We stop briefly at the Tropic of Capricorn.
People had put loads of stickers and rubbish on the sign, so it was a bit difficult to read.
As we drove through the desert we reached this interesting area.
Many of the people on the trip had been reading The Sheltering Desert by Heno Martin.
In the book, 2 pacifist geologists refuse to fight in the 2nd world war. Faced with the option of internment, they run away and live a Robinson Crusoe existance for the next 2 and a half years.
This is where they lived.
We arrive at Walvis bay where Manfred De la ray and Shasa Courtney have their first fight. Neither realising the other is his brother.
Although that didn’t happen in real life, like many of the places I saw, it featured in the stories I’ve read, and they brought books read 30 years earlier to life.
Flamingo’s are fairly common in this area and as a special treat, there was a family of Dolphins as well.
, We continue on to Swakopmund (in what was German south west Africa).
We’re staying in a sort of hostel called the Dunedin Star (a ship quite famous to the area).
The beach has this interesting sign, that says “swimming at your own risk” and then 6 things you aren’t allowed to do (one of which is shooting!) but most interesting is no swimming. A contradiction?
Staying here for the next 2 nights, we have a free day the following day and there’s loads to do here.
The next day starts early with The living desert tour.
About 30 of us piled into 4 off road vehicles. There were 4 staff who rooted around in the desert to find interesting things to show us.
The basic idea is to show that although the desert looks like a dead place, it’s thriving with plant and animal life, with a wealth of interesting rocks and minerals.
A brief explanation with a sand drawing of Namibia and the places it borders.
Our guide explained that although Africa is known for the big 5, in the desert, we look for the little 5.
Originally the little 5 were Chameleon, Sidewinder snake, Lizard, Cartwheeling spider and Gecko.
The challenge was to see if we could find all 5 during our morning in the desert.
The tour was very environmentally concious and they had stopped seeking out the cartwheeling spider, as it takes 3 days for it to rebuild its home in the sand.
Instead, it was substituted with a Scorpion. We got to see them all including the Chameleon above.
An absolutely brilliant experience I’d highly recommend if you’re visiting.
As we drive back, we pass this disused railway line, that seems to go on for ever.
Back in town, we get some lunch (one thing I love about Africa, is they are unapologetic meat eaters).
Then we look around the Swakopmund museum.
Loads of interesting things including lots of stuffed animals (not to everyone’s taste, but I found them fascinating).
They also had some old equipment that the early settlers would have used. Once again I’m reminded of the burning shore and a cart of the type Lothar De La Ray used in the desert and a Mauser carbine used in a major plot development.
I read once, that 85% of all the Land Rovers ever built were still driving.
This one had been donated to the museum, originally shipped from the UK in the late 40’s.
It still works.
This 1:6000 model of the German cruiser “Nurnberg” was built by Konny Zander whilst imprisoned in an internment camp.
Built from jam and other food tins with melted down toothpaste tubes as solder.
It took him 7 months to make, and all the parts are moveable.
We had intended to visit the Snake museum, but after so much travelling in the truck, decided just to wander around and explore in the sunshine.
We reached the pier and walked to the end. Nikki’s birthday “event” had been fab, but we hadn’t really celebrated on our own.
One of the best restaurants in the town is called The Tug and located at the start of the pier. We decide to have dinner there.
The food and service are superb and the building itself amazing.
Above is a fish pate I had as a starter. A simple dish, turned into this visually stunning creation.
The Burning Shore, takes its title from when Centain (the main character) is washed ashore on the Namib Desert. When I read the book the first time, I never thought for a single moment that one day I’d stand there.
And it was amazing, a place doesn’t earn the name Skeleton Coast by accident, the normal odds of survival here with no equipment and water are practically none existent (but it would have made a pretty dull book if she’d died 🙂
Here we arrive at Henties bay, on the skeleton coast and see the Ziela, a fishing boat run aground in 2008 and left for scrap like so many other here.
This website is named johnsunter.com, The adventures of an ordinary person.
So, I tell it like it is. I think it’s perfectly ok to tell the truth and not everything is for every traveller.
In my case, I found the Cape Cross Seal Colony rather boring. Once you’d seen the first 5 seals, the others were rather mundane and they smelled horrendous.
Our next destination is Damaraland where we’ll be staying at the White Lady lodge hotel.
But first, we’ll be doing a bush walk, to see the famous white lady cave painting.
A scorching hot day, but trekking through the Brandberg mountain range was one of the highlights of the trip for me.
There are over 1000 cave paintings in the area, but the main one to see is the White Lady (probably because its the most accessible).
Considered academic opinion is that the White Lady is actually a male shamen panted in ritual white, carrying a bow.
Opinions vary on the age of the painting, but the consensus is around 2000 years old.
Our cottage at the White Lady lodge. Typical of the kind of amazing accommodation we used on the trip.
The area was quite spread out and it was possible to rent golf carts and go exploring.
Unfortunately we didn’t have time to do that, so we headed for the main hotel complex to relax.
Although I shy away from “beach holidays” that doesn’t mean I don’t like to sit out in the sunshine at the end of the day.
It’s normally Nikki who goes for a swim, I usually find somewhere with lager.
Our food this evening was a barbecue that Wendy and Shepherd cooked by the pool. The steak was cooked just right and one of the nicest I’ve ever eaten.
As the evening progresses, we wander off in small groups to watch the sun set.
Once it got dark, we headed indoors. I saw this interesting sign on the bar.
We’re now moving to the safari part of our trip and the next morning drive to the Etosha Safari Lodge.
Extremely comfortable. So comfortable in fact, that instead of joining an afternoon visit to a Himba village, I decide to stay behind and relax.
I was assisted by the hotel’s cat, Alan.
I had been re-reading The Burning Shore (I’d read it 4 times previously). As I sat there, I came to the end of the book. Quite a special moment, that’s a bit difficult to describe.
As it was, I’d see some Herero ladies the next day, in their spectacular clothes.
They were selling souvenirs and crafts.
I stupidly purchased some sort of hyena/leopard/giraffe carving of Frankenstein design.
As our truck left, they must have howled laughing at the stupid westerner who’d paid good money for this monstrous thing!.
We head out towards the Etosha national park (one of the highlights of the trip, considering the trip itself is a travel highlight in its own right).
Before we get there, we see this desert elephant at the side of the road.