Just like London buses, a long wait then two at once. This is the first decent wifi we have had so far so a bit more catching up.
From Fish River canyon we headed up to Aus. A one horse, one shop town but with a decent camp site where we stayed in a hobbit hut built into the rock face. The usual warnings about snakes and mice entering the hut but thankfully neither did, well not that we saw. We were woken in the night by something jumping on the roof and running across, don't know what but it was big and agile.
Aus was the base for the 60m trip in Luderitz. A quaint colonial town with German style houses painted in bright colours but the highlight was visiting Kolmanskoop, a deserted diamond mining town that is being buried beneath the encroaching sands. It was quite an experience to walk inside the houses, some still with coloured wall paper and seeing them half filled with sand and the signs of desert creatures.
From here we moved up to Namtib, a former farmstead now purporting to be a bioshpere reserve. Well we saw little wildlife here except some baboons but it was a splendid isolated desert camping experience. It is amazing how quickly one adapts to an environment, we both were surprised that we took a three hour walk in the desert and through a valley far from any other humans, and still felt totally safe.
From Namtib we again headed North and closer to the coast, staying just inside the gates of the National Park. This gave us the chance to be on the road at 06.20 to race to the dunes of Sossusvlei to watch the sunrise change the dunes into a host of colours. Well that is what the guide books said, it was pretty cool but a tad short of the hype. We did, however, get to share this magical place with just one other couple and four ostriches.
We next headed further north to the coastal towns of Walvis Bay and Swakoptmund. On the way recrossing the Tropic of Capricorn,
The journey was long and not helped by the badly corrugated roads for most of the route. We did travel through some pretty impressive scenery on the way and on arrival were rewarded by a wildlife wonder. Walvis bay lagoon is home to hundreds of flamingoes and they strut their stuff just feet from the promenade.
Today, being Sue's birthday she opted for a boat trip to see pelicans, seals and dolphins. Two out of three isn't bad, no dolphins but unexpectedly to all two humpbacked whales pitched up and put on a show by the boat. A perfect birthday present for any girl.
Tomorrow we are heading up towards Damaraland, a more remote rugged part of the country so we expect to be far from wifi and mobile signals for a few days but we will be in touch when we can.
From Fish River canyon we headed up to Aus. A one horse, one shop town but with a decent camp site where we stayed in a hobbit hut built into the rock face. The usual warnings about snakes and mice entering the hut but thankfully neither did, well not that we saw. We were woken in the night by something jumping on the roof and running across, don't know what but it was big and agile.
Aus was the base for the 60m trip in Luderitz. A quaint colonial town with German style houses painted in bright colours but the highlight was visiting Kolmanskoop, a deserted diamond mining town that is being buried beneath the encroaching sands. It was quite an experience to walk inside the houses, some still with coloured wall paper and seeing them half filled with sand and the signs of desert creatures.
From here we moved up to Namtib, a former farmstead now purporting to be a bioshpere reserve. Well we saw little wildlife here except some baboons but it was a splendid isolated desert camping experience. It is amazing how quickly one adapts to an environment, we both were surprised that we took a three hour walk in the desert and through a valley far from any other humans, and still felt totally safe.
From Namtib we again headed North and closer to the coast, staying just inside the gates of the National Park. This gave us the chance to be on the road at 06.20 to race to the dunes of Sossusvlei to watch the sunrise change the dunes into a host of colours. Well that is what the guide books said, it was pretty cool but a tad short of the hype. We did, however, get to share this magical place with just one other couple and four ostriches.
We next headed further north to the coastal towns of Walvis Bay and Swakoptmund. On the way recrossing the Tropic of Capricorn,
The journey was long and not helped by the badly corrugated roads for most of the route. We did travel through some pretty impressive scenery on the way and on arrival were rewarded by a wildlife wonder. Walvis bay lagoon is home to hundreds of flamingoes and they strut their stuff just feet from the promenade.
Today, being Sue's birthday she opted for a boat trip to see pelicans, seals and dolphins. Two out of three isn't bad, no dolphins but unexpectedly to all two humpbacked whales pitched up and put on a show by the boat. A perfect birthday present for any girl.
Tomorrow we are heading up towards Damaraland, a more remote rugged part of the country so we expect to be far from wifi and mobile signals for a few days but we will be in touch when we can.
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