Part II of our Namibia adventure, where after a week of desert lodges and wildlife, we head for the coast!
Camp Kipwe to Swakopmund (Day 9)
Today is our longest driving day: a 452km trip on some of the worst (2WD) roads in Namibia. Our tour company recommended we take a more direct way to Swakopmund, which is to the south of us on the coast, but we’re keen to experience the “Skeleton Coast” and opt for the more challenging route…
We’re on the road at 10:30am – a bit later than planned – but we have all day to reach our destination. The first part of our trip takes us west to the coast on the C39 road. The condition of the road varies, but some sections are very rough – we’ve been told that the government forgot to renew the contract with the company that grades the roads, so for the last six months there’s been virtually no maintenance. The first section of road is also notorious for shredding tyres!
There’s almost no cars on the road, which is shared with many different types of traffic. At one point we stop as a herd of goats comes towards us, closely followed by two “herders”.
The road conditions deteriorate, and about an hour into our drive we hear a thumping noise from the car. We pull over, and discover one of the tyres is completely flat. With many more miles of rough road to go we’re a bit nervous about continuing (we only have one spare), but we don’t really have a choice.
A little further on and a cow wanders across the road – it looks rather emaciated. Despite the harsh and dry landscape, 35% of household income in the area we are travelling through (Kunene) is derived from farming, and there are vast farms that are barely economically viable.
We reach the Springbokwasser (Springbok Water) Gate after two hours, where we register (it’s free) and enter the Skeleton Coast Park. From here we are have 33km left before we reach the coast.
Despite our relative proximity to the ocean, it’s still a completely dry and lifeless landscape. From Springbokwasser Gate (which is still 445m above sea level) we gradually descend to the coast, with the road much better on this section.
Finally, we reach the coast – we turn left, and follow the coast south for 308km, with Henties Bay (235km to the south) the only town until we reach our destination. This section of road is still gravel, but in good condition.
We are now on the infamous Skeleton Coast of Namibia, the name coined by after the title of a book chronicling the shipwreck of the Dunedin Star. Well before this, many ships had been wrecked on this hazardous coast, their remains scattered along the beaches (along with the bones from slaughtered whales) and rocky approaches to the shore. “The Skeleton Coast is Africa’s Bermuda Triangle. Here, where the arid Namib Desert air collides with the Benguela, a flow of icy water bearing due North from Antarctica, a blanket of fog sits permanently along the coast, stretching as far as ten miles inland and even further out to sea, rendering navigation impossible, confounding sailors with distinctly untropical temperatures.” (Jeff Dawson describes in ‘Dead Reckoning’, an account of the stranding of the crew of the Dunedin Star in 1942.)
The Skeleton Coast goes from Swakopkund in the south (our destination today) up to the south of Angola). A desolate area, it consists mostly of soft sand occasionally interrupted by rocky outcrops, with high sand dunes along the section we are travelling. It’s also much cooler – we’re almost cold – than the previous week we’ve spent inland.
From time to time there are the remains of abandoned mines visible from the road. The one below is an old oil extraction station that was operational in the late 1960s and early 70s, before the National Park was proclaimed.
Of the several thousand shipwrecks along the Skeleton Coast, a few are easily accessible from the main coastal road. The first wreck, between Ambrose Bay and Ugab gate which marks the southern end of the national park, is the S.W. Seal. Parts of the boat, which sank in June 1976, are well preserved despite the waves washing over the remains.
A view from above provides a better sense of the desolation of the coast – I can’t find much information on the wreck, or if there are any survivors. But even if the crew managed to reach shore, there’s still the challenge of reaching civilisation, hundreds of kilometres away.
Just after the shipwreck is the Ugab Gate, which marks the southern end of the Skeleton Coast Park and the start of the Dorob National Park. Proclaimed in 2010, Dorob is one of Namibia’s newest national parks.
This next part of the Skeleton Coast (C34) route is a “salt road”: the surface is a mixture of salt water, gypsum, sand and/or gravel that is baked in the sun. Although it can become slippery and dangerous when wet, it’s very smooth – almost like a tarred road – and we can drive much faster on this section.
It’s a welcome change after the rocky, tyre-shredding first section of road, and the previous loose gravel.
Our next stop is the Cape Cross Seal Reserve, the best-known breeding colony of Cape Fur seals along the Namib coast. (It’s also the site of the first European to set foot on Namibian soil, the Portuguese navigator Diego Cão in 1486.) The population of well-fed seals is sustained by the rich concentration of fish from the cold Benguela Current, with over 100,000 seals basking on the beach and swimming in the surf. Although the abundance of seals and their piles of stinky seal poo means it a seriously smelly place, and our nostrils are assaulted as soon as we open the car doors!
There is a walkway all the way around the seal colony, and the seals also seem to have taken over some of the picnic areas intended for humans.
You can get very close to the seals, who seem unperturbed by the human intrusion, and it’s fascinating to watch them alternate between playing, fighting and sleeping.
We’ve almost finished today’s journey. We have one last (brief) stop to look at the wreck of the Zeila. It was stranded on 25 August 2008 in the early morning hours near “Die Walle”, a popular fishing spot about 14km south of Henties Bay. Having been sold as scrap metal to an Indian company, the fishing trawler came loose from its towing line while on its way to from Walvis Bay to Bombay. Although shipwrecked, it looks like it’s still floating just off the beach.
From here its another hour to our accommodation in Swakopmund. It’s been a long day in the car (about seven hours driving) with some challenging roads, but we’re all really glad we took the “long road” and experienced the isolation and desolation of the Skeleton Coast.
Brigadoon Guest House, Swakopmund
Overall rating: 4/5.
Food: 4/5. Breakfast provided. For dinner there are lots of restaurants in Swakopmund, and the guest house was happy to help us book one. Book as far ahead as possible.
Family friendly: 3/5. One main bed, a single bed and a folding bed in one large room.
Scenery: 4/5. Sea and sand dunes.
Activities: 5/5. Sand dune tour, dolphin/whale/seal watching tours, skydiving, kayaking, fishing, quad biking, sand boarding, camel rides into the desert
After checking in (we don’t arrive until 5pm), we’re just in time for dinner – with lots of choice, for the first time in a week! It’s nice and cool as it has been all the way along the Skeleton Coast; being right on the coast, Swakopmund has a completely different climate to the inland towns. Swakopmund, a coastal resort, was founded in 1892 as the main harbour for German South West Africa and to enable Germany to establish control over the territory it claimed in the interior. A small part of its population is still German-speaking today and there are many examples of German colonial architecture.
Walvis Bay Boat Trip (Day 10)
We are picked up at our guest house at 8am, for a transfer to Walvis Bay where we are booked on a seal & dolphin watching tour with Ocean Adventures. Situated 30km to the south of Swakopmund, Walvis Bay is Namibia’s main port and home to its large fishing fleet. The fishing industry is the mainstay of the town’s economy, with a number of tourist operators also using the port. It’s about half an hour on a fairly busy sealed road; there’s a slight delay as we divert around a truck that’s over-turned. We’re surprised we haven’t seen any other accidents so far – according to the World Health Organisation, Namibia is ranked first in the world in terms of the number of road deaths per 100,000 residents.
We have a short wait at the Sandwich Harbour wharf, as a few other boats pick up their passengers. Our catamaran finally arrives, and we have a brief pre-boarding safety briefing.
Once we are underway, it doesn’t take long for a seal to make itself at home on the back of the boat; our guide explains there are five seals that have been rescued which live near the wharf, and are separate from the colony of “wild” seals. They are fed by the various boat cruise operators, and are quite comfortable being around humans.
We’re heading directly away from Sandwich Harbour, with the industrial area of Walvis Bay in the distance.
We’re soon joined by a pink backed pelican that circles the boat…
… before it lands on the boat, where it’s happy to pose for us.
A second one joins the boat; both happily hitch a ride as we keep a lookout for whales, which have been sighted in the bay the last few days.
We spot a pair of humpback whales, which often visit the coastline of Namibia. Southern right, humpback and Minke whales pass by the coast from July-November, with most sightings taking place in October and November.
We watch them for a while, but need to continue on our journey so we have time to observe the seal colony on Pelican Point. We see some cape gannets and kelp gulls.
As we reach the middle of the bay, heading towards Pelican Point, there’s an increasing number of what looks like abandoned ships.
Our guide explains these boats service the oil rigs off the coast of Angola, to the north. Due to the oil price being depressed, many of these oil rigs have become uneconomical to operate. As a result, hundreds of boats that serviced these rigs are now moored in Walvis Bay with a skeleton crew. It’s much cheaper to moor them here than in Angola.
We reach the seal colony at Pelican Point, a sandbar which forms one of the perimeters of Walvis Bay. While the Cape Cross seal colony is much larger, there’s up to 30,000 seals at Pelican Point. At Cape Cross you can observe them better on land; here you can see them cavorting in the water at close range.
We see more kelp gulls, also known as the Dominican gull, which breeds on coasts and islands.
Our guide spots a sunfish as we’re having lunch – it’s the heaviest known bony fish in the world, with adults weighing between 247 and 1,000kg. It look like a fish head with a tail, its main body being body flattened laterally.
From Pelican Point we head back to the wharf; on the return journey we pick up a few more flying hitchhikers. As we near the shore our friendly seal returns, leaping onto the back of the boat and waiting expectantly for some more food!
Walvis Bay Sand Dunes (Day 10)
Following the boat tour, it’s straight onto a 4WD tour of the sand dunes by Sand Waves Namibia. We’re met at the wharf as we come of the boat by Juandre, and we board his Nissan Patrol.
Our first stop, not far out of Walvis Bay as we head south towards the sand dunes is the Walvis Bay Lagoon, home of a large flamingo colony.
The lagoon is home to hundreds of thousands of birds throughout the year, and has been declared a Ramsar site for its importance as a wetlands area and a feeding ground for many of species of bird on migratory routes from Africa to the Arctic Circle. The number of birds fluctuates from year to year, ranging from 37,000 to as many as 170,000 resident birds around the lagoon, with another 200,000 more stopping off on migratory routes. The best time to see them is a bit later than our visit; November to March.
A bit further on, and still accessible by 2WD, are the salt works, a 3500-hectare salt-pan complex which currently supplies over 90% of South Africa’s salt. The pans concentrate salt from seawater with the aid of evaporation, and are also a rich feeding ground for shrimp and larval fish. (They are one of the three wetlands around Walvis Bay that together form Southern Africa’s single most important coastal wetland for migratory birds.)
Our eagle-eyed guide points out two eggs at the edge of the road, and nearby the owner of the eggs, a white-fronted plover (a common species of plover along the coast).
From here we’re off the graded roads, and in the sand… we encounter a group of tourists that have their rented 4WD firmly bogged on the access road onto the beach, which is very soft sand. We tow them out, and are glad we’re with a guide who knows what he’s doing. At least, we think he does 🙂
We soon reach the beach, which is fairly deserted. A few other 4WDs heading towards the dunes, a couple of groups fishing and a lone seal basking in the sun.
After about 15km of driving along the beach, we have another quick stop to look at the view from one of the small sand dunes near the beach. There’s not much to see – just miles of sand and some smaller dunes that form the “foothills” of the larger sand dunes.
About 35km along the beach, we finally reach the main dunes and we turn-off the beach. Before long, there’s another unexpected stop. Juandre hops out of the car, and starts digging in the sand. A few minutes later, we’re looking at a tiny, and rather cute, Namib Dune Gecko.
This endemic gecko (also known as a Palmato gecko or Web Footed gecko) is found throughout the Namib Desert. A nocturnal animal, it spend the day in a self-dug burrows, which Juandre shows how to identify from markings in the sand. They keep their large fixed lens eyes (which have no eyelids) clean by licking with long tongues. Their web feet act as sand shoes, and they get enough water from what they eat (insects such as crickets, beetles and termites).
Now we’re in the dunes, which forms part of the vast Namib-Naukluft national park.
The sand noticeably changes colour across the sand sea, which extends from near Walvis Bay (where we are) to Sossusvlei almost 200km to the south-east. In the west, close to the sea, the sands are whiter and become progressively pinker inland.
It’s great fun for adults and kids to to jump and slide down the dunes – but you need to haul yourself back to the top!
The highest dune in this area is Dune 7, just behind Swakopmund, at 383m. The top of the dunes we’re on are only about 70m above sea level, but they feel much higher, as we look directly into the ocean below.
Juandre manages to find us another desert dweller, this time a Shovel-Snouted Lizard. A fast-moving lizard that’s endemic to the Namib area, it chases insects and even catches flying moths. Unlike the Namib Dune Gecko it’s diurnal, and can be found moving along the slip faces of the dune where the dune sand is very soft. When the lizard feels threatened it dives into the soft sand, giving it a nickname of the “sand diving lizard”.
After we have our afternoon tea in the dunes – with way more food than we can possibly eat – we see a flock of pelicans (the “Namibian air force”) flying across the dunes.
It’s almost time to head back, but not before we slide (and drive) down a few more steep sand dunes.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and although the kids would happily play in the sand dunes until dark, we need to head back. We have one last (unexpected) surprise on our trip back, when our car – which is following the other Sand Waves 4WD back to Walvis Bay – takes a route which cuts through soft sand near the surf. We’ve been in 2WD mode on the hard sand, and Juandre isn’t expecting the sudden change to very soft sand… despite a quick down-shift and 4WD being engaged, we come to a complete stop. It takes a lot of digging, jacking up the car and a few tow attempts until we’re finally underway again. All great fun for us, although it’s more concerning for Juandre and his reputation!
On the drive back, we spot a black backed jackal in the dunes, and more pelicans in the lagoon.
We get back to Walvis Bay at 6pm (about an hour later than scheduled) for our transfer back to Swakopmund. Unfortunately the Sand Waves tours doesn’t include sundowners – it would have been a perfect end to the day to watch the sun setting from the dunes – and I’m hoping I can get to the pier at Swakopmund for my sunset photos. Looking out of the car window as we drive between Walvis Bay and Swakopmund, it looks like it will be another nice sunset.
We’re back at our guest house about 6:30pm, just in time for the short walk to the waterfront and to catch the sun set (a better option would have been the jetty further south, but I didn’t have time to get there).
Swakopmund to Kulala Desert Lodge (Day 11)
We’re on the road around 10am for next leg, to Kulala Desert Lodge, with a new spare tyre on board. We’re crossing the Namib desert to the other side of the Namib Naukluft National Park. It’s a 377km drive, mostly on unsealed roads – but much easier driving than the rough road through Damaraland to the Skeleton Coast.
At a rest stop just off the road we see our first quiver tree: it’s a distinctive member of the ‘Aloe’ group of succulent plants and grows to tree-like proportion, and is the national plant of Namibia.
About half-way into the drive we cross the Kuiseb Canyon, which acts as a formal break to the dune lands of the central Namib. The dense vegetation in the lower part of the river forms an effective barrier against wind-blown sand. While not a deep canyon, after hours of flat, empty desert it’s an impressive sight, especially from above.
The landscape gets a bit more interesting from here, with views of the mountain ranges that form part of the Naukluft mountain park to the north east. After another hour we reach a second pass, the Gaub pass.
Just after the pass, we cross the Tropic of Capricorn, which is well sign-posted; beyond it are more of the Naukluft mountains.
From here the drive is more interesting: we start seeing wildlife again, with multiple oryx grazing near the road.
The road also gets a bit more treacherous, with some sections of loose gravel that necessitate a reduction in speed.
Finally, as we drive through the small town of Solitaire for the last leg to our lodge, we see sand dunes and sand-covered mountains all around us. We’ve reached the “other” side of the Namib Naukluft dunes.
Kulala Desert Lodge, Sossusvlei
Overall rating: 5/5.
Food: 5/5. Set menu with two choices for mains
Family friendly: 4/5. Two bedroom cottage, plus the option of sleeping on the roof
Scenery: 5/5. Great scenery both in and around the camp
Activities: Sossuvlei sand dunes, hot air ballooning (weather dependent), quad biking
We reach Kulala Desert Lodge about 5:30pm, and check into our little thatched and canvas “kulala” (there are 23 in total, and we have the last one at the end). Time for a swim and to explore the nearby (dry) Tsauchab River and artificial waterhole, before dinner on the outdoor deck.
Sossuvlei Sand Dunes (Day 12)
The dunes are the star attraction of the area, and one of the more popular tourist areas in Namibia (we were lucky to get accommodation at Kulala Desert Lodge after a cancellation, as it was fully booked three months prior). We set off at 6am from the lodge; one of the advantages of staying at Kulala is that it adjoins Sossusvlei and has its own private entry.
As the sun rises, we see the first of the Sossusvlei dunes. They are much redder here than on the coast, caused by grain coatings of oxidised iron.
We stop at Dune 45, it’s name coming from the fact that it is at the 45th kilometre of the road from Sesriem to Sossusvlei. At just over 80m in height, it’s one of the more popular dunes that can be climbed on foot.
Although it’s not a particularly high, there’s sweeping views over the surrounding dunes from the top (it took about 15min for me and Luke to get to the top, but we were moving at a brisk pace as we only have a 25min stop here).
Going back down is a lot quicker… and a lot more fun.
Dune 45 is our warm-up for “Big Daddy“, the tallest dune in the Sossusvlei area at 325m in height. There are a couple of well-worn approaches to the peak, and by 8:30am when we begin our ascent there’s already a few people on the dune.
Luke and I set off up the hill. It’s hard work, as you sink into the soft sand with each step, and we have a few rest stops where we admire the view.
It takes us about 50min to reach the top, where we have 360-degree views of the dunes, and the two salt pans on either side of Big Daddy. Below us is the Dead Vlei, where we meet the rest of our group. We go directly down the side of Big Daddy, taking a few minutes to reach the bottom of the dune.
The Dead Vlei (“dead marsh”) is a white clay pan surrounded by sand dunes, and characterized by dark, dead camel thorn trees.
It was formed when the Tsauchab river flooded, creating temporary shallow pools where the abundance of water allowed camel thorn trees to grow. When the climate changed and drought hit the area, sand dunes encroached on the pan and blocked the river from the area. The trees, estimated to be approximately 900 years old, then died as there no longer was enough water to survive.
After crossing Dead Vlei, it’s a short walk back to our 4WD, and we’re back at the lodge by midday.
We’ve got a free afternoon, but I’m keen to do some hiking in the renowned Naukluft mountains. I head off for a slightly ambitious hike – the 10km Olive Trail – which also entails a 4-hour return drive.
On the drive back from Naukluft, there’s an big build-up of clouds and some dramatic skies, as the threat of a thunderstorm looms.
Less than an hour later, as we’re having dinner, the rain buckets down as a thunderstorm passes, with some impressive thunder and lightning. Not what we expected in the middle of the desert, with the staff saying it had been a long time since the last rain.
Kulala Desert Lodge to Kalahari Red Dunes (Day 13)
We’ve got a 345km drive today, although for the last 75km we’re back on the sealed B1 highway. The skies are clearing as we drive back out of the large Kulala Desert Lodge reserve, spotting some oryx very close to the road.
There’s also some springbok watching us leave.
We have a brief stop to look at Sesriem Canyon, which was formed by the Tsauchab River between two and four million years ago. After the Tsauchab River has come down in flood, pools of water remain in the canyon for several months. To use this source of water, the local pioneering farmers and early travellers lowered a bucket tied to six ox hide thongs to the pools, hence the name Sesriem or ‘six thongs’.
From Sesriem the road gradually improves as we head east and the landscape is varied, as we pass through some hilly areas and descend through the Swartrand escarpment via the Zarihoogte pass.
In the small village of Maltahöhe we stop for lunch, although there is really not much here. An hour and a half later, we reach the sealed road and the much larger town of Mariental, where we find a “Hungry Lion” fast food restaurant to keep the kids happy!
From here it’s just under half an hour to reach the Kalahari Red Dunes resort, which is just outside the town of Kalkrand.
Kalahari Red Dunes
Overall rating: 4/5.
Food: 5/5. Good food and great service.
Family friendly: 5/5. Two connected guest houses.
Scenery: 3/5. More like a farm than a desert lodge
Activities: 3/5. Bike riding, walking, game drive on the reserve
Situated on the banks of a vlei and surrounded by Kalahari sand dunes, Kalahari Red Dunes Lodge is our last lodge stay before we leave Namibia. Our thatch-roof cottage (one for the adults and an adjoining one for the kids) looks out onto the vlei, and there’s a walkway to the main lodge where we have breakfast and dinner.
We’ve got a few hours of light left after our arrival, so I take the kids on a bike ride (the bikes are included, and the adult bikes have “fat tires” designed for sand). The reception is very helpful in providing maps, and the paths are easy to follow. It’s a nice and easy ride, although we end up doing the longer circuit (we had intended to do the shorter option) and cover just over 9km.
After our ride and before dinner, I go on a short walk around the lodge – there’s a lovely evening light, and both a moon-rise and sunset to photograph!
Kalahari Evening Drive (Day 14)
It’s a quiet day today: I do one of the signposted walks around the resort, the Kalahari Dunes Walk. After the walk, while having a late lunch outside near the pool with the rest of the family, we observe a few of the animals in the vlei: a cluster of eland and some playful ground squirrels.
Late in the day we meet near reception for our evening drive around the property – our last one on this African trip. I’m a bit surprised that there are 10 of us (including our two kids) on the 4WD. We’d always had plenty of space to spread out on previous drives, although it’s not really a problem as we tended to stop and jump out when there were things to see.
We stop and hop out of our 4WD to get a closer look at a monitor lizard, which has darted up a tree to get away from us.
We see a range of other animals – lots of impala, oryx and some zebra.
A bit further on is a colony of ground squirrels, who are very social and live in groups of about 1 to 3 females and 2 to 3 males.
The lodge is well-known for its black wildebeest, and we spot a number of them individually, in groups and a couple of them fighting.
A pair of ostriches appear, one of them taking a “dust bath” while we watch from a distance (part of its preening and plumage maintenance).
Last but not least, we see hundreds of social weavers, who construct permanent nests on trees (especially in acacia trees) – these nests being the largest built by any bird. Large enough to house over a hundred pairs of birds, the highly structured nests contain several generations at a time and provide birds with a regulated temperature.
As we stop on top of a sand dune for sundowners, we’re spoilt with the sun setting in the west, and a harvest moon rising in the east.
Kalahari Red Dunes to Windhoek (Day 15)
And that is, more or less, the end of two fabulous weeks in Namibia… We’ve got an easy (200km) drive to Windhoek today, where we have an overnight stay at the pleasant Hilltop Guesthouse before our return flight the following day to Johannesburg, and then onto Sydney.
More Information
As with our last trip, we relied largely on Cedarberg Travel to put together our itinerary, and this was to some extent predicated on the availability of accommodation. We were very happy with what we ended up with: had we booked earlier and with the benefit of hindsight, we would have allowed a bit more time around Etosha and stayed a night or two in the park.
After our Botswana trip where we took (and never used) USD travelers cheques, this time we just withdrew local currency from ATMs whenever we were in major towns. All the lodges take VISA/Mastercard for payment, so the cash was mainly to cover petrol (which was easier to pay with cash) and tipping the guides (about NAD200 per day).
For working out what birds/animals are what, the “Pocket Guide to Birds of Southern Africa” and “Pocket Guide to Mammals of Southern Africa” books are comprehensive, and small enough to take on a drive.
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