From the magnificent Victoria Falls we returned back to Kasane through Zimbabwe's Zambezi National park. Our Land Rover Defender 110 Puma was waiting for us and after a few hours familiarizing ourselves with the car and all the amenities included, we drove into Namibia through the Ngoma bridge. We were excited as from now on we were on our own. Our vehicle included all what we needed to be independent and safe on our way. There was a fridge, storage areas and enough space for tools and everything else required to survive in the harsh African roads. We filled our deposits with supplies and hit the road.
Welcome to Namibia!
Land rovering
Our first overnight stop within Namibia was in a community camp called Mavunje located in Kwando core area. A fully equipped camp located next to a beautiful lagoon. This is a result of an initiative run in conjunction with the local community with a proportion of the financial benefits from the income generated going to community development projects. We really 'enjoyed' our stay with the sounds of elephants and crocodiles next to us flipping in and out of the water.
Flying over the camp
Mavunje camp setting
Our first sunset in Namibia
Next day we were on the go again. On a glorious sunny and clear day we drove past the Caprivi strip, a long land strip between the borders of Botswana and Angola. The road was a straight line between dense forest. We saw very few cars and many signs to beware the passing elephants. Of course, we had to take a photo to remember...
Driving through the Caprivi Strip
Just us (and maybe elephants)
Next stop, Ngepi camp. An award winning camp with amazing bush huts by the Okavango river. One of the highlights here is the caged swimming pool, where someone can swim in the river along with crocodiles in safety. Another highlight is the accommodation over the river. We stayed in a treehouse with a balcony over the water. We truly had an once in a lifetime experience to sleep in such bed and wake up literally with the sunrise between our toes!
Here, we had an interesting talk with the camp owner, a south african ranger, that moved to this location two decades ago and established this camp and all the difficulties he experienced. He also explained to us in a simple way how to orientate ourselves using the stars at the night sky. The sky that night was simply breathtaking.
Crocodile safe swimming pool
What a place to sleep..
...and to wake up!
The coolest balcony
The few days we stayed in the area, we explored the Bwabwata National park and the surrounding areas. We went to the Popa Falls and to the Cubango river banks. There was a large concentration of elephants, giraffes and a variety of unique birds and other mammals. Of course we stayed in the car.. We enjoyed our game drives and returned back to the camp satisfied that our car/boy toy was full in mud!
Following a drive at Bwabwata National Park
The following day, and after some arguments whether to wash the car or not, we drove about 560 kilometers to reach the famous Etosha park. This is one of the largest game reserves in Namibia and in order to explore it properly we planned to stay for few days. The vast salt pans are the most noticeable features in the park. The concentration of animals is large. We spotted zebras, elephants, hyenas, springboks and giraffes. Unfortunately, we did not spot rhinos even if we waited for sometime in many waterholes. Nevertheless, we drove through some epic landscapes and this is place to truly remember!
Entering Etosha park at Namutoni gate
A fort within Namutoni resort
The vast Etosha pan
Acrobatics..
Epic shot, with Loufos @Etosha
Together we (still) stand!
Our Land Rover still standing too
Typical African landscape
A photographer's shadow
Following our days in Etosha, we were off for the remotes of Namibia. We wanted to experience some of the off-the-beaten track routes away from the well known touristy spots. So we decided to move west towards the Skeleton Coast. Driving hundreds of kilometers on gravel roads, with the dust entering easily within the Defender's cabin, we reached Sesfontein, a settlement in the Kunene region. We stayed in a remote camp in the middle of nowhere and enjoyed the starry African skies. We felt the awe of this remoteness and had a very basic overnight stay with the few food supplies that had left.
At the Namibian remotes
Our home + transport
Another German fort at Sesfontein
Such a cool kid on the block..
..along with his mates
The days at the Namibian remotes brought us closer to the people and the original tribes of Herero and Nama. We experienced what it means to live (and survive) in such remote areas away from cities, traffic and crowds. Just raw nature. We left the place to continue towards the coast and the Atlantic Ocean. Vast open landscapes, breathtaking views and the feeling of adventure. What else to wish for?
The highest we reached 1540m, at Grootberg pass
Never ending gravel
and flat shaped hills
At last we reached the ocean! After thousands of kilometers, from the Okavango Delta through the Victoria Falls, through the Namibian remotes, we saw the open sea at Torra Bay! Another remote place this one, we saw very few vehicles passing by. Your car brakes down here and you are in big trouble. It was windy and didn't stay long at the beach, we had to find accommodation as there is no camp within the park. Driving the coastline we saw the ship skeletons, motionless shipwrecks that this place took the name from. The place where the sands dunes end at the ocean's waters. The place where Africa gives its way to the vast south Atlantic ocean.
Enter at your own risk!
Shipwreck at Skeleton coast
Africa 2017, another dream come true!
Driving down the coast, we reached the city of Swakopmund, a beach resort and an example of German colonial architecture. Plus, Namibia's largest port. In fact nothing resembled the villages we passed by few days ago. There were shops, malls, hotels and generally an air of holidays. We did our shopping and enjoyed fish food, including kalamari and greek(!) salad, well not tzatziki. :) We only stayed for few hours. Reloaded our supplies for the last part of the trip, the mighty Sossuvlei dessert, Namibia's most spectacular landmark.
Familiar setting..
The drive was not easy but we wanted to push and driver further in order to arrive in the park area on the same day. We drove till night in some very difficult roads but we made it on time to reach Agama River camp and stay at an amazing camp next to the dunes. We spent the night and next day morning we drove to Sesriem camp located within the Sossuvlei National park.
Checking the efficiencies
Driving through the dessert
Welcome to the most iconic landscape
Spectacular night sky viewing deck at Agama River camp!
And open sky facilities
This epic landscape left us speechless. The more ancient the sand dunes the more red the colour becomes. These are the highest sand dunes on earth, some of them reaching even 400m tall! The landscape is dry and somewhat apocalyptic. Driving in the thin sand was very tough to keep going, but thanks to the team's best driver (well yes myself:) no one got hurt and enjoyed another game drive with our Defender. The day passed climbing up the dunes and rolling down again. These elliptical shaped yellow and red hills seemed that never end over the horizon.
Epic landscape
Dune 45
Posing for glory
Tough driving at the thin sand
At the tip
Pure Namib
The surrounding area is one of the best night sky viewing spot in the world as clear skies and absolute no light pollution favors the night skies to be viewed with detail. So we did. Took our chairs out, sat in the middle of the dessert and contemplated the majestic view of the cosmos. The 'moonset' we experienced that night was simply breathtaking to watch. We couldn't resist taking some epic night-sky photos...
In the African night@ ***_***
Celebrating the moonset
Early morning next day we packed the car and we were on our way to experience the sunrise from the east over the red sand dunes. We read from our trusted travel books that this is a no-miss. To drive very early to the dunes, have sometime to climb onto one and then wait for the sun to rise. That really worth the effort! The colours and the sunrays and the red dunes and the hot air balloons in the sky resembled perhaps one of the best sunrises of my life! We couldn't resist contemplating this beauty. A very photogenic place and perhaps Namibia's most photographed landscape.
Early morning in the Sossuvlei
Never ending sand dunes
Apocalytpic
Another photographer's shadow
Autofocus at the tip of the dune
The days passed so fast and we had to drive to the capital Windhoek, in order to deliver the vehicle and get our flights back home. The last 380kms drive to the city were quite and thoughtful in the car, trying to summarize on our brains what happened the last three weeks in these places. To help acclimatize into the city life faster, Spyros upgraded our accommodation to a Hilton room. We arrived totally dirty and red from the sand dunes, funny moment to remember offloading all of our dusty gear at the hotel's main entrance. The capital of Namibia seemed another German inspired city with not much character to express. A rather peaceful place with 320k population with not much traffic or crowds. We only stayed for a night before taking our flight out.
Windhoek from Hilton's sky bar
Windhoek downtown
Time to take our flights. So happy that everything went just fine. It was a properly designed and executed adventure that we worked for months to set it up as we did. From our records, we did about 4200 kms from start to finish, 2500 of them on our Defender, in some of the most wild places on earth. A huge thanks to Angelos for the co-planning and to Spyros for his support and upgrades! Guys you are awesome co travellers!!! So that was it, another great adventure came to an end and it's that time to return back to the places we all call home. We collected amazing experiences and pictures on our minds (and cameras) and came close to places that only in documentaries existed till now. This was a journey to the heart of Africa and perhaps to humanity's most ancient roots. I could only say that our world is simply amazing!
Paul Kalkbrenner on play
Sunrise over the Red Sea
And out of Africa..
ps. just hit my profile and contact me directly should you need more info about all the places mentioned in this post
