South Africa & Namibia
Trip Report: African Animal Adventures
Sossusvlei, Namibia
Day 8
Now we move into one of our trip's main events. The desert. Specifically, the Namib desert in Namibia. As I mentioned on the title page, this part of our trip came right from Daniel & Ghislaine's itinerary. We have always loved deserts. There is something awe inspiring about the vast nothingness. I say nothingness but deserts are always filled with plants and animals that have adapted to the harsh environment. I have driven swaths of the US desert in Nevada and California. We have spent a night in a desert camp in the Chegaga Dunes in the Sahara in southern Morocco. The Gobi in China was on my list as a possible for this year's trip but Africa won the coin toss. Maybe another year. Because this year was the Namib's turn.
But first, we had a crazy early 6:35 am flight out of Cape Town to get there. This meant a 4 am departure from our hotel for the 1/2 hour drive in the dark to the airport and a rental car drop. My wife was not a happy camper about this but we had a long drive ahead of us in Namibia so an early start was a must. We survived it and arrived at the small airport in Windhoek, Namibia at 8 am. Baggage, passport control, car rental and we were ready to go. Speaking of car rental, I eventually rented through Auto Europe and I was expecting a RAV4 automatic. Hahahaha. We ended up with a ubiquitous white Toyota Hilux dual cab 4X4. Why ubiquitous? Well it was white just like 90% of the vehicles in Namibia and it was a Hilux just like over 50%. And I am not joking. Toyota Trucks own Namibia. Sure I saw a Benz or two and some Land Rovers but the Hiluxs were everywhere. Not to forget their brethren the Toyota Fortuner, the fullsize SUV of choice. In white, of course. When we parked at Solitaire, I had to hit the lock fob to flash the lights to figure out which one of the white Hiluxs was ours. And while we are on the subject, a Toyota Hilux was the vehicle that James May and Jeremy Clarkson famously drove to the North Pole on a special episode of BBC's Top Gear.
Now we move into one of our trip's main events. The desert. Specifically, the Namib desert in Namibia. As I mentioned on the title page, this part of our trip came right from Daniel & Ghislaine's itinerary. We have always loved deserts. There is something awe inspiring about the vast nothingness. I say nothingness but deserts are always filled with plants and animals that have adapted to the harsh environment. I have driven swaths of the US desert in Nevada and California. We have spent a night in a desert camp in the Chegaga Dunes in the Sahara in southern Morocco. The Gobi in China was on my list as a possible for this year's trip but Africa won the coin toss. Maybe another year. Because this year was the Namib's turn.
But first, we had a crazy early 6:35 am flight out of Cape Town to get there. This meant a 4 am departure from our hotel for the 1/2 hour drive in the dark to the airport and a rental car drop. My wife was not a happy camper about this but we had a long drive ahead of us in Namibia so an early start was a must. We survived it and arrived at the small airport in Windhoek, Namibia at 8 am. Baggage, passport control, car rental and we were ready to go. Speaking of car rental, I eventually rented through Auto Europe and I was expecting a RAV4 automatic. Hahahaha. We ended up with a ubiquitous white Toyota Hilux dual cab 4X4. Why ubiquitous? Well it was white just like 90% of the vehicles in Namibia and it was a Hilux just like over 50%. And I am not joking. Toyota Trucks own Namibia. Sure I saw a Benz or two and some Land Rovers but the Hiluxs were everywhere. Not to forget their brethren the Toyota Fortuner, the fullsize SUV of choice. In white, of course. When we parked at Solitaire, I had to hit the lock fob to flash the lights to figure out which one of the white Hiluxs was ours. And while we are on the subject, a Toyota Hilux was the vehicle that James May and Jeremy Clarkson famously drove to the North Pole on a special episode of BBC's Top Gear.
The beast is pictured above. That picture was taken in the middle of nowhere. My 1st manual left hand shift, it actually drove much better than I expected. At pickup, I did the important checks: spare tire - check, jack - check, lug nuts not rounded - check. Many people like to carry 2 spare tires here. So we motored to Windhoek spotting 3 troops of baboons along the way with the 1st being a mile from the airport. The landscape was mainly brown but quite hilly all the way into Windhoek where we stopped at a grocery for water (of course) and snacks. I waited in the truck while Blanca went in because we weren't comfortable leaving all of our stuff in sight in the cab or the covered back. Just like in the Caribbean and other tropical places, there was a lot of local lounging going on around us and Windhoek reportedly had its share of nasties. Simple awareness keeps you out of trouble everywhere.
From there it was due south 90 kms on a nice fast tar road - posted at 120 km/hr. Well, actually we took a wrong spike on a round-a-bout and got a mini-tour of a Windhoek suburb. And let's just say that driving through a round-a-bout on the wrong side of the truck, on the wrong side of the road in a manual left shift friggin' truck was an interesting experience. From the relative greenery of Windhoek, you could see the landscape getting browner with every mile south. The country side flattened out but mountains always hovered in the distance. And baboons were a frequent sighting along the roadside. Cue: Toto's Africa.
Yeah, this was really Africa.
I should explain where we were going and why before you think we're adventure travelers rather than middle-aged Canadian tourists just fumbling along. Namibia is a barren country for the most part. Windhoek is the capital and home to almost 1/4 of the population - all of Namibia has just over 2.1M people. Our lodge was located on the far side of the Naukluft Mountains 300+ kms southwest of Windhoek. Sossusvlei is an accessible desert spot in the Namib-Naukluft Park where you can access a unique area with very high dunes and clay desert pans. It is a mecca for photographers. Thankfully, off-roading is not permitted so it keeps the yahoos all up in Swakopmund well to the north. From Windhoek to Solitaire, you drive for several hours and then go over the mountains via the Remhoogte or the Spreetshoogte Pass. The latter is very high with a long way down and it reputedly offers the best views. The Remhootge Pass is much lower but rougher and recommended only to 4X4 drivers because of the washes that must be traversed depending upon the season. I was torn on which pass to use. The TA Forum was ambiguous and so was I. I knew that the high pass would be torture for the occupant of the passenger seat.
We drove south on fast tar to Rehoboth, and then it was a right turn onto a gravel road that took us through the vastness of Namibia. Scrub desert, thorn trees and distant mountains as far as you can see in every direction. Occasionally a sign of man. A farm. A lonely windmill. Some goats. Just a road a with a power line running beside it. Nothing and yet so full of life. The road was a decent speed . . . 80 km/hr to 100 km/hr skimming the frequent washboard. The occasional spot of loose sand and the occasional absolutely pitiful bone-jarring vehicle rattling stretch of unbearable washboard from hell slowed the progress, as did the frequent dips for washes. I learned to drive on gravel so it is second nature to me.
Decision time came after 1 1/2 hours of this. We had seen 1 factory 'town' and 1 small crossroads with a few houses and a church the whole way. No restaurants. No gas stations. No cell service with very few other vehicles on the road. So in the middle of nowhere we came to a stop sign and the decision was: right to Spreetshoogte or left to Remhoogte. The Rasta voted left so we followed his direction. The road immediately took a downturn in quality. Now we really dipped into nothing - even the power lines disappeared. After a while we crossed into a gated farm area with lots of cow 'evidence' on the shoulder of the road. Then a decent home - obviously the farmer. Shortly after we exited his farm we went through the pass. Can anybody say anticlimactic? Contrary to popular belief, there were no curves with 500 foot drops. A few bends in the road and a small wash with a bit of water. There were a couple of gravel river beds but they were dry for us. Yawn . . .
From there it was due south 90 kms on a nice fast tar road - posted at 120 km/hr. Well, actually we took a wrong spike on a round-a-bout and got a mini-tour of a Windhoek suburb. And let's just say that driving through a round-a-bout on the wrong side of the truck, on the wrong side of the road in a manual left shift friggin' truck was an interesting experience. From the relative greenery of Windhoek, you could see the landscape getting browner with every mile south. The country side flattened out but mountains always hovered in the distance. And baboons were a frequent sighting along the roadside. Cue: Toto's Africa.
Yeah, this was really Africa.
I should explain where we were going and why before you think we're adventure travelers rather than middle-aged Canadian tourists just fumbling along. Namibia is a barren country for the most part. Windhoek is the capital and home to almost 1/4 of the population - all of Namibia has just over 2.1M people. Our lodge was located on the far side of the Naukluft Mountains 300+ kms southwest of Windhoek. Sossusvlei is an accessible desert spot in the Namib-Naukluft Park where you can access a unique area with very high dunes and clay desert pans. It is a mecca for photographers. Thankfully, off-roading is not permitted so it keeps the yahoos all up in Swakopmund well to the north. From Windhoek to Solitaire, you drive for several hours and then go over the mountains via the Remhoogte or the Spreetshoogte Pass. The latter is very high with a long way down and it reputedly offers the best views. The Remhootge Pass is much lower but rougher and recommended only to 4X4 drivers because of the washes that must be traversed depending upon the season. I was torn on which pass to use. The TA Forum was ambiguous and so was I. I knew that the high pass would be torture for the occupant of the passenger seat.
We drove south on fast tar to Rehoboth, and then it was a right turn onto a gravel road that took us through the vastness of Namibia. Scrub desert, thorn trees and distant mountains as far as you can see in every direction. Occasionally a sign of man. A farm. A lonely windmill. Some goats. Just a road a with a power line running beside it. Nothing and yet so full of life. The road was a decent speed . . . 80 km/hr to 100 km/hr skimming the frequent washboard. The occasional spot of loose sand and the occasional absolutely pitiful bone-jarring vehicle rattling stretch of unbearable washboard from hell slowed the progress, as did the frequent dips for washes. I learned to drive on gravel so it is second nature to me.
Decision time came after 1 1/2 hours of this. We had seen 1 factory 'town' and 1 small crossroads with a few houses and a church the whole way. No restaurants. No gas stations. No cell service with very few other vehicles on the road. So in the middle of nowhere we came to a stop sign and the decision was: right to Spreetshoogte or left to Remhoogte. The Rasta voted left so we followed his direction. The road immediately took a downturn in quality. Now we really dipped into nothing - even the power lines disappeared. After a while we crossed into a gated farm area with lots of cow 'evidence' on the shoulder of the road. Then a decent home - obviously the farmer. Shortly after we exited his farm we went through the pass. Can anybody say anticlimactic? Contrary to popular belief, there were no curves with 500 foot drops. A few bends in the road and a small wash with a bit of water. There were a couple of gravel river beds but they were dry for us. Yawn . . .
We exited the pass without a problem and headed north to the 'metropolis' known as Solitaire. It is a crossroads with 2 restaurants, a gas station, and some old cars for decoration. And little else. The parking lot was filed with Toyota Hiluxs and Fortuners. The main attraction - according to the net - was a bakery that served great apple pie. Moose McGregor's. It did and it wasn't but everybody came in anyway - just like us. Moose died a few years back and now the place has developed a reputation that is long gone.
Review Solitaire Bakery (aka Moose McGregor's Desert Bakery) Solitaire A very poor selection of baked goods. Surly service. And the apple pie? More of an apple crumble & not terribly good btw. Of course, George is gone & the place has become a novelty stop for travelers. So take your pictures, eat some 'pie' & move on.
From Solitaire it was a straight run south on the well-used C19 dirt road. It was particularly bad with washboard. I found that you had to skim drive it around 80 km/hr or it was torture. And did I mention the dust? This is one dry place and they have been in drought for a while like the rest of Africa. Great billowing clouds of dust followed every car or truck on the road. When you met a vehicle at speed, you would both be enveloped in the other's dust storm for a few seconds afterwards. About 4 hours - 323 kms - after departing Windhoek, we turned down the long drive to Moon Mountain Lodge. We drove through nowhere to get to nowhere.
Review Moon Mountain Lodge C19 Road, Solitaire This is a semi-rustic lodge, not a pampered high end venue. The cabins are wood-sided tents, the suites come with a separate bath tent. A cold hot tub and a nice balcony with a view complete the package. No telephone. No cell service. And the only internet is at the restaurant building. The views over nothing are captivating - although keep your eyes peeled for oryx and springbok below as added entertainment. George & Mia go out of their way to engage every guest - they make this lodge a great place to stay. The meals are good but rib-sticking rather than gourmet. Buffet style stews & roasts - springbok, oryx, beef, lamb - with a pasta for the non-carnivores. So the ratings? 3.5/5 for meals. A generous 4/5 for the accommodations with bonus points for the balcony. And a resounding 5/5 for the service. So if you are after the ultimate in luxury, pay much more & stay elsewhere. For a 'family' stay with good people & a place with stunning views stay at MM. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay so they get full marks. Note: The 2x4 parking lot at Sossusvlei is realistically 1 1/2 hours away from MM.
Day 9
Nothing. We did nothing all day. Talked with Mia. Dangled our feet in the cold dip pool. This was a stare at the nothingness day. Get up late. Read books. Relax. This was our longest stay in any one place for the entire trip. 3 whole nights. As Blanca said: "This is beginning to feel like The Amazing Race".
Addendum:
One point that I do have to mention is the climb to the main building/restaurant. If you have read any of my other trip reports you may remember some of the grueling heights that we have had to scale to reach our hotel or our room within the hotel. Since we like balconies, we often find ourselves at the top. In Istanbul we had 4 flights of stairs to maneuver. In Modica, Sicily it was the Bird Shit stairs and a trek up a one way road - not to mention the climb on the other side of the Umberto to scale the heights to reach local restaurants. And of course, there was Santorini where absolutely everything was up a steep Everest-like hill. This time around, it was a 15 minute wearying climb up a rocky path from our bungalow - always keeping an eye out for scorpions and snakes. We didn't see any but there were rumors. I guess it's just the price you pay for a view . . . (added 7/26/16)
Nothing. We did nothing all day. Talked with Mia. Dangled our feet in the cold dip pool. This was a stare at the nothingness day. Get up late. Read books. Relax. This was our longest stay in any one place for the entire trip. 3 whole nights. As Blanca said: "This is beginning to feel like The Amazing Race".
Addendum:
One point that I do have to mention is the climb to the main building/restaurant. If you have read any of my other trip reports you may remember some of the grueling heights that we have had to scale to reach our hotel or our room within the hotel. Since we like balconies, we often find ourselves at the top. In Istanbul we had 4 flights of stairs to maneuver. In Modica, Sicily it was the Bird Shit stairs and a trek up a one way road - not to mention the climb on the other side of the Umberto to scale the heights to reach local restaurants. And of course, there was Santorini where absolutely everything was up a steep Everest-like hill. This time around, it was a 15 minute wearying climb up a rocky path from our bungalow - always keeping an eye out for scorpions and snakes. We didn't see any but there were rumors. I guess it's just the price you pay for a view . . . (added 7/26/16)
Day 10
Desert day. We hit the road in the dark just as the sky was starting to lighten. We were already late for what many visitors to Sossusvlei consider the ultimate event: sunrise in Deadvlei. To do that, you have to stay at one of the two places inside the gates of the park and they didn't appeal. Nor did getting up crazy early for a trek into the desert in the dark. We did get up early enough and we went in the park gate at Sesriem before 7 am. But not without seeing a black-backed jackal 3 miles before the gate - he was running along the fence line very near a group of oblivious tourists who were intently watching their tour guide change a tire on a Land Cruiser. Sorry no picture, From the park gate it is still 60 kms to the 2X4 parking lot passing the popular Dune 45 along the way at - can you guess? - kilometer 45. We skipped this thrill and beelined for the parking. We also passed some beautiful oryx and a small herd of springboks on the drive in the park. And what a drive! Use whatever descriptive words you may, you can not adequately describe the beauty of this place.
Desert day. We hit the road in the dark just as the sky was starting to lighten. We were already late for what many visitors to Sossusvlei consider the ultimate event: sunrise in Deadvlei. To do that, you have to stay at one of the two places inside the gates of the park and they didn't appeal. Nor did getting up crazy early for a trek into the desert in the dark. We did get up early enough and we went in the park gate at Sesriem before 7 am. But not without seeing a black-backed jackal 3 miles before the gate - he was running along the fence line very near a group of oblivious tourists who were intently watching their tour guide change a tire on a Land Cruiser. Sorry no picture, From the park gate it is still 60 kms to the 2X4 parking lot passing the popular Dune 45 along the way at - can you guess? - kilometer 45. We skipped this thrill and beelined for the parking. We also passed some beautiful oryx and a small herd of springboks on the drive in the park. And what a drive! Use whatever descriptive words you may, you can not adequately describe the beauty of this place.
We parked our truck in the 2X4 lot along with all of the others that didn't want to risk the last soft-sand 5 km drive into Sossuvlei. I had been back and forth on this. It was simple. Drop your tire pressure to half. Drive in low range 2nd gear and don't slow down for anything. Sounds like fun, doesn't it? Except this is the middle of the friggin' desert and you DON'T want to get stuck. We took the shuttle for R110 pp. I know, I'm a wuss and I should turn my Man Card in but it was a lot easier to swallow when we saw the Hilux stuck and abandoned on the way in. So after 5 very bumpy kilometers, we got out in the 4X4 parking lot at Sossusvlei. But our journey wasn't over yet. We still had another 1.2 kilometers to walk over low dunes to get to ground zero: Deadvlei.
Note: I left the color 'camera natural' for the group of photos above.
They are edited but not Photo Shopped for color or maximum contrast.
Only the sandstorm picture needed work.
They are edited but not Photo Shopped for color or maximum contrast.
Only the sandstorm picture needed work.
From my Greece Trip Report you may recall that we were plagued with the merciless anvil of the sun numerous times. Not to be outdone, Sossusvlei called in a mild sandstorm to make this final walk over small 10 meter dunes a sand-spitting, eye-watering weary trudge. It seemed endless and we started begging people we met for information on the trail ahead. "Are we almost there?" "Just over the next dune . . ." And then, there it was.
You have probably seen pictures of it before. It has been featured in movies, music videos, in print and in countless desert images. A small light clay pan surrounded by mountainous reddish sand dunes and populated with dead trees jutting up from the stark whitish floor. The dune choked remnant of the Tsauchab River with its trees still standing, but dead for over 500 years. Stunning. Other worldly. Certainly photogenic but pictures don't do it justice, as usual. And 12,225 km or 7,596 mi from home.
The good news was that the wind had died down. The bad news was that the heat was rising. Along with the dust and the flies. A slow step-by-step dead man walking march preceded the bouncy shuttle out before we could bathe in the air-conditioned bliss of our Hilux. And is was only about 10:30 am.
The drive out of the park resulted in a few more oryx sightings as well as a spotting of some fairy circles. These are barren areas where inexplicably no vegetation will grow, that are found in Namibia and Australia. We also stopped for food at the the Sossusvlei Lodge at the gate befriending a Japanese girl traveling with a guide - both of whom we had seen at dinner the night before at Moon Mountain. She came all the way alone to Sossusvlei to see the desert and she had hired him out of Windhoek. Her guide regaled us with his lion stories while guiding in Botswana. We replenished the fuel in the truck at the modern station in Sesriem remembering a Namib desert rule of thumb: Buy gas every chance you get.
Then it was back to the lodge to relax. We had a pre-dinner visitation from some grazing oryxs who we had heard fighting very, very loudly at 2 am two nights before. At the time, we both woke up with loud barks, yelps, and crashing outside in the dark. It sounded vicious so best left alone.
You have probably seen pictures of it before. It has been featured in movies, music videos, in print and in countless desert images. A small light clay pan surrounded by mountainous reddish sand dunes and populated with dead trees jutting up from the stark whitish floor. The dune choked remnant of the Tsauchab River with its trees still standing, but dead for over 500 years. Stunning. Other worldly. Certainly photogenic but pictures don't do it justice, as usual. And 12,225 km or 7,596 mi from home.
The good news was that the wind had died down. The bad news was that the heat was rising. Along with the dust and the flies. A slow step-by-step dead man walking march preceded the bouncy shuttle out before we could bathe in the air-conditioned bliss of our Hilux. And is was only about 10:30 am.
The drive out of the park resulted in a few more oryx sightings as well as a spotting of some fairy circles. These are barren areas where inexplicably no vegetation will grow, that are found in Namibia and Australia. We also stopped for food at the the Sossusvlei Lodge at the gate befriending a Japanese girl traveling with a guide - both of whom we had seen at dinner the night before at Moon Mountain. She came all the way alone to Sossusvlei to see the desert and she had hired him out of Windhoek. Her guide regaled us with his lion stories while guiding in Botswana. We replenished the fuel in the truck at the modern station in Sesriem remembering a Namib desert rule of thumb: Buy gas every chance you get.
Then it was back to the lodge to relax. We had a pre-dinner visitation from some grazing oryxs who we had heard fighting very, very loudly at 2 am two nights before. At the time, we both woke up with loud barks, yelps, and crashing outside in the dark. It sounded vicious so best left alone.
Day 11
The last morning, I went for a walk and spied an oryx again, although he was shy and wouldn't let me close. He led me to some springbok and a small herd of ostriches all hanging together. Click, click - a few long shots with the telephoto. It was time to go.
Pack. Leave. Out through Remhoogte Pass again. This time, when we got to the one small wet - a fair-sized puddle of indeterminate depth spanning the road - another Hilux was pulled up with the occupants staring at this blockage. I pulled up alongside and told them how to drive through it. Americans from LA. The lady driver asked me to go first and show them how. And I did. Man Card Reinstated. Yeah baby!
We were back in Windhoek around 3 pm and we dropped the refueled beast at Hertz and settled into our Garden Suite at the Hilton Windhoek. Windhoek wasn't billed as a must see place and during our short drives through town there was really nothing that appealed to us to leave our secure enclave at the Hilton, so we had a decent steak dinner in a restaurant downstairs.
The last morning, I went for a walk and spied an oryx again, although he was shy and wouldn't let me close. He led me to some springbok and a small herd of ostriches all hanging together. Click, click - a few long shots with the telephoto. It was time to go.
Pack. Leave. Out through Remhoogte Pass again. This time, when we got to the one small wet - a fair-sized puddle of indeterminate depth spanning the road - another Hilux was pulled up with the occupants staring at this blockage. I pulled up alongside and told them how to drive through it. Americans from LA. The lady driver asked me to go first and show them how. And I did. Man Card Reinstated. Yeah baby!
We were back in Windhoek around 3 pm and we dropped the refueled beast at Hertz and settled into our Garden Suite at the Hilton Windhoek. Windhoek wasn't billed as a must see place and during our short drives through town there was really nothing that appealed to us to leave our secure enclave at the Hilton, so we had a decent steak dinner in a restaurant downstairs.
Review Windhoek Hilton Rev Michael Scott St, Windhoek The Hilton is located in the CBD of Windhoek surrounded by government offices. We were staying on a HH Points stay & the staff were welcoming & efficient. We broke the coffee machine in the lounge but the attendant was happy to get us some elsewhere. The room was business modern decor with a small, private rooftop garden. Very nice. But I would be amiss if I didn't mention the room layout. It is hard to describe but there is no privacy in the main part of the bathroom. The shower is enclosed & the toilet has a closet but these open up into the no-privacy zone. So as other reviewers have noted, you had better really like your roommate.