Tuesday, 27 May 2025
We were on the road again this morning making our way towards Swakopmund on the coast. Not long after leaving the Sossusvlei Lodge behind us, we spied a herd of wildebeest although I have just learnt from Google (checking for the correct collective noun) that they can also be referred to as a ‘confusion’ of wildebeest, confusing, right? Probably should just stick with herd in any future references! Soon after this sighting we left the bitumen behind us again and turned left (north) onto the C19 towards Solitaire.
This morning it was not our bus broken down with our group standing around worrying how long we might be delayed. Wian pulled up beside the stricken bus to offer assistance. Luckily he knew a trick to re-open the valve on the diesel tank and, voila, the bus re-started to applause from the tourist group gathered around the hood watching the efforts being made there to sort out the problem. Out here in the desert everyone looks out for each other.
As we drove north with a mountain range on our right we were treated to ‘sunrise’ many times over as the sun rose above first one peak and then another and another as we motored along. It was very cool driving beside plains of golden grass interspersed with low scrub and occasional trees and watching the sun break over and around the multiple granite outcrops that formed the backdrop to this morning’s scenery.
We were also lucky enough to be treated to another wildlife sighting this morning, this time a troop of baboons. Although we had seen baboons at the wildlife refuge on Saturday it was much more authentic actually seeing a troop in the wild … from the safety of the truck!
About 9.00am we arrived at the Solitaire Roadhouse. Established in 1949, it’s actually a bit more than a roadhouse, featuring a fuel stop along with a lodge and campground, a church, a community hall and McGregor’s Bakery which is renowned for its apple pie. Despite the fact that it was only an hour and a half since breakfast several members of our group purchased apple pie for an early morning tea! When I learnt that the pie had sultanas in it I didn’t even suffer any FOMO! Strudel has sultanas, apple pie should not!
As we arrived in Solitaire we had turned onto the C14 heading for Walvis Bay. Continuing on this route we were treated to our third wildlife spotting of the day, this time a herd of oryx. One of the larger antelopes they are very attractive with their pale coats with dark markings on the face and legs and their very elegant long and slightly curved horns.
About half an hour out of Solitaire I also noticed some fairy circles. Sakkie pointed these out to us yesterday. They are unexplained circles that occur throughout Namibia where nothing grows. The soil is not barren because if you remove the soil to another location it is possible to grow plants in it. However, in situ, where this phenomenon occurs it results in circles in the grass completely devoid of any vegetation … and no-one knows why. Hence, fairy circles because, well, that’s as good an explanation as any!
Around 10.00am we arrived at the Tropic of Capricorn for an obligatory photo stop. We have now been north of the Tropic of Capricorn twice in the last twelve months. Last October we crossed at Barcaldine while travelling north on the Matilda Way in Outback Queensland and today we crossed the 23°30’ south line while on the African continent.
After this we descended into the Gaub Pass and crossed the Gaub River on a single lane bridge before climbing out the other side. The variety in the landscape continued as we made our way through the Valley of a Thousand Hills. After so much flat landscape earlier today this was a really interesting area with row upon row of folded hills. Initially the hills were covered in soil and grasses but when we stopped at the view point they were much more exposed revealing that they are composed of mica schist interspersed with quartz. We alighted from the truck for a photo opportunity hopping between giant armoured crickets that were scurrying about underfoot. Bernie had been sitting up the front with Wian and told me that Wian mentioned that he hasn’t seen so many crickets for about ten years. The good rainfall during the wet season has resulted in a bumper year for the crickets.
Wian asked about our toileting requirements. He offered us the option of going in the veldt (the flat, grassy area by the roadside) or going to a long drop toilet that might be a bit ordinary. We opted for the long drop, I mean there are NO BUSHES to squat behind, the veldt is VERY EXPOSED!! We arrived at the ‘facilities’ consisting of a single drop toilet surrounded by a very rudimentary privacy screen.
The boys promptly trooped off to line up a short distance away from the front of the truck. Not one of them even offered to scout the toilet for its fitness for purpose. Wian looked after us, supplying us with a roll of toilet paper to take in with us. Mandy went first and declared it far from the worst drop toilet she had ever used. The rest of us agreed that we had all used far worse AND at least this one did not have flies buzzing around inside it which is often what you find in Australia.
We reached the coast and turned onto the B2 (lovely bitumen freeway which was very welcome after driving on gravel most of the day!) to travel behind the dunes between Walvis Bay and Swakopmund, a German heritage town located on the south-west African coast. Before driving us to our hotel, Wian took us on a quick tour around this charming town established in 1892 and now home to over 40,000 people. It is the country’s largest coastal town and famed for its palm-lined streets, sandy beaches, seaside promenades and old German colonial buildings.
We arrived at the Swakopmund Hotel & Entertainment Centre which has been built in and around the old German Station Building which was completed in 1901. In 1972 the station building was declared a national monument and it was sensitively converted to a hotel in the 90s. We always enjoy staying in a hotel with an interesting history. It’s a lovely old building and our rooms are beautifully appointed with modern facilities inside the heritage facade.
This afternoon we all decided to take the optional scenic flight over the dramatic Skeleton Coast. Wian has been busy organising this for us over the last couple of days. We managed to fit in a very quick lunch before we were collected by Eagle Eye Aviation’s courtesy vehicle. Our first stop was at their office in town to be assigned our seating allocations, sign waivers and to make the wallet-lightening payment. It is just as well we don’t have kids as this was a real SKI-ing activity!!
We were loaded back into the mini-bus and driven out to the airport where we met our pilots and were briefed about the route that we would be flying. After using the facilities our pilot, Leandra, walked us over to the Cessna 210 that she would be flying us in this afternoon. Joining us in the craft were Mandy, Bernard (the other one!) and Marilyn. Cathy and Steve and Deb and David had been allocated to another aircraft.
From Swakopmund we flew south-easterly to pick up the Kuiseb Riverbed. The river marks the boundary between the red desert and the white desert. It was fascinating to see the clear demarcation between the tall red dunes, the green of the trees in the riverbed and the flat, white desert further inland. No-one knows why the red dunes to not reach eastwards beyond the line of the river.
The flight continued to the Kuiseb Canyon where we turned south to fly over the Tsondabvlei, the valley in which the Tsondab River flows during the wet season. Once again the river is dry but continues to support life in the desert. It was really interesting to fly over Sossusvlei where we could see the Big Daddy and Half Big Daddy dunes that we climbed yesterday. It was also mind-blowing to see how far the red dunes stretch in every direction.
After gaining a completely different perspective of Sossusvlei from what we experienced on the ground yesterday, it was time to head back out towards the coast via the abandoned diamond camps. Unfortunately, when we reached the coast at Conception Bay, the fog had rolled in again from the Atlantic and we couldn’t see the shipwrecks of the Edward Bohlen and the Shawnee. We weren’t disappointed though because the fog bank along the coast was interesting in its own right.
The fog cleared enough for us to see Sandwich Harbour and its large saltwater lagoon that is home to one of southern Africa’s greatest natural bird sanctuaries. We think we could even see some pelicans (OK, white blobs that may or may not have been pelicans?) We were told at our briefing that of the incredible variety of birds that call the lagoon home, we would potentially see three and that pink = flamingo, white = pelican and black = cormorant.
We could also see the sand spit that forms Pelican Peninsula, a natural breakwater for Walvis Bay and the Walvis Bay Saltworks made up of vast holding ponds where the water is evaporated off before the salt is harvested. After about two hours in the air Leandra touched down lightly at Swakopmund Airport and, with our flight being the last one for today, taxied us around to the hangars before helping us to disembark before we were driven back to the hotel.
After a quick refresh we were off out again for some dinner. With tonight’s meal not included in our tour, Wian had booked us in at The Tug, a renowned fish restaurant here in Swakopmund. Their courtesy shuttle (that we had to pay for!) collected us at 7.00pm and ran us down to the waterfront. We all enjoyed something from the sea for dinner before being returned to the hotel. We were bemused by the whole courtesy shuttle concept. In Australia courtesy shuttle usually means it’s free. Not that the shuttle cost us an alarming amount. It was N$50.00 per person, each way which converts to (very) roughly AUS$5.00 per person each way. It sure beat walking there and back again on a cold, dark evening!
Steps: 8,794 (6.02kms)
