Namib Desert

21 MAY 2023

It was hard to believe that anything could be better than yesterday, but Namibia continues to surprise. The scenery today was spectacular as we drove south through the Namib-Naukluft National Park.

The oldest desert on earth, and then flanked by the Naukluft Mountains - barren, beautiful and filled with an appeal of their own. On route today we had another puncture. This was changed in a record time of 24mins by our expert team.

Betta

A mid morning stop was at Betta, where we grabbed a drink and marvelled at the lifestyle of the people living out here in this isolated place. There was the usual collection of old cars and metal objects all artistically arranged into flower beds to create a display like no other.

Klein Aus Vista camping

We stopped at the station settlement of Aus for provisions and then drove on to our camping stop for the night at Klein-Aus. This turned out to be a guest house in a secluded valley in the desert area. A wonderous spot for sunsets and wildlife. Andrew and I did one of the hiking trails in the afternoon, walking around the mountain side and over the ridge to the guest house. The train track winds through the valley and a few luxury cottages cling to the side of the mountains in discrete designs. From the top of the ridge you can look right across the desert area below. Fantastic.

This old car wreck sat at the side of the track leading to the guest house. Seemingly, the police were chasing its driver and passenger in attempt to track down some stolen diamonds. They had shot at the car leaving bullet holes still visible in the wreck. Not sure how much this is true, but it made for a good story.