Namibia - Walvis Bay, Sossusvlei & Swakopmund
Day 1
I spent the first day Namibia wandering around the port town, Walvis Bay. To be honest there wasn't much there other than a few restaurants and a couple stores that were open. We arrived there during Holy Week which is something the people in Namibia take very seriously and it is considered a holiday in their country so mostly everything in town was completely closed for the week. Walvis Bay was an interesting city though. Everything there was surrounded by sand and sand dunes which was a totally unlike any place I have ever been.
Day 2
This was day number one of a three-day camping trip that I joined probably a day before we arrived in Namibia.There were about 18 of us in total and we met up with our guides at about 9 am and embarked on the 6-hour drive to Sossusvlei. Although the majority of the drive was through the desert we passed by some of the most unique landscapes I have ever seen. We also passed over the Tropic of Capricorn which was a lone sign on the side of the highway (which was a sand/dirt road), in the middle of a desert. Overall, even though the drive was long it was definitely a once in a lifetime experience. We made it to Sossusvlei at around 4 pm that afternoon, set up camp and cooked dinner.
Day 3
Our guides, Gabriel and Phillip, had us get up at 5:45 am and be on the bus at 6:00 am to go out into the park to climb a sand dune and watch the sunrise over the desert. I was about a 20 minute drive to get to Dune 45 and it was still pretty dark when we arrived. I learned fairly quickly that even though sand dunes look easy to climb you will be completely winded in about 60 seconds. I also learned the top is never the top, you might think that you are getting to the top but once you get there you look 30 feet in front of you and there is another high point for you to hike to. Once we all made it to what we decided was the top, we were able to look behind us to see the moon setting and look in front of us to see the sun rising. Sitting up on the dune and watching the sunrise was by far one of my favorite moments of the entire trip. There are not words to describe how beautiful it was. After enjoying the sunrise and breakfast down at the bottom of the dune we headed out to Dead Vlei, which is a dried up river bed surrounded by one of the tallest dunes in Namibia. I would have loved to go there at night to see the stars but being there during the day was just as surreal. After about 45 minutes we headed back to camp for the day, cooked dinner then went out after to watch the sunset.
Day 4
We got up fairly early this morning to make the 6-hour drive back to Walvis Bay. On the drive back we saw a couple herds to wild Zebra's and a few Springbok here in there but the drive was exactly the same as the way to Sossusvlei. Once I made it back to the boat that afternoon I pretty much went back to my room and passed out for the night.
Day 5
The last day in Namibia I spent in Swakopmund. We drove to Dune 7 just outside of Walvis Bay and hiked around for half an hour before making our way to Swakopmund to ride camels for an hour in the dunes. Riding camels was definitely an experience but I'm glad I didn't spend more than an hour on one because about half way in it started to get really uncomfortable. I then headed back to the boat for the day and we left Namibia later that afternoon.
Day 1
I spent the first day Namibia wandering around the port town, Walvis Bay. To be honest there wasn't much there other than a few restaurants and a couple stores that were open. We arrived there during Holy Week which is something the people in Namibia take very seriously and it is considered a holiday in their country so mostly everything in town was completely closed for the week. Walvis Bay was an interesting city though. Everything there was surrounded by sand and sand dunes which was a totally unlike any place I have ever been.
Day 2
This was day number one of a three-day camping trip that I joined probably a day before we arrived in Namibia.There were about 18 of us in total and we met up with our guides at about 9 am and embarked on the 6-hour drive to Sossusvlei. Although the majority of the drive was through the desert we passed by some of the most unique landscapes I have ever seen. We also passed over the Tropic of Capricorn which was a lone sign on the side of the highway (which was a sand/dirt road), in the middle of a desert. Overall, even though the drive was long it was definitely a once in a lifetime experience. We made it to Sossusvlei at around 4 pm that afternoon, set up camp and cooked dinner.
Day 3
Our guides, Gabriel and Phillip, had us get up at 5:45 am and be on the bus at 6:00 am to go out into the park to climb a sand dune and watch the sunrise over the desert. I was about a 20 minute drive to get to Dune 45 and it was still pretty dark when we arrived. I learned fairly quickly that even though sand dunes look easy to climb you will be completely winded in about 60 seconds. I also learned the top is never the top, you might think that you are getting to the top but once you get there you look 30 feet in front of you and there is another high point for you to hike to. Once we all made it to what we decided was the top, we were able to look behind us to see the moon setting and look in front of us to see the sun rising. Sitting up on the dune and watching the sunrise was by far one of my favorite moments of the entire trip. There are not words to describe how beautiful it was. After enjoying the sunrise and breakfast down at the bottom of the dune we headed out to Dead Vlei, which is a dried up river bed surrounded by one of the tallest dunes in Namibia. I would have loved to go there at night to see the stars but being there during the day was just as surreal. After about 45 minutes we headed back to camp for the day, cooked dinner then went out after to watch the sunset.
Day 4
We got up fairly early this morning to make the 6-hour drive back to Walvis Bay. On the drive back we saw a couple herds to wild Zebra's and a few Springbok here in there but the drive was exactly the same as the way to Sossusvlei. Once I made it back to the boat that afternoon I pretty much went back to my room and passed out for the night.
Day 5
The last day in Namibia I spent in Swakopmund. We drove to Dune 7 just outside of Walvis Bay and hiked around for half an hour before making our way to Swakopmund to ride camels for an hour in the dunes. Riding camels was definitely an experience but I'm glad I didn't spend more than an hour on one because about half way in it started to get really uncomfortable. I then headed back to the boat for the day and we left Namibia later that afternoon.
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