August 26th - Day 23

Over three quarters of the tour completed and 8,200 kms driven. We are now in the final part of our wonderful adventure drive round Southern Africa. Six countries visited, every day fantastic scenery, wonderful wildlife and a great group of like-minded people to travel with. We couldn't have asked for more.
We spent a couple of hours looking at Swakopmund and doing some shopping. Swakopmund is a very lively and prosperous place and was quite crowded as it was Heroes' day. This national holiday celebrates the heroes of the struggle for independence and commemorates the first shot which was fired on the 26th August 1990.

Germanic architecture in Swakopmund

We both bought seal skin shoes which are very comfortable and hard wearing. Our drive today then took us south-east to the Sossusvlei Lodge in the Namib-Naukluft Desert. First we drove south to Walvis Bay, named for the whales seen there when the first Europeans came here in the 15th century. We had our first view of Namibia's great sand dunes. Massive hills of reddish sand ran alongside the coast road and in places people were para-sailing and sand buggying up and down the sand.

First view of Nambia's fantastic sand dunes - the highest in the world

At Walvis Bay, an unremarkable town, we turned left into the desert. 150 kms of stunning gravel road rising up to 1,000 metres as we drove due east. 

The road across the Namib Desert from Walvis Bay

As we rose over one of the many slight rises in the road we came across a group of people standing in the road with their car upside down on the roadside. Fortunately no one was seriously hurt but it shows how careful you have to be when driving on gravel which can be very slippery. They were getting help from a tour bus that had stopped. so we didn't need to give any assistance.

The overturned saloon car on the road from Walvis Bay

The desert scenery will never fail to impress me. I always have a feeling of insignificance when I am in such a harsh and vast wilderness. The wonderful colours that change as the sun moves in the sky, ensures the journey is never the least bit uninteresting. As we approached the sign marking the Tropic of Capricorn we used our GPS to exactly pin point the position on the road where the Tropic was located. According to the GPS it was about 15 metres north of the sign. Having left the tropics our drive continued south to the isolated desert resort of Sossusvlei. 

The individual units we stayed in were half building and half tent. Quite unusual, but fun, especially as the desert wind rose after the sun had set and the wind howled through the tent above our bed.

The half house and half tent accomodation at Sossusvlei Lodge

As the sun set over the desert hills we watched as the stars appeared. There is nothing like a clear desert night sky. Thousands of stars blanket the sky with the Milky Way a beautiful white band crossing from horizon to horizon. It is a magnificent sight and one we have lost in most, if not all, of the UK through air and light pollution.

Only five days to go now, with two more in Namibia before we reach the border with South Africa and the final part of the tour to Cape Town.