Swakopmund and surroundings

 

After several days in the desert it was time to return to a city.  Our first stop was at the Tropic of Capricorn, which is the southern most point where the sun can be over one’s head on summer solstice.  We then crossed through the Moon Valley.  It’s name appropriately descriptions the landscape.  As far as you can see, there are hills of round rocks that shine and glisten in the sun.  We were surrounded by the rolling rocks with their diagonal lines and a few trees that can grow on them.

 

Shortly after passing through the Moon Valley, we made our way to a lookout over the flats.  Below the hills of rocks there were kilometers of flat brown land.  Compared to the green that we had been seeing, this is what we pictured ourselves seeing in this area.  It looked like the scene from the Lion King when Simba was shown to the world for the first time.  There were a few rows of trees that made evident where the underground rivers were still flowing.  In Namibia, this would be what a typical river looks like without the recent heavy rainfall.

 

Walvis Bay

 

Our last pit stop was in Walvis Bay to see the flamingos.  The lagoon was covered in the pink, long-legged birds as they ate and slept.  This was the first time that either of us had the opportunity to see flamingos fly and we enjoyed watching their gracefulness.  Their long bodies soared while their open wings revealed a deeper pink and black spot.  They came in for landing by circling around before coming to a running stop.  We sat on the boardwalk for a while watching how they moved around the lagoon and then loaded the truck one last time before reaching our final destination.

Swakopmund

 

The truck followed the road along the beach until reaching Swakopmund.  We stayed at Amanpuri Lodge and this would be the first time in 24 days that Tico and I would be sleeping beneath a roof.  It was a strange feeling, but we were looking forward to having a real pillow after so long.  From the truck window we got a short tour of the town and then were set free from the group for the next 2 nights.

 

 

After reconnecting with the world, we set out to discover the town.  It was Sunday afternoon and the place looked like a ghost town.  We grabbed takeaway and went to the beach to eat while watching the powerful waves crash in.  The promenade was full of people, but no one was in the water.  We took a walk along the sand and when we turned the corner we realized why there was no one around.  The sea was rough where we had just been and now there was an inlet of smooth water and a beach that was covered with people.

 

We spent the afternoon people watching and seeing the flotation devices used by the local kids, which was plastic soda bottles tied around their waists with rope.  As the sun started going down, the people cleared and Tico took the chance to photograph the kids that were still playing on the beach.  They were doing flips and loved getting to see themselves on the camera.

 

 Quad biking

 

The next day we opted for a quad bike activity through the dunes.  Even though we didn’t know exactly what we were getting ourselves into, we wanted to give it a try.  Shortly after arriving to the rental location our guide asked whether we wanted manual or automatic bikes.  We gave the manual ones a short test drive and decided we’d take those so we could accelerate more.  Then we set off towards the dunes through the dry riverbed.

 

Our guide led us up the sides of dunes and pointed as we passed drop-offs or points of caution.  We had been warned to not fishtail or do jumps, but there were times when there was no other choice due to lack of control.  Both Tico and I started somewhat nervous, but we loosened up as we drove.  After roughly an hour of riding up and down and curving through the dunes, we stopped for a break.  That was when we realized that we’d been hugging the bikes too much and both of us had burned holes in the right leg of our pants on the exhaust pipe.  Although we quickly got over it, it was somewhat devastating seeing one of your two pairs of pants with several holes in them.

 

 

While chatting our guide mentioned the view from the spot they go for “2 hour drinks.”  He told us he could take us there, but it would mean a quick turnaround.  We went for it and it was definitely worth it.  The sun was getting closer to the horizon as we stood in the white dunes looking out over the ocean.  It was one of those moments when you wish you could relive the image over and over.  We made great time back to the shop and the guide mentioned how he was impressed with our driving.  I think he thought we’d stall out on the manual bikes and not actually make it anywhere.

 

Once back at the hotel, we showered quickly before meeting up with the group for dinner.  We had hoped to get a view of the sunset, but the clouds made that impossible.  Regardless, we had fresh seafood at Blue Grass and enjoyed the company.  The next day we’d be heading North again and back into the wilderness.

Overland tour organized by Africa4Us.

Helpful tips:

• Swakopmund has become the location for adventure sports so you have a lot of options from skydiving to quad biking to sand boarding.
• If quad biking with Desert Explorers, make sure to ask to be taken to the ‘2 hour drinks’ spot.