We were on the road around 9:00 (a more reasonable hour when
just traveling, but late if going on a game drive). Today we are driving to the
west coast of Namibia, to the town of Swakopmund, where we have a reservation
for 4 nights. We will be using Swakopmund as our base while along the coast.
The drive today was a total of 430 km (250 miles). It really was a boring drive! However thankfully the roads were excellent
and Cal was driving 70mph (120kmph). Primarily
the roads go from point A to point B, straight as an arrow! You see straight ahead from one ridge to the
next! However, going at this speed, you
do have to watch-out for wildlife and livestock along the road – the warthogs
are eating the green grass that is growing right next to the roadway, and
herders are grazing their livestock (brahma cattle) in the broad road ditches.
While driving in Namibia we have seen a fair amount of what
we call old fashioned windmills that pump water into cattle tanks. At this point, it is our opinion, Africa’s
energy resource is definitely the sun and when possible the wind. We definitely have seen some smallish
portable solar panels outside of homes -
they need to be secured at night, but this resources needs to be used on
a much larger basis.
Herding Sheep along the Highway |
Catle Grazing along the Highway |
For lunch today we stopped in a “one-horse town” (that’s
what most of these towns are) and bought bread, cheese and 4 slices of meat to
make sandwiches, plus a can of Pringle chips. Cans of Pringles are great when
traveling, as the chips do not get crushed.
At the beginning of the drive there was a lot of scrub land,
but the farther west we went, the more barren it became.
Desert-like Conditions |
Straight Highway |
A Welcomed Oasis |
We drove directly to our reservation Desert Villa
Guesthouse, which is located on the very south edge of Swakopmund. We can see
the sand dunes from our window.
Swakopmund is a very affluent German speaking resort town. Of course everyone knows English too.
Upon our arrival we asked the owner/manager what all we
should be doing in the area (we had a few ideas). Well she went right into action!! She made reservations for us for the next 3 +
days – day activities and dinner reservations.
November 1 is the beginning of their High Season, and tourist are
flocking here for the next 3 months.
Activities are filling up and so are the restaurants, so it was great to
have the guesthouse manager to go to work for us. We really appreciated her
efforts.
Our room is great! After a cup of tea for Rachel and a nap
for Cal (after the drive), we began exploring the small down-town of
Swakopmund. This is definitely an
upmarket area. Lot of apartments and
self-catering lodges for guests. There
is a Casino in town too. You would never
believe you were in Africa! Our South African friends told us about several
shops they enjoy – tonight we found them and several more! We had a great meal at Kucki’s Pub – very
German style meals. All of the staff must know English, German and Afrikaans
(African Dutch). To be assured of not being disappointed at the
restaurant of your choice, you must make a reservation.
Our host/manager who has made our reservations for dining
the next three nights has been insistent that we have the “best table in the
house”. The next three nights will be at
restaurants with sea side views. We
would not have these tables without our host.
She treats her guest as family.
Now to the weather!!
You know how it has been so very hot for us. Even the other night at the
east gate of Etosha N P it was 99 degrees –thankfully we had A/C. Today upon arriving here in Swakopmund, we
opened the vehicle door and WOW was it cool!!
What a relief to the heat we have been experiencing. However, we decided if it continues to cool
down when the sun sets, while we are at dinner, we will need jackets to walk
back to our accommodations. Thank
goodness we thought of shutting the bedroom windows too and grabbing our
jackets. When we returned from dinner it
was 64 degrees and by morning it will be around 57!!!!!!!! COLD!!! Tomorrow we
will be wearing layers of clothes as it will warm up during the day!! The reason for this change is temperature is
that the ocean currents bring the waters from the Antarctic north right past
this west African coastline, and they are obviously cold. In fact, tomorrow
morning we will very likely experience heavy fog for a while. The cold water temps and the hot inland air
collide creating heavy fog. Will tell
you more about this later, after we experience it. All I know is that it is unbelievably cold
tonight! I cannot believe I am saying
this, when 1 week ago, we were just wishing for a bit of cool breeze!!
Kucki’s Pub |
Swakopmund Street |
The Jetty |
Sunset over the Atlantic - African Side |
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