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Being a cheap and adventurous backpacker, I decided to take the bus from one side of the continent to the other (check out a map of Southern Africa). It involved 3 buses, a border crossing and 28 hours to reach my destination. For $100 more I could have flown, but this was more fun. And anyway, Intercape (the bus line) has nice and comfortable buses and was only 2 hours late in the end. That is significantly better than any buses in Tanzania. Yup, I know what you are thinking. I am crazy.
As a continuation to my last blog post…
Day 4: From Fish River Canyon it was a very long drive to Sesriem Canyon. Like deja vu, we went and checked out another canyon just before sunset. Other than that, an uneventful day. At night, Alexandra and I had a bit of fun. There were some jackals running around the campsite and our guide said they would enter tents that were left open. These two guys left their tent open and their shoes outside, so we moved the shoes around and hid in their tent. As each one came in, we growled and grabbed their ankle. To our amusement, both of them freaked out.
Day 5: We awoke before dawn and climbed dune 45 to watch the sunrise (which was kind of a bust). The area we were in, called Sossusvlei, has some of the highest sand dunes in the world. And it was no easy climb – but good practice for Kilimanjaro! Afterwards, we did a walk with a local guide to learn about the desert ecosystem. And then we all tumbled down a sand dune. It was faster than walking.
On top of sand dune 45
Day 6: We drove to Swakopmund, Southern Africa’s adventure capitol. I also think this is where Angelina Jolie was when she had her baby. We signed up for some adventure activities and then spent the rest of the day in civilization. We all used internet, headed to the beach and just wandered around. Swakopmund looks like a small German town, the only difference is that it’s surrounded by a desert.
Day 7: This was definitely the most fun day. I headed out with three others on the tour to go quad biking and sandboarding. Quad biking through the sand dunes for a few hours was just awesome! I don’t know what else to say. Sandboarding was fun! I can’t believe how high the dunes we went down were. The worst part is you have to hike back up each time. I don’t know why they don’t create some sort of sand-lift.
We were all pumped from our activities so we headed to a beach front bar for happy hour. I drank a liter beer for $2. It really is like Germany. Later that night, we went to one of the bars in town for some partying in Namibia. Let’s just say the next morning was a little rough.
Day 8: After lunch, it was time for me to head to Johannesburg. Boo : (
