Sun. 19th May ‘24
We allow ourselves a lie-in today, with the alarm set as late as 7:30. Inevitably, we wake at 7. Ah well, I suppose we had better get going – especially as there seems to be a lot of ‘stuff’ scattered around the chalet. How can that have happened? We’ve hardly been in here at all. Breakfast is back at the main lodge about a 20min drive away, so we restrict ourselves to a cup of tea before packing up and heading off.
Over breakfast – making sure to tuck in to the buffet – we contemplate the next couple of days. We’re heading towards the dunes at Sossusvlei but before then we have 2 nights in the middle of the Namib desert. We know very little about it, other than that it is in the middle of absolutely blooming nowhere, there are no shops or restaurants, and as for Internet, well you can forget about that. So, a 48hr enforced digital detox then!
The forthcoming lack of Internet does mean that there is scramble to get up to date whilst we can. There’s (always) another blog post to put up, emails to write, the world (and golf scores) to catch up on – and of course another day’s Wordle to do. I suspect that we’re about to lose our 700-day Wordle streaks (and my 600+ day Kindle reading streak).
The other concern that we have is for our bellies. After yesterday’s failure to get into the Spar supermarket, we are a little under-provisioned for 2 nights’ camping. Thank goodness we ordered a braai pack from the lodge. Our meals have been a bit all over the shop on this trip but we could really do with picking up some carbs from the supermarket in the next town this morning. At least that was the theory. When we get there (at 11) there’s a note on the window to say the shop will open at 12. Bother!
We have some 4 or 5hrs of driving today so we can’t afford to wait around. We try to remind ourselves that we won’t starve but it compounds my frustrations over not being able to renew the data allowance on my Namibian SIM (it’s a week since we got here). I think I’ve sent the right code to the right number, but the signal is weak and patchy and I don’t know if I’ve succeeded or not (nor what to do if it hasn’t worked). Not that its going to make any difference for the next couple of days.
All too soon we turn off the main tarmac road and start heading north. We’ve been spoilt for the last couple of days and the return to dirt roads is a bit of a shock. The road surface varies tremendously, sometimes sandy red, sometimes rocky grey, sometimes smooth, sometimes corrugated. It’s hard work driving as you are always trying to look ahead as to where the smoothest patch road is. At least there is the consolation of the ever-changing scenery – and the fascination of the road stretching out ahead in a dead-straight line.
As the day and the miles roll-on, our (my) frustrations get left behind. How can you not enjoy this scenery? Better still, at a junction in the road there is a campsite, and in the campsite there is a small shop where we’re able to buy a few extra bibs & bobs. It’s then not far to our campsite and fortunately we’ve been given detailed instructions because it is quite a way set back from the road. We follow the sandy track round and eventually come to a small shelter which turns out to be reception for the campsite. When we spot our names on the whiteboard, we know we’re in the right place. Cornelius introduces himself, explains the route to our site and asks if we are interested in signing up for any of the optional activities. We decide to pass on the dune-boarding but go for the early morning guided walk around the dunes.
Our site is even further out into the desert and when we get there it is fabulous. Utterly secluded, beautifully situated and well equipped. There’s a shelter in wood and canvas with shower and toilet, a large deck and a kitchen area with sinks and a braai fire pit. We pull up in front of the shelter and know that we’re going to be just fine for the next couple of days. After getting the tent up (easy), we sit on the deck and take in the scenery with the sandy landscape just rolling away toward the mountains in the background all the while dotted with camel-thorn (acacia) trees and tufts of grass. It isn’t like this back home!
With no Internet or phone signal, there are a lot of things that we just can’t do – so that does make life simpler and more relaxing. A short walk around the dunes is followed by watching the changing colours as the sun sets (accompanied by an obligatory sundowner). Then it’s time to light the braai and investigate what we actually bought in our braai pack.
This part of the Namib desert is designed as a ‘Dark Sky’ area. Sure enough, there is no pollution from man-made lights. What there is though is a very bright, nearly full moon. Still I feel I should try some astro-photography and so it is out with the camera, wide-angle lens and the tripod. It takes a bit of 
moving around and fiddling around to get a decent composition and sensible exposure settings – not easy when you can’t really see what you are pointing the camera at. The moon was so bright that my first attempt looked like it had been taken in broad daylight and even my last and most successful attempt had too much light in the sky and so didn’t bring all the stars out. Oh well, there will be other opportunities on this trip and it is all good learning experience.
Washing up done, blog words and photos sorted, glass of wine in hand we’re feeling pretty relaxed and generally content with life. As it turns out, once again, we’re very happy with what we have let ourselves in for.