We woke early and it was very chilly. Unfortunately the shower was lukewarm. We had our last breakfast and said goodbye to the friendly staff at Kulala Desert Lodge. As we drove out we saw two pairs of ostrich, again noticing the contrast between the lighter colored females and the black colored males. We stepped out for a photo op at the UNESCO World Heritage marker. The inscription was very moving and impressive. We passed a large area for tent camping and more sociable weaver nests. Then it was back to the gravel road - again, very bumpy and noisy. I am constantly grabbing the bar above the window for stability. It amazes me how Charles can drive this for hours on end. I asked him why more of the roads are not paved, and he said it’s too expensive. We drove between mountains with lots of other cars. Charles passed most of them so as not to follow their dust cloud. We saw large hills consisting of piles of large round rocks. We passed the village of Solitaire, but none of us needed the pit stop. It was 9:30 (we had left at 7:30) and we had 3 more hours until Walvis Bay. We were still on the bumpy gravel road. We passed some oryx and then drove into a mountainous area with gorgeous peaks bathed in sunshine. It was stunning.
We were still in the desert according to Charles. We passed a sign for the Tropic of Capricorn and then entered the Gaub pass area. It was a striking gorge of black mica rocks. Nick thought the whole area was reminiscent of the South Dakota badlands.
We hit a temporary stretch of paved road which was very welcome. Next we stopped at the Kuiseb Pass, an area of canyons and gorges made of sheets of mica. These were formed by the shifting of tectonic plates. On the ground were many mica stones as well as large beautiful pieces of quartz. The rock collector in me was sorely tempted but the only way I got my suitcase closed today was wearing my heaviest clothing. Charles said that two German friends hid in this area to avoid going into the army in World War II. They subsisted on bushes and springbok. They wrote a famous book about it called The Sheltering Desert of Namib. It’s almost impossible to believe someone could survive in this desolate area. The canyons were formed by the same river that brought the red sands to the sea.
There were more gravel roads and they suddenly turned to a paved road about an hour and a half from Walvis Bay. I was able to nap a bit. Just outside the City, we passed an area with white sand dunes that were made up of quartz sand. Then we saw a large uranium mine and later some fresh water ponds that were populated with thousands of flamingos. Charles said there were two species - the greater and the lesser.
We then arrived in Walvis Bay proper. Charles said the name means Whales Bay. He said that even after Namibia gained independence from South Africa in 1990, South Africa hung onto Walvis Bay because of its importance as a port. They finally relinquished it in 1994. We drove through the trim streets to the harbor area. We turned at the sign for the yacht club and there was a row of restaurants. Charles chose one called Anchors and we all ordered seafood. Esther and I had calamari on a skewer with green and red peppers. The skewer was mounted on a stand above our chips. Nick had mussels and Charles had prawns. They still had their shells and heads on. They brought him a bowl of hot lemon water to clean his hands. It was a lot of food and very tasty. We passed the catamaran that we will take tomorrow.
We walked back to the van and drove along the coast to Swakomp. We saw the world’s longest line of palm trees at 5.7 kilometers. We passed miles of white sandy beaches with no people. There were some mansions on the beach including one owned by Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. We saw some large boats that Charles said were fishing boats anchored offshore. Charles said there were purple rocks in the sand that were garnets, but I didn’t really see what he was talking about. We saw a seal and a few fisherman on the beach. We saw a place offering camel rides and dune buggy rentals. Finally we entered Swakomp proper - a cute beach town with lots of German influence. The Driftwood Guesthouse is our home for 2 nights. It’s very similar to the Olive Grove Guesthouse, and seems to be owned by the same people. It is not 4-star. We’re in a second floor room (up a flight of stairs), and the beach is visible from our balcony. It is not as advertised “right on the beach”. It is on the outskirts of town, in a very residential neighborhood. We settled in around 3:00 and will meet Charles for dinner at 7:20. We took a stroll on the very windy beach. There were lots of walkers, many with dogs. The ocean was very rough - Nick said almost surface but for the rocks along the shore. I was able to walk even into the stiff breeze with only a couple rest breaks, so I’m hopeful my issues have been altitude related and on the wane. Fingers crossed.
No comments:
Post a Comment