Windhoek – Sesriem

We arrived safely in Windhoek, where we picked up the 4×4 which would be our home for the next two weeks. Before heading off, we had a room (the largest room) in Jordani BnB, our very comfortable first accommodation, site of our first casualty: halfway through our trip through Namibia, we realise we’ve forgotten our laundry line there…

Walking around the street in the morning, we get our first impressions of Windhoek – a very dry and low-built city. We were in a calm residential area and noticed that the houses were all well surrounded, with walls and barbed wire fencing.

After breakfast, we get on the road (driving on the left!). Leaving Windhoek, the road is tarred and smooth and we make good progress.

After a short shopping stop in Rehoboth (including sandwichhes and drinks for the ‘parking guards’), we reach the start of the gravel road. A couple of hours on the bumpy road allow us to reach the Naukluft camp (13 km off the main road) relatively early. Unfortunately, when trying to check in, we discover we don’t have a booking there. Back on the road, two bumpy hours later, we reach Sesriem, where our booking actually is.

As we reached the camp shortly before sunset, we were too late to make it up to the dune for the view. We headed back to the tent to test our hand getting our tent up and, exhausted, crash into bed.

Around 2 AM, we’re woken up by the wind, billowing outside and (as we felt it) threatening to knock our tent down. We stay awake a couple of hours, listening to music and hoping in vain that the wind will die down. Exhausted by the night, we decide to push off our sunrise visit to the dunes, and extend our stay by a night.

So, after a few hours light rest, we head off in direction of Deadvlei (60 km from Sesriem), where we start our way up Big Daddy (dune 69). Having arrived too late, with the increasing heat and not enough water, we make our way back down shortly before we reach the top. We cross Deadvlei and make our way back to the camp.