This leg of the trip was all about finding our feet and getting used to the emptiness.
Our bags and supplies loaded into the 4x4 we'd hired in Swakopmund, we left civilisation behind as we headed East away from the coast on the C14, a mostly paved road with a good surface. Within 30 minutes the traffic had dwindled to the occasional haulage truck and a few 4x4 pick-up trucks here and there and after a further hour had passed, seeing another vehicle was becoming a novelty. The landscape opened out in front of us from rolling dunes to a pale dusty plain, almost completely flat and very much devoid of people or buildings. Along this road there are no petrol stations or shops, houses or farms. There is nothing but a few electricity pylons taking power to the coast, and once they snake away from the road, it's just you and the land.
We had the truck for 10 days and had planned a route that would cut down through the west of Namibia on largely on unpaved roads eventually leading us to Luderitz on the South West coast, and then back up in a loop through the Sossusvlei region, ultimately ending our trip where we had started, in Swakopmund. We knew that Namibia was a massive place and was largely uninhabited, so we had prepared with food, water, a small stove, a SIM card so we could call for help if needed and a route planned out. We love a road trip and this one was going to be a real adventure.
Having driven on unpaved roads before, we knew that conditions could be challenging and it's always a slower journey than you think it will be, but the novelty of driving and the changing landscapes and road conditions made the time go quickly. After a couple of hours we pulled over to the side of the road and using our new little stove, boiled some water and smugly stood there drinking our first cup of coffee with literally nothing but the landscape to keep us company. Standing there, I couldn't be sure but when I concentrated, it looked like something was moving maybe 1km away in the distance. Gaz got his binoculars out and sure enough it was two Ostrich just wandering along under the blazing sun. It was so cool being in the middle of nowhere - just us and the car, no guide and seeing the Ostriches made me feel free in some way. And we didn't know it then, but it was the merely the first of so many wildlife sightings and encounters that we would have on this trip. An hour later and I was asking Gaz to stop the car so that I could jump out and take a photo of a large majestic Oryx (Gemsbok) that was only 50m from the road. As I walked a little closer very slowly (just trying to get close enough so that my pathetic camera phone would get a bit of detail), it looked at me for what seemed an age without moving, but when I got to about 20m it had other ideas and took off in the other direction. Camera shy obviously. I had to make do with a pic from a little further away (see below).
The landscape changed from flat vast emptiness to rocky mountain passes and then back to endless plains. Namibia is very picturesque and there were plenty of amazing views to take pictures of. And of course as we passed the Tropic of Capricorn, we pulled over at the marker sign for the must have selfie or three.
That 1st night was the perfect icebreaker for our road trip. We stayed completely off grid at Camp Gecko, a homestead that offered camping and cabins to weary travellers for an affordable price. It was 10 km off the main road on a pretty rough side road, and apart from a couple of other guest houses every now and again along that road, there was nothing else in sight.
Our camping cabin was half canvas and half stone built and had an open-air bathroom with hot water available only when you lit a fire under the water boiler. We cooked burgers on the built in wood barbeque and watched the sun go down while wild horses, small antelope and warthogs congrugated about 200m away around a small watering hole. The sky was beautiful and the cold beers in our hands (courtesy of an honesty fridge 1km away) was the perfect way to finish the day.
As the light disappeared, we settled down on our camping beds and accepted the early night that was being offered. Gaz was asleep quite quickly, but I was stressing about the wildlife. The wild horses were either playing or getting spooked by something because they were whinnying and running one way and then they other right outside our door. One minute the hooves would come thundering past in one direction, then a moment later, they would be going back the other way. I so wanted to look outside and see what was going on, but I was too chicken in case there was a pack of jackals or something. Whatever it was there were some strange noises and the horses were very animated. Eventually it quietened down and I managed to get some sleep.
Waking at 6am, I crept out of the bedroom and took a coffee out on to the veranda and quietly watched the a large herd of Springbok wandering to the drinking hole, and behind them came the African Helmeted Guinea Fowl that waddled in groups in short distance speedy bursts clucking and gargling almost like a bunch of old women fussing around and hurrying each other along. Made me laugh out loud watching them.
Soon enough I had to wake Gaz, pack up the car and head back on to the road South. We stopped at Solitaire to refuel and were surprised to find that it is simply a petrol station, small shop and bakery/cafe. That's it. There is nothing else at Solitaire, so if passing, you should stop even if it's just to get fuel or take a selfie with some of the old cars that decorate the place, though we can recommend the bakery that provided us with a lovely meat pie and cinnamon roll for our onward journey.
After Solitaire, we left civilisation behind again and drove South towards and through a mountainous region that dropped us down into vast desert plains for endless miles. Gaz thought he saw a Giraffe in the distance, but when we got close we realised it was a mechanical water pump thing and then we laughed at the idea of a giraffe living out here where there's huge expanses of nothingness with no water and no trees - not really appealing to giraffes!
The gravel/dirt road was fairly good in places, but it was also terrible in other spots and Gaz would have to tentatively find a way around huge holes or a really chunky bit of road surface. But these roads seem to be maintained as best they can be - occasionally we would find that the road surface was a series of ridges aligned with the direction of the road, and then maybe a km further on we would come across a big vehicle creating those ridges as it re-scraped the road and moved the surface about. The bits that had just been scraped were by far the best bits to drive on.
After 2 days of driving and attempting to connect to the phone or data network using the new SIM card, we were starting to suspect that either there was no network out here in the emptiness, or something was wrong with the SIM. Either way, our emergency helpline wasn't going to be much use if we really needed it (which we actually would only days later). We crossed our fingers and put it to the back of our minds.
We made it to our guest house in Maltahoe, a small village that seemed to have a bit of life around. It was the sort of place where people all stopped what they were doing and turned to look when a car pulled off the main road and into their main street. And they new we weren't local so even the children playing stopped and stared. We found where we were staying pretty quick and got settled in. When we were in the garden just looking around, there were young guys shehperding their goats walking past the back of the house and they started shouting through the fence asking us for money. The owner shooed them away and told us not to talk to them through the fence and not to give them anything. She said 'it's because they know you are a tourist and not local'. Sometimes when you're in an unfamiliar place you are really at the mercy of the people who guide you; Maltahoe was originally established by a German officer, but since Namibian independence it has been in steady decline. There is no senior school and with around 6000 residents, most housed in a settlement with no electricity or running water, and only about 500 people with any form of employment, the future for this area is not too hopeful.
When I booked this guest house, I was told that there was electricity but no WiFi. When we arrived the owner proudly told us that she could now offer WiFi as it was unexpectedly installed just a few days previously after being on a waiting list for 5 years. Yep you read that right. And when it did get sorted, it happened out of the blue. She laughed and said 'NFA' meaning Normal For Africa.
The following day we left early and headed South again. At Helmeringhausen we stopped for fuel and in the lovely welcoming garden of the Helmeringhausen hotel we enjoyed a cold drink and I sampled some of their famous Apple Cake which was pretty special I have to say. I still can't get over eating german /european food in the middle of Africa, it's odd but I like it! Again Helmeringhausen is merely a hotel, a fuel station and maybe 2 other small related / complimentary businesses and that's it. It's not on the main road, so if you blink you'll miss it and wonder how you did.
After hitting the road again, the route seemed to mirror the path of a rocky escarpment on our left for miles. This had eroded to form flat topped mountainous shapes that reminded us of Table Mountain in South Africa. Soon we dropped down into a flat plateau where the soil had turned a warm orange red, like the outback of Australia. The only sign of human existence was the simple wire fence that followed the road on both sides, though there were no houses, no farms, no guest lodges, just the landscape continuing beyond this little fence.
From time to time we would see Oryx or Ostriches, though there were occasional signs for zebra, we didn't see any, though if you research this area, many people have seen herds of them, so they're here hiding on a desert plain somewhere.
The red soil gave way to giant rolling red sand dunes in the distance to our right as we neared the end of our journey that day. Suddenly we saw a woman to the side of the road and wondered where she had come from and if she was ok. We signalled to her and just as she was asking us to stop, I realised she was selling crafts as we had reached the end of the road and we were about to join the main paved highway that leads to the South West coast. It is common in most African countries to find sellers at road junctions. Even though she was not in need of help, she must have walked in significant heat, several kms from the nearest settlement at Aus to reach the road junction. It is a hard life these people lead just to try and earn a little money.
Aus is small, but has a little grocery shop, a very nice hotel and a couple of other guest accommodation options. We stayed in a little orange house overlooking the village just for 1 night, but with the whole house to ourselves it felt like a bit of luxury. There was no WiFi but there was a TV and Gaz found an English channel so was happily entertained for a while. Sometimes a little bit of what you find familiar is just the tonic you need!
Leaving Aus, we had the luxury of driving on a paved highway for the short journey to Luderitz on the coast, but for a short journey of just over an hour, there is so much to see along the route.
One of our highlights was stopping to see the Garub Wild Horses. Here you pull off the road and travel north for 1 km on a rough gravel track that ends with a shelter where visitors can rest away from the punishing sun and view the hidden desert plain below which is a gathering place for herds of wild horses. We were really surprised to see so many of them given that you can't see them on the approach and we had read one review from someone saying that there were no horses there at all when they visited. But we were fortunate enough to see them and there were so many of them, and seemingly unfazed by us too. The bonus of this place is that it's just considered a rest stop. There is no fee to pay, and given that it's a fair way from Aus, there are no hawkers trying to monetise the experience. It's just you and the horses and the incredible landscape. Amazing.
A short while later we saw what appeared to be an abandoned railway station, so we pulled off the road to go and explore. Sure enough the railway track and some of the infrastructure is still present and the original station house building is there, but nothing exists around it. It was just barren and weirdly beautiful.
After exploring, we finished our journey arriving in the coastal town of Luderitz, where just as we found with Swakopmund, the temperature was much lower than just a few kms inland. The coastal air was a welcome change to that constant baking heat. When we arrived at our accommodation I knew that we would have to pay for 2 nights in cash (often the case in Namibia), and despite arranging the room, the manager had been keen to know that we would actually turn up. Only the day before i had confirmed that they should still expect us, but when we arrived, the manager explained that she had sold the room to another couple that had arrived. I just laughed and asked her why she would do that given that I had confirmed we would be coming. She said sorry but we could stay with her at her house. My jaw dropped but I politely declined. Gaz was still in the car at this point waiting to know where to park, so I was thinking we should just leave and go and find somewhere else. I said as much to the manager and turned to go, clearly not impressed, but this travelling malarkey has made me a lot more lassaix faire about these things so I wasn't angry. But she called me back, slapped my arm really hard and started laughing heartily. 'I got you, I got you good. Here let me show you your room!' Yep, she was a full on prankster. I mean, why would you do that to your paying guests??? when they haven't even paid yet? I mean, I had nearly walked away! Crazy lady. But she thought she was hilarious and was then happily showing us around and wanting to make sure we had everything we needed.
A mad initial experience with her, but we ended up really enjoying our stay, and after a minor disaster the next day and the resulting kindness she showed us, I really grew to like her.
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