We booked a tour with a company called Desert Dunes and Dust through Viator for our long weekend in Namibia. The country is renowned for conservation and protection of its natural lands and we were looking forward to experiencing the rugged beauty. I tried to find a tour that included a variety of landscapes, but we might do it a little differently knowing what we know now. Our tour guide was going to pick us up at our hotel in Walvis Bay and drive 4 hours through the Namib Desert to reach our farthest destination, an area called Sossusvlei in the Namib-Naukluft National Park. We would walk around sand dunes, see fossilized trees, and then turn around and drive an hour to an overnight lodge. The next morning we’d drive the remaining 3 hours back to Walvis Bay, look for flamingos and other wildlife along the coast, and finish at the stunning Sandwich Harbour.
And we did manage to do all the items on our itinerary, despite our guide being completely unaware of the itinerary, which we didn’t realize until halfway through day 1. We drove about 2 hours, made a couple stops for photos (including of a giraffe walking in the distance!!) and one for lunch, and then he checked us into the lodge around 1:30 without having taken us to Sossusvlei. He said we’d have an afternoon of downtime at the lodge and then we’d go to Sossusvlei in the morning. When we asked if that left enough time for Sandwich Harbour, he said if we wanted to do that, too, we could. We all looked at each other in confusion, and Andrew had to pull up our confirmation and show him the itinerary we were supposed to be following. Unfazed, our guide said he thought we could get it all done tomorrow. We sat around the lodge’s dining room for a few minutes in silence (because we arrived too early to even check in). Then I asked if we could continue the tour now, since we were literally doing nothing. Our guide shrugged and said, sure, he was there to do what we wanted. It was weird and frustrating, but we left and I was optimistic that we’d get back on schedule.
We had a lovely afternoon. We made it to Big Daddy, the largest dune in the area at 325 meters. We walked out to Deadvlei, an area at the base of Big Daddy where the climate changed abruptly 900 years ago and became too dry for the trees to even decompose. Now ghostly, scorched tree trunks stick out of a dry, cracked basin, stark against the orange dunes surrounding them. We stopped at two other sand dunes and a canyon, spotted ostriches and springbok and oryx and baboons, and filled our shoes with sand. The sun was setting as we drove back to the lodge, and I was happy that we were definitely back on schedule now. In the morning we’d head back to Walvis Bay for the rest of the tour.
And then we ran out of gas and lost an entire day.
We finally checked into our hotel in Walvis Bay at about 6 pm on Saturday, with promises from our guide that we would see everything tomorrow morning and then he’d drop us off at the airport in time for our flight. We got what I hope is the worst room in the hotel for a couple (it had a double bed and a sheer curtain in place of a bathroom door; you could sit on the toilet and see the other person sitting on the bed). We walked to the grocery store a block away for dinner and couldn’t even get a beer to go with it. (We learned that Namibia doesn’t sell alcohol in stores on Saturday afternoons and all day Sunday. I think bars and restaurants can, though.) Grumpy but still optimistic, we ate our microwaved food and tried to sleep in our tiny bed.
The next morning we pumped ourselves up for another day with our favorite tour guide and hit the road. Walvis Bay is not the prettiest town, but they have wildlife reserves around the bay and we saw seals, jackals, flamingos, pelicans, and cormorants. Our guide was also excited to show us the “pink lake,” but learning it’s just a part of the salt-mining industry took some of the shine off that sight.
Then we drove on the beach on the way to Sandwich Harbour, and the whole weekend started to seem worth the hassle. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen: huge sand dunes as far as you can see in one direction, and the Atlantic Ocean as far as you can see in the other direction.
Our guide was having a blast driving up and down the dunes. We passed a different group with a woman huddled on the ground, clearly getting carsick. We stopped in a few different places for amazing views, and then our guide set up a little table for us to have lunch on the dunes. We were probably out in the dunes for about 2 hours, and it was the absolute best part of the trip. I’d do it all again just for those 2 hours.
Overall, it was a nice long-weekend trip from Cape Town. Our flight on Airlink was especially great. They served us a meal even though it was only 2 hours, and the rows of seats only had 2 on each side, so the plane felt spacious. But that said, we would make some changes if we were getting a do-over.
First, we’d stay in Swakopmund instead of Walvis Bay. I picked Walvis Bay because it was closer to the airport and we weren’t going to spend much time there, but apparently Swakopmund is actually cute and touristy, whereas Walvis Bay is industrial and a bit depressed.
Second, Andrew would scrap the drive to Sossusvlei entirely. I’d still do it, but obviously with a different tour company and a guide who knows the itinerary and doesn’t run out of gas. I don’t mind sitting in a car for hours for some cool views, but for Andrew the experience wasn’t worth the hours spent on some truly bad roads. I appreciated the lodge in the desert (the stars at night were gorgeous out there), and I think I would have appreciated it more if we spent less time there.
I would also book a morning kayak trip in Walvis Bay. It’s supposed to be a great way to see more wildlife, and apparently seals often jump up on your kayak to check you out. I think Andrew’s ideal trip would be swapping out the drive to Sossusvlei with more water activities in Walvis Bay, whereas I’d just add water activities to our last morning there (assuming our tour stayed on track, of course).
All in all, we’re both happy we went to Namibia and love how much the country is working to preserve its unique, diverse land. And we hope you can learn from our mistakes!
