After our exceptional week spent in Cape Town, at the southern tip of South Africa, and one of my now-favourite cities in the world, we dropped off our rental car at before spending the night sleeping on benches in Cape Town airport. From there, we took an early morning flight in a tiny airplane up to Windhoek in Namibia where we picked up our rental 4x4 truck with a roof tent and headed into the city, anticipation at an all time high for the adventure we were about to undertake.
Flying out of Cape Town
Flying into Windhoek
We spent a few hours at a cafe in town - and within those first few hours, our car window was forced open and a suitcase stolen from inside. We got the entire thing on security camera footage (the city is full of them) and spent the bulk of our day filing a police report. It was a horribly unsettling feeling to start a trip on and while the suitcase and about a third of the belongings were recovered four days later and delivered to us in Johannesburg, we wanted out of Windhoek and so as soon as we could, we drove out of the city, four hours deep into the Namibian desert where we camped under the stars, trying to feel at peace and whole.
We spent the night at the campsite in Solitaire, a welcome rest stop in the harsh and unforgiving wild landscapes of Namibia. We had originally intended to make it all the way to Sesriem, the gateway to Sossusvlei, but our day had seen us leaving Windhoek later than hoped and with strong guidance to never, ever drive after sundown in Africa, we pulled over 80km early to Solitaire, a tiny town seemingly stuck in the past but providing a safe first campsite for us to manage to get our roof tent up for the very first time before the sun dipped below the horizon. We had burgers from the camp restaurant and tried to muster up the optimism we would desperately need to carry us through the remainder of the trip.
The next morning, we awoke before sunrise to get on the road early to make up the hours and kilometres we had missed the previous day at drove from Solitaire south to Sesriem. From there, we continued into Sossusvlei, one of Namibia's wildest and most famous landscapes. Sweeping red sand dunes, already visible hours earlier up the road come more and more into prominent sight, a deep contrast to the African skies overhead.
Leaving Solitaire for the open roads
Long roads through the desert
The final stretch out of Sossuvlei to the parking lot where you start the short hike into Deadvlei (park here), the most famous spot in the region, is entirely sandy and can absolutely only be accessed with a 4x4. We got stuck at one point because the car in front of us stalled, which frankly terrified us, what with our first full day on the road and trying to adjust to our new surroundings, and were thankfully rescued by one of the many dune drivers who expertly reversed us out of the dune our truck was lodged in. If you don't have a 4x4 or don't feel comfortable tackling the sand then you can arrange a driver to take you into Deadvlei along the sandy roads.
From the parking lot, it was a breathtaking 2.75 km return trek through the red sand dunes up and across to reach Deadvlei. You might see others trekking through the heavy sand barefooted, but I strongly suggest keeping your boots on - scorpions and other desert critters run wild here.
With an extremely challenging 24 hours behind us, it felt surreal to stand in that desert basin looking at the dead camel thorn trees so jarring against the white clay pan. We learned that the pan was formed when the Tsauchab River flooded, enabling the camel thorn trees to grow, but when the climate changed again and the sand dunes took over, the river could no longer reach the pan, cutting off the water supply. The trees are nearly a thousand years old and do not decompose as the climate is so dry.
Perseverance, determination and a lot of resilience and we still managed to get here. Wow.
A scorpion
Spotted oryx on the way back out
After our visit to Sossusvlei, we stopped in Sesriem to fill up the gas tank, the first of near-daily fuel-ups we'd be doing on this near-6000km cross-continent roadtrip, and for a basic gas station lunch of sandwiches and apple cake. We still hadn't found a big city to do a big food shop and with no real breakfast in us, hunger pangs were settling in, on top of all the rest we were trying to overcome.
After Sesriem, we drove nearly 350km north to Swakopmund, our next stop for the night, stopping briefly on the roadside to gaze at the Tropic of Capricon sign (here on Google Maps), signifying a crossing that would bring us closer to the equator now than to the South Pole. In Swakopmund, where we camped at the delightful Tiger Reef Campsite for the night, we were finally able to locate a Spar and get all the basic cooking and cleaning supplies we needed, including a pair of towels neither of us had thought to pack along.
And so, the adventure through Namibia continues. This is a different style of blog post for me, but this is a very different kind of trip and I'm doing my best to do these few weeks on the road justice - no easy feat.
A toilet stop in Solitaire and a chance to see our refuge in daylight
The road to Swakopmund
The final stretch to Swakopmund was white and flat as far as the eye could see
CHECK OUT OUR VLOG OF NAMIBIA HERE!
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Hi! I’m Jana, a British-Dutch-Canadian with a dream of seeing every country in the world. I am a storyteller, photographer and adventurer passionate about documenting and sharing my travels.
