John and I have returned from twelve days in Namibia.
Having been to Africa several times before, I didn’t have the need for many visitors to “check all the boxes”, “see the big five”…whatever you want to call it. Call me a philistine, but once you’ve seen one reticulated giraffe, you’ve seen them all. I was looking for a different kind of trip.
If, like me, you want to experience a landscape that is totally unique and witness first-hand one of the most harsh and dramatic environments in the world, then Namibia is a must. It blew my mind.
We started the trip in Windhoek. A fairly nondescript city, but a pleasant enough place to recover from the flight and an interesting insight into the horrors of German-influenced modern architecture.
The next day we left. South. We were advised to drive over a special pass, which we duly did. As we rounded the corner of the pass, in front of us was the most amazing desert view. I jumped out of the car, shot a roll of film, and would have gone home happy right there.
If she’d known what was coming, she wouldn’t even have rolled down her window.
For the next four days we stayed in various places in the southern part of the Namib desert. I will not list them. They all have their different merits and it depends on what you are looking for. For the record, my clear favorite was Wolwedans, where we spent one night at Lodge Camp and then another at Dune Camp. What you prefer is really your decision. Lodge Camp is luxurious, Dune Camp is authentic. The food at both is truly exceptional, perhaps the best I’ve ever had on safari.
The Wolwedans area is totally stunning. I have no vocabulary to describe the landscapes and anyway that’s only half the wonder of this place. The atmosphere and aura are incredible to behold and the changing colors of the dunes defy belief. You won’t see a lot of wildlife, but the one you do see has a very special beauty and deserves the utmost respect. Seeing a Gemsbok live in the Namib Desert is, for my money, more impressive than a Lion in the Masai Mara any day.
The other area we visited in the south that is probably on most people’s “Namibian hit list” is Soussusvlei. On the entire trip, this was the only time I saw anyone else. It is the number one tourist attraction in Namibia and it shows but, even if it bothers you, it is worth visiting. The mystique of the desert is lost a bit here, but they are the tallest sand dunes in the world and they are amazing. My advice, which will make the most sense when you’re there, is to drive straight past the famous dunes and into the less visited area called Deadvlei (you’ll need a 4×4 car). Get there ASAP when the shadows are long. I guarantee amazement.
While in the south we put a couple of extras. One morning we flew in a balloon over the dunes. If you’re a balloon virgin, this is a great place to lose the icing. I was and loved it, despite my fear of heights.
I don’t like horses, camels have bad breath and elephants are very uncomfortable to ride, so quad biking has always been at the top of my list. The Namib Desert is a very, very fragile environment, so initially the eco-tourist in you may feel a bit uneasy at the thought of quad biking. Two hours later, you’ll be atop a sand dune watching the sun go down with a vodka and tonic in hand, and your ethics will long be forgotten. Trust me, this is great. I defy anyone not to shout for joy as they fly through the desert on these modern camels.
We then headed back north to Swakopmund on the coast. Initial reactions? What the hell are we doing here? It makes Windhoek look like Venice. However my opinions changed. If you follow a stunning desert landscape with another stunning desert landscape and then follow it with another stunning desert landscape, you might get a bit tired and lose perspective. In hindsight, and in view of the amazing four days we were about to begin, I’m glad I had this short time off.
Especially since it gave us time to practice a bit of shark fishing. You have two options; off the boat or off the beach. The logical mind might assume that the jackpot would equate to more success and a bigger fish. Not a bit of that. Choose the beach, without a doubt. Even if you’ve fished a hundred times or never held a rod in your life, I urge you to give it a spin. This is totally unique and completely exciting. Unfortunately, I can say no more as any description of the day from me would, I fear, only deepen the wounds on John’s pride. Suffice it to say that as a “collective” we were very successful. The good thing was that they were all returned to the sea.
We then embarked on what was undoubtedly the highlight of the trip. The Schoeman Air Safari of the Skeleton Coast. For the next three nights and four days I was subjected to the most unrelenting assault of stunning scenery, thrilling experiences, fascinating knowledge, contagious enthusiasm and a wild African mind without limits. -blowing-incredible time.
I like to think I’ve traveled a bit. I rode a motorcycle from Calcutta to London, I lived in the jungles of Belize for six weeks, I canoed rivers in Canada, I played soccer in Japan, I traveled the Karakorum Highway, I lived on desert islands in the Philippines, I camped in the favorite place of Lawrence of Arabia. Wadi Rum desert… I could go on.
In Africa I have been lucky enough to experience the A-list of Safaris. I have traveled with Robin Hurt and Ker & Downey. I was at Abu’s Camp in Botswana, I rode a horse with PJ and Barney, I saw a leopard make a kill…again, I could go on. But nothing, and I mean nothing, touches the Schoeman Safari.
I don’t want to try to describe it. Two reasons. First of all, I can’t. Second, the best thing about Schoeman’s journey is the brilliance with which the brothers discover the desert before their very eyes and ears. Every day emerging new surprises and opening new doors for you. The Schoemans have lived here their entire lives. It shows – they’re angry – you would be too. But within that madness is an incredible wellspring of knowledge and a passion to share it. I really never knew a place like the Skeleton Coast existed on this planet (Henk Schoeman, the youngest of the brothers and our guide, is convinced that the last images to emerge from Mars were taken here).
Being shown around the Skelton Coast by one of the Schoemans and seeing it in this style was the best. This is the real McCoy. Do not answer.
Although it is hard work. Airplanes and Land Rovers are old and uncomfortable. The pace is relentless and the camps are basic, but definitely more than adequate. The food is not very good, it would be logistically impossible for it to be better.
But that is exactly what makes this trip so wonderful and real. Living in the Namib desert is no walk in the park, and frankly, if the Himba tribal people can survive years of drought, then you can handle four days of hard travel. I guarantee that when you come ashore at the first sight of the camp you will be completely dumbstruck, and you have yet to experience the land rover tobogganing, the welwitschia plant, the bushmen artwork, the roaring sand dunes (most amazing thing I’ve seen in my life). heard), desert elephants, bread baked in a coffee pot, shipwrecks, the quartz kaleidoscope, seal colonies…
But above all this and more, you will experience a pure, totally and completely untouched nature.
A rare and incredibly beautiful thing.
http://www.aardvarksafaris.com/articles-namibia-otto.htm
