Sep 192013
 

The drive to Walvis Bay to the dunes at Sossusvlei is pretty barren. It’s mainly a long flat road, not suited to the vehicle we were in. We bounced along at half the speed limit as giant overland trucks sped past us. Still, it was an exciting drive. Every now and again, dotted across the landscape we’d spot flocks of ostrich strolling about. This group corresponded with a driver change 2 hours into the drive.

Ostiches in the desert in Namibia with a mountain in the background

 

May 052013
 

I had to walk a bit to get the pictures of the desert moonscape I posted earlier. On the way back I liked the look of the paths leading back to our inadequate 4×4. If you plan on driving around Namibia, it’s best to get a proper truck. This one was fine, until we left the tarmac. We had to drive at half the speed limit most places with giant trucks flying past us. We also managed to get it stuck in a sand dune at one point.

Paths in the desert in Namibia

Apr 192013
 

It was a fairly treacherous drive up this hill as we made our way back to Windhoek to depart for Capetown. We’d completed a long flat drive across desert spying ostriches and jackles along the roadside when all of sudden the land turned vertical. A huge overland truck bore down on us as our little 4×4 trudged up the switchbacks. The road switched, unpredictably, from dirt, to brick, to tarmac over and over again. It was quite a challenge for my travel buddy who was driving. The heights of the cliff edges we were hugging did not help either.

When I asked if we could stop so I could run back down a bit and take this picture, I was met with a shaky, incredulous, “What!?”

After returning to continue on, we asked if she’d like to switch drivers, but no, she said she preferred being in control. If we were going to go over the cliff she wanted to be at the wheel…

The desert of Namibia taken from atop a hill with winding dirt roads in the foreground.