Namibia

We left for our Namibian adventure on Wednesday 24^th November 2010 (after an appointment for Malc with a facial surgeon for some dental implant work that he needs over the next few weeks and months….I won’t give you the gory details!).  We travelled through the Cederberg mountains and the orange groves of Citrusdal  - stopping at the hot springs for a swim in VERY warm water and a lovely lunch in the shade of the trees before arriving at Clanwilliam for our first stop.  We read somewhere that the water was radioactive but we came out the same colur as when we went in!

On Thursday we headed for Springbok about 100m before the Namibian border.  Once you leave the Cape Town district the predominant language changes from English to Afrikaans and the décor in our accommodation became very Victorian.  In Springbok our B&B (Annie’s) was very old fashioned with a French influence including old French songs played during breakfast which seemed somewhat out of context.

On Friday we crossed the border to Namibia.  It was extremely hot and dry as we headed for Fish River Canyon.  Most of the journey was on gravel and sand roads which made the journey seem very long.  Fuel stops are few and far between – there are only about half a dozen petrol stations in the whole of Southern Namibia – which itself is bigger than the whole UK - and when we stopped to refuel so that we had enough to get in and out of Fish River Canyon the hotel (yes it was a hotel providing the fuel!) had only diesel and no petrol.  The good old satnav told us that the nearest petrol station was only a mere 169 kilometres away – not much help! We were able to ring Fish River Lodge and, as we had enough to get there, they assured us they if we could get there they could provide us with fuel to get out – phew!

The roads are OK but it’s a little scary to be so isolated in such a hot and desolate place. One sees another vehicle very rarely and most of the time there’s no cellphone coverage.  Even if there was, ringing the Namibian AA doesn’t seem much of an option!  We had made sure that we had a decent spare, Tyreweld and water but even so breaking down didn’t seem that attractive.

We were glad to get to our destination at 4:30 pm and when we saw the view from the Lodge reception it all seemed worthwhile.  

The Canyon is the second largest in the World and the vista was 28 miles across. The stars at night in the desert where unbelievable; with no light pollution it was as if they were giving us a light show.

The lodge accommodation consists of just 20 separate chalets perched on the very edge of the canyon itself. We’ve been to Grand Canyon but this was like having one’s own canyon.  On the second day there we were, for a brief time, the only guests there.  This place is a real undiscovered gem.

On Saturday morning we set the alarm for 5:15 and it was amazing to watch the sun come up over the canyon.

In the evening we went out with a guide and another couple to the canyon edge.  After 30 minutes drive and just before sunset we stopped and the guide (Dosh) laid out drinks and nibbles right on the edge of the canyon. 

The view was amazing and we sat chatting until the sun went down.  Malc got a little too close to a large cactus and pricked his arm. This resulted in mild panic from Dosh as he asked if any sap from the cactus had gone into Malc’s arm.  Apparently this would have resulted in a neuro-toxic poison entering the blood system and he would have had about 6 hours to live………….not clever when you are 200km from the nearest town! 

On Sunday morning we rose early again and left with Dosh for a drive to the bottom of the canyon.  It took 3.5 hours and on the way we saw Zebra, Kudu, Oryx, Springbok and Klipspringer. 

Kudu



Oryx





There were no roads as such – only tracks – but the Toyota 4WD made slow but steady progress. Dosh was very informative about all of the animals, plants and local geology and it was a wonderful trip.  At the end of the drive we had a short clamber down to a rock pool – at the very bottom of the Canyon - where we swam and then had a champagne brunch………what a life!  We were also glad we bought a decent camera and telephoto lens.  We couldn;t have got some of these shots without it.

On Monday 29^th November 2010 we left the canyon and headed for Luderitz on the coast.  This was a “short” 500km trip – with the first 100km on gravel roads. It was a strange journey on roads that we very clear but with sand and rock either side that made it seem like a moon landscape. As the day wore on and the sand got hotter the wind picked up and sand blew across the road.  As we got closer to Luderitz we saw diggers on the road shoveling the sand off the road and onto the side…they did this all day every day! 

Luderitz is the second largest port in Namibia.  It grew up originally as a result of the discovery of diamonds early in the 20^th century and is mainly German speaking with some Afrikaans and English . It has old German colonial architecture and because it is essentially on the edge of a desert it results in a wind that blows 255 days of the year and less than 2 inches of rain per year.  It feels as if sand is permanently in your hair/ears/nose and even the guesthouse had a fine dusting of sand almost everywhere. 

It is not a big town and there were only a few places to eat but we visited an oyster farm and had the most amazing oysters (a first for me as I had always refused to eat them before).  We had to return for a second time the next day. 

 

On Tuesday we visited Klopmanskop…..  This was a diamond mining town from 1908 until 1957 when the last diamond was found.  They actually found all the diamonds in the top few feet of soil and never had to mine at all. The last family left in 1959 and no-one has lived there since.  The sand has gradually found its way into each house and in some cases almost completely covered the building. Following the first discovery the people – mostly Germans – became very rich very quickly.  As a result  they built a town in the desert – with all the comforts of home.  Obviously money was no object, so if it could be bought – they had had it.  In 1909 this included such things as electricity, a refrigerated butchery and an entertainment complex that included a theatre/cinema (the first talkies cinema in Africa!), champagne bar and bowling alley.  A small train – pulled by mules – delivered drinking water, ice and lemonade to each house every day – all provided FOC by the mining company.

 

The railway went to every house

On Thursday we drove back across the border to South Africa and stayed at Naries Namakwa Retreat.  We stayed in the old manor house but they also have three lodges that they have built into the mountain rock in the same way that the Nama people have always done but, of course, with all modern amenities for us travellers.  The food here was amazing and the surrounding mountains were really beautiful.

All In all we had a fantastic experience although we only touched such a small part of the country.  It
made us very respectful of the environment and not take it for granted that we can get food and fuel just when we feel like it……………and not to stand too close to plants we know nothing about!!