Friday 23 July 2010

Driving in Namibia

Travelling through Namibia is comparatively easy, there's little traffic and the roads are generally in good condition.  They grade them A, B & C much like other countries around the world with A being black top and B and C being gravel.  Driving is on the left hand side of the road (the side God intended!)

Even the C grade roads are generally in good condition, regularly graded and well sign posted.  Last time we were there we took the "scenic" route between Swakopmund and Windhoek, basically because we missed a turn off, it was well signposted, we just weren't looking as our concentration was on Biltong, dried meat with spices.  Every time we go to South Africa or Namibia, one of the first things that we buy is a big bag of biltong and wurst (sausage).

Anyway, back to the trip to Swakopmund.  Missing the turn wasn't the worst thing we could have done because we travelled through some stunning, and very dry, country where the farms such as they were  they must struggle making a living.  Australia is the Sunburnt Country, Namibia must be the Parched Country.  Beautiful but dry!

Here's a beautiful Oryx that we spotted on the C28 when we were driving to Swakop, he was grazing peacefully on the side of the road when a pain in the arse pair of tourists (us) came passed and spooked it.  It took off and pelted along the side of the road easily outpacing the car that we were in, not that we wanted to chase it, we'd already spoiled it's day enough. It just goes to show that you don't have to go to the hot spots of Etosha to see wildlife in the wild.

I said dry earlier, didn't I?  This is the pub at Walvis Bay mid morning when the mist has rolled in from the South Atlantic Ocean.  makes the place pretty dim and dank for a wee while until the sun burns it off.  We met a guy who used to be in the South African Army, stationed in Walvis Bay and they used to get paid a "rust allowance"  Why was the South African Army in Namibia?? Although Namibia gained independence from South Africa in 1990, it was not until 1994 that Walvis Bay was handed over to the Namibian Government.

I don't know if it's come across to my devoted readers but Mrs Dadfap and I are pretty keen on Namibia.  It's a fantastic country, plenty of scenery and people who know how to enjoy themselves.  Really looking forward to our upcoming trip!

We'll post to the Blog when we get the chance while we are there, so don't miss out and click the RSS subscribe button to keep up with all the latest fun and adventures.

Cheers

DADFAP

Enhanced by Zemanta

No comments:

Post a Comment