May 2017

Friday 19 May 2017

 

We fly with KLM from Schiphol to Windhoek with a stopover in Luanda in Angola. We arrive in Luanda around 6.20. Passengers go out, but no one is boarding. We can not leave the plane. At 7.40 we leave again on our way to Windhoek. There we arrive at 9.40. We are going through a health scan (for Ebola) and then through immigration. That goes pretty smoothly. However, the next step is not going well. Erik's suitcase comes on the belt after half an hour, but my suitcase will takes more than an hour. Then we can go through customs and get into the arrivals hall. We are being met by an employee of Asco Car Hire.. However, he still has to wait for another couple from Germany. One of them turns out to have lost his baggage. The poor guy has to report on it before we can move on. Eventually we ready to go  on our way to Windhoek around 12.30. It is a 45-minute drive. At half past two we are at Asco. There I have to sign a pile of forms and we have watch a video about the dangers and precautions when driving in Namibia with a 4WD car. We get a four-seat Toyota Hilux 4WD with a closed luggage room. Well past two o'clock in the afternoon we can continue to our guest house, Rivendell in the west of the city. We are now dead beat.
We take some rest, but are also hungry. Have not eaten anything for 5 hours. We drive to a shopping center (Wernhill Park) and have a hamburger at the Wimpy. Back in the B & B we sleep and go back to 18.30 to eat at Sicilia restaurant again. An average Italian. We are still full of Wimpy and can not do that much.
At midnight we sleep like a log.

Weather: 23 ° C and sunny

Sunday 21 May 2017

Windhoek - Sesriem: 331km / 6 hours

We get up early and have breakfast at 7 o'clock. At least, that's our intention, but the food is not ready yet. After half an hour, the sausages, bacon and hot tomatoes are on the table and we can have breakfast. We sit at a big table with all the other guests. They are all German women.
After breakfast, we drive back to the mall to get some groceries for the trip to Sesriem. In the Pick’n Pay supermarket we buy some bread rolls, fillings and  and drinks. Then on to the MTCstore for a prepaid sim card for Erik's iPhone. We take the Aweh Gig plan. This also takes 20 minutes. At half past ten we ready to go to Sesriem. We're barely  out of town and we see all the first monkeys sitting at the road side. In Rehoboth we drink coffee at a fast food restaurant and from there we take the unpaved road C24 towards Sesriem. The state of the road is quite good, but we can not be faster than 80km/h and sometimes not even that. We eat our sandwiches on the road. We continue and pass through the beautiful landscape of the Remhoogte Pass. Then we drive towards the Namib desert. At 15.45 we arrive at Le Mirage Resort. The reception is most friendly. We have a spacious room. The hotel looks a little strange. A mix of Disney and an Ottoman caravanserail.
At 5pm  there is a sundowner drink with a view of a beautiful sunset. At six  we go to the restaurant for a 5 course dinner. The choice is between beef and pork. We start with a shrimp, followed by a ginger soup. Then a vegetable pie and as a main course a beef steak, which is very generous in size. As a dessert ice cream.

Weather: 21 °C in the morning, rising to 29 ° on arrival at Le Mirage. No clouds

Monday 22 May 2017

The alarm clock sounds at 4.45. It is pitch dark outside, but we want to be there early to visit the Sossusvleiwith morning light. We are not the only ones, as the restaurant is packed at 5 o'clock in the morning. After breakfast we collect our packed lunches, which we ordered at reception. We set out in the dark, just before dusk on our way to the Sossusvlei National Park. There is no traffic ahead. Behind us we see some cars following. The dusk is quick. When we get to the entrance of the NP after 20km, we can see more clearly. The park opens at dusk and today this is at 6.30. Before the gate opens, a park ranger takes down our licence number and names. We have to pay for our permit later at the reception, but at least before leaving the park. It's still fresh, about 14 degrees. We are in third line to enter the park. Then the gate opens and we head on a paved road towards Sossusvlei. Sossusvlei is in the Namib desert and is part of the Namib - Naukluft NP. It is a sand dune with high dunes, separating the desert from the Atlantic Ocean. It is still 55km to Sossusvlei from the entrance. After 45 km we arrive at Dune 45. This dune looks beautiful and is popular among the visitors. We are going off the road and out of the car and trying to climb it. The sand is very loose and climbing is very strenuous. We do not go all the way up, but turn halfway around. Nevertheless, we have a beautiful view of the dune landscape. From Dune 45 it's another ten kilometers to a parking lot, where shuttles are ready to bring us to the Sossusvlei itself. You can also drive on your own, but that is more for the experienced drivers. It shows, as we soon see at least 5 stranded cars. We are driving by gloating a bit. The shuttle costs N$ 60 per person. From the parking lot we walk to the dunes and go up again. The view is beautiful in the morning light. We are getting quite some way up. It is Important  to use footprints of previous climbers, because the sand has already been compressed there. We walk back and go through a salt pan. A place that holds water during rainy season, but which evaporates again in the dry period (from March).
It is geting hot around 9am. It is 28 degrees. We take the shuttle back and then our car to the exit. On the way we see groups of Oryx along the road. That is an antelope species that does well in dry areas.
We fill up the car in Sesriem. The diesel is about € 1.40 per liter. Then back to Le Mirage. It is very quiet there. Most guests are still on excursions. We rest, eat our lunch and swim in the cold pool. In the afternoon, we drink a cocktail at the bar.
In the evening we eat at the restaurant again. Main course is Oryx steak, the same animal we saw today grazing.

Weather: sun and 32 degrees.

Tuesday 23 May 2017

Sesriem - Swakopmund: 366km / 5 uur

We get up around 7 o'clock. The shower is cold again and so  we take a very short one. We have breakfast in the restaurant. Initially We are the only guests there, but later  two more couples are joining us. Most guests are already gone or on an excursion. After breakfast we leave for Swakopmund at around 8am. It is a 362km's drive and it takes about 5 hours of driving on unpaved roads. We soon see an ostrich at  road side. The landscape is very dry. In the early morning, we are getting some fog, but that disappears as the sun rises. We drive through the Gaub Gorge and later through the impressive Kuiseb pass. After that, a monotonous drive begins through the desert towards Walvis Bay. It takes about 130km and there is nothing else to see than sand. The temperature rises to 37 degrees. At Walvis Bay we take the C34 towards Swakopmund. It runs behind the dunes through the desert. Also here, little to see except the dunes. The heat is intense, but with the AC it we manage fine. In Swakopmund we get the key to our Airbnb at a gas station. The Airbnb is an apartment in the center of Swakopmund. The owner lives in Windhoek. Two bedrooms and a living room with open plan kitchen in a quiet apartment building.
We shop for groceries at the Superspar and take a rest from the tiring drive. In the evening we enjoy the sunset at The Tug bar and restaurant at the beach. The Tug is part of a tugboat, which has been converted into a restaurant. After the cocktail we walk to Erich restaurant, but that does not exist anymore. It's now called Royal Bull and does not serve German cuisine, but burgers and steaks. The menu is somewhat limited, but the service is extremely friendly and the food is fine. After dinner we return to our apartment.

Weather: Fresh start with 14°, then 37° in the desert and 27° in Swakopmund. The whole day is cloudy and sunny
 

Wednesday 24 May 2017

We start the day with breakfast in our apartment and then walk to Bojo's cafe for coffee. We explore Swakopmund on foot. First we walk to the lighthouse. Close by is a monument for the "brave" soldiers of the Imperial German Navy Corps who fought in Southwest Africa for God and Emperor in various battles. The monument has been smeared with red paint.
We continue to the Woermann house, an old German building  around an early 20th century courtyard and built for a trading company. The rooms are now being leased to small businesses. There is also a tower at which can be climbed. We need to pick up the key from the African Desk, a tour operator who has a office here. We have to enter the tower ourselves and then take the stairs up. The view over Swakopmund is nice. The sea, the coast, the dunes and the desert and of course Swakopmund itself with its wooden and stone German imperial buildings. Back down we drink something before we go to the former railway station , now the Swakopmund hotel.
We take a rest and then we go to the  Food Lover’s market. We eat chicken perri perri at Nando's and shop for tomorrow's evening meal. In the afternoon we go to the snake museum, where more than 25 species of live snakes can be admired. It's a private collection and it comes across a little amateur like, but we get an insight into what dangerous and harmless snakes live in Namibia. After the snakes we drive to the Mole, a sand pier, where especially children dive in ice-cold water.
In the evening we wanted to eat at the Swakopmund Brauhaus, but that appears to be fully booked. Then we decide to cook our own meal tonight and take a reservation for the Brauhaus for tomorrow.

Weather: in the morning around 27 degrees. In the afternoon the wind becomes stronger and it gets cooler.
 

Thursday 25 May 2017

We are up at 6.45 and have breakfast in our apartment. Then we head on to Walvis Bay. It is a half hour's drive on the B2 along the coast. On our right the Atlantic Ocean and on the left the sand dunes of the Namib desert. Walvis Bay is not a very nice place. We find our way to the port, where the boat trips leave to see the seals and the dolphins. We sail with Catamaran Charters. At 8.30 we can board aboard the spacious catamaran and around 8.45 we set off. Our guide is Joe, a young man of Afrikaner origin. He constantly telss us  what we are going to see, about animals and much more. We only just got out of the harbor when a seal is jumps on board. Joe warns us not to touch the seal until he or one of the deck hands says that is okay. The crew has buckets of fresh fish on board, which the seal is keen on. When he has got his fish he can also be petted. When he is fed enough, he is allowed to jump off board again. Then an eskadron of pelicans flies in, taking position on the railing of the boat. These birds also walks over the deck and begging to be fed. We sail along a natural isthmus towards a seal colony at Pelican Point. That colony is very crowded, if not overpopulated. These seals are not used to being fed and do take notice of us. Young seals are playing in the surf and the grown up animals relax on the beach. There are also many cormorants and pelicans. After reaching the end of the isthmus (the isthmus grows a meter or so annually) we take to the open sea looking for dolphins. There are not many. In the end, we only see two. We sail around an oil rig, parked here, and a whole bunch of boats servicing the oil rig. The oil rig is idle here because the oil prices are too low. And drilling is mainly on Angola's coast, not in Namibia, but the duties are lower here than in Angola. Then we set course or port and the crew serves a lunch with oysters, fish, chicken, beef and squid . It is all very tasty and we get some sparkling wine to go with it.
At 12 o'clock we are back. We drive into Walvis Bay. It is Africa Day today, the founding day of the African Union and especially the smaller shops are closed. We are looking for a cafe for a cup of coffee, but they are almost all closed. We finally find Rojo on Union Avenue. After that we drive to Bird Paradise, a series of freshwater pools, where many birds are supposed to be seen, but that is not the case. Then back to Swakopmund. We take a rest. At the end of the afternoon we go to the craft market and buy a wooden elephant and drink a beer on a terrace.
In the evening we eat at Swakopmund Brauhaus, a German restaurant with German specialties. I take a Schweinebraten with Rotkohl and Semmelknödel. Tastes fine

Weather: sunny, but with  sea breeze not more than 20° C

 

Friday 26 May 2017

Swakopmund - Uis: 196km / 2,5 uur

We drink coffee at Bojo. At 8:50am we drive out of Swakopmund northbound along the coast. We first come past a salt works. Salt is won from evaporating sea water in salt pans. There are no flamingos here now. Along the coast there are many fishing spots for fishermen. After a while, we will arrive at Wlotzkasbaken, a settlement of cottages only occupied by sports fishermen during the holiday season. The village seems like it was built on the moon. So white and infinite are the sandy plains around it. We also come across one of the many shipwrecks that have been washed ashore during the course of the decades. The Zeyla was an Angolan fishing boat, who was on his way to a demolition site in India when the towing rope broke and the ship stranded here. It is populated by hundreds of birds who have built a nest here. On the parking lot, there are about five sellers of junk, who are homing in on each visitor. Near the wreck there is some fishing going on. We drive to Henties Bay, then turn right to Uis. We drive through a desolate desert landscape. After a while, we see mountains rise in the distance and we see some vegetation. Uis is a small village, which lived from the tin mine from 1960 to 1990 . The mine has been closed due to the low tin price and the low quality of the ore. The village's economy collapsed after that. The inhabitants now live on the tourism. Many sell gems (or anything like it) to passers-by. The gems can easily be found if you walk a few hundred meters from the road.
The Brandberg Rest Camp is the former recreation center for the miners and is run by Basil Calitz a robust Afrikaner. At ten to five we go with Basil on Sundowner tour. We drive up a mountain to the former tin mine. Between 1960 and 1990, tin ore was mined here in an open mine. After the closure of the mine, Uis changed into a ghost town. At the beginning of this century, the village came to life when someone bought the village and offered the houses for sale for unprecedentedly low prices. Mostly South African retirees came here for an outdoor second home. In the tin mine is a lake, in which now Tilapia fish are farmed. We drive to a higher hill from which we have a view of the sunset behind the Brandberg Mountains. Brandberg has the highest summit (2573m) of Namibia, the Königstein. We get a drink and toast on a good trip. When the sun disappears, it gets cooler and we go back down.
We eat in the Brandberg Rest Camp's restaurant. It takes quite a while before the dishes are on the table, but we have been warned. Then back to the room and to bed.

Weather: cloudy and 20° along the coast. In Uis sunny and 28°

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