Before I stepped foot in Namibia, the only thing I knew about it was that it was in the western part of the African continent, it meets the Atlantic ocean and it has the world's oldest desert. Oh, and that Angelina Jolie gave birth to her child there.
But of course, nothing prepared me for the emotions I would feel during my stay there. The first thing i realised? I brought all the wrong clothes... The rainy season decided to come to an early end & the sun beat down mercilessly everyday. So i survived in 3 white t-shirts, light pants & a pair of jeans.
No words or pictures can describe the landscapes we saw everyday while driving. This one was taken when we drove from the capital, Windhoek to the Namib-Naukluft Park on the second day.
Namibia is so vast that it is the second least densely populated country in the world, the first is Mongolia. It has 880 000 sq km of land and only 2.4million people.
It is necessary to have a 4x4 vehicle while travelling around as the roads are uneven & have lots of potholes which will fill up with water & mud when it rains. There are only asphalt roads linking the big towns. F drove nearly 3000km during our stay, while I became an expert at using the GPS & reading the huge map. (which I also clipped to the window as a curtain cos it was so damn hot)
Spreetshoogte Pass. Isolated & wild. You can see 2 separate storms in the distance. I dont know why but this is the first time I've ever seen rain occur like that.
We stayed in lodges like this around the country. They have varying degrees of comfort but in some areas, even the most expensive lodge has no aircon & limited water & electricity, which means no charging of mobiles/cams & no long showers. I stupidly asked them if they had Wifi.
The first eco lodge we stayed at was the most memorable.. because it was the moment the vastness of the country really hit home. I stared at the view from our terrace for a long time & tried to remember that sometime somewhere, I was but a small person caught up in petty things. The world is so big and us, minuscule.
Enjoying a sunset dip in the pool. Best view ever. We stayed till the evening winds turned chilly & the many unidentifiable insects & spiders & geckos were too much to handle.
We slept with mosquito nets every night but the sounds of the insects gave me insomnia often. Guess I am too much of a city girl. Even though F reminded me that they lived there while WE were the guests of this country.
The sun casting a red glow over the Namib plains.
A herd of oryx crossing the plains.
Another sunny day, another isolated road, another amazing sky of the most beautiful clouds in the world. xxx
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