It was a tiny bit sad to leave that stunning place, but we progressed further north toward Swakopmund, through more dramatic scenery, rugged and unbelievably twisted and ancient rocks, so big, rearing up from the flat desert floor.
The Namibian roads are regularly graded dirt that do have the occasional corrugation, but are basically pretty good. Heaps better than the tarred roads in Madagascar. (It’s funny how I keep comparing things to Madagascar, that place was unique in every way.) The dust was the only problem, but that wasn’t too bad because there is very little traffic anyway.
We stopped at a lookout that was called ‘The Moon Mountains’ or something like that. Truly it did look like another planet, certainly nothing like an Earthly view. The whole place for multiple kilometres around was twisted and uplifted shale rocks that sparkled like something Liberace would wear. Gobsmacking.
We saw a large herd of springboks that kept criss-crossing the road and giving us multiple photo opportunities. Boing boing they go. Very pretty critters.
At Walvis Bay we saw flamingos just off shore on a sand bar. Click click.
Walvis Bay and Swakopmund are both beach towns built on the edge of the desert – a strange sight, especially for those houses on the back street, whose rear fences abut what looks like a million miles of sand dunes. Not a blade of grass to be seen in anyone’s ‘garden’ – just sand and paving…
The mountainscape photo dramatically illustrates the massive upheaval from flat land to tilted so looooong ago. Can picture you standing there, saucer eyed, taking it in.