too early (3AM for our 6AM flight) and were taken to the Cape Town airport for the flight to Windhoek, Namibia. We were met by Cliff who took us into town and we met up with our newest friend Nico (a Jeep Wrangler). We drove Nico the 3 ½ hours to Swakopmund, on the Atlantic coast and Kurt only drove the left side of Nico onto the shoulder a few times (still getting the hang of driving on the left.) The vegetation went from the dry grass and acacia trees we became accustomed to in Sabi Sand to the barren dunes of the Namib desert. Reaching Swakop we checked into the Swakopmund Guest House, a nice clean motel but lacking needed heat, a pebbly-floored bathroom, a giant ocean-view mural with a rock cairn, and with only a glass door opening onto the courtyard. Our afternoon activity was a walk through the village and a drive out on to the sandy beach north of town. Our first night’s dinner was a freezing cold walk about 6 blocks to the Tug restaurant on the ocean (and made of parts of a decommissioned tugboat). The food was good and we were soon back at the guest house.

Up the next morning and after some confusion about whether we were being picked up or needed to drive out to the local airport, and a delay occasioned by heavy fog, we were off with our pilot Serge in a single engine plane flying low over the dry Swakop river and the sea of dunes that is the Namib. We enjoyed our view until we got to the coast and were disappointed by the fog bank that prevented us from experiencing close up from the air the several hundred foot high dunes plunging into the sea. We did see several shipwrecks (one of hundreds that gives this stretch of ocean the name the Skeleton Coast) then returned to Swakop. The afternoon found us traveling by Land Rover with our guide Chris who showed us the abundance of life to be found in the apparently lifeless dunes. He scooped out a legless skink, spotted a chameleon hidden by a small bush (the chameleon walks with a strange back and forth rocking motion that helps it look more like a plant blowing the breeze), caught a deadly horned adder (or viper) and a colorful gecko about to molt. We drove straight up and over dunes, enjoyed the views and had a delightful time. Chris made fun of our “Jurassic” camera that took these great pictures and passionately decried to environmental damage being done by recreational quad bikes and motorcycles throughout the desert (he called it the greatest environmental catastrophe of our time.) Dinner was at the Jetty 1905 restaurant (we were smart and drove to it) at the end of the jetty. The walk was cold and wet and once inside there was a glass floor that showed the waves crashing beneath the restaurant that shook noticeably for every large wave. We had a great meal (John had the Springbok, Kathy the butternut and orange soup and Kurt had a “burger” of tempura prawns, calamari and line fish).

In the morning we drove along the coast to Walvis Bay then inland to the famous Dune 7 then across the desert to the main highway back to Windhoek. We saw flamingos eating in a desert waterhole (the trip started with Kurt’s favorite bird, the lilac breasted roller, and ended with Kathy’s, the flamingo!) On the trip back only once did Kurt’s driving give Kathy and John such a start that they both cried out. Safely at the airport, we boarded our Air Namibia flight to Jo’burg and started the long journey home.