Enjoy the blogs by the Madbookings team

Namibia visit by a city girl

15.02
“ Pack Light” they said… “Pack light, it’s going to be hot & dusty there, so it’s always best to pack light”. Naturally I nodded in agreement.
On the way home, I tried to make sense of the words “Pack Light” – I am a city girl and I remember the words ‘PACK’ and ‘LIGHT’ should not be used in one sentence, or rather, they shouldn’t follow each other in a sentence – NO scrap that, they shouldn’t even be in the same sentence.
So I went home and I packed light , so light that I needed man power to help me move my luggage from point A to point B * sigh *. Monday morning, I got up early and got ready for the long journey, this was it … This Hoity Toity Street Smart Girl was on her way to meet the desert!

Some 7 odd hours later, we approach the Botswana border- What a journey, nothing but road, road, a little more road a wildlife. This part of SA could throw one off, doesn’t quiet look like the rest. Rolling mountains, lush vegetation and that one random animal you come across, not to mention the blistering heat. Peaceful, Tranquil serene, makes it an interesting drive, oh and not mention the amazing condition of the roads, it would be a sin on my part.
So after going through a particularly slow customs process (Well on the Botswana side that is), I wave goodbye to my Lady SA and greet my Lady for the night – Botswana. I say ‘my lady of the night’ because Botswana is just that on this trip a stopover. Tomorrow I meet the Lady for whom I left my comfy bed for this morning and boy am I excited!

Along the way, we got pulled over by the Tswana Cops, Simon must have really been stepping on it (Naturally I didn’t notice), this was a clear opportunity for me to step out and take in some of Bots’s cool breeze, blue skies, trees, rocks, donkeys and cows – this truly is the countryside.
After km’s upon km’s of driving, we pull into Kang Ultra Stop. For a place in the middle of nowhere, it is beautiful with helpful friendly staff. Hot running water is exactly what I needed after seeing nothing but road (no offence to all the cows and jackals we came across). Hot shower, air-con buzzing and then hit the sack.

16.02
Beautiful morning, the sun is shining bright, so bright that I needed to wear my sunglasses and cap. After a good breakfast at the restaurant (100 points to the waitress there – Great Service), we hit the road to… destination… NAMBIA. Still the roads are in great conditions and make it comfortable for driving and often you come across the lonely horseman or two, just easily riding along side the countryside. Oh and did I mention that I was terrorized by a bug? Yip, it thought I was a cool place to hang out on. Fortunately I was able to get him off me without causing a stir or calling the fire department.

* NOTE TO SELF: According to immigrations officers, today is a particularly cool day… Ya at a wonderful 38’C*

Enter Namibia! Customs is a breeze with particularly friendly officers on the Namibian side. Just on the other side of the border is a filling station and East Side Rest camp, a beautiful, well shaded accommodation after the long drive to the border, but sadly this is not where we will be sleeping, we have other plans. I soon realise that I have to brush up on my non-existent Afrikaans. What I do know about Namibia is that it has a lot of Afrikaans and German speakers, just my luck because I don’t speak ANY of the two.
About 20 km’s from Buitepos border is Zelda Guest farm, I know what you thinking and I was thinking the same thing… Zelda Guest Farm? But we were taking the turn up the short dirt road into the farm. First thing I lay my eyes on … A Camel, of course it was fenced in so I was safe, its not like it was going to rush at me and have me for lunch even though I very much doubt camels eat humans. I turn to the right and I see a mommy duck with her babies, then it was official it was a farm.
The next thing I lay my eyes on is a hot male of German descent, maybe this isn’t so bad after all. He leads us inside and serves us with cold juice, much appreciated after being n that heat. Entering the lounge and reception area, I’m pleasantly surprised! If it was not for the fenced in animals outside, this place could easily pass off as a luxury lodge. In the lounge are two lovely couches, one at the fire place for those cold Namibian winter nights. Stepping outside, there’s a semi-enclosed dining area and a few steps away is the bar (which is homerun). We take a look around some of the rooms and immediately the ideas I had of a guest farm are boxed and banished for eternity into the Kalahari. The rooms that are in the main lodge ooze luxury and beauty and they make you want to stay there forever.
Rachelle and I are shown to our room, which is one of the amazingly comfortable garden rooms. Simon is also shown to his campsite where he will be spending the night. At around 6pm the young German man who welcomed us came to fetch us from our room , it was time to see some animals. We wait for Simon for a bit, you know campers… always take their time! When he EVENTUALLY arrives we take a short walk that is led with the young German who if I may add also runs the bar.
First we see an Ostrich- bird like thing, just not as big and it’s Australian – can’t quiet remember its name. Right moving along then, I tried to look for the porcupine but could not find the little bugger, as long as he was not by my feet I was happy… and then I saw them, my immediate reaction was to go closer, take out my camera and go a little more closer but not too close (I just don’t play like that). There before my eyes were 4 Cheetahs, waiting to be fed, and NO I wasn’t what they were having for dinner, even though I was tempted to throw Simon in (don’t tell him that). Now being the damsel in distress that I am, the lovely German man offered to take a picture for me, naturally I jumped at the opportunity, not only is this guest farm beautiful but the people working there are friendly and helpful.
As the first chunk of donkey meat was thrown in, the tallest cheetah jumped so high I even though tit would land on the other side, Thankfully it landed back in its enclosure and dashed back into the bush to enjoy his supper. When all was fed we moved on to my 3rd favourite animal the leopard, (in case you are curious the first two are dogs then dolphins). So there she was, slowly walking up and down, her long tail swaying from side to side. She then walks back into the bush and sits dead still, so well camouflaged you can barely see her in the grass. Her feeder throws her chunk of meat on a specially built platform. She slowly walks back in and circles around the platform. Goes back in the bush and hides away, she walks back in and takes a drink of water, her eyes wondering back and forth between the people watching her, she then again takes a drink of water and circles her platform and walks back to her bush sitting in a still position. By this time I’m thinking, how daft is this animal? The food is on the platform- jump in and EAT IT! By now I think the German guy could read my thoughts because with that he started explaining that the leopard is an ambush-style predator, in other words it’s prey never knows it’s there until it strikes and after killing it’s prey the leopard drags it up into a tree and eats it there, therefore the meat being put on the platform. Tactical, what a brilliant creature.
After all of that we head back for supper and what a delectable meal! One wouldn’t truly be in Namibia without eating Game – Gemsbok (oryx) for an animal that I have never seen in real life its tasted SUPERB. After a round of pool (Simon and the German Man), some drinks and plenty of jokes, it was time to call it a night. I don’t know if it just me, but there’s something peaceful about sleeping and hearing nothing but the sound of the birds.

17/02 – 18/02
New day and we are off to the capital city, I’m SO excited to finally see Windhoek and nothing is more familiar to me then the bustle of the big city life. Upon leaving Zelda, I spot a gemsbok in the veld, what a beautiful creature and tasty too. We hit the road and drive through a small town of Gobabis, great to stop over for some fuel, snacks and um yip that’s pretty much all. I get to see a Herero women in her full attire – Herero being one of the Namibian tribes. We get to Windhoek and take a quick afternoon tour of the city, well assuming its afternoon only to realise its actually evening. The sun only sets at about 19:30…okay now I guess it gives people more time to hang around in the city and enjoy the city life. Seems that’s another thing that I was wrong about. We go to Casa Africana and check in and immediately leave to have supper at the Sardinia Restaurant in town. The streets of Windhoek are absolutely quiet, save for the 1 or 2 car guards watching the few cars next to the restaurant. Amazing a quiet and absolutely clean capital city, not something you see often. We call it a night and await the following day.
Morning! And I ready to face the bust city in the hot day. Shops mostly only open at 9am, meaning there aren’t too many people moving around. The most amazing thing about Windhoek is this… NO RUSH HOUR! Makes for a nice change from well pretty much everywhere. Quick guide to Windhoek: MUST VISIT- is definitely the Craft Market that’s where you can get true Namibian handwork and delicious apple crumble at the little in-house restaurant. Also in terms of accommodation: The Elegant Collection (The Elegant Guesthouse and The Elegant Bed and Breakfast) are beautiful and not too pricey. The place is beautiful and the staff is really friendly and this makes it even more reason to stay there. Later in the evening after realising that the empty streets are an everyday thing and that all the cars disappear to Joe’s Beer house. I have a look around and that’s it, I conclude that the WHOLE of Namibia is here. All three sides of the place is full, but we manage to join a couple at a table. We got served great Namibian sized food well actually I mean LARGE! The couple next to us also hot their meal, must be first date because she is eating more than him… How times change. One thing is for sure you haven’t truly been to Windhoek if you haven’t been to Joe’s. My conclusion, Windhoek is an easy going, laid back city where rush is a myth, noise and sirens are but a theory and busy is just a concept that has not been put to practice.

19/02
Heading South towards the desert, a few thoughts across my mind, no 1: Sunscreen Lotion sunscreen lotion, where is it? No 2: the desert hmm this should be interesting. No 3: … okay there was no num 3. After passing some semi-desert towns, we arrive in Solitaire a lovely quaint town with extremely friendly people. It could be all the sun they exposed to or it can be genuine, but it seems all Namibians are nice and friendly. Come to think of it, it could just be that I’m not used to such friendliness. I just love how this town has preserved its rustic look and vintage cars just at the entrance. So an apple crumble later and we are off, I can just feel the weight piling on. If you think Solitaire is a place to stop over, I recommend you stay at Solitaire Guest Farm, a beautiful place with the most amazing views of the mountains.
We stayed over at Agama River Camp, my first night of camping … um yay. We pick the campsite right next to the river, beats me why they call it a river when the river because is dried up almost like all the rivers in Namibia. Water is such a precious resource in this country because it is so scarce. Rachelle and I pitched our tent and headed up to the deck to catch the sunset, Yip you guessed it, its 19:30. The beauty of the rays hitting the mountains is spectacular. We are at the edge of the desert, watching the sunset …amazing! We tread back down and check the ablution blocks, clean, user friendly (I do a little celebratory dance). After supper, the tent awaits, from the inside looking up at the stars with the sounds of a random creature I think to myself, this isn’t bad at al!

20/02 – 21/02
5am… 5am, normal people should not be awake at this time, in fact nothing should be awake. The destination is Sesriem, so in half Zombie mode we get ready and head off. The road in the dark, permit at the Sesriem gate and we are in and by in I mean in the gate, but still a long road ahead. With nothing but red rolling sand dunes and the sun up back where it belongs, burning my skin off, we approach dune 45. This dune is huge, beautiful, sun-kissed red and with not the slightest wind just perfectly still. I am amazed just looking at it, amazed until I realised I have to climb it! One thing I have to keep reminding myself is this – you are in the desert there is sand all over, its normal to walk in sand, its normal to have it between your toes.
The great battle was about to start CITY GIRL vs THE DUNE. Before going up a few thoughts crossed my mind, firstly, why should I climb a dune it’s a just a huge pile of sand and the sun isn’t really helping the situation, secondly, if I climb the dune will I make it to the top? Its quite a distance up, thirdly, what is at the top and what will I see from the top? I guess that third question is really the biggest motivator – also famously known as curiosity. So sneakers on I decided to go for it, now here is the tip for climbing a dune… don’t wear sneakers! The sand quickly filled my shoes that I barely had any space left for my toe let alone my feet. Well that third question didn’t get its answer but the second one did and NO I didn’t make it the top. The climb is quite a steep one and with the heat quickly escalating to the 40 – 50 ‘ C I called it quits with about a quarter of a way to go! So I unashamedly did the walk of shame and went back down. On the way down a desert beetle ran up making the climb look like a little casual walk, what a show off. Back at the bottom of the dune a Chinese guy and a few other oldies were sitting there just taking pictures, my slight almost non-existent feeling of shame suddenly disappeared, at least I climbed ¾ of the dune while all of these people didn’t even try. Even from ¾ way up I felt if I could see the whole world, Mama Africa is a sure Beaut.
Before leaving the dusty desert a quick stop at Sesriem Canyon was essential. After climbing down that dune I had kicked off my sneakers and slipped into sandals, not a good idea. So I didn’t go down the canyon (so many travelling day left I could not afford to get hurt) from the top of the canyon is something amazing, rocks, water and when you look all around you, you remember that you are in a desert.
Sossuss Dune Lodge right in the middle if the desert such a beautiful little place, you get to the parking and someone is there to take you to reception. The receptionist meets you with a hot towel and cold juice…amazing. Each of the chalets are facing the desert and mountains in the distance., quite a spectacular view, but the heat I just cant take. A few more visits to various desert lodges including: Wolwedans lodge – Very posh, very remote, great food and service, but trust me you would want to fly in and not drive, believe me! Hammerstein Guest Farm was where we would spending 2 nights and what a place, not your luxury accommodation, but fairly nice and comfortable. On arrival we are met and shown around by a guy with the name of Korne’, I instantly fall in love with his personality, what a fun and funny guy. Here is the thing about guest farms they are so warm hearted and friendly and homely. Dinner is, true Namibian standards, smack you lips delicious. The staff comes out after dinner and sang to us in their language, so much fun, they even sang a song about Amerula and even though I didn’t understand a word they sang about as long as they were praise-singing Amerula they had my heart, how could you not love them?
We spent the following day just relaxing, the day in the desert had not only been physical draining but I suspect a few brain cells had evaporated too. We were blessed with light showers in the day which at least dropped the temperature a bit, having said that it was still pretty hot. 6pm and it was time to see the wild cats. I wasn’t so keen this time, I mean you’ve seen one cheetah, you’ve seen them all, right? WRONG! When we got to the cheetah enclosure, Alex our friendly guide opened the gate and waved for us to go in. A scene played in my mind, it was bout me turning around and running for my life screaming Aaaahhhh!! But I played it cool or rather I played it smart, I let the Germans in our group to go in first. If their ‘tame’ cheetah decides to go wild I wasn’t planning on being their 1st meal. So with the gate closed we go in search of the two cheetahs. I know what you thinking and I thought the same thing, what sort of person goes in search for a wild animal? We spot the 1st one with her back or rather tail towards us. She turns her head and looks at us over her shoulder for a few seconds then turns around again and returns to her horsemeat, we were clearly not as interesting. I could at that moment almost read her mind.. ‘humans you’ve seen one you’ve seen them all’. We move along to find Max her twin brother, sitting in the sun probably trying to dry up after the rain. Alex goes and stands next to Max and after telling us a bit more about cheetahs, he then tells us we can come one at a time and pat him. Naturally being the person that I am I let the Germans go first, after all had went and taken their pictures, I very carefully walk up to him (petrified) and slowly go down and pet him, ah pretty kitty. I decided to give everyone else a chance and as I walked away I look at my hand its just full of Cheetah fur… yuck (you can take the girl out of the city but you cant take the city out of the girl). We moved on to see other ‘kitties’. We didn’t go into the cheetah enclosure because as tame as he was he was starting to show his wild side, instead we went into the caracals enclosure, what an adorable little thing, big ears with these striking eyes but yet the size of a cat. I wanted just to adopt one that was until Alex told me that caracals kill for fun, um ok how about NO. Romeo and Juliet and Shakespeare were their names and they all chose to keep their distance from us, the other Hammerstein animals are: Daisy the Springbok, Aqua the duck and Hans the Zebra whom we hadn’t seen. Dinner as per always was extremely superb, after a wonderful meal we went to watch some La liga football match playing on the TV and after all these days of not watching football I was starting to get withdraw symptoms. Rachelle called it a night while Simon and I joined the few who were watching for the 1st half. Those who weren’t watching were keeping the barman very busy. Towards the end of the 1st half its as if they sensed it, they started turning up the music I turned around to only find Christa (the Manager) and Korne getting down to PJ Powers – Jabulani, oh so this is what management gets up to after hours. After a few minutes of watching them we decided to also call it a night, a few of the guys tried to convince us to watch the 2nd half, but said no as we had an early morning of waking up at 7am. Walking to my room I hear the next song, a party wouldn’t be a party without Mandoza – Nkalakatha, Thank you Hammerstein!

22/02
Early Morning, so quiet? The staff going about doing their duties. They greet us with a big smile as we have our breakfast, soon after we depart and head for Aus as our next destination.
We stop by Maltahohe and Helmeringhausen, very small towns without much happening there, essentially they are just for stopovers. Aus Town is also just for a stopover, but a few km’s out of town is Klein Aus Vista, there is only one word for this…WOW! We take a drive to have a look at their Eagles Nest Self Catering Units. Built around and between mountains and boulders, these houses offer a view that makes you feel like you can see the end of the world. Mostly though I’m taken by the fact that each house is built AROUND the boulders, which means when walking inside, you are met with boulders. There is the most beautiful wine cellar by far, holes on the bark of a tree. Truly a unique place to stay and definitely worth a visit.
We move onto Desert Horse Inn where we spend the night, clean, adorable cottages where you can sit outside and enjoy the breathtaking sunsets and sunrises. We get settled in and head off for dinner in the Restaurant, there is a outside deck where we sit and enjoy the sunset, its officially Namibia has the most breathtaking sunsets ever. I think it’s the contrast, the soft, colourful sunsets hitting the harsh Namibian landscape an artists dream. On our way back down we pass by the campsite (which is also nested in a secluded spot). We meet two of the most beautiful white horses, for some reason known only by Rachelle and Simon they name the horses Kitty and Carrots! After they so brilliantly pose for our cameras we go and get settled for the night.
Dinner is in a true Namibian Style a BIG meal, which is beyond delicious. We head off for the night.

23/02
the coast awaits… FINALLY! I never thought I’d get so excited over something so small, seeing more water than sand. After a great breakfast, we lave Klein Aus Vista. First stop though is the Look out Point for the Famous Namib Desert Horses. That stop didn’t disappoint us at all as we saw a few horses having a drink of water. After this we head off to Kolmanskop another one of those Namibian Mysteries. Rachelle and I are school kid, walking around and exploring this ‘ghost Town’. This German style town once a bustling diamond town, is now nothing but a bunch of abandoned houses, some of which are so filled with sand that walking becomes difficult. I’m not one for much history but just walking through these houses are amazing. While walking upstairs in one of the houses I hear a male voice “HELLO” I thought my heart was going pop out of my mouth. I then brush it off as my imagination, considering the only other people that saw went the other direction from us. We carry on and I hear that voice again except this time I cant make out what he is saying, by this time I have to keep reminding myself that ghosts do not exists! Either way I decided to walk downstairs and get out of there.
We go and have a look around the curio shop where we find a old man wanting to buy a souvenir or two and by this I mean a Diamond ranging between R 10 000.00 – R 20 000.00. we have lunch at their restaurant and then move onto the port town of Luderitz. Well to be honest I expected more I don’t know why. This is clearly just a harbour and fishing town. We head to Luderitz Nest Hotel where we would be spending the night, beautiful hotel with nice, comfortable beds. The highlight though has to be the small balcony which is just above the ocean. The sound of the water crashing into the stones is something I’m excited about it will make a great lullaby. Being at the coast it would be a shame not to eat seafood, I know I have been saying how great food in Namibia has been but all of the food we have had so far that Kingklip seemed to have been the best by far. Of course, Luderitz wasn’t short of its moments, before the meal we were served with a ‘unique’ appetizer; they called it the “chefs special”. To our surprise this is what we received: a plate with some grated beetroot with a quarter of a boiled egg placed on it with a cube of blue cheese, topped with a bit of parsley and sprinkled egg yolk.
Needless to say not one of us ate it. Dessert was equally as dramatic, just a lot more appealing… crepes Suzette which our waiter prepared for us, and was having a ball doing so. Excellent food and great place to sleep with stunning views over the ocean.

24/02 – 25/02
After breakfast we head for Keetmanshoop as our next destination. We first go by to see the desert horses one last time, and our timing could not have been better, the most beautiful stallion with a golden mane galloped from our right side and headed for the water not even a few minutes later 12 follow him and he leads them to the water, after they done they all turn around a head back with the Stallion on the side of them as if he is watching over them. With our eyes fixated on them they vanish back into the desert. We also decide to continue with our journey, we visit the Birds Mansion Hotel for a light lunch. Rachelle orders just a milkshake, I order a medium rockshandy and Simon a large one, clearly the waitress didn’t understand the word medium because after taking all the orders, she turned to me and I asked what I would like to drink? This time I only said rockshandy without stating the size. Simon and I had ordered a burger and chips, but nothing had prepared us for what we were about to get, this must have been the biggest burger in the history of Buns and patties, I was shocked! As per always I had to get a take away as it was too big to finish and too good to leave behind.
We then headed off to Quiver Tree Forest Camp, where we spending the night, there was the biggest warthog I have ever seen, we named him Pumba. Kandas threw some dry dog chunks for the dog, but Pumba got to them first, needless to say the dog backed off, when snack time was over he ran straight past Simon to go lie on his couch. We went to feed the 2 cheetahs that they have there, as they munched away we stepped into their enclosure. After all of that we moved on to set up camp for the night, with the tent pitched and the sun still up Rachelle and I set off to wonder around the forest. While walking through an entire forest of Namibia’s national trees, the Quiver tree is a hardy plant which is able to grow in the driest conditions, its got a slow growth and is indigenous in SA and is rare, but when you walk in this forest the ‘rare’ part does not seem real.
We head back to camp and with the wind blowing and making it nice and cold we fall asleep. In the morning we head out into Keetmanshoop, after visiting some of the lodges in the town, we decide to lunch before going to Grunau. By some act of fate, we found ourselves back at the Birds Mansion, as we learnt our lesson there the day before, we just had toasted sandwiches. We drove to Grunau and went to Whitehouse Guest Farm for the night. The family that runs that place were so friendly and welcoming, we really felt at home. Kinna (the lady that runs the place) offered to cook supper for us, we checked into our chalet, which was self catering and fully equipped not to mention spotless clean. Our supper was delivered to us and yes you guessed it, it was a huge meal! I must say it was a good home cooked meal. Rose quartz that was another nice thing about the Whitehouse, you could buy rose quartz in all forms – rough, polished, shaped, jewelled, big, small they had it all. It turned out they had a rose quartz quarry where they source it and we got to see it, oh my word it was like I was in rose quartz heaven.

26/02
Our stay in Namibia was nearly coming to an end and to be honest I was actually sad. It seems like I fallen in love with this country. With the day being slightly uneventful, we moved onto Canyon Roadhouse, upon entering the gate we are met by 2 vintage cars with a big Welcome on the walls by the gate. Going in there is like stepping back in time, vintage cars, motorbikes, car parts on the walls and a true roadhouse styled building. There is also a fuel station for your convenience. The reception area is no different its actually the back of a truck (well somewhat). The bar, restaurant, the whole area is filled with pictures, placards and even license plates. I wondered into the toilets (the men’s even) and the walls are covered with bits of history in the form of pictures and signs. In the ladies are paintings of men wearing nothing but tiny boxes. Rachelle was brave enough to open the box only for the bar bell to go off and in true roadhouse style, this meant that she had to buy everyone a drink. Thankfully she managed to get off the hook. We had good food, great rooms and wonderful company in the form of staff. Sitting in the moonlight, feet in the pool not appreciating this county was almost impossible.

27/02-28/02
Last full day in Namibia feeling slightly homesick and yet also sad about the end of the visit, but of course a Namibian trip wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the second largest canyon in the world and the largest canyon in Africa, the Fish River Canyon. We head to Hobas to get our permit and we are informed of renovations on one of the lookout points. Everything set, we drive off to the look out point, nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to see. Standing at the top looking down the first thing I thought of was… if I fall here there is NO hope for survival and my second though was… BEAUTIFUL. Standing there you feel like you are at the top of the world, the earth just drops down into this body of water and you are up so high you feel as if you can touch the blue blue sky. Also seeing a river with actual water in it was quite exciting…strange I know. WE were spending the night in Ai Ais a thermal resort situated at the bottom end of the canyon. On our way there approaching the entrance our cars thermometer went up almost 10 degrees. This resort situated between mountains was ridiculously hot! We set up camp and just sat there, hoping it would get cooler. So the next best option followed, Schnapps! No not because drinking it would cool us down but because we needed something to help us sleep. We spent the night talking, laughing and just reminiscing in the 2 week, certainly a trip to be remembered. We called it a night and Rachelle and I went to sleep in our tent, on the lovely - (not), hot ground.

Thankfully due to the mountains the sun didn’t appear early the next morning, I rushed to the shower turned on the cold water tap and as you might have guessed, hot water came streaming out. We couldn’t get out of there sooner and on our way towards Ariamsvlei border I thought about Namibia… Great place to visit, beautiful landscapes, amazing bird life and wildlife, the most friendly staff and people and by far the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen. When visiting the country, sunscreen lotion is a must have, sunglasses, a hat and always stay hydrated. Remember Namibia is a desert country, its Hot, its DUSTY so PACK LIGHT.

No better way to see the best of Namibia than by car!

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