Day 12. Windhoek
There really isn’t all that much to do in Walvis Bay so we continued onto Swakopmund, some 30km to the north.
After such a feast it was only fitting that we slept in a
bit. It's been all go, go, go since starting this expedition
and we need a few days rest. Hopefully when we get to
Windhoek we'll be able to relax and take a breath.
This morning we wanted to see the wetlands where flamingos
supposedly spend time on their transitory journeys between the
south and north. Unfortunately we didn't see any on this
particular occasion. No doubt they'd already left for warmer
areas.
There really isn't all that much to do in Walvis Bay so we
continued onto Swakopmund, some 30km to the north. The road
towards Swakopmund passes next to some more dunes, but these were
nowhere as large as the red giants we'd seen yesterday. But
we did see a small oasis, with cars parked under trees. This
was Dune 7 territory and a quick survey of the area showed that it
must be a popular sand boarding and quad biking location. To
one side of the oasis, we saw two huge transparent balls and some
quad bikes for hire. I'd seen the balls previously on ski
slopes but had never actually been in one of those before.
Ann-Marie and I looked at each other and decided to go for a hoon
on the quad bike. Coming to an understanding with the
operators about the price, we hired one for half an hour.
With helmets in place, we pushed in the throttle to the
max. The wind would occasionally blast our faces with fine
sand, but the steep slopes and rapid ascents made the experience
worthwhile.
Pumped with a bit of adrenaline, it was time to get some
breakfast; Swakopmund would do just the trick.
Apparently Swakopmund has transformed itself into an adrenaline
junkies' paradise - we didn't experience too much of that, the town
was quite peaceful and relaxed. The pace of life reminded me
of a small coastal town in Western Australia, with a German flavour
and culinary influence.
We found a small cafe not far from the ocean and ordered
breakfast. While eating, we could already notice that life
here is very relaxed and it's no surprise why many Windhoek
residents see this as a great weekend getaway. A few coffees
later, our curiosity got the better of us and we went for a walk
around town.
The buildings here are probably more Bavarian looking than the
overhyped Luderitz, the traffic moves slowly, the parking is ample
as are cosy eating and drinking spots. After a couple of
hours walking and getting lost we retreated from the direct
sunlight. I think both of us were still dehydrated after
yesterdays dune walk, and I'm sure the wine at dinner didn't help
either.
We're already two days late with returning the 4WD and we didn't
want to needlessly pay for an additional night, so with that
thought in mind we started driving towards Windhoek. The road
to Windhoek isn't particular spectacular but we did pass many
termite mounds. Unlike the ones we have in Australia, where
the mounds align themselves east to west (to shield themselves from
the heat) these were round in construction.
At Usakos we got some more petrol but decided to push on as we
wanted to still return the car before 5pm. By the time we
reached Okahandja the sun was on its way towards the horizon and we
both knew that we'd be looking for accommodation in the dark.
The closer we got to Windhoek, the larger the hills grew and the
setting sun made them even more imposing. It's certainly a
change from the desert and flatlands we've seen in the south.
About 30km from Windhoek we got stuck in a traffic jam. At
first we thought it must have been an accident, but in the end it
turned out that there is a road block when travelling to and from
Windhoek. I'm not entirely sure why they have them as they
serve absolutely no practical purpose at all. After some
twenty minutes it was our turn, the guard waved us over and
approached from behind.
I wound down my window and he asked the usual barrage of
questions, from, to, how long. He was actually quite rude and
abrupt. I had my passport in the back of the car so it took
me a while to find it. I handed over the passport and
got back into the car. He snapped and barked an order at
Ann-Marie to give him her passport. There are a few things
that a man should never do, in particular bark orders at a girl
who's been stuck in the car for the last two weeks, is looking
forward to a nice warm bath. I could see the cold stare she
gave him as she reached into the glove box - if I were him I would
have taken two steps back and don't make eye contact. Luckily
for him, he waved over an immigration officer, she had a flick
through our passports and let us through. I really don't
understand why we have to go through the whole immigration thing
again. As if we're going to try and illegally enter the
country with a rented 4WD and a rooftop tent - I think there are
less conspicuous ways of achieving that.
Shortly thereafter, the road divided into a four lane
freeway. By the time we drove into Windhoek, it was
completely dark and orienting yourself without the sun as a guide
is extremely hard. We pulled over on Independence Avenue and
with a head torch we flicked through the pages of the LP. We
called one hotel after another, but the first few choices were
completely booked out. In the end I remembered Elke (my
colleague in Namibia) telling me about some castle. The LP
mentioned some old castle which has been converted into a hilltop
hotel; Hotel Heinitzburg, we got lucky and they told us to come
up.
With relative ease we made it to the hotel, granted Windhoek
isn't that large and even at night we knew most of central
Windhoek. Hotel Heinitzurg as it turns out is quite the
upmarket B&B with decor to prove it. After checking in
and making a booking for dinner we settled in. We'd thought
that perhaps a swim might be a good idea, but after venturing out
towards the pool in our swimwear it quickly dawned on us that
nights here are cold irrespective of how warm the day was. We
retreated to the relative warmth of the room until
dinnertime. Windhoek is at 1700m above sea level and this may
have something to do with the chill at night.
Dinner was a silver service treat that even the Ritz of London
would have a hard time topping, and the wine selection was to die
for. All this German influence in the middle of Africa gives
the whole experience a completely new dimension, but somehow
arriving in Windhoek feels like it is the start of the end to our
adventure.