Namibia Flying Safari - July 2006
When I was working for Robin Pope Safaris in the South Luangwa National Park (Zambia) last year a lot of our guests had been to Namibia and raved about the condition of the roads and how easy it was to self-drive around this amazing country. So to go on a week long flying safari (with a bit of self-drive at the end as we decided to extend our stay!) over the literally breath-taking scenery of Namibia far exceeded my wildest expectations. I'm embarrassed to say that it did bring tears to my eyes on one occasion which probably explains why some of my 400 photos are a bit out of focus.
Flying over the highest red dunes from Sossusvlei towards the coast in our little Cessna 210 when there is nothing else you can see for 360 degrees but sand dunes (for 45 minutes) was truly humbling and us 3 passengers were unable to speak, just gawping at each other and pointing and snapping with our cameras. Luckily there was plenty of time to actually soak in this experience between photos as the dunes just seemed to go on forever, as far as you could see. And then to finally reach the coast and fly metres above ship wrecks sticking out of the beach and old diamond mining exploration sites, long since abandoned, was also a once in a lifetime experience - swooping down almost at sea level on a seemingly endless beach is highly recommended for those in need of a new kind of adrenalin buzz!
Skeleton Coast, further north, is the next highlight for me. There are no roads into the Skeleton Coast Park which really adds to the excitement and remoteness, you really feel like you are at the end of the road. Even the water has to be brought in, so there's no hanging about in the bucket shower. We had two nights there at the Wilderness camp where we were very well looked after with delicious 3 course suppers and a drink and a smile greeting us at every point! We had the most fantastic day trip - a long walk along the beach at Rocky Point where Stephen King type pale green foam was washing up onto the beach and getting stuck in the rocks like a large (but not so inviting) bubble bath, after a while the fog moved in and it was all rather eerie; a visit to the lonely grave on the beach only added to this, as did the abundant driftwood and the odd fish bone (the pretty shells were a welcome addition). But the sense of space and freedom was just incredible and we all walked for a good hour down the windy beach before being driven up onto the dunes for a delicious picnic lunch and a well-earned cold beer in the sun. Much dune climbing began and to hear the dunes roaring as we all sat on our bottoms edging our way down was so exciting - it's difficult to describe how far away from the rest of the world you feel here. Flying over the dunes all I wanted to do was to get out and be in the middle of them on foot, and here we were in our own endless dune landscape having lunch!
There were so many other highlights on the trip, I haven't even mentioned our first flight from Windhoek down south to Fish River Canyon which is the second largest canyon in Africa and quite an amazing sight, especially from the air. Pretty exciting for a vertigo sufferer like me flying low over the edge of the canyon!
I also could have stayed at Wolwedans in the heart of the NamibRand Nature Reserve for much longer than one night. Surrounded by red dunes, mountains and beautiful views we enjoyed the best food I have tasted in Africa in very elegant surroundings.
Then there was also a great stay in Damaraland in the mountains where spotting a whole herd of desert elephants from Mowani Mountain Lodge was a real treat. Awesome star gazing around the campfire was aided by our friendly host Vincent and his laser pen! From here we went up to the Skeleton Coast National Park (mentioned first!).
By the time we got to Etosha National Park we were very sad to say goodbye to our pilot/guide/plane (which was dangerously beginning to feel like the normal mode of transport!) but ready for an adventure in our Volkswagen Sharan! In a country of Namibia's size and where the population is less than 2 million people we hadn't really seen anyone outside of the fantastic lodges we had been staying in. So initially it was a bit of a shock to the system to see lots of other people and cars at the gate to Etosha National Park. This was not helped by getting a flat tyre as soon as we got past the ticket office! But once on the road it appeared that traffic wasn't really an issue and we soon forgot about everyone else again as we admired the birds, oryx, ostrich, 4 lionesses, and a herd of ellies around a water hole while we ate our sandwiches. Not bad game viewing for a country where the focus is on the scenery.
There are lots of amazing lodges around the different gates of Etosha but the one that really sticks out as somewhere I would like to stay is the relatively newly opened Onguma Tented Camp. It epitomises funky modern decor, luxury and great attention to detail - how they have made it work in the bush I don't know but it's great. They are also going to open Onguma Plains Camp at the end of 2006 which promises to be ultra chic.
On our way back to Windhoek, we visited the AfriCat Foundation centre on the Okonjima Farm which was incredible and educational in a fun way - AfriCat are committed to long-term conservation of Namibia's large carnivores, especially cheetahs and leopards. So we tracked leopard and cheetah in their 4,000 hectare area and got closer than I've ever got to them before - again, a fantastic observation and photo opportunity! At the clinic there, I got my first glimpse of the rare African wild dogs that were being looked after there so that was a huge bonus.
It's hard to sum up Namibia - it really felt like another planet a lot of the time due to the scale of the dramatic scenery. There is so much to offer there and I will definitely be going back as soon as I can! After all I've got to go to Swakopmund and learn to dune board, dune ski, shark fish, kayak, quad-bike, parasail, ride a camel, visit the seal colony.....
