Swakopmund, Namibia

Thursday 25 February to Saturday 27 February

Lockdown Day 336 to 338

From the Namib to Swakopmund is another awesome drive.

Swakopmund was a German colonial settlement in the early 20th century and it's retained some of that influence. Bavaria in Africa. 

It has grown so much since we were last here 20 years ago but it's very, very quiet now that there are no tourists around.  We stayed at the very comfy Desert Sands Apartments.

We enjoyed the Bavarian bread, rolls, meatloaf and cold meats from Raith Bakery for our breakfasts and apple and poppy seed cakes for our desserts.

We ordered Schnitzel and Eisbein from Altstadt Restaurant for dinner.

We didn't eat out or visit any beer gardens because we are social distancing. We drove south to Walvis Bay and beyond to watch birds along the coast and at the Salt Works.

There are a lot of adventure activities and tours one can do from here. It will be worth spending a lot more time here post- Covid when the vibe of the place has returned.

Sossiesvlei and Dune Star Lodge Namibia

Wednesday 24 February

Lockdown Day 335

We drove from Namibrand to Sesriem in two hours. It's amazing how many lodges there are in the area now; a testament to the growth in tourism in Namibia in the last ten years. All of them pretty much deserted at the moment. The road to Sossiesvlei is tarred bar the last very sandy five or so kilometres.

There's even a shuttle vehicle if you don't have a 4x4. But today we are one of three cars in the whole place. It's lovely to see the area so green.Sossiesvlei is full of water. How amazing to get the chance to see that. 

The Gondwana Collection has mid-range lodges, glamping and campsites all over Namibia. They have a loyalty card which gives locals and South Africans discounts.The specials are excellent at the moment. Namib Desert Lodge is about 50 kilometres north of Sesriem. Gondwana has a number of different properties here. We stayed in Dune Star Lodge as the only guests. You get driven out to the eco-lodge in the dunes for the night.

We had sunset drinks and snacks on the deck and a delicious dinner.

The cottages look basic from the outside but are lovely inside. The bed is on wheels and can be pushed onto the deck so that you can sleep under the stars.

Namibrand Family Hideout Namibia

Tuesday 23 February

Lockdown Day 334

We left Greenfire at about 12.30pm and it's only an hours drive to Namibrand Family Hideout. This is a wonderfully remote self catering cottage in the desert.

We had wanted to stay here because we had been here 20 years ago with a group of friends on one of our previous trips to Namibia. I remembered the dune boarding and a funny wine story too long to retell here. Neil and I were living in the UK at the time so we had flown into Windhoek where Tommy picked us up. On our day of departure the rest of the group left really early to begin driving back to South Africa and we had arranged an Avis car and driver to come from Windhoek to drive us back to the airport - that's about 5 hours each way. It was any eerie experience sitting alone on the verandah for about four hours hoping the driver would indeed turn up. There's still no cell phone signal or WiFi out here. Our driver did eventually arrive. We made our flight.

Another memory is of us devising a treasure hunt with clues around the property for future visitors to enjoy. Today I found the old guest book from 20 years ago on the bookshelf and sure enough instructions and the first clue; all rhyming are in there along with our names and greetings. 

We had a great braai, just the two of us this time. It's still super quiet and remote but we do have our trusty Cruiser to drive ourselves out.

I was up in time for sunrise and caught an amazing shadow of a lamp on a wall.

Greenfire Desert Lodge, Namib Desert, Namibia

Monday 22 February

Lockdown Day 333

From Luderitz our route took us back to Aus so we stopped for coffee and cake at Bahnhof Hotel. It's a beautiful drive North through changing landscapes. Every drive in Namibia is a scenic drive. And we literally passed 2 or 3 other cars all day.

We detoured a bit too see Duwisib Castle. Not worth a stop unless you are in the area.

Greenfire Desert Lodge is in the middle of the desert with nothing around for miles.

What an awesome vista. Such a tranquil place and we had it to ourselves. The food was good and we enjoyed the morning drive around the property. There's a wonderfully isolated camp site in the hills behind the lodge that I would highly recommend too.

We have been left to spend the morning all alone on the verandah with the amazing view. Apart from a few birds chirping the silence is monumental. I am writing this from the verandah and I have felt no need to speak for the last few hours. Unusual for me.

Luderitz, Namibia

Friday 19 February to Sunday 21 February

Lockdown Day 330 to 332

We drove into Luderitz on Friday afternoon with the luxury of scouting around until we found the best looking accommodation. Luderitz is a dusty, down-at-heel, windswept port town and the only reason tourists stay here is because of Kolmanskop nearby.

In the middle of a pandemic there are no other tourists around and the place is rather bleek but we did find The Cormorant House, a row of 8 self-catering apartments perched on the rocks above the sea.

The view is amazing. Gulls, Cormorants and Oystercatchers to watch from the balcony. Lovely sunsets. The balcony is surprisingly sheltered from the wind.

The apartment is chic, modern and very well appointed. The WiFi is good. We paid for two nights but quickly decide to stay a third.

If Luderitz offered anything else to do we would have stayed a week.

The beaches are grim because the wind blows so hard all the time. We did take a few drives along the coast but you can't get out the car without being sandblasted. We did a bit of birdwatching. Flamingoes and other wading birds have to walk side on to the wind to prevent being blown over - the lagoon of funny bird walks and aerobatic take-offs. 

No fresh fish at the few restaurants that were open. Neil ended up with a frozen hake and chips take-away. No apfelkuchen anywhere either.

But we had a beautiful, restful time in our little haven with our own cooking, coffee, wine and whisky.

Kolmanskop, Namibia

Friday 19 February

Lockdown Day 330

It takes less than 2 hours to drive from Aus to Luderitz. We were astounded by the beauty of the changing desert landscapes as we drove along.

Kolmanskop is just 10kms outside Luderitz. This famous ghost town has been on my bucket list for a long time. The abandoned mining town has been left for the harsh natural elements and the encroaching desert sands to forge into a haunting historical landmark. Photographers from all over the world come here to this captivating place but apart from one local family we had the entire place to ourselves and our phone cameras. Kolmanskop is open from 9am to 1pm daily but you can pay R300 for a permit to arrive at sunrise if you are serious about your photographs. I actually liked the stark contrast of light and shadow we had at midday too. 

And then on to Luderitz for 3 nights but more of that tomorrow.