I woke up 46 years old today. We were in a beautiful camp site in the desert just outside of Aus, Namibia. Ron made me coffee in “bed” and breakfast. Sadie & Anna had found me a Namibian People Magazine which they presented to before breakfast with an invite to sit back and take a break from camping life. Not that I need a break, this camping life here in Namibia is deluxe!
It did however give me a chance to reflect. We’ve driven 3,000 km, seen 38 wild animals, seen 46 sunsets (Ron has seen just about as many sunrises, turns out being away from work does not mean he sleeps in), visited 5 countries (ok, so we only stepped foot in Zimbabwe at the border), played countless games of Euchre and tried wild game for dinner once. It’s a darn good thing they don’t have night clubs out here in the Namibian Desert ‘cause we are finding it hard to make it much past 8:30 or 9pm before we slip UP into our tents. Which is also probably why I have seen almost as many sunrises as Ron. The ribbons of road here are unbelievably long and straight. Driving is more like surfing; riding the sand or gravel and rolling dips. The stretches of road ahead reaching as far as one can see kind of lull us into a sense of ease, then BAM, we find ourselves in an undetectable dip in the road which we feel for the next 1 km because our truck has such bad shocks. The dips are just steep enough to require speed adjustment and sometimes are, and sometimes are not marked. The scenery out the car window is spectacular and vast. Usually our destinations are marked by a road sign and small “t” intersection with a dirt road leading off into…who knows where. But we have consistently been pleasantly surprised by what we find. The lodge/camp sites have yet to let us down and often by far surpass any camping in North America I’ve ever done. Never crowded, spotless toilets/showers, usually a small pool (freezing but refreshing) and almost always has a great restaurant if you would like to skip making dinner yourself. The hosts have become more and more friendly (must have more tourism host requirements the further south we go) and the lodges always offer a brief glimpse into the life of those who choose to live way out in the middle of the Namibian Desert. Gas is about CAN$1 per litre and our beer of choice is Tafel (Dave & Kristy I’ll take a photo for you). We did find internet briefly, but the most expensive yet. So I took a minute to check all is well (no replies though) and send a happy birthday to my fellow Virgos Mike, Don & Ava. Now back to where I left off.
It did however give me a chance to reflect. We’ve driven 3,000 km, seen 38 wild animals, seen 46 sunsets (Ron has seen just about as many sunrises, turns out being away from work does not mean he sleeps in), visited 5 countries (ok, so we only stepped foot in Zimbabwe at the border), played countless games of Euchre and tried wild game for dinner once. It’s a darn good thing they don’t have night clubs out here in the Namibian Desert ‘cause we are finding it hard to make it much past 8:30 or 9pm before we slip UP into our tents. Which is also probably why I have seen almost as many sunrises as Ron. The ribbons of road here are unbelievably long and straight. Driving is more like surfing; riding the sand or gravel and rolling dips. The stretches of road ahead reaching as far as one can see kind of lull us into a sense of ease, then BAM, we find ourselves in an undetectable dip in the road which we feel for the next 1 km because our truck has such bad shocks. The dips are just steep enough to require speed adjustment and sometimes are, and sometimes are not marked. The scenery out the car window is spectacular and vast. Usually our destinations are marked by a road sign and small “t” intersection with a dirt road leading off into…who knows where. But we have consistently been pleasantly surprised by what we find. The lodge/camp sites have yet to let us down and often by far surpass any camping in North America I’ve ever done. Never crowded, spotless toilets/showers, usually a small pool (freezing but refreshing) and almost always has a great restaurant if you would like to skip making dinner yourself. The hosts have become more and more friendly (must have more tourism host requirements the further south we go) and the lodges always offer a brief glimpse into the life of those who choose to live way out in the middle of the Namibian Desert. Gas is about CAN$1 per litre and our beer of choice is Tafel (Dave & Kristy I’ll take a photo for you). We did find internet briefly, but the most expensive yet. So I took a minute to check all is well (no replies though) and send a happy birthday to my fellow Virgos Mike, Don & Ava. Now back to where I left off.
Our next stop after Kusieb Canyon was Solitaire and camping at the Solitaire Guest Farm. Our pit stop in Solitaire did not disappoint. This dot on the map consists of a small lodge, gas station, general store and bakery, that’s it. The property surrounding the facilities was littered with antique car wrecks and beautiful desert plants. The best part though was the bakery – Moose McGregor, the baker was a Scottish transplant there for the past 30 plus years.
And did he know how to bake! His specialty was apple strudel which we definitely indulged in. The Guest Farm (about 5km from Solitaire) was our best yet. We will cherish our memories of the tame Meerkats, 3 great dogs, the tame peacock named Tweety and the nasty but tame springbok. Talk about cats and dogs living together. Somehow they all sorted it out. We did witness the occasional display of tussle between Spike the bulldog and the springbok. The restaurant was so funky and inviting we decided to eat out which was a good call. Our host Simone, a German married to a Namibian, was an incredible cook. She made a buffet to die for. It was here we tried wild game (springbok) for the first time, it was delicious. I don’t think Sadie & Anna could separate in their minds the cute live one they were patting from the dead cooked one being offered at dinner so they did not partake. Springbok is very lean and she had cooked it in a tasty rich sauce, it really could have been anything but it was delicious. Ron tried Zebra sausage from a grocery store bbq which didn’t go so well and that’s the extent of our African meat experience. 
Inspired also by the horses in the fields at the Solitaire Guest Farm, we asked about horseback riding because, well, it was something we hadn’t checked out yet here in Africa. Sure enough, there was a lodge offering rides between Solitaire and Sossusvlei, our next destination. At first our stop seemed deserted but we eventually unearthed someone who seemed to know what was going on and he eventually found the guides; a German girl staying as a volunteer and Noah, a Namibian who rides horses for movies and I guess he guides on the side. His claim to fame is
being able to fall with his horse from full speed and then hop back on again, also at full speed. Our ride was a little more tame than that. Ron did not hesitate to decline the ride (he starts to feel uncomfortable looking at a horse) leaving it to us girls. The saddles were English and the horses were lovely. Sadie’s legs dangled down so low on her pony, I thought maybe her toes would scrape and Anna’s pony had incredible attitude. They stayed in the back with their ponies battling it out for the best spot in line (there were only 4 of us, including Noah) and I rode beside and chatted to Noah. Eventually, Sadie’s horse got sick of the battle and dropped back so far behind…and then he decided to roll. Luckily it was at a walk and he took his time to do it so Sadie was able to dismount…and she came up smiling. All in all, it was a really fun ride. Noah was pretty game for anything and it was us who had to ask him to stop galloping and trotting so we could enjoy a more mellow pace.It seems the South Namibian dorps (small towns) are getting smaller and smaller as we head south. If you have ever seen photos from Namibia, you have most likely seen a photo of Sossusvlei, also in the Namib-Naukluft National Park. Sossusvlei is famous for the dunes, sunrises and old pans or lake beds. Sesriem is the gateway to the park and does not have much except lodging, camping and restaurant. The camping there was full (it books out months and months in advance, although we did meet a family who got in a couple of hours before) so we had booked in a place called Betesda Lodge, about 40 km away.
Now, the deal is with Sossusvlei, everyone wants to get in the 2nd park gate and bolt up the park (about 60 km long) to the best spot to watch the sunrise. If you get a camping spot at Sesriem you are in luck as they open the gate for them at 5am giving ample time to drive up to Dune 45, climb the dune and see the sunrise. The gate outside Sesriem, for all the rest of us does not open until 6am and is often lined up. So being the anal planners we are (you should have seen us maneuver Disneyland lines) we bought our permit for the park days ahead, got up at 4:30am, drove the 40 km and indeed was the first car at the gate. 
High fives all around . It was however, kind of a speed sunrise from the car as we drove as fast as we could to the end of the park. If your timing is not right to get up the dune in time to see sunrise, we’d heard the next best solution is to race ahead of the crowds to enjoy Dead Vlei (an old pan) at the end of the park before the heat of the day and when the light is best. Check out Dead Vlei Namibia on the internet, you will see some great photos I’m sure, no guarantee ours will be as good!
High fives all around . It was however, kind of a speed sunrise from the car as we drove as fast as we could to the end of the park. If your timing is not right to get up the dune in time to see sunrise, we’d heard the next best solution is to race ahead of the crowds to enjoy Dead Vlei (an old pan) at the end of the park before the heat of the day and when the light is best. Check out Dead Vlei Namibia on the internet, you will see some great photos I’m sure, no guarantee ours will be as good!
Dead Vlei is unique to the world, with its cracked clay floor and petrified black acacia tree stumps. Beautiful. Looming above is the 2nd highest dune in Sossusvlei begging us to climb it. We headed off with a couple bottles of water and great intension. It was brutal! The route we chose was of course the most difficult, determined by the pitch and softness of the sand. But we were all lured by the goal of getting to the top and surfing down the front pitch on our feet. The girls were amazing, chugging up the 220 m (official height but we think it was higher) with barely a complaint. It was hot and exhausting. But we made it. It was another mutual King of the World experience standing up there with a 360 degree view of the dunes. Our only mistake was not bringing enough water, having not known we were going to do the hike. We swallowed the last drop before our decent and headed down, leaping, rolling and giggling the whole way. It was well worth it…at least until we realize we had to get back across the pan (3/4 km long) and back to the car which was a further 1km. It was then the heat of the day. The drama was good as the girls dragged back to the car but Ron was the hero and ran ahead to bring back water. Thanks Dad. We recovered enough to go and check out the Canyon which was a much less ambitious hike down into a natural river canyon just inside the park boundary. And it is a river that runs for about 3 mo. of the year during rainy season. We barely made it past 8 pm that night after a dinner and fire. And did we sleep well!
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