This weekend I left the familiarity of my home drove to Namibia. It was a last minute decision but because of Workers’ day, I had both Thurs and Friday off school (so I wasn’t bunking mom and dad). I jumped into one of the last spots available in our two cars and threw warm clothes into my backpack.
We left Tuesday night around 6 and began the drive to Namibia. This entire trip was loosely planned. By that I mean that we knew where we wanted to end up…Namibia, and knew when we had to be home…Sunday. W drove through the entire night and at about 4 in the morning on a dirt road into the Ai-Ais National Park we got a flat in one of the cars. In the pitch black freezing cold of the Namibian desert, we girls, mainly Kate, changed the flat. Unbeknownst to us, however, we were supposed to put the spare bolts in instead of the flat’s bolts. We drove the new tired car two minutes when there was an apparent problem. The bolts were stripped. We pulled out our sleeping bags and slept on the side of the road until about 9. A couple stopped while I slept and fixed the tire, telling us to go to the nearest town to get it fixed.
The next town was closed down so we drove to the campsite and called the car rental company to send someone to fix the tire. After 6 hours of waiting and multiple trips to the Fish River Canyon and our new campsite, the car was fixed. We camped out by the canyon with the largest bug/beetles and grasshoppers I have ever seen. During daylight hours we were constantly attacked by flies and during the night time we were jumped on my grasshoppers. Needless to say I made it through the night albeit sleeplessly.
So the next day we drove 9 hours to Windhoek; decided after eating dinner to drive into Swakopmund, a popular beach town. At 2 in the morning it is really hard to find a hostel for 9 people, who knew! Eventually we found a bungalow where the four beds were taken up by 7 people and two slept on the couches. Each bed was a twin. The next day we hung out in town and visited the dunes that surround Swakopmund. They are beautiful and huge. The sand is smooth and at the apex of each is a very definite line that creates a ridge. We sat on the sand above the ocean and just appreciated the scenery and thanked God for such a beautiful place.
The next day I went sandboarding. It is like snowboarding but harder, at least for me. I enjoyed it but the hike up the dune every time was killer. I also sandboarded on my stomach, which is a flat, flexible board that you lay on and then go straight down the dune. My fastest time was 73 km/hr!
We drove home that night; well we started the drive home that night which ended at 6 pm the next day. The drive took us through open desert encased in diamond stars and a sunrise over rocky structures and whisper trees. Namibia was beautiful but we took it too fast. I guess I have to go again.
