Our African adventure. Part 1: Namibia along the Trans-Kalahari highway

In the following posts I will write about the Africa trip I did with my family (mum, dad an sister) this February / March. I will split it in several parts to be able to post maaaany photos! :-) The trip lasted 5 weeks and was full of highlights. We started in Windhoek, Namibia, and explored the country in a guided 12 days-G Adventures-tour called "Cape and Dunes Discoverer". We ended up in Capetown, South Africa, from where we started to explore South Africa on our own. After 5 weeks, we had to say goodbye to Africa and flew back from Johannesburg to Zurich. Let me now share my memories with you.

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Our Namibia-itinerary (more or less), (c) G Adventures

"Namibia is Africa for beginners" I read in a travel guide while preparing for the trip. I wasn't too unhappy to hear that Namibia was a very easy-to-travel and quite safe country. For me, my mum and sister it was the first time in Africa. Ok, we had seen Morocco but that somehow doesn't really count. :-) 

We started our trip with an overnight-flight from Zurich to Johannesburg (South Africa) and continued to Windhoek (Namibia). We were welcomed by heat. A great surprise if you come out of the snow!!

Windhoek, the capital city of Namibia, didn't really fascinate us. Probably we were already in the mood for nature and safari, but Windhoek is also quite western and modern. With its several German names for streets and buildings, we even didn't feel very far from home!

Windhoeks landmark, the "Christuskirche" in the middle of a roundabout, seen from the terrace of the National Museum

Windhoek - funny, but very western. 

Tintenpalast - seat of the parliament of Namibia

The National Mueum with a statue of Sam Nujoma, former president of Namibia

 We visited the Botanical Gardens in Windhoek which was really nice. We found some plants that surprised us. What do you think about the Sausage Tree down below? 

Sausage Tree

In the evening, we met our G Adventures group -  a very funny bunch of mostly Canadians - and our guide Bryson. We had a wonderful first evening and were keen on starting our trip the next day.

Early in the morning, we started our bus ride towards Etosha Nationalpark. The landscape soon started to change. We were fascinated by the open spaces. Whereas there are around 200 people per km2 in Switzerland, in Namibia there are around 2.5. We barely saw another car while driving and wondered if we would feel claustrophobic back home. 

Then we continued our drive and arrived in Etosha Nationalpark some hours later. With 20 000 m2, this park is huge! And as if they had heard our wishes, soon after the entrance gate, the first animals showed up. A welcome commitee? 

We arrived at our first campsite, called "Okakuejo". This place was fantastic, it was located next to a big watering hole which obviously was well known by the animals. In the evening, we sat down at the watering hole and waited. And this was worth it!! 

We were in awe to see all those animals that we just knew from pictures or the zoo! I could have stayed there for hours! 

The next day we get up early to go on our first safari. Here I let the pictures speak.What a great day it was! 

The time we spent in Etosha NP was much too short, I would have loved to go many more game drives. But our trip continued and we drove to Swakopmund, a town on the Kalahari Highway and known as a center for outdoor activities. I liked this town quite a lot, it is small, next to the sea and the dunes and full of charm - aaand: full of German influences too! Or would you have thought that you can find a "Buchhandlung" (bookshop) in Namibia? 

Danger! Pumba ahead! 

Swakopmund pier

There are a lot of fantastic restaurants in Swakopmund. My favourite was the "Tiger Reef"- restaurant, a beach bar next to the sea. Isn't it lovely? 

Dunes next to the "Tiger Reef"-restaurant

After Swakopmund, we continued our journey towards the Namib desert, the oldest desert on earth. Well, at least that was what we had intended to do, but... 

With some (wo-)menpower, we finally managed our bus to get going and so we headed off into the desert. Also here we were fascinated by the width and this endless space. 

We reached the Tropic of Capricorn, one of the five major circles of latitude on the worldmaps and the southernmost latitude where the sun can be directly overhead (thanks, Wikipedia! :-) ). 

Another very funny stop was in Solitaire, a small place with only a gasoline station, a bakery, a cafe, and a little grocery store, known to be the only one between the dunes of Sossusvlei and the coast. 

We arrived in the Namib-Naukluft-Nationalpark (23'000 m2 big!!) and on our campground named "Sossus Oasis". It was extremely hot so we were veeery happy to find a pool at the campground (quite bizarre, a pool in the middle of the desert, but soo nice!!)

Desert camping

We slept very well in our tents, even if we heard strange and scary noises during the night (obviously some jackals strolling around). The next  day was one with many highlights. We explored the red dunes of Sossusvlei. We were there early and watching the sunrise that slowly turns the dunes into bright red was absolutely stunning! 

Sunrise at Sossusvlei

The most famous dune (even if it's not the highest one) is "Dune 45". It is quite touristy, but because we were that early we were there before all the other groups. We climbed up the dunes - thank god the sand was still quite cold! The view was just amazing! 

Dune 45

We continued to another highlight - the Deadvlei. It is a clay pan surrounded by "Big Daddy", the highest dune in the world. In the early days, there was a river in this region which let trees grow. When it got blocked by the sand dunes, the water pools turned into clay and the trees died. Nowadays its a quite spectacular clay pan with a lot of very old trees. 

 we visited Sesriem Canyon, about 1 kilometer long and 30 meters deep. To walk in it was a very nice experience! 

In the evening there was another highlight. We were sitting comfortably on our camping chairs eating dinner when we suddenly felt the first drops on our heads. Rain in the desert? We couldn't believe it! But then it started to pour quite heavily and we had to flee into the tourbus. After some minutes, it was over again and turned the desert into a magical light. And what was even better: The temperatures had fallen. You can imagine how wonderfully we slept that night after a very hot day in the desert! 

The landscape after the rain

The next day we continued our journey towards Ais-Ais, known for the natural hot springs. 

Our bags were full of sand when we unloaded the bus

A baboon (in Namibia called "Criminal") checking out a holiday bungalow

The plan was to continue the next day and to visit Fishriver Canyon, the biggest canyon in Africa and the second biggest in the world (after Grand Canyon in the USA), but because of the heavy rainfall the night before, the road was closed. So we changed plan. The roads were indeed...um... let's say interesting. We were quite sceptical if our bus would made it, but our driver was great - and the bus off course too! :-) 

Once out of the desert landscape, it turned green again. What a pleasure after all the grey-brown-reddish days! :-) 

We arrived at the "Norotshama River Resort" and felt like kings. After the days of camping, this was just perfect. 

The next day we already had to say goodbye to Namibia and we crossed the boarder to South Africa. We stayed in Lambert's Bay, a cute little town. There we visited "Bird Island", known for its colony of Cape Gannets.

In the evening, our guide surprised us with a wine tasting in an openair-restaurant "Muisbosskerm" next to the beach. Wow! Wine, beach, warmth - what do you wish for more? 

Nelda van Zyl aka "The Winetender" - she is doing fantasting wine tastings!

You can imagine that the drive back to the hotel after the tasting was quite loud and funny. And you can also imagine that we all slept like logs afterwards! :-) 

Sadly, the next day was already our last. We drove to Capetown and had to say goodbye to the group. Those 12 days were fantastic, we met a lot of awesome people, saw amazing landscapes and could experience Namibia for its best. For our tourmates it was time to go home, for my family and I it was start to get ready for chapter 2 of this adventure: South Africa! 

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A few tips for Namibia

WINDHOEK

In my opinion, Windhoek is not really worth to see. But if you're there anyway, here are some tips that you could do there. 

• Christuskirche & National Museum: This church is located on a roundabout and is nice to see. The best view you have from the terrace of the restaurant in the National Museum. The museum itself is worth a visit, it is free and gives you a good insight in Namibias history.

ETOSHA NATIONALPARK

In Namibia, you shouldn't miss this amazing park. It's huge but the chances to see the "Big 4" here are good (no "Big 5" because there are no buffalos in Namibia). If you're lucky you get the chance to see a black rhino, a species that was declared extinct in 2011 but has now grown again. If you want to stay overnight I recommend the "Okakuejo Rest Camp" where you can camp or rent a bungalow. It is the perfect place to go on a safari or just sit at the watering hole and wait for some furry visitors to come. The place is very nice with a restaurant, a shop, good sanitary facilities and braai-places on the campsite. 

SWAKOPMUND

I really liked this little town at the sea. It is a very funny place where the time seems to have stand still for some years. A lot of street names are in German, you even find a "Buchhandlung" there (a very good one though!!). It is so nice to walk at the beach there, to go shopping, to visit a museum - there are a lot of options! Here are some recommendations.

• Where to sleep: "Hotel Europahof" is a very nice hotel, just 5 minutes away from the beach. We enjoyed it very much! 
• Where to eat:
• The Tug: right at the beach, very good food and a funny martime style. We loved it! 
• Village Café: a very cute café in the middle of the town. Fantastic for breakfast, very nice staff. 
• Tiger Reef: A restaurant just at the beach. Nice food, easy atmosphere. 
• What to do:
• Visit the Swakopmund Museum: A small museum with a surprising good collection of memorabilia. Told us a lot about Namibias history, the indigenous people and animals. 
• Where to shop:
• Buchhandlung: a fantastic book shop with both german and english books. 
• Waga Waga (25 Sam Nujoma Drive): a small shop with nice clothes and a very nice integrated café. 

NAMIB-NAUKLUFT-NATIONALPARK

This nationalpark is huge and fascinating. The red sanddunes are breathtaking and shouldn't be missed out. Make sure you climb the Dune 45 and visit the Deadvlei. It is also nice to see the Sesriem Canyon. 

We stayed at a campground called "Sossus Oasis Campsite". I liked it very much, we had our own showers and bathroom and the pool was very refreshing. There is also e luxurious resort next to the campground for those who like the comfort. 

NOROTSHAMA RIVER RESORT
A wonderful resort that I highly recommend. Very friendly staff, beautiful bungalows, fantastic views and great food. 

LAMBERT'S BAY

• Make sure you visit the "Bird Island". There you can observe thousands of cape gannets which is quite impressive. 
• Don't miss the "Muisbosskerm" openair-restaurant at the beach. It is buffet style and the food is delicious. 
• If you are interested in wine, make sure you arrange a winetasting with Nelda van Zyl, aka The Winetender (--> Link). She knows a lot about wine, the tastings are very interesting and funny, even for not-drinkers.