Goodbye Namibia, hello South Africa!

Orange River

Firstly we had to officially leave Namibia, before driving a few hundred metres through no-mans land to cross the border into South Africa. I did worry a little when our  passports were taken for inspection by the police, but we all got through in the end. We drove a short distance down the road from the border to our next stop at Orange River. This river essentially marks the border between South Africa and Namibia- you could throw a stone back into Namibia it was that close!

And even better, after the cold, damp few days we had had in Namibia we drove into glorious sunshine. The campsite was beautiful- right next to the river and a short distance from the bar (even better!). Some of us chose to go canoeing down the river in the afternoon in double inflatable canoes. I shared with my tentmate Emma, and at first we were absolutely useless! I think we probably did double the distance of everyone else zig-zagging from one side of the river to the other! But eventually we mastered the steering and were chasing the others, having splash wars along the way. It was certainly hard work, and the amount of flies around inspired us to paddle even fater!

An excellent playground

Awaiting us when we landed back at the camp site was a beautiful spit-roasted lamb and other dishes all cooked in a traditional South African style. We feasted until we could eat no more, drank until we could drink no more, and went back to our tent to find the resident dogs (who had spent the whole afternoon digging up stones on the beach) residing in it!!!

The next day was our final full day as a group, and we spent almost all of it on the bus. It was a looong drive down from Orange River to Cape Town, but it was so different to driving through Namibia. As soon as we crossed the border into South Africa it was so much greener, and at times you could be forgiven for thinking you were looking out at rolling English hills and farmland. 

Driving down to Cape Town

We could tell as soon as we were on the approach to Cape Town, as Table Mountain loomed into view in front of us. The city really is sprawled out right across the base of the mountain and all over the sand flats surrounding it. When we got into the city, we were told that we had been upgraded and were going to be staying in a much nicer hotel. We went out as a group for a final meal at Mama Africas, where I tried a delicious traditional Cape Malay South African dish called Bobotie, which consists of minced beef and ostrich meat in a sweet and spicy gravy, topped with egg custard (like an African version of sheperd’s pie!). 

Namib Desert, Sossuvlei and Fish River Canyon

Sunrise over the desert

This was by far the most beautiful part of the whole trip, and my favourite part of Namibia. We drove south from Swakopmund to the Namib Desert, through yet more fantastic and desolate scenery. We spent 2 nights in the desert, which is hyper-arid and experiences less than 10cm per year. So of course while we were there it chucked it down- in the middle of the dry season!!! And on the day that I had to cook and wash up!

On the first morning we woke up at (literally) the crack of dawn to drive down to the enormous sand dunes so that we could hike up the 300m high Dune 45 to see the sunrise over the desert. The dunes are all numbered because they don’t move- the winds are equally strong in both directions. It was strange that as we were driving we weren’t surrounded by sand like you would expect in the desert, but we drove between enormous sand dunes. 

At the top of the dune

A gruelling climb to the top

Overnight the wind had wiped away the footprints of the previous day, so we climbed a seemingly untouched dune. At first we all set off at speed, but the climb quickly became really tough. Imagine walking on a sandy beach that’s a 30cm wide ledge at a slope of 35 degrees. It was a bit hairy, but on the way back down I realised that even if I had fallen off the edge, it would have been a soft landing at least! It was pretty chilly and windy, but well worth the early start and the climb- as you can see, it was spectacular! And even better, breakfast was waiting for us when we got back down.

Deadvlei

After brekkie we headed over to Sossuvlei,  which is where the water in the desert collects creating an oasis in the middle of the sand dunes. More incredible however is Deadvlei. This was once the location of the water collecting and so a number of trees have grown there- when the waters moved to what is now Sossuvlei, the trees without a water source died and have been preserved by the hyper-arid desert conditions. I could have spent hours photographing all the trees, and learnt quite a lot about my camera while I was there.

Fish River Canyon

The next day we drove south to our next and final stop in Namibia, Fish River Canyon. The Fish River is the longest river in Namibia, and over time has formed a spectacular canyon which in parts is 550m deep. We took a short walk along the edge of the canyon, and at the end we were greeted with a cheese and wine dinner ready for sunset over the canyon. It was a lovely way to say farewell to Namibia.

From Etosha to Damaraland and Swakopmund

Traditional Himba woman

I was really hoping that in Damaraland we would get the chance to interact with some local tribesmen, as this area of the country is where many of the semi-nomadic Himba tribes are located. However the only interaction we got was when we stopped off along our drive on the roadside at some tourist souvenir shops. It is really incredible what the local people can create from things that you find on the ground! We were told that if we wanted to take photos we would have to pay as this is the main way the Himba people make their money. The Himba woman in the photograph is wearing traditional tribal clothes (which was brave considering how cold it was!). The people coat their hair and bodies in a local red clay as protection from the sun- must be very itchy putting that on your head!

We drove on, leaving civilisation (and tarmacked roads) behind. We stopped for lunch at the petrified forest, and got a guided tour of the site. The trees had been washed to the area from central Africa during some spectacular floods millions of years ago, and then buried in clay sediments. Over time the organic matter of the trees was replaced by minerals, so when the trunks were finally exposed, the trees were exactly as they were when they were buried only made of stone. 

Me and Emma at the stone carvings

That afternoon we had the option to go and see some stone carvings made by tribes thousands of years ago- I should have realised when only 5 of us wanted to go that it wasn’t exactly going to be exciting, but I went anyway. The cave drawings were ok, but I still don’t understand the point of them! It’s supposed to be something to do with spirituality and the afterlife, but at the end of the day a map would have been more useful!

Shipwreck along the Skeleton Coast

The following two days we spent in Swakopmund. The drive down the coast was very beautiful, and for some reason all the houses in the small towns along the way were all brightly coloured! The roads in this part of the country are actually made from salt, which is similar to tarmac when compacted (a nice change from dirt tracks!). Swakopmund offered a huge range of adventure activities, but I after a few hectic weeks I chose to rest and recuperate. 

Me and Kristen on horseback

We explored the town a little, but due to a power cut there weren’t many shops still open. It was a bit cold and miserable while we were there which is quite common there due to the cold ocean air hitting the warm landside air, so we didn’t even venture to the beach! I went on a genteel horse trek with one of the girls through a dry riverbed and some spectacular countryside. I actually was riding a very quaint mule called Spock, but it took me three weeks to work out it was a mule as the German girl guiding us called him a moolay! I did wonder why he looked a bit different to the other horses! All was going well until Spock got spooked and bolted off with me hanging on for dear life- I think I was more terrified than when a leopard was seen hanging around our camp!

Riding in the lunar landscape

We spent a couple of good nights out at the limited evening venues Swakopmund has to offer, even showing the locals our singing talent on karaoke night!

A new adventure begins

Windhoek to Etosha National Park
 

The start of my adventure tour through Namibia was a little hectic- I wasn’t given a time to arrive at the starting hotel, and I just so happened to arrive at the exact same time that the tour was pulling into the hotel. My tour through Namibia was the final leg of several tours that had travelled across Africa, so some of the 19 strong group had been travelling together for nearly 6 weeks.

 

I quickly learnt that whenever we were told a time to be at the bus, we would always be at least half an hour late-our 2 guides could not time keep to save their lives! The guides were nothing like I was expecting, both of them were young surfer types! I spent my first day on the back seat of the bus, which I soon found out meant that I would spend approximately 50% of my time with my arse off the seat- and that was on the tarmacked roads. 

Perched on top of Waterburg Plateau

Thankfully it wasn’t far until our first stop at Waterburg National Park. This park is dominated by the Waterburg Plateau, which is a beautiful 200m high rock structure, containing fossilised dinosaur tracks, petrified sand dunes and hundreds of native flora and fauna species. Before dinner most of us set off to climb the plateau, which from a distance looks like a sheer cliff face. The guides told us it would be a gentle climb but it was more like an extreme scramble over rocks! But it was well worth it for the views from the top. The food every night was so good- we cooked on the braai which basically means cooked on an open fire. We had steak, salad and a special kind of South African bread called roosterkoek, which is cooked on the fire. 

Springbok

Black rhino

The next day we left early- every day we would get up between 5 and 6am (depending on how far we had to travel) in order to take down the tents, have breakfast, pack up and leave. We travelled north to Etosha National park, the biggest national park in Namibia and the third biggest in Africa. As we entered the park I spotted a black rhino, which we were incredibly lucky to see. We went on a quick game drive through some of the park and I got to see my first elephant, but unfortunately not a lot else.

A pretty huge group of 13 elephants!

We spent 2 days in Etosha National Park, and on the second day I paid a bit extra for a day's game drive through the park with our own guide. We got to see plenty of springbok, impala, kudu, wildebeest, zebra, giraffes and elephants and a few bird species too. We were on the hunt for some of the lions that we knew were hanging about but unfortunately we didn't get to see any. I was more than happy though, as at the end of the day we came across a group of 13 elephants (including lots of babies) coming up to a waterhole for a drink. 

Zebra

That evening we stayed at a campsite where there was a lit up waterhole so we could sit and watch the animals at night. I got to see plenty of rhinos, giraffes and some elephants too. Apparently there were even a few lions who made an appearance; I did hear a lion roar but I was in bed and thought it was someone in the tent next door snoring!