I’ve had a fantastic time in Namibia. I meant to split this fantastic country into several blog posts, but it’s been hard to find time to write.
My first few days in Namibia’s capital, Windhoek, were spent enjoying some of the best food I’ve had so far on this trip. Then it was time to go to Swakopmund on the coast. Against the advice of my guidebook and every local I met, I took the train.
In Namibia, no one rides the trains because they’re slow. But they’re also cheap and more comfortable than bus travel. And if you can sleep while your car is being slammed around at 1am, you save a night in a hotel too.
This wasn’t my first train trip in Africa – I was expecting to be late. I just wasn’t expecting to be seven hours late. We spent four hours at the station in Windhoek, waiting for a locomotive to pick us up. It finally came. Since there’s only one passenger car, it’s attached to a freight train. That means lots of stops and bumps along the route as cars are added and detached. You’re just another piece of cargo. And that extends to three-hour waits in the middle of the desert with no food or water.
But we did get there eventually. And I did get some sleep. Swakopmund was one of the first cities established in Namibia when Germany began to colonise the area. The earliest buildings date to 1901, with many built shortly thereafter. The colonial art nouveau architecture is beautiful.
Swakopmund also has pleasing beaches. But photos don’t show the frigid water temperature and legions of sharks swimming offshore.
I was especially pleased with my accommodation in Swakopmund, so I relaxed for a few days. I returned to Windhoek by taxi, not keen to repeat my experience on the train. The next morning, I was off to Etosha National Park for a safari. We arrived in the early afternoon, and it took us less than ten minutes to find a herd of thirty elephants at the water hole.
We camped in the park that night, and gathered around the nearest water hole at sunset to watch more elephants come to drink. When the elephants arrive, the lesser game scatter.
The next day was spent entirely in the park. Just before lunch, we encountered another herd of elephants on their way to the water hole. The bulls chased our vehicle away up the road.
At sunset, we reached a final waterhole where we saw virtually every type of game at once. It was a highlight of this entire trip.
The elephants arrived and chased off the hyenas (one is coming up the hill in the photo below). The zebras stayed close by, while the giraffes kept on drinking. On the right of the photo, a black rhino lays on his side. He wasn’t particularly mobile.
As the sun set, we raced into camp. The gates are locked at sundown. The next morning, we didn’t see anything significant, but I was just as happy to go out on the high note of the pool at sunset.
After another overnight in Windhoek, I headed south to the port town of Lüderitz. Like Swakopmund, it’s filled with colonial architecture, but it’s a much more picturesque town. The drive into town takes you past miles sand dunes and lunar-like rocks. Finally the little town, with its art noveau buildings, rises up from the sand. Unlike perpetually overcast Swakopmund, the sun shines brightly here.
I’m now on my way even further south to Stellenbosch, in the heart of South Africa’s wine growing region. Cape Town and the conclusion of this journey are getting closer.
