After a busy day yesterday we didn’t rush to wake up this morning. By the time we went to breakfast, most other people had been and gone except for a couple from Germany. After a chat, they, like so many other we’ve met are following a similar itinerary to ours. I had a delicious plate of bacon and eggs and filled up on coffee. We are both trying to rehydrate as we recover.
We went to the supermarket and similarly to yesterday paid a ‘tip’ to a man who protected our car for the whole 10 minutes we were in the supermarket. Anxious not to participate in Swakopmund’s protection racket, we did a quick drive around, took a few quick photos and bid the town farewell. Swakopmund was established in 1892 as the primary port for German South West Africa and today has a population of around 75,000 people. When South Africa took over the management of South West Africa after World War 1, most of the port facilities moved to Walvis Bay and Swakopmund became a resort town and gateway to nearby destinations because it wasn’t hemmed in by the sand dunes.
Our next stop is Spitzkoppe, which is a group of striking, ancient granite peaks rising dramatically from the flat plains of the Namib Desert in Namibia. We chose just to head up the main highway for most of the trip rather than continuing up the coast and then coming in. This potentially took an hour off the trip and minimised the unsealed roads. The downside was that the main highway featured a lot of truck that are all speed-limited to 80 km/hr while the normal speed limit is 120. This leads to some long queues and some impatient behaviour. We made it to the lodge in time for a late lunch of springbok lasagne and pulled-pork tacos.
After lunch we chilled out in the room, before exploring the views once it had cooled down a litlle. The area itself is spectacular with its rock formations and impressive peaks. There is an option to do some hikes, which of course we declined.
There is quite a lot of wildlife here. We observed some Hyraxes that live in the rocks outside the restaurant. They are not rodents, but are more closely related to elephants and manatees. They are native to 25 countries across Africa and also known as Dassies. There are lot of colourful geckoes that have been to quick for my camera skills so far and many different birds. Unfortunately we did not see the resident Zebras, so we could only assume they were hiding from the wind somewhere.
We head off to a bush camp for the next few days, so the blog may be delayed depending on the quality of WiFi.
Until next time.
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