Today was about driving. A lot of driving. Nearly 600km of driving in fact. Namibia isn’t anywhere near the size of Australia, but the there are certainly Australia sized distances between points of interest. And just like Australia, a whole lot of nothing in between. Turns out Namibia has extremely low population density.
Thankfully the day started at a civilised hour because breakfast could not, and would not, be served before 7 am. The Germans are long gone from running the place, but in a German Shooting Club / hostel that has been around for 118 years, rules are still rules…
Breakfast, like dinner the night before, was very good. Except for the coffee. We are re-learning that Africa generally doesn’t do coffee well. To the extent that the lunchtime billy of Nescafé Blend 43 bogan dust by the side of the truck is welcome compared to the various offerings each morning.
The dining room at the Schutzenhouse was covered in framed old photos of colonial Germans having a wonderful time each year at sundry picnics and social activity. The last one being dated 1914. In 1915, at the behest of the British, the South Africans invaded South West Africa, defeating the German colonial force there, and occupying the country. After the war South West Africa was made a mandated protectorate of South Africa by the League of Nations. This situation remained until 1990 when the new nation of Namibia 🇳🇦 gained independence under a United Nations supervised process.
We headed north for about 2.5 hours. Picked up some supplies in a regional town called Mariental, then headed west.
An hour or two later we paused for lunch in an even smaller place – kind of reminiscent of Halls Creek in Western Australia, but with way less charm….
Then it was back onto the dirt roads for our trip down into the Namib Desert proper. On the way we went down through a steep and windy pass, with spectacular hills all around.
From there it was down a valley with stunning ranges either side- the valley gradually opening up and becoming wider as we went. We went past a game farm where White Rhino were seen. Along the way we saw a lot of Oryx, quite a few very cute Bat Ear Foxes ( which apparently only eat insects/ termites) , Springbok and Mountain Zebra. After about an hour past the pass we did a left hand turn and 15 minutes later we were at our accommodation for the next two nights – Sossusvlei Lodge Desert Camp near Sesriem on the edge of the Namib-Naukluft National Park.
We have a free standing lodge, which is very nice. The air conditioning is a bonus, the sun is intense and the sky is very clear.
Ness’ and Mark’s Wandering 