It’s Hot, But Wonderful!

Sorry for the delay, getting the internet sorted has been a pain, so here goes!

It took twenty four hours and three flights, but finally we have made it to Namibia, a country that has already made a lasting impression on me. We are staying at the wonderful seaside city of Walvis Bay, a place that appears like a mirage on the horizon in the middle of the desert. Surrounded by miles upon miles of sand, and home to the highest sand dune in Namibia at three hundred and eighty three metres tall, you really feel like you’re on another planet compared to what, as a Brit, you’re used to.

It’s a barren, vast landscape, and apart from a few sand dunes dotted around, it’s as flat as a pancake. Standing at the airport, you can see, not only for miles around, but also the curvature of the earth we’re standing on. It’s a surreal experience, and one that makes you feel small and insignificant.

This emptiness is emphasised by Namibia’s population density. England has a population density of four hundred and thirty people per square kilometre; in Namibia it’s just three, not three hundred people per square kilometre, just three. You can fit the entire population of Namibia into London three times over, and still have room to spare, all in a country over six times bigger than the whole of England.

Knowing this, it’s easy to see why Namibia is famed for its remoteness, but what is less apparent is the diversity of its landscapes. Just flying over on the thirty minute flight from the capital Windhoek to the port of Walvis Bay, the scenery transitioned from lush green savannah, to pinkish-beige hues of desert sand. Contrary to the belief of many, deserts are not just knee deep sand, but generally hard stone and coarse, firm sand. It’s not an area you’d want to drive off-piste though, for the unwise and unwary it can become a death trap, especially if you accidentally drive onto one of the small salt pans that are around.

In this city in the middle of nowhere, I did not expect to see such a developed place. There’s quite a good shopping mall on the outskirts of town, where we had an amazing lunch at the bargain price of approximately thirty four pounds, two of which were a massive eggs benedict. It consisted of English muffin, tomato, hash brown, bacon, onion ring, poached egg and hollandaise sauce. Not bad when you consider we had four large cappuccinos and two Windhoek lagers. According to my mother it’s a must try!

The next couple of days were quite interesting to say the least. Yesterday, our friend Sam arrived who’s driving across with us, but without his suitcase! It turned out that Air Namibia didn’t load his bag onto the plane when he transferred over at Johannesburg for the flight to Windhoek. For the next twenty four hours we had back and forth communication with Air Namibia trying to get his luggage back, but they wanted to charge him over one hundred US dollars to ship it!

Fortunately, we managed to get it from Walvis Bay today free of charge, but with a broken padlock and some shoes stolen. Whilst we do not know exactly where it happened, the suitcase did stay at Johannesburg for some considerable time, so it is likely it happened there. Saying that, these things happen throughout the world all of the time, but it doesn’t make it any less frustrating when it happens to you.

Back a day to the seventeenth, before Sam arrived, we took a tour around Walvis Bay with local taxi driver Joshua. It’s a strange place, but a place I would quite like to live. It’s very quiet, a place to come when you want to get away from it all. The roads are wide and straight, very reminiscent of my holidays in Canada when I was younger, but with very little traffic. The new dual carriageway that bypasses Swakopmund is massive, smooth and easy driving.

Talking of Swakopmund, I admit that I was aware of the town’s German architecture, but I was not aware of how much of a mini-Germany it was. I have to say I was not overly impressed with the place, seemingly focused on giving European holiday makers another Marbella than focusing on its culture. It has a very westernised feel to it, and I really don’t think that it’s a good thing to focus on. However, I had the best ice cream I’d had for a long time there, and I am more than a bit partial to ice cream!

Away from the coast and the Marbella-in-Africa feel, the German architecture really made its impression and it is actually a very nice place. Most people much prefer Swakopmund to Walvis Bay, but I’m in the opposite camp. Walvis Bay feels like Africa, Swakopmund doesn’t. The difference is that Swakopmund would make an excellent holiday destination for the majority of tourists, whereas Walvis Bay seems to just be a quiet town without much going on.

Whilst on the beachfront at Walvis Bay, for the first time I saw flamingos… loads of them! For miles all you could see in the water was a large flamboyance of flamingos, truly a sight to see. Close up, you can really see the variations in colour, from pink to an almost orange colour.

So what’s our plan for the next few days? Our main objective is to get the vehicles out of the port at Walvis Bay. We have had to change our route into Botswana to make up time, which is a real shame, but such is life. From there, our journey will begin!