Foto: Old German post office (bron: Ronald van der Veer)
Namibia - We don’t have to get up before nine now. Around half past nine we sit down for breakfast. Afterwards, we walk into the town of Swakopmund. It’s remarkable to see how complete the town is with all its facilities, while just a few hundred meters away the desert begins. At the lighthouse, yet another vendor approaches us selling “something.” He asks for our names. When we walk back from the pier, he comes up to us and shows that he has specially engraved our names. Unfortunately, there is no interest. We visit several shops, have a drink on a terrace, and visit the Woermann Tower—an old tower of the Woermann factory. We can get the key at a nearby shop. From the tower, we have a nice view over Swakopmund. In one of the souvenir shops, I buy a soapstone giraffe statue. In the shop next door, a wooden carved elephant. After lunch in Swakopmund, we go back to the hostel. Here we are picked up at 2:30 pm and taken to the airport. We pay 1,360 NAD in the departure hall (or whatever it is supposed to be) for the sightseeing flight over the Sossusvlei. Exactly at three o’clock we sit two by two in the Cessna. Ryan, our pilot, lines up his plane at the back of the queue of Cessnas taking off. The other planes probably take a different route, because soon we are alone in the sky. Due to the strong wind, there is a lot of desert sand in the air, limiting visibility. Fortunately, this clears quickly, and the view is magnificent. We fly about 300 kilometers south to the canyon and the Sossusvlei sand dunes. The desert and dunes are very beautiful to see from above.
Etosha National Park
Namibia - We get up extra early to spot animals at the waterhole at sunrise. At six o’clock, we are ready with coffee and blankets. Unfortunately, even the early hour does not guarantee success. The big game stays away. The sun slowly rises and lights up the ...
Rock carvings at Twyfelfontein
Namibia - Our next destination is Twijfelfontein. The road is gravel, and the bus shakes quite a bit over the bumps. Thomas keeps up a good speed but (fortunately) brakes in time for the potholes. At Twijfelfontein, Cheryl is somewhat unsure whether this is the ...
Seals at Cape Cross
Namibia - Fortunately, today we can sleep in until seven o’clock. We leave at half past eight. After breakfast and packing, we drive toward Swakopmund. On the way, we visit Cape Cross. At Cape Cross lies a seal colony of about 100,000 seals. Thomas points out ...
Sossusvlei Namib Desert
Namibia - We are woken up at quarter past five. Shortly after, at quarter to six, we stand in front of the entrance to Sossusvlei National Park. We are here to see the exceptionally high red sand dunes at sunrise. It’s actually strange that we are only allowed ...