We travel through Namibia in a Hilux with two roof tents. Now we are heading south towards Sossusvlei in Namib – Naukluft National Park, with a stop-over in Swakopmund.
All about our Namibia roundtrip here: overlanding namibia
Swakopmund – Old German colonial town
The town by the sea is a popular resort for Namibians in the summer heat, but now in the winter it was very quiet. We needed a little change from the life in a roof tent and, relax from dusty roads. It can be so-so with sleep on the hard mattresses, and a soft bed is tempted. So it was 4 lazy days and laundry in a rented apartment.
Good seafood
Swakopmund is built in colorful German colonial style and you can see the whole town in less than an hour. It has beautiful beaches, but with a sea temperature of 14 degrees it was not tempting with a bath. We left it to the young people who lay and splashed in the shoreline after kicking football on the beach. We viewed it all from our secluded location at one of the many outdoor restaurants along the boardwalk. It was hot in the sun, and a Windhoek draft tasted. We also made sure to get some variety from a lot of meat dinners, and enjoyed ourselves at restaurants that served good seafood, including oysters, which Elin joyfully tried for the first time.
Walvis Bay
A trip to Walvis Bay confirmed our suspicion. It is Namibia’s largest port city with a huge container port, and little else. The only thing of interest is a huge flamingo colony.
South towards Sesriem
The road south towards Sesriem starts fine, with asphalt and then oil gravel. But then the gravel takes over and it becomes quite bumpy. Corrugated roads requires a special driving style. First of all, it is an eternal search to find the least bumpy part of the road, and then it is important to find the right speed. The speed must be matched to the length between each bump, and the stiffness of the car’s suspension. Driving slowly is not necessarily the right thing to do. If you find the right speed, the wheels jump from top to top, and you “float” over. Admittedly, this is pretty scary because it gets so-so with the steering. So you have to be very vigilant and slow down if there suddenly is loose gravel.
But then we spot a road grader on a hill next to the road. Oh happiness! The road ahead is freshly graded! You learn to love the sight of a road grader around here.
Land of the thousand valleys
The landscape is completely flat, just sand and gravel as far as you can see. The road is straight, mile after mile. But eventually some short grown yellow grass and solitary trees appear, and soon we are in a beautiful hilly landscape, the land of a thousand valleys as it is called. On the right side we have a canyon which we soon drive down into and follow a short distance. It goes slowly through many turns, but it’s nice with a change. There are two campsites here, but you need permission to stay here, which we don’t have.
No place to stay
It is about 400 kilometers to Sesriem so we spend the night along the tiny village Solitaire. Unfortunately it is full at the camp, 28 cyclists are expected in the evening. But we have a diplomat with us who persuades the manager to give us a place, and is allowed to stand outside a cabin that is not in use, but with access to water and WC. The place is beautifully situated on a farm surrounded by scattered trees and mountains on the horizon.
Sesriem – Sossusvlei
One of the biggest attractions in Namibia is Sossusvlei in Namib – Naukluft National Park, south-west of Windhoek. Sossusvlei is an oasis located deep in the Namib desert, the world’s oldest desert. To get there you drive to Sesriem where you pay a park fee, and then it is 60 km on asphalt to Sossusvlei.
Breakfast in down jackets and sleeping bags
At Sesriem there are two campsites. One is fine and relatively affordable, the other expensive and poor. Unfortunately the affordable was full, it only has 10 places and you have to book in advance. On the expensive one, however, there was plenty of room. As much as 490 NAD per person and night was the price. The only plus with the camp were the huge trees that we struggled to pitch our tents under. We did not need the shadow either. It was freezing cold, sour wind and 4 degrees when we woke up in the morning. The sun struggled to penetrate the dense cloud cover and we ate breakfast wrapped in down jackets and sleeping bags.
Close to getting stuck
The road to Sossusvlei is as mentioned a good asphalt road, but not all the way. For the last 5 kilometers there is loose sand where only four-wheel drive vehicles are allowed. We engaged low series gear and swept inwards. Well not exactly. The heavily loaded Hilux struggled in the loose sand. It failed to get the speed needed in loose sand, and the danger of getting stuck was imminent.
So we gave up, drove back and were instead driven in by a bush taxi.
Probably a wise choice. On the way we passed a Land Cruiser that was well buried in the sand, with a bunch of young people trying to dig it loose. They probably had no experience with the sand. Our driver stopped and helped them out of the situation. Experience comes in handy.
Sossusvlei
Sossusvlei is a wonderful place. Surrounded by very high dunes lies a wooded oasis with a little lake! Under the sand there is limestone, and there is probably a pot in the limestone where the water collects without penetrating into the ground.
The main attraction, however, is Dead Vlei, the Dead Valley, which you reach after a 20 minute walk in the sand. It is a flat limestone area with dead trees, surrounded by tall reddish dunes. Namibia’s most photographed motif.
A couple of people climb up the huge Big-Daddy dune. It is extremely difficult to climb the steep dune that give a bad foothold, but they reach the top. We tried on another dune a little earlier, and refrained.
All about our Namibia roundtrip here: overlanding namibia
