Namibia, week one

Our flight to Windhoek was scheduled to depart at 3 pm. Pearl arrived to drive us to the airport at 1:20. I asked Phil about this because it seemed to me that we were cutting it pretty close.  He said there was no need to be there any earlier and he was right. We arrived at 2pm, checked in, passed through security, made a long walk to the gate and not long after, we boarded the bus that took us to the plane. It makes you wonder why we have to be at the airport three hours ahead of time at home? Our South African airlines flight went very smoothly. There were only about thirty people on it. They actually had to move people around to evenly distribute the weight before take off. Then, the flight attendant actually served us drinks and lunch - at no extra charge - on a two hour journey. Amazing how Canadian airlines are the only ones who charge passengers for everything. 

Martin from ATI met us at the airport. He drove us to Rivendell Guest House and dropped us off. The next morning Mureal from ATI and Gavin from Bushlore came and gave us the rundown on our itinerary and went through the vehicle with us. We spent the rest of the day shopping for supplies and organizing the truck. Lynda was very excited to see that Rivendell had a resident cat named Frodo. He was very friendly and affectionate. He made all the guests feel welcome. 

The next morning after breakfast we were off....our destination was the Tsauchab River Camp which is located in the Namib-Naukluft Park, approximately 4.5 hours south of Windhoek. We were excited to leave the city and start camping. The temperature in Windhoek has been in the mid 20s so it has been warm and sunny during the day, although it is cooler at night. We are not sure how that will look and feel further south. Craig has quickly adjusted to driving on the "wrong" side of the road, save for the mix up between the turn signal and the windshield wipers. Given the fact that we are in a Bushlore vehicle with a tent on the roof, most people have been pretty forgiving. It will take Lynda awhile (maybe never) to reach an acceptable level of navigational competency. Luckily for us, the roads are primarily gravel, they go on for miles, and they are relatively empty. That gives Craig the opportunity to re-direct when Lynda has lost our location. 

We arrived at the Tsauchab River Camp in good time. We made one directional error, but it only took us 30 km in the wrong direction. Look at as a 60 km scenic detour. The driveway into the place is chock a block full of metal art. (We spent quite a bit of time examining the various characters and structures. Johann has made recycling an art). After an early dinner, cooked on the fire and on the gas cooktop, we cleaned up and retired to the fire. It was pitch dark and just 6:05 pm. Felix, a wonderful fellow, came by and lit some candles on the perimeter of the site. He also light the fire at our private washroom to heat the shower water. Unfortunately, we weren't expecting him and did not make use of it. The toilet and shower were about 800 m away from our site. There will definitely be no middle of the night trips to the loo. 

We did not feel the cold while we were sleeping. There was an issue with one of the supports at the bottom of the tent breaking as we got into bed. It meant that we had to sleep on top of the ridge all night. That was not so comfortable. In the morning, it was sunny, but very windy and cold. We layered up in our winter gear and quickly prepared breakfast. Although the site was spacious, there was no shelter or wind break. Later, we headed up to lodge house where we met Charmaine, the cook. We made arrangements to have a kudu dinner that night. She was also very helpful and gave us literature on the 6 km kudu (no kidding) hike. We set off at about 1 pm. It was still windy, but not so cold. It's amazing how if you actually exert some effort, you can generate your own heat. We followed the 4 wheel drive path for awhile then started hiking up a trail. It was very clearly marked with white arrows painted on rocks. There was little chance that we could get lost. The views of the surrounding mountains was amazing. When you climb high enough, you can see for miles. We also caught sight of a herd of kudu on the side of the next mountain. With the zoom lens Craig was able to get a photo of them. We spent several hours wandering the trails and made it back in plenty of time for dinner. Charmaine was very sweet. We had a 3 course meal with wine for a reasonable price. The best part was that we had internet access, we charged a camera battery and we didn't have to cook anything ourselves in the cold. You will get no complaints from us!

Luckily, the next morning was totally different. There was no wind.  You could tell the day was going to be sunny and warm. Since we were heading south to the Namidrand Family Hideout about 2.5 hours away, it didn't matter. We had breakfast, organized our stuff and were ready to go by 9:00 am. Our ATI travel agent won't want to hear this, but we did not follow the route she gave us. Craig looked at the map and made some modifications to the route so we weren't driving the same roads twice. We didn't have a lot of information about our destination. When we arrived at the turn off from the main (gravel) road at about 12:00, there was a old gate and a sand path leading away, we were curious. There were 16 kms of winding sand ruts to travel into sparsely covered rolling hills. In that short distance we saw oryx, springbok and ostrich, all close to the road. We knew this was going to be a great place. About three quarters of the way down the road, we were passed by a man in a old VW. He waved us along and led us to our remote campsite on the property. It turns out Titus manages the property, and when he saw us coming down the path, he knew it was us because no one else was arriving and other than guests, no one else ever drives by. He was incredibly friendly and informative. He gave us a self drive map and said he'd try to find us some sand boards for the next day. This huge property was a sheep ranch till the 80's and only has one other campsite and the farm house,now guest lodge, but they are both a distance away. Our site is tucked behind some sand dunes and has an outdoor kitchen, bbq pit, an indoor toilet room, and solar shower. Best of all, our site was compact and well layed out, so if you have to answer the call of nature in the middle of the night, and you don't fall off the ladder and break your neck, the toilet is right there. Lynda can't imagine leaving the warmth of her bed for any reason, but it's nice to know the option is there. Sadly, we spent the rest of the afternoon doing laundry. The warmth of the afternoon sun was too much to pass up and besides, it was an opportunity to relax and soak up some rays ourselves. Just before sunset we went for a short walk and stalked some more oryx. They are plentiful, but they keep their distance. Craig was using the zoom lens to take photos, and eventually he had to give up because there wasn't enough light. Not fifteen minutes later, an oryx appeared on the dune behind our site while we were making dinner. He was within twenty feet of us. By that time it was completely dark and there was no way we could take any photos, so we watched him meander along grazing  as we ate our dinner. 

Every rose has a thorn. We found the "thorn" that night. Although the landscape is spectacular and there are miles and miles of open plains, it was freezing cold in the night. We huddled together under our sheet and two down sleeping bags, fully clothed. Every time one of us rolled over it created a cold air pocket and it woke the other person up. Guess what? Neither of us got up to use the loo. In the morning the solar panel, hot water supply was covered with frost. Luckily the sun came up at 7:00 am and it significantly decreased the chill in the air. We saw Titus a few hours later and he said it was unusually cold. So much so that he had to get up and make himself a hot water bottle in the middle of the night. Note to self, cold in an African winter is like cold in a Canadian winter. Bundle up like you are going tobogganing. During the day, shed your layers like you are on a Arizona golf course in March. Do all this and you will be happy campers. 

We spent our second day, self driving around the property. Craig lowered the tire pressure so we could navigate the sandy roads without getting stuck. We saw hundreds of oryx, lots of springbok, several ostriches and from a distance, a herd of zebras. After a steak dinner cooked over the braii (bbq), we sat by the fire enjoying the millions of stars in the sky. It wasn't much longer, then we headed to bed.  We slept much better - probably because we added a second sheet and we zipped the bags together to create a duvet. In the morning, we were surprised to see the sand dunes covered with frost. It had been colder than the night before, only we didn't feel it.
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We stopped to say goodbye to Titus and then started our short journey to Sesriem. Sesriem is the closest camp site to the world famous Sossusvlei sand dunes. We stayed overnight so we could drive into the park and catch the spectacular sunrise. The gates only open an hour before sunrise, and the official speed limit on the road is 60 km, which makes timing essential. In the mornings most people head directly to Dune 45 for sunrise, since it is closer to the gate. We decided to spend our first afternoon climbing and photographing Dune 45 and then head to Big Daddy, at 70 km, the next morning. It was fun, yet challenging to walk up the dune. At about 250 meters, it is not the biggest dune, but the ridge path is narrow, the sand slips from beneath your feet and it is quite windy at the top. It is definitely not for anyone who has a fear of heights. We walked along for quite a ways, then went down the side of the dune. As we navigated our way downhill, we were filming our footsteps. Suddenly something shot out of a mound of tall grasses next to Lynda and startled her. It was a Bat Eared Fox.  We had walked too close to its den and we were talking loudly, so we must have scared it. Craig continued filming as it made its way back to its den and we withdrew.
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The next morning we set the alarm for 4:45 am. The night had been "warmer" and we actually slept well. (The Après dinner Bells Scotch may have helped). We dragged ourselves out of our warm bed, cleaned up, dismantled our camp and were on the road by 5:50, along with most of the campsite. Craig was not set on being there at the exact moment of the sunrise so we knew we could get there in plenty of time. Only a few car loads drove the distance, so we had the place to ourselves. The sunrise on the garnet granule dunes was spectacular!

Photos