Travel review NAMIBIA 
Goodbye Namibia
Windhoek, Swakopmud, Ai-ais, Luderitz, Kolmanskoop, Walvis Bay, Otjiwarongo,
Africa's Cervino: the Spitzkoppe
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Pagine 1
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Goodbye Namibia
<h1>Journey through the natural wonders of Namibiah1>
14 . 07 . 2003 We land in Namibia a Monday morning at lunchtime . The international airport in < strong > Windhoek strong >, despite being the most important of country is very small . The plane landed and passengers descent from the aircraft directly on track and start walking toward the airport , with no tunnels or buses . The sun is warm , the landscape is immense and the light is striking . Passed formalities for customs we are looking at the person who had to come to take us . The rental agency that we have chosen , does not have an office at the airport but only in the capital , so a person of the agency would come to take us . In the airport hall there are so many people , with different panels , but we quickly seek what concerns us . We are approaching this person , and without too many presentations I took the suitcase of hand and slingshot out of the airport . We follow him and we head in the parking lot where we expect to be his van and another boy . We placed suitcases and jump on the bus , route to < strong > Windhoek strong >. We are tired and our escorts do not seem to show any interest to make conversation with us , as they chat about their facts using a local language . The trip is not long but is not to say short and fast , despite the high speed at which the conductor was driving . Finally we arrive at car rental . We can not say that the first impression was the best . The office is located directly in a garage , to welcome us there is a lady : Molly . In the office ( what a big word for it ) there ' s everything you need , computers , telephone , photocopier , etc . ... but we say that the appearance is not one of the best . Maybe as Westerners we are used to different standards . In the courtyard is parked a cream colored Pickup with curtains on the windows in perfect & quot ; sons of flowers & quot ; style . Now we explain how it works . They have not a second spare wheel for us , thing that we instead asked explicitly ! They explained us that failed to provide it in time , bah !! A little for the fatigue of the journey a little because we were already tired we take our car and go there to seek our first place where staying for the night . We get in the car and as we are approaching the city we realize that they forgot to provide us instructions booklet of the car , you never know if it can be useful , and the less evil is coming back to take it ! Coming back we lost ourselves and I ' ve no idea of where we are finished . Only when we discover Tamboti we realized that the guest - house is not far . Perhaps we should not cross the city . Found the house , we sound the bell . I look around and see all the houses with barbed wire .. bah ..! I talk to a lady to whom I ask of my reservation . Immediately she allowes us to park our vehicle in his courtyard and accompanies us to see the room . Thanks to the rental agency we are convinced to go to sleep in a kennel of a dog , and instead , we have a beautiful room decorated in African style . Took out our luggage , we verify better our car and we realize that one of the door locks does not close . Not at all goes well , we can not leave our suitcases with the door opened . We drive back to Sanfield Car Hire to ask a fix for the lock or even to change car . Once came to the agency .. Well .. is not yet closing time but Molly has already gone . His nearest garage told us that not that it would not return back during the day . While I try the phone number Marco tries to do something with the lock and discovers that with a bit of oil we can fix it . It just took us a lot of time . So taken our car , we go to the guest - house . At 17 . 30 is night . The sun sets quickly down and everything is dark . Shops , offices all close at 17 : 00 , so the frenetic activity of the city stops at 17 : 00 . We decide to have dinner in a fast - food and purchase a gift on the main street of the capital . Since it ' s dark and the streets around our guest - house are not well lit , we decide to go there by car . To our greatest surprise the city is deserted . There is hardly anyone on the streets and very few cars on the road , so we park directly opposite the fast - food . It has to be said that the first few hours was full of life and people . The restaurant is empty , most customers take food and carry it away , the tables are with little or no people . However , we do not like the confusion . Left the local we are immersed in one side of < strong > Windhoek strong > that we were expecting . The streets are always desolate but on the road there are several people who ask for money , other sitting on the ground supported on closed shop windows . The fact is that this left us not a good impression . We are approaching our car . Marco opens doors and we enter . While I ' m getting in I look backward and I see a boy who comes to us running . Because I ' m scared I praise Marco to move quickly . We were inside just in time to enable that guy to take a leaflet over our window , but we do not say anything and run away quickly . We had seen the leaflet and did not understand what happened . There is to say that the first impact with the Namibia has left us a little perplexed . We read in the guide that it was not a dangerous place , but the houses are all surrounded with barbed wire ( and this not only in the capital but also in other cities ), some shops are equipped with gates and even during the hours of opening they are closed ( to enter in a jewelry we must sound the bell ). So we are approaching our guest - house a little perplexed . Only several days later , in Swakopmund , we understoond who he was and what was that guy who chased us in < strong > Windhoek strong >, it was a parking valet ! In the evening the streets are filled with boys , some with bib , that indicates activities , which in exchange for a tip monitor cars throughout the night or for the time necessary for a stop . By day parking is not free , there are parking meters . While during evening custody is entrusted to these people . This is an entirely lawful activity authorized by the municipal authorities . But all this we discovered later .
The following morning we leave < strong > Windhoek strong > and we approach the area south of the Kalahari where we spend our first day in African Union . We walk a paved road that just left < strong > Windhoek strong > in a succession of yards . We did not understand what kind of maintenance they are doing , what we understood immediately is that we must pay a lot of patience . The first traffic light , as a long stretch of the road is a one - way alternating , is all a program . A cartel draws the traffic light , but the traffic light itself consists of an operator who runs a sign written & quot ; go & quot ; on one side and & quot ; stop & quot ; on the other . The crew is in contact by radio with the operator of the traffic light . In short , a high - tech traffic lights . The fact is that we have been waiting for an eternity before reaching our turn . The thing that most impressed us is that when switching to yard next , people who work there greet you . We note also that among people who work on construction sites there are also women , which in Italy does not happen , and especially that the staff is all black . Well .. we have already a first ideaon how to & quot ; run & quot ; things in this country . The lodge ( Anib Lodge ) where we have booked us for lunch . This is a nice quiet place situated at the edge of this desert . The owners are friendly although a little too German for our tastes . In the afternoon we have an excursion in the Kalahari culminating with the vision of sunset in the desert . The Kalahari desert landscapes consist of alternating red sand dunes , areas where the grass and vegetation grew on the red earth . It has been a great thrill to see , for the first time , orix and antelopes in their natural environment . Finally , we conclude this day with an excellent dinner of roasted antelope , really delicious and tender .
After a good breakfast at Anib Lodge , having also to have escaped this morning the eggs with bacon , we start to the Fish River Canyon . Our plan is to reach the spa resort of < strong > Ai - ais strong >. Before leaving we decide to give a fix to the various machine tools that are placed behind the seats . They will also be embedded in marked spaces , but ramming against the car bottom , they make a monstrous mess and this background music for our travel is truly unbearable . We change also the arrangement of gear in order to avoid any & quot ; banging & quot ; and completely eliminating this annoying sound . The sands of the Kalahari in the morning and evening take a deep red colour , truly impressive ! We start but we suffered a brief stop in Mariental to make fuel , taking a little cash at ATMs ( no problem circuit master works everywhere and so called autobank ATMs are a little everywhere ) and do some shopping in a supermarket . It ' s a very small country with a main street overlooked by all commercial activities . Although it is just a tiny center , it has at least two banks , two fuel pumps and a supermarket . In short .. everything that could serve us . We are , towards lunchtime around Keetmanshoop . We decide to make a detour and go and see if there is any local city that could inspire us for lunch . Keetmanshoop is not what anyone can say a beautiful place , in short , one of those not remarkable places although we see local enthusiasm there at all , however we prepared a nice sandwich with what bought at the supermarket . We didn ' t like our journey to the south . The trip is really long and was also our first impact with a long trail of dirt road . A beard ..... Along the road we can admire the mountains of Fish River Canyon and Klein Karasberge . It is precisely for this massive photograph places that we decide to stop . We stop on the edge of the road , make our photos , take again the car and ... Oh oh .. we are stuck . descending out we see that the wheels behind are submerged in sand . Marco get again in the car , trying to move , but instead of getting around does nothing but stucking even more . So we work to free the wheels from the sand with our hands ( hoping not to make ugly encounters with strange insects ) and place a beautiful stone to each of them , then Mark goes into the car while I try to push it . Given the considerable weight of the car , I doubt that my contribution could have been crucial , in any case .. the car moves and we are back onto the road . We have learned that if you decide to park on the side of the road is always well to keep two wheels on the bottom of hard road to avoid situations like this one . Finally we come to < strong > Ai - ais strong >, surrounded in the mountains of the canyon . We now go to reception to withdraw the key of our room and to pay the entrance tickets . Despite our protests , we have to pay a small difference for the overnight stay , they argue that the payment is not complete despite we affirm that the agency that made the practices paid for us all .. The fact is that we are obliged to pay this small difference but we will protest for the account . When we move to Swakpomund , where is the agency , we are going to clarify this misunderstanding with the holder . To the detriment of entry that did not promise well , < strong > Ai - ais strong > is very nice and gives off an immense sense of tranquillity . We try our room and we discover that this is a mini apartment , comprehensive of terrace with fireplace to make barbecue ( here the barbecue is a mania ), kitchen , bedroom and bathroom . There is also a small courtyard of which we do not understand the meaning and direct access to the pool of spas that obviously exploit . Since < strong > Ai - ais strong > stuck in the mountains of the canyon , the sun behind the mountains before setting darkness , arrives early and quickly . We have dinner at resort ' s restaurant , where no one can certainly say that the speed of service is their horse battle .. But we are both on vacation so ... we can also spend 2 hours for dinner , so much that after having waited for so long our dinner , we decide to order equally the cake ! At dinner we see a family composed of father , mother and two children between 15 - 18 years . We notice them because his son , before sitting down & quot ; tests & quot ; a series of chairs before finding one that suits him . What a delicate back !
Today whole day dedicated to visit Canyon , Namibians ( I don ' t know how to call them ..) claim that it is second only to Grand Canyon in the United States . I did not see the Grand Canyon , so I can not make comparisons , but this is of course very spectacular . Truly a beautiful place , it worth a visit . We observe it from different vantage points and we also do a walk that allows you to observe the Canyon from different angles . There is a lot of people but we can enjoy the Canyon in peace . We stop for lunch in one of the many look - out points with the company of some birds and a strange giant model of lizard who is sunbathing on a stone nearby . It ' s a shame , that regulation prohibits the trek during the day , there would not be a good lap in the canyon , sorry at all ! In one of these look - out points we meet the family of the night before . We do not know yet , but this family will accompany us throughout the journey ! As said ... the world is small ! Returning to Ai Ais , where we even will stay for the night , we pause to photograph some exemplaries of kakerboom ( or quiver trees ). There are many examples of this scattered tree here and there , we should choose what we like more and then take a picture of it . We also make two steps to see someone biggest of others closely , and despite my fear we don ' t encounter any snake ! Since I ' m little reptile - phobic , I don ' t want to have any close encounter with these animals strips . We conclude our day doing a trip in < strong > Ai - ais strong > and then a refreshing swim in the spa pools . For dinner , given that our arrangement provides a kitchen with lots of dishes fitted , we prepare some spaghetti with tomato sauce , which we found in the supermarket . Our neighbours instead make a good barbecue , so have a trail of smoke all over the pitch !
After a quiet breakfast consumed in the balcony of our apartment , starting to < strong > Luderitz strong >. We expect a lot of kilometres of dirt road before arriving on the asphalt . We can certainly say that Namibia is not a crowded country . Among the nations on the African territory , Namibia is the one with the fewest inhabitants per square kilometer ( so I read ), and there we noticed it . Infinite hours by car without encountering a village , a house , nothing . Sometimes we find a farm or a crossroads , which indicates the road , but only one house at all , placed them in the middle of nowhere . Far from everything else . Every hour of travel we cross some car or a cart pulled by donkeys carrying 1 - 2 people slowly along the road . Though the traffic is not a problem ! And so , after several kilometers we pass the city of Aus , situated on the slopes of a mountain ( perhaps it is better to speak of hill ) that make this place very interesting at sight and we continue to < strong > Luderitz strong >. As the landscape approaches countryside becomes increasingly desert , only with more grey sand ( not red like the Kalahari and Namib one ). We pass over the ghost town of Kolmanskop , who will be visited tomorrow , and finally arrive in < strong > Luderitz strong >, a city on the ocean coast . Given that it ' s 4pm , we seek for the information office where we have to buy tickets to visit the ghost town . We enter the office and , waiting to be served , we see also the family that we saw a few days earlier . Oh .. How small the world ! Purchased tickets we go to see Kratzplatz Guest - House , which is practically in the center , and we do a first & quot ; tour & quot ; of < strong > Luderitz strong > on foot . For dinner we choose a place indicated on our guide . Arrived on site we do not find it and we did not understand if it has moved or closed altogether , the explanation given us at the bar next it , is rather confused and contraddictory . So we go elsewhere . The choice is not the most happy , this is the restaurant of a hotel . It will be for this but there is room in a continuous walkaround of people ( I precise that they are almost always the same ones that come and go ). Dinner is not bad , certainly not even remotely resembles the beautiful dinner at Anib lodge , even if better than what the place looks us ! Behind us there ' s a big glass aquarium which requires urgent intervention of cleaning as a dead fish can be seen floating on the calm surface of the water . Shortly a Spartan place where we won ' t come the next evening ..
In the morning , as usual , we wake up soon , going to have breakfast . Let ' s look at a quick buffet to discover that only yogurt is good to our liking . Maybe we are somewhat & quot ; difficult & quot ; in terms of food for breakfast , but we like the classic breakfast dessert , with bread and jam , or biscuits with tea or coffee milk . Everything else , cereals , meats , cheeses for breakfast are not for us . So we take a jar of yogurt on our head and head towards our place . Around the table there are two microscopic jam cans . We ask of the white and toasted bread , while observing other people in the room that certain more than having breakfast seems they are having lunch and dinner at the same time ! Eggs with bacon , lots of cereals , rolls of salami and cheese . I wonder if they eat so much at home for breakfast or do so only now that they are on vacation ! Since we have plenty of time , an hour before going to visit the ghost town of < strong > Kolmanskoop strong >, we head to Agate Beach . Nothing special if not for the fact that along the road near a wetland where the vegetation is very lush ( there is water , most important thing here ) there are orixes and antelopes . More far there are flamingos . The desert landscape contrasting this green oasis with lagoons full of flamingos , is something spectacular . The visit to the ghost town is very interesting . In the theatre hall of the town of < strong > Kolmanskoop strong > two guides divide people in the room . A guide will be the Africans one , and our family goes with this guide . The other is for English and German people . As for clear German origins , both for looking and attitudes , our guide alternates explanation between the two languages , of course , no coincidence , the first in German and then in English . All of this without making breaks or interruptions between one language or another ( even variations in tone .. all the same story ). And so began his long explanation . I think it started from the prehistoric times , because he never stops to talk . Given that this city can not boast a century of history , introductory explanation , was of course interminable . Marco like others , including myself , after a while is tired to listen and started to read the explanation on our guide , while others merely look at the ceiling or their shoes . If we thought it to be a simple guided tour we have missed largely ! The guide breaks the explanation and tone as a real teacher resumed Marco & quot ; Reading or Listening ?& quot ; Ops ..... Marco , angered closes the book and does not reply ( our travellers English does not provide the phrase & quot ; Watch your things & quot ;, we ' ll learn that for future occasions ). Well ... we are at school ! We hope that ultimately he wouldn ' t question us ! The visit continues ... Interestingly the visit of the various buildings , and the endless museum . The guide explained every single photo ! We feared having to spend the night in this city ! Finally , over the visit we were able to wander the city as we wish to do some photos and browse the various houses . In the afternoon , instead , we visited the bay . I would say that it is not a very coveted goal since we met a single car . Very interesting , both the landscape , truly sorry , and the coast . We even see the penguins on Halifax Island . There is a very strong wind , and the few times that we descend with the intention to make two steps to admire the landscape around us , the icy wind assails us ! Even then lunch was with this wind . In the late afternoon we remember that it is Saturday and that the day after a long shift awaits us . We must therefore replenish car ' s tank . I ' m concerned to find all fuel pumps already closed or discover that they are closed on Sundays we go immediately there , where we learn that pumps are opened 24 hours long for the whole week , including Sunday . Good to know . For tonight ' s dinner we change , of course , local and choose the restaurant located inside the Kapps Hotel . The choice shows to be excellent . Unfortunately it ' s Saturday evening and we have no appointment scheduled , so we return to our room . The wind is very strong and the air is very cold so we do not even dream an evening stroll for the country , which also is completely desert . Who knows what will inhabitants do on Saturday evening ?
This morning breakfast is a little more lively . Electric power has gone , but this , we are told is not a problem . We request to a different waiter from that of the previous morning , the usual white toasted bread . Nothing .. we have the doubt that he needed to go into bakery to take it . After a long wait he comes back with two dishes filled with eggs and bacon . We have a small spat with the guy , who claimed that we had ordered him and why we wanted to trim then . However .. The two dishes are immediately diverted to another table where everything is very welcome and finally only toasted bread is brought us ( two miserable slices ! Whether we pay them !?!). After breakfast we startwith destination Aus . We do a stop at the look - out from which you can see wild horses of the desert . There are a peaceful grazing flock , along with some ostrich . They are a little much slim ! We restart towards Sesriem / Solitarie , through the Namib Rand Nature Reserve . During our itinerary we are little beaten from views of the few cars encountered , of course we also encounter the white car of the same family we ' ll meet throughout the day . The road ahead is long and the journey was tiring , but the mountains of the Namib Rand Nature Reserve are spectacular and the surrounding landscape is truly beautiful . We see several animals more or less close and often we pause to observe them with binoculars . We see a herd of mountain zebras in the area of Naukluft Mountain . Arrived to Sesriem , we look for the office of the park to buy something typical of Sesriem in the small shop . Just near the entrance there are two & quot ; beautiful & quot ; ( not literally ) snakes kept in alcohol ! Just had to make them ! We look a little around and start to Solitaire where we will stay by the Solitarie Guest House for 3 nights . We arrive to Solitarie that the sun is already decreasing . In Solitarie there are two structures with a similar name , our informations to reach the place were not clear and guidance of Edt did some confusion . The fact is that there are the Solitarie Country Lodge and the Solitarie Guest Farm . The guide describes the Solitarie Edt ' s Lodge Country calling it Solitarie Guest House . There are only a microscopic shop and a fuel pump but local people have managed to make a monstrous confusion ! Finally we get out of this tangle of names and find our lodge . It is located 6 kms from the main road surrounded by mountains . A nice place to stay , nothing to say . The farm will be one of the best throughout the trip , for the place accommodation , kindness of the owner and the excellent cuisine - based game . At the end we arrive already at darkness , carry our stuff from the car and give us a cleaned . It ' s impressive how much sand and dust accumulates from all sides . Our bags are all dusty . After cleaning ourselves we introduce for dinner . There are only two other people . We have already had occasion to note the presence in the chamber of orix horns , at home we see other orix horns used as candlesticks , an embalmed kudu and other relics of this type . Marco , not only for professional reasons , is obviously very interested in seeing these things and engages a pleasant conversation with the kind owner of all these farm animals , etc .. The dinner - based game , there is delicious . The power supply is provided by a generator , for this at10pm the light turns off . At bed the starry sky seems magical and the silence of the night is broken only by singing geckos .
Today we visit the Namib Desert . The guides advise to visit it at dawn , but we are lazy and we did not want to wake up too soon !... We immediately head to dune 45 that we are going to climb . I thought that walking on the sand was like walking on the snow instead we discover that is worse . After Watching around and having ritual photos we are approaching Sussusvlei . The desert shows broad landscapes of dunes that sometimes we pause to photograph . We provide to park in Sussusvlei . Only 4x4s can continue with and our is not , because someone has made a beautiful mess with the reservation , so we decide not to use the shuttle service but to have it on foot . One of our guides argues that this is a beautiful idea and walks like us , so we start with our backpacker with a good stock of water . It is 5 kilometers in the plan , an hour of walk , on a ground that goes through more or less sandy to very sandy . Indeed we can enjoy with calm the surrounding landscape and see a variety of animals not common to our habits . Sussusvlei is a very particular and suggestive place . We have lunch in the nearby picnic area where there are a number of tables in the shade of few big tree . Next to our table , we find a completely prepared one , with a red tartan tablecloth , and porcelain tableware . Well ... we could also accomodate , since everything is ready ! Shortly after arrives a jeep which accommodate other tourists at this table and food is served from the driver as if they were at the restaurant , brought by a grant refrigerators come over directly arranged on metal trays ... Personally I find this ridiculous and excessive ( as well as disgusting ), but we think not all in the same way ! After lunch we resume our way back to the parking lot . We meet a few other people which like us have chosen to do the road on foot , the average tourist , unfortunately moves in the car and doesn ' t just know what he ' s going to lost ! While we walk passed from jeeps , really a lot , we notice one in particular that on board , carries four tourists . Guess who they are ? Of course , our family ! Indeed today they had not been seen by us yet ! We visit the Sesriem Canyon where we do two steps in Canyon , very impressive , although in comparison to the Fish River Canyon seems a poor one ! Back to Solitarie a nice shower and foremost a superlative dinner awaits us , steaks of orix with fruit sauce ! Too good ! We would like to get the recipe ! Well ... also orixes ! As soon as it begins to dark , like the previous evening , geckos start to sing . We originally attributed this noise to a some night birds , but questioned the owner of the guest - house , we discover that the noise produced is not the song of a bird but that of geckos . Because we are curious , we decide to see if we can spot someone . Taken the stack we go in the direction of calls . In spite of our ( many ) attempts we failed to see anything . Sometimes we had the song so close that it seemed we were trampling them , then we point confidently the beam of light from the torch but .... nothing , we have not seen such this beautiful thing .
Today we expect a long walk . We decided to travel the Waterkloof trail , a loop of 17 kilometers around on Naukluft Mountain . We start immediately after breakfast with backpacks ready for the walk . We reach the headquarters of the park and go immediately to buy the permit . The guy is little perplexed from our decision and repeats that they are 17kms and it takes 6 / 7 hours . We say that we know what we are doing . Oh .. still better than what we thought , the gap is not so much ( about 500 meters ). Having said that we move to traverse this path . Much of the tour crosses dry rivers , this is little annoying , there is no more than crossing right to return to the left , and so on .. back and forth on the river depending on how it curves . The trail is generally well marked although there are some points where it is not very well marked and we had to sweat much to find them . Trail is signed with a yellow painted footmark ! Couldn ' t they use a color a little more visible ? Slowly the trail picks . The last piece , defined as a steep climb from guide , peaks well but to call it a steep climb seems excessive . So we think that who wrote the guide has never walked much in the mountains , otherwise they ' ll know what a steep climb is . However we arrive for lunch on the topmost point where we meet other 4 people , the same we will see all day . From this point you can enjoy a nice view on all the surrounding mountains . We descent quickly to walk again in the bed of the river , always dry . Obviously Marco , after having faithfully followed the trail for almost the whole day , decided towards the end , that is the case to make a shortcut . I protest a bit because ... This time I was right and we are forced to go back . However after 5 hours and 40 minutes of walk , satisfied that it needed less time than reported on guides and maps , we come finally back to the car . The feet are a little painful because of all the rocks on which we had to walk , but the tourhas been pleasant , we saw the nature on these mountains , but we have not seen any animal apart from some small birds and mammals .
After breakfast wepoint directly to < strong > Walvis Bay strong >, cross a strange lunar landscape and we come back in a sand area . The spectacle of flamingos in the bay of < strong > Walvis Bay strong > is truly impressive . There are lots of pink birds that is not even possible to count them . The day is very windy , we make two steps on the bay very quickly because the air is stinging . After lunch we move in Swakopmund , where we get accommodation for two nights . Once in the city , we take all our maps of the centre out , in search of the street where is located our guest - house . I had few problems in finding the names marked on the streets on our map . Marco unjustly accuses me of not being able to read the map ! We discover later that due to a change of name in the City ( from one of German origin to one of indigenous origin , the names of streets crossing the main one were changed in order to get a more African Union toponomy . However information are sold for a dollar in the form of a photocopy of the city centre with the correct toponomy . Great .. Even toponomy of < strong > Swakopmud strong > was not our only problem to solve in order tofind our guest - house . Just in the area where we had to go , already , construction of different kinds of paved road and roundabouts ( also have arrived here !) were underway .. So the road to reach the guest house was complicated to trace . The Guest House is a villa on two floors with lots of windows , not far from the sea , in a residential area . Our room is very beautiful , Marco defines it a & quot ; high class & quot ; one . We complete the day with a tour of Swakopmund and a little shopping . We also pass at the offices of African Desk to know Elizabeth , the person who helped us in the booking of accommodation and to clarify the misunderstanding of < strong > Ai - ais strong >. Enterprise not easy because the office does not have a shop and we can not find she . Elizabeth , who until now had only been contacted via e - mail , is very kind so we take advantage to ask some information on the spot and others to confirm flights for the return . To clarify the misunderstanding of < strong > Ai - ais strong >, Elizabeth , which is sure to have paid the total amount of nights , must call the ministry , but given the hour , we ' ll see all the next day . For dinner , we decide to eat pizza ! We do not expect a real Italian pizza , basically because we are abroad ! But the pizza we tasted was very good and we can define it very similar to ours , maybe a little more crispy . Returning from dinner , the light of the engine ignites . We park under a beautiful streetlight , because the light is low and we start our new mechanical activities . Verified that oil level is minimum , we notice that the battery is breaking . Surely the original was replaced by this that is not the same size . The solicitation which car has been subjected , have loosen contacts , so we find ourselves with a battery that & quot ; walks & quot ; in his place . Unfortunatel we have all ( very few ) screwdrivers possible and imaginable except the one needed . At the end with the help of a spoon and pliers we tighten screws and assured the battery to the rest of the mechanical . If nothing else , we should not lose it on the road !
During the night the temperature fell a lot and despite the covers , we feel cold . I lift the curtains on the windows to let the sun enter and surprise of surprises : there is the fog ! It seems to be like home in November , with this low mist , all grey and sad , on the ground all is wet , so much that I presume , mistaking , that during the night has rained . At lunch , we ask explanations to the lady of the guest house about this strange weather . All normal , he explains , as the hot current from the desert faces the cold current coming from the mist , moist forms on the ground . We were explained that this awakening accompanies them very often and that we simply need to move a dozen kilometers inland to enjoy the blue sky with shining sun , we also learn that the rain in Swakopmund is pretty rare . The breakfast buffet is very rich experience as for sweet and salty foods , finally we find something that looks like a plumcake and biscuits , having really good breakfast . Before starting the program of the day they plan to go in the morning to the Welwitschia drive to see see lions in the afternoon , we pass in a fuel pump to add oil to the engine and we do issue a receipt for what we spent . We are affected by the fact that oil fill costs nothing compared to Italy . As previously announced by the lady of the guest house , after a while that we are travelling eastern direction , fog dissolves making space to usual blue sky devoid of any cloud . We drive long Welwitschia drive almost alone , since we don ' t meet anyone . Along this path is possible to admire lunar landscapes , a dike of dolerite , the oasis of Goanikontes , a debris belonging to some old army and finally the welwitschia mirabilis , strange desert plants . In the afternoon we go to Cape Cross to see the colony of sea lions . It ' s impossible to imagine the number of sea lions present on the coast and those who are still at sea , everywhere you look you see lots of animals . They make a lot of noise not to mention the pleasant scent you smell just coming down from the vehicle ! A real stink ! Like everyone , we bravely approach animals . There are so many that sleep over the companions . There are mothers who are breastfeeding small males , some other that fight , shortly .. a great confusion , but it is truly an impressive spectacle to see all these animals together . Now I understand why the fishermen in the area complain that the sea lions are eating all the fish ! We walk a little around and see two jackals that circumventi undisturbed near sea lions . The jackals are , in fact , the predators of fur seals . Fairy in the area you can see remains of dead sea lions : skin , bones and skulls belonging certainly to young animals . We come back in Swakopmund in the late afternoon , passing by Elizabeth to discover that the error was the Ministry one , therefore the money we paid is returned to us . Previously to dinner , despite the sparkling air , we make a walk on the beach at sunset , where we also done one of those beautiful as postcard photos .
We are passionate of mountain so we deserve a visit to Spitzkuppe , called the Matterhorn of Africa . Our intention is to reach the top . Making road , seen in the distance , lies a mountain of respectable height , a pile of stone that stands out from the floor below . Indeed , with his tip , it remembers the Matterhorn . Obviously , the immensity of the Matterhorn is another thing . We pay the entry ticket and start to see the mountain closely . We do not have a detailed map of the slopes around the mountain and on the spot there are no signs indicating directions , so we choose to go by visual approach . We proceed very slowly because the road is really very bad , it seems to have passed by convoy of Tracks . We stop and .. surprise ... we have a tyre punctured . Marco is not worried and me too . Damn .. it is true that it happens very often ... We try to replace the wheel , but unfortunately it is bad damaged so we can not repair it . It is not simply punctured but the wheel is broken . We start again , this time a little worried , given that we had only a spare wheel left and we continue to do our tour around the Spitzkuppe . Given the anxiety that we suffered for having a single wheel , we decide to postpone visit on the peak of Spitzkuppe , in order to search a new spare wheel somewhere . We head for Usakos where we find a used tire shop and we think that if luck was on our side all problems would have been solved quickly and maybe we will be able to return to Spitzkuppe . But nothing ! The owner says that has no wheel suited to our car , but kindly offered to call his colleagues nearby to find another one . So there we go with a card with a name of a car dealer in the closer country ( Karibib ). Even after all we solve the problem of spare wheel before lunch . We request to issue a receipt because entering into additional insurance on wheels and on the glass we expect the rental company to return us the extra money ! In any case , the programme of the day is a little changed . We then head towards Omaruru , where we take a look to the massive Erongo Region mountain and then we head towards Uis where we stay for the night . Uis appears to us now like what it is , a country which perhaps had a moment of glory ( maybe ) but now is slowly decaying . So as the country is structure in which we stay , the Brandberg Rest Camp . We did not understand if it ' s because of a problem of availability or road works ( the road is an entire yard ), but water is rationed , available only for few hours . We have a mini apartment with kitchen , living room , two bedrooms and two bathrooms . We choose one of two rooms . Despite all this broad choice , the beds are a little much soft and my creaks as well . And think about that we chose the best room ! The place is not so much , like everuthing around us . For dinner , we have a kitchen but there are not the dishes , so we go to the restaurant of Rest Camp . At the bar there is a lot people , but only us are tourists . We decide to dine out in dehor , not the hot face , but inside , with all the people inside the bar seems to be in a stack . We do not like smoking while we eat . So we accomodate outside and fortunately , the evening is cool but not cold . Outside there are other people who drink seating at a table near the empty pool , one of these undoubtedly was already drunk ... I do not know whether it is just a feeling but it seems to me that this place is falling apart . The menu is very varied : T - bone steak with salad or T - bone steak with salad .. We request that steaks should be well cooked . The waiting times are always very long . And less evil threre are only ourselves , if the room was full goodness knows how many days we ' ll employ waiting to be served . Finally we are served . We bring two huge steaks ( not so much cooked ) covered with sauce , fries and salad . Well .. the appearance is not bad , we just have to find what that sauce is , unfortunately , to my immense joy , I discover that both steaks and salad contain an industrial quantity of garlic . Surely in a radius of kilometers there will be no vampires !
Given the previous dinner , for breakfast we are rather worried . We leave our room approaching the hall for breakfast . Desert .. more than < strong > Kolmanskoop strong > ghost town , that it is truly a ghost town . We find the room and stand amazed . There is nobody , not even the staff , but we sit down the same . I do not know what expects us but what we see is beyond our expectations . A buffet , only for us , as there are no other guests , with everything possible . Well .. breakfast was average . We start then , towards the Brandberg . We want to see this massive , even if not closely , and the famous rock painting of the White Lady . Arriving at the Brandberg , a guide is assigned us . Someone argues that we can also make the rounds alone . The figure price is really small and considered the status of poverty in some villages of the area , we think it proper to let these people work . So , reaching the cave paintings is not easy if you do not know where to find them . Having said that we start to walk following our guide . He walks very quickly , but we still are able to stay behind him . We reach the group before us . The tour , which lasts just over two hours , provides us the visit to the cave paintings of white lady and to other three sites . It is a pleasant walk this valley of Brandberg . The Brandberg is visible at the bottom of the valley . The guide is very prepared and competent , not only on paintings , but also on the surrounding environment . We also observe various types of lizards of different colours . We meet other groups as generally there is a lot of people here . Eh eh .. when you walk people is becoming less and lesser , it is true that the mass goes only where cars can bring them ! After our pleasant tour we are asked if we could offer a pass to a boy who had to return to his farm . Our vehicle has only two seats but the autostoppist is satisfied to travel in the boot . So starting in the direction of Khorixas , after about thirty kilometers our guest asks us to stop : it reached its destination . Bah .. in the midst of nothingness he goes down and moves by foot in the bush . His farm ( we presume ) is certainly in that direction , given that at the horizon we do not see anything . We continue our journey and we go to visit the Burnt Mountain and the Organ Pipes ... sincerely ... it doesn ' t worth the hassle . As much as for Organ Pipes ( of basalt that over time has taken this particular pipe organ like form ) but for the Burnt Mountain , this is a hill whose wall is completely burnt black . Finally after a visit to the Petrified Forest ( it ' s impressive how these trunks have become rock ) and we head to Outjo where we reserved a room at Etosha Garden Hotel . We read the guide that this hotel also has the best restaurant in town ( given the size of cities is not difficult to be the best of city !!!), so , given that today is also my name day we decide to have dinner in this beautiful place . We set in our room , very beautiful and very typical , and we prepare for our dinner that is of excellent quality . We taste roulades of the famous zebra and a kudu steak , and since the cook is of Austrian origin , we complete dinner with two beautiful slices of AppleStrudel .
We wake up early , and after a nice breakfast we immediately drive towards Etosha . We expect a beautiful day in the park . The kilometers to go are many and up to the park roads are not paved . It ' s a nice warm and sunny day and at some point the air conditioning suddenly stops working . Well .. what a luck , considered the hot air and the roads full of dust , traveling with the windows lowered is certainly not the best solution . At some point a very strong noise from the engine of our car forces us to stop immediately . Opened the bonnet ... oh oh ... two belts have loosen and now lie apart from the engine . I precise that I do not understand anything about engines . The fact is that our bulletin of war shows a small belt left out from home , bad worn and all in pieces ! And this is especially the cause of our despair .. there must be some fundamental belts as that of the fan and the engine one . After a moment of panic we should decide what to do . What to do ? Unlikely today is Sunday ! Fantastic ! We see a car coming from the horizon and we decide to stop it . Here there is not that too many transit , so it is not the case to waste opportunities . Fortunately for us the car stops . This is a van with two families of east - European tourists which understand something of engines . So ... the verdict is that , the first belt the smallest , is air conditioning one . Patience , we can do without it . While the second is selvo - steering and perhaps also the fan one . And here comes the problem ... without the fan we cannot go away . Since the entrance to the park is not far we request them to continue until the park slowly and stop at every hint of overheating of the machine . Well ... if only we arrive at destination , then we will contact the rental company to request in a short time ( utopia ) another spare car . So start . And surprise of surprises , the fan is running . We stop , we check all motor running . Fortunately ... the strap covers only the selvo - steering ! We reach so the entrance to the park . In the end , consulted the manual of instructions of the car we are confirmed that the belt path does not involve other key parts , and since to the end of the journey we have less than a week , we decide to keep the car as it is , although a little tougher in the manoeuvre .. but driver is Marco ! Thus began our first safari day at Etosha . Done the formalities to enter , we head towards the gate of this mythical park . And immediately an antelope grazes near the road . And here we made beautiful photos ! A look to the brochure that we had bought in the park ( with a map of roads within and the location of wells ) and we are ready for the safari ! After years of SuperQuark finally we ' ll see these animals in the savannah live , exactly in their natural environment ! Something indescribable ! We begin to see some zebra . Immediately photographed ... We pursued a little haste . Fearing that we ' ll have no other occasions we take photos soon as soon as we can . We continue seeing some zebras , and again and again ... Shortly we are surrounded by many zebras . Marco tries to count them but are too much , right to left on roads are only zebras . It is not easy to describe the sight and emotions at sight of so many animals in their environment ! We continue on the road slowly , zebras are not giving much weight to our presence . If you must pass they move from the road , but very calmly . We proceed slowly savouring every moment of these close encounters since we finally arrive to puddle ! It seems to be at the market . Not for people , those fortunately are few and all gathered on some vehicles ( the park regulation strictly prohibits to descend from your car ). But for animals : zebras , orixes , antelopes , impalas and even a jackal . How many animals , not expected . And this was just the beginning . We have three days like this . Well .. there are kms and puddles in which there is no living soul , but there are moments and ponds where there was an embarrassment of choice . The elephants , these great pachiderms . The elephant puppies are very funny . But all puppies are tenderness ! The giraffes also seen in the distance , with their neck high like trees . If we want to talk about necks ostriches are also good . With that pile of feathers that makes it a huge sit on two legs . And not just mammals but also many birds . At Etosha we saw more of everything ! Needless to describe each individual animal . The countless photos we have done will in time be remembered for the beauty of nature , of these animals and what is beautiful and exciting to do in a safari . And once we realized how nature can be wonderful . The gaze of an antelope ( my favorites ), his eyes while watching the photographers . Who knows what she will be thinking ! These are memories that we will carry with us forever ! Ah ,.. a curious thing ... to the field shop we meet again our family . Howa little the world it is , they here too . Who knows where these were , since are days we haven ' t met they !
28 - 29 July 2004 Our second and third day of safari at Etosha pass like the first . There are many animals that we see and observe . Shooting all day until the closure of the gates . Needless to list species or more . The felines have not been very cooperative and apart from a lioness posed behind a bush observing a herd of antelopes ( perhaps chosing her breakfast ), we haven ' t seen others . The first and second night we spend still at Okaukuejo while the third at Namutoni . These are two very beautiful fields . In the pool of Okaukuejo we can admire both evenings , the rhinos . The penultimate day we also see the secretary - bird trying with a little patience to photograph him . Truly a very elegant bearing bird . In front of the chamber Namutoni there are a lot of mongoose going in the lawn , that are fun and funny to see , a little less when we try to start car engine . We hope they haven ' t eaten our starter wires .
Before leaving the Etosha park we walk for the last time to the dik - dik drive and this time we can see the dik diks , even if they are small !. We leave so the Etosha with a booty of animals sighted , except for the lions but otherwise we are very satisfied ! Our first goal is < strong > Otjiwarongo strong >, where we visit the centre of rearing crocodiles . The visit is interesting , we are with a couple of Spaniards . The owner acts as guide and tells us something about breeding of these large reptiles . Copies are kept in a large outer fence and are all staring at the sun . They are monstrously large and their sharp teeth are impressive . In a closed , heated fence , there are baby crocodiles , which can not be kept out because the winter temperatures are not suited them . There are something like enormous lizards from 30 to 40 centimeters . The Spaniards seem very enthusiastic to me , said truth is that I do not have much feeling and sympathy for reptiles , but to define them very nice seems to me a little excessive . They are super lizards with a friendly look at all , but their denture is freightening respectable ! After the visit to the centre of crocodiles we head to the Waterberg Plateau Park . Along the way we meet several baboons . We try to take some pictures of them but once we stop they flee . We arrive to the Waterberg Plateau Park that are just past 14 : 00 , again they try to make us pay a phantomatic difference to our original payment because it doesn ' t result complete them , but this we make complaints , and insist they have to give us a reason ! Even after all we book drive in the game park for the following morning at 6am . So we decide to spend the afternoon in relax , sitting on the bench in front of our room and going to plan the trip that will brings us on top of the plateau in the late afternoon . The place is a haven of tranquillity , silence is broken only by the song of birds . Meanwhile we relax and we enjoy all this silence and this peace , arrives a worker in charge of the field to fix the bathroom sink , which is blocked . It ' s a very nice man on the fifty . After a some attempts he leaves the room telling us & quot ; it ' s very hard !& quot ; Too cute ! And that he will return after a while with more tools and the African version of liquid plumber ! Marco offers to help him , since it is alone , and the guy accepts willingly . After several attempts finally he manages to free the sink . Our predecessors had left in the exhaust pipe a sock and a cap of a bottle , bah ! Our employee of the park goes away , therefore , pleased to have solved the problem . And another time I remain struck by the simplicity and genuineness of these people ! The camp is organized in houses , and every house has two rooms , guessed a little & quot ; Who are our neighbours & quot ;? Oh yes , our family . We have been chased throughout the trip and saying that Namibia is wide ! At about 15 . 30 when the sun is less hot we walk to the top of the Plateau . The walk , a first stretch between the trees which finally concludes between the rocks , is pleasant , and the view from above is spectacular . We conclude the evening with dinner at the restaurant of the resort . There ' s lots of people and the staff runs right and left , they take the orders but then we do not know what they are going to do . Somebody complaints for the long wait , someone irritates , a guy goes even in the kitchen . As for us , after a lot we have been waiting for , the waiter comes to ask confirmation of what we ordered . We are concerned that all this time has been spent waiting in vain , but after a few minutes the waiter arrives with the dishes . We note some nice multi - functionality by staff . The girl at receptions on the park opening hours is now serving at the bar , the guy who acted as responsible for the affairs serves now the tables .. Bah .. if we look in the kitchen perhaps we could find the plumber between cookers ! Dinner is gladdened by a choir of boys and girls of a school a dozen kilometers far from the field . Their voices and their traditional songs are very suggestive .
We wake up still at dark , the game drive is set for 6am . It ' s cold and dark when the jeep in the park leaves the parking lot to take them towards plateau . The air is so cold that I put gloves to the envy of the French guy which stupidly wears bermudas and sandals . Immediately I was squared as I came from mars , but meanwhile I am not daed of cold while he beaten the teeth for the entire trip ! The view from the top of the plateau ranges on the infinity around him , the vegetation is dense rather we don ' t see many animals . We stop in a place where there is a hut near a pond that can be seen throughout calm animals , if there were some ! All in strict silence , we sit on benches and begin to explore the territory before us looking for something . Nothing , absolutely nothing . There is served us a breakfast that has nothing to envy to those served by plane , same style , same content . I do not know how one can think of eating fried chicken for breakfast . Yet happens , the neighbors of Marco start to eat fried chicken greedly . We eat , and then , after this delicious breakfast , finally a orix makes us the grace to be seen . For us who come from almost 3 weeks of travel and orixes , the thing is not so extraordinary . We thought of seeing so many animals as Etosha . We get again on jeeps and resume our tour thinking that if was to see this all , we had spent N $ 400 unnecessarily . How cannot we say we are not satisfied to see roan and sable . Lacked from our list the ungulate visas , so we feel however happy as we saw two other new species that we have not sighted yet . The game drive ends at 11am and we just have time to get in the car and head towards our next destination . The Dusternbrook Guestfarm at 14 : 30 where we booked the game drive to see leopards and cheetahs . Indeed it does not need to move much , the location of the farm shows less comfortable than it had described on the internet , but finally we arrive . Along the road we can still observe many animals . The game drive of & quot ; big cats & quot ; ( as I call them ) is very exciting . It is precisely the opportunity to see these beautiful animals ( I must admit , I adore the felines ) closely , photograph and observe them . They are wonderful , nothing to say ! We see a leopard and 4 cheetahs . The leopard has the same expression of a bad cat , but I find it simply amazing . The cheetahs seem less ferocious , but it is not the case to prove it ! Greeted the & quot ; big cats & quot ; we are going to do the last kilometer of our journey to the capital , staying in the same guest house of the first night , so we know what awaits us . As we began , we end ! Obviously the same place for dinner ... but this time we do a tail that does not end anymore . If they do not understand or if the balances on Thursday in < strong > Windhoek strong > is the evening of fast - food , the fact is that there are four infinite rows and I wonder they call it fast !
Finally the day of departure arrived . We wake up calmly , have breakfast and prepare our suitcases . We still have a little time before going to bring the car to the airport and we spend them enjoying the sun of Namibia in the garden of the Guest House . As we return the car , we have to report all the problems we had and we are particularly keen not to go away without being repaid for the money we anticipated , including a spare wheel . We thought we have to insist or protest , because charterers are always jerks , but instead ... we are immediately returned for all the money in advance to the last penny without any objection . So .. we should load our stuff on the taxi that we have called to go to the airport . But our adventures are not yet finished , check - in was all a program . Among all employees at check - in , we choose the most awake . He delivers all our tickets , put the suitcases on the tape and specify that the bags must be posted in Turin in Italy ( must specify our country because we do not expect that anyone knows the location of Turin ). After a while he has consulted the computer , while the next row continues to pass by quickly , he press the usual label of sticky paper to suitcases . Looking at it we read JNB . That means the suitcases did not want to withdraw Joannesbourg and repeat throughout the flight plan , stressing the final destination . It traffics and apologizes again returning on pc . Reprint the label and .... again not good . He wrote JNB TRN erroneusly skipping the intermediate stop in Frankfurt . On the third try he has been finally inspired and the path of suitcases is correct . But what effort ! Now it is up to our boarding passes ... we are being made only one for Joannesbourg , the other must be done once arrived in South Africa . We are not even to insist , otherwise who knows where we will be sent ! And so , at 12 : 50 we take off leaving this extraordinary country and bringing with us many beautiful memories of this fantastic journey . Goodbye Namibia ...
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