NAMIBIA ROAD TRIP
Namibia recently had a much-needed influx of rain, which left the country greener than we had ever seen it before. Combine this natural wonder with two best friends visiting from South Africa, and you get one awesome Nambia Road Trip!
We prepared a lengthy Blog Post of this trip, so grab a large cup of your favorite beverage, and scroll on through!
“As soon as we set foot through the broken doors with sand spilling out from within, we were transported into a different time.”
We started off our journey by meeting up with our friends at the wonderful Spitzkoppe Campsite. They had a long drive, and we were eager to give them a nice campfire dinner and ice-cold beers.
After our late-night campfire singalong session, we took our friends to Goanikontes for a nice breakfast and then took them up to the Moon landscape Viewpoint.
We then spent two days in Swakopmund, running around on the dunes, watching the awesome Riaan Smit & Livinge at Soundgarden, and even attempting a Pub Crawl…
One of our friends, Jaco, was really keen on floating in the dead sea close to Cape Cross. So the next day we headed out towards Henties bay, and took them to Cape Cross Seal Reserve. They didn’t enjoy the smell, but floating in the dead sea was definitely very interesting for all of us!
We then headed north towards Etosha, as both Nadine and I had never actually seen the endless white of the pan. This, combined with the recent rains, made for some astonishing landscapes to say the least. And we even had Omanjovas for the first time ever!
Etosha done and dusted, we headed back down south, towards Damaraland. We stopped at a bunch of really interesting places, including Fingerklip Lodge, the Petrified Forest, and Twyfelfontein Country Lodge. We finally ended up at Doro Nawas, which had been abandoned some time ago. Possibly due to the lack of tourists during the lockdown.
We then went back to Swakop to stock up on food and ice before heading further south, towards Sossusvlei. We had heard of how the landscape had changed after the rains came down, but nothing on earth could have perpared us for the raw beauty that lay in store.
After setting up camp and wandering through Sesriem canyon, we woke up at the break of dawn to head into Sossusvlei and attempt to summit the mighty Big Daddy Dune.
After a cold swim, we packed up our campsite and made our way further south towards Luderitz. None of us had ever visited this estranged coastal town, and we were eager to see it for ourselves.
Naturally we had to visit one of the most popular tourist attractions in the area, Kolmanskop. As soon as we set foot through the broken doors with sand spilling out from within, we were transported into a different time.
After our visit to Luderitz, we made our way back inland towards Keetmanshoop. There, we camped at the Quiver Tree Forest for our last night together, before our friends had to make their way back home to South Africa. We were treated to a live cheetah feeding, after which we went for a walk in the forest. The entire forest floor was overrun with tiny yellow flowers, bathing the landscape in a lush beauty. That, combined with the red sunset, transported us to a place of serenity and peace with nature. Needless to say it was a perfect end to a magical road trip with good friends!
The next morning we quickly stopped over at the Giant’s playground, as the last cherry on the cake before we had to say goodbye.
P.S. We made use of a wide variety of gear to capture these epic landscapes. Head over to Nifty Rentals if you’re in need of some gear for your next road trip!