| Introduction | Windhoek | Okonjima | Okaukejo 1 | Onguma | Okaukejo 2 | Mowani |
| Swakopmund | Hoodia | Namtib | Fish River | Springbok | Babylon’s Toren | Going Home |
Thursday 19th October
When we left Mowani we had two routes we could have taken – the boring one and the exciting one. Of course we took the boring one via Uis. This was not all that boring. There was lots of dirt road of varying quality. There was a very long stretch into Hentiesbaai where the road was being upgraded and we drove alongside the road on a tempoary track. And the only interesting scenery was the first stretch from Mowani.
The exciting route was exciting because it went into the Skeleton Coast National Park. You had to get through the park entrance at Springbokwasser before noon and out at Ugab River Mouth before dusk, as that is when the gate is shut. We did not know how good the roads were to Springbokwasser and we left Mowani after 9AM. Also we had last filled up at Khorixas and the next filling station on the exciting route was at Cape Cross Lodge, almost at Hentiesbaai. Fuel would be low by the time we got there. We could fill up at Uis on the boring route. So boring for us!
We got to Swakopmund in the afternoon and found the Cornerstone Guesthouse to be a pleasant place to stay. What we most noticed was the drop in temperature. Mowani was often above 30 degrees C, Swakopmund was 18! I suspect that is Swakopmund’s secret weapon – Come to Swakopmund to cool off!!!
Thar evening we ate at a restaurant just across the road and had a good meal and discovered that Swakopmund is very Germanic.
Friday 20th October
Our guesthouse does rather good breakfasts! we then had a wander round swakopmund. The older part is quite small and easily walked round. On our drive in yesterday we passed miles of suburbs but we decided we did not need to visit them.
The streets of downtown Swakopmund are incredibly wide. This is so you could turn your ox wagon. And a lot of the older buildings show that Swakopmund was built by German colonists.
The sea is the Atlantic and a cold current comes from the Antarctic and keeps Swakopmund cool. There is a nice beach but not many swimmers.
On our trip Swakopmund was the place to shop. There are lots of shops and a street market with lots of good stuff.
When we had told the people at the guesthouse that I had been a geologist, they suggested that we visit the Kristall Galerie. So we did and found it very interesting. It is a compromise between a museum and a jewellery shop, but it does both quite well.
Then it was time for lunch which we had at the very Germanic Cafe Anton.
The rest of the day was spent in shopping and wandering around and deciding where we would eat in the evening – all rather enjoyable, but not very photogenic.
Saturday 21st October
After another fine breakfast, we set off for Hoodia.