Today we land at the coastal city of Walvis Bay, Namibia, the driest country in sub-Saharan Africa, We picked our pilot up just before 8AM and were secured to the dock by 9AM. Today’s adventure would be a 4WD romp through Namib Naukluft Park including coastal beaches and sand dunes of Sandwich Harbour,
The 4WD Toyota Fortuner picked us up at the ship and we started our 60km drive to the park. Our first stop was a short way from the ship, at the end of the paved road, where we watched the pink flamingos as we deflated our tires to prepare for the onward off-road journey. Along the way we passed the massive salt harvest pools. Salt is a major export of the area. We continued along the beach, just outside the surf line, making our way through the stark landscape of the park until eventually arriving at the other worldly environment of the dunes. It felt like a scene out of a movie. Deep, blowing sand as far as the eye can see.We cruised over the deep sand at breakneck speeds, often getting stuck and having slide down the dunes before resuming our adventure. It was exhilarating.
We stopped for lunch around 1 o’clock along on a high dune overlooking the ocean and dined on Namibia delicacies washed down with local beer and wine. The return trip was along the same route. A wonderful adventure in the desert. Another country checked off the list.
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