Getting Intimate with Namibia

Where to start… over the Christmas holiday I finally got the opportunity to explore this vast and diverse country that I now call home. Over the course of two weeks, five others and I explored the mountains and coast of central Namibia. Our journey took us to some stunning, bizarre, and beautiful places. It was very refreshing to see more of this country and I now have a greater love and respect for this place. Since there was so much that happened over the two weeks I will not bore you with a wordy post, but instead tell the story with pictures. There is no way that I can sum up the trip in pictures or words but hopefully this will give you a taste of our journey in an absolutely amazing place.

The first leg of our journey took us to the Erongo Mountains outside of the small town of Omaruru. We spent two nights at a remote campsite set on a plateau on the edge of the mountains. Camping and campsites are very common in Namibia so the trip was strictly out of our tents. It was here that we camped under a full moon and got to simultaneously watch the moonrise as the sun set.

Namibia is a desert country and water is scarce. From Omaruru we paid someone to take us the 40km to our camp in Erongo. However, when it was time to leave there was no one around to pay to get us out of there. As a result, we decided to hike it out of there, not by the road, but through the bush. It appeared much shorter to A-line it out of there. However, risky, since temperatures were pushing 120 degrees and of course due to a lack of water availability. Long story short, any opportunity we could get to refill our water bottles, we would certainly try….even if it meant climbing a windmill on a windless day and manually turning the pump. Sam was the one brave enough to take this on, but unfortunately, it was an unsuccessful effort. We lucked out though; we later found a cow trough to drink from.

After spending the night in a dry, baboon infested riverbed, we luckily found a ride out of the Erongo Mountains and eventually made our way to what is known as the Matterhorn of Africa, the Spitzkoppe. Rising out of the empty desert, the Spitzkoppe, as arid as the land that surrounds it, is an oasis to any mountain lover. The Spitkoppe is up there with one of the most amazing places I have visited.

The Spitzkoppe’s red granite domes and spires were absolutely stunning at sunrise and sunset. What more can I say.

The Spitz is one giant playground. The hiking opportunities are endless with solid granite domes, spires, and valleys screaming to be explored. Throw in some ancient Bushmen paintings and you have some unique hiking opportunities.

Hitchhiking was the name of the game for us. Unfortunately, Namibia does not have a good public transportation infrastructure, especially off of the the main roads. For the most part we had extremely good luck and at times the local's generosity was overwhelming. There was the South African family that picked us up in the middle of nowhere and bought us all fish and chips and drinks. Topping that, the fire chief of Walvis Bay, who apparently felt pity for us, let us spend two nights in his dead mother's house after seeing us wandering the streets looking for a place to spend the night. However, we were not always so lucky. We spent two days at the site above (along with another site as well) waiting for a ride, which never materialized. With the sun blazing down and little shade, these were long days.

As a result of waiting several days for rides in desolate areas, we got the opportunity to camp in some odd, off-the-grid areas. After the first day of waiting for a ride our choices were to go back to town and pay for accommodation, camp under the sign, or make the hike to the ocean and camp on the beach. Of course, camping on the beach is much more appealing. We spent a couple nights on the beaches of the Skeleton Coast. The coast is certainly not a picturesque tropical beach. The water is downright cold, there is little vegetation, and the clouds and fog are always hanging low making for chilly nights. But despite this, it is an amazing coast. There is a special beauty to it...in a remote and harsh kind of way.

Our time on the coast also brought us to the Cape Cross Seal Reserve. This is a huge colony of cape fur seals with some estimates putting the number at 100,000. We were lucky in that it was the birthing season so the beach was crawling with young pups.

Namibia is in no shortage of sand. Outside of Walvis Bay we visited what is known as Dune 7. It is the tallest dune in a long stretch of dunes running along the coast between Swakopmund and Walvis Bay. Hiking up the dune was a painful experience as we hopped and skipped trying to avoid the sand from burning our feet. Once on top we were spoiled with wonderful views looking across a sea of sand and the sea itself.

Speaking of odd places to camp... we got wind of a nearby shipwreck along the coast and decided it would be another wonderfully odd place to spend the night. From what we gathered, this was a fishing vessel that came to rest here only a few years prior. How this happened is anyone's guess. Ships like this are partly responsible for the name behind the Skeleton Coast. More than a thousand shipwrecks litter the coast as a result of the treacherous water and fog. Another reminder of Namibia's remote and harsh beauty.

That ended up turning into a wordy post.... and I feel like I barely scratched the surface!