Best of Namibia

As we're getting ready to depart a port, we always like to give some thought to what we enjoyed the most about our visit. In Lüderitz, the answer is definitely the people … as a group, perhaps, the friendliest, most helpful and hospitable folks we've met. It's the reason we've been dragging our feet  and lingered so long here. Usually, it's boat chores and repairs that keep us. Here it was definitely the people. That aside, however, and remembering that this is our second visit to Namibia, here's our list of the best things that Namibia has to offer.

Etosha National Park

Though we didn't visit Etosha on this trip, we spent several days there during our previous visit and, in our humble opinions, it's nothing short of spectacular. The wide open expanses, the diversity and sheer number of animals roaming free, the uncrowded backroads. It's a gem of a park. We stayed inside the gates for early access to the animals and viewing at the waterholes 24x7.

Sesriem & Sossusvlei

The Namib Desert is an awesome place. It's the oldest desert in the world with the world's tallest sand dunes. Driving midst the red dunes; climbing in the hot sand, struggling one step forward and two steps back; observing the myriad of desert colors and the geologic formations; enjoying the animals and trying to figure out how they survive in such a hostile environment. It's all here and it's fantastic. A must-see.

Petting a leopard and a cheetah

No doubt that the memory of petting these big cats will remain indelibly etched in our memories for a long, long time (at our age … that's all relative). The soft feel of their fur, the smell of the cats, listening to their purr, walking next to the cheetahs in their enclosure. This was an unexpected delight and high on our “wow” list.

Coastal towns, especially Lüderitz

We visited Swakopmund and Walvis Bay on our last trip and enjoyed both. Arriving in the boat, however, and spending time in Lüderitz was special. Again, the people had much to do with it, but despite the fact that it's isolated and off the beaten track, it's worth the trip, we think. There's Diaz Point and Shark Island and Agate Beach to explore, not to mention the colonial town itself. And, of course, you're surrounded by the Sperregebiet. The lure and legends of diamonds in the area is part of the mystique.

Kolmanskop Ghost Town

Though technically it should probably be included with  Lüderitz, we were impressed enough with our visit there that it warrants its own place on our list. It was interesting, fun and a bit eerie trudging though the sand dunes to inspect the old diamond-mining ghost town.

Diversity of wild animals and birdlife

Beyond the game parks, we love the wild animals here, especially the “boks” … springboks, steenboks … and our favorite, the gemsboks (oryx). What a delight to drive the gravel roads and see them grazing. With their contrasting coloration and stately manner, they appear almost majestic. And then, of course, there are the birds … pink flamingos and storks and raptors and industrious weavers. There was something to see at every turn.

There's so much we still haven't seen. We didn't venture up to the Caprivi Strip or down to the Fish River Canyon. There are other parks to visit and we had no time to explore Windhoek, the capital city. All reasons for returning.

From a cruiser's perspective, Lüderitz was an excellent stop. It's a quick hop from Cape Town and  “on the way” to St. Helena, with a good point of sail, prevailing winds and current to help a sailor along.

Lüderitz, in particular, was great. There were no check-in/check-out fees (unless you arrive on a weekend) and no mooring fees. The town seems safe and secure and we had no worries whatsoever. All amenities were close. There's a floating dock for dinghy tie-up. Water, diesel, petrol and propane are within easy walking distance. There are two reasonably well-stocked grocery stores, a hardware store, several ATMs. Though there is no chandlery per se, there are myriad of services and parts available for the fishing fleet. All in all … a great stop.

And once again … it's time to go.

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A Wild Cat Walk at Hammerstein Lodge

I petted a leopard today and a cheetah! We hadn't really expected our “cat walk” to be quite as up close and personal as it turned out to be. Let me backtrack a bit. We couldn't get reservations near Sossusvlei as we'd hoped, so instead we opted for the Hammerstein Lodge, about 60 km (36 miles) south. It was on the way and they mentioned a “cat walk” on their website page. We thought it might be a good night's stop. We knew when we'd arrived by their unique entrance gate.

The lodge was a kilometer or so off the road. A herd of sheep was meandering up the road as we entered and we slowly shooed them out of the way to head up to the lodge reception.

As we made our way to the parking area, we were a bit dismayed by the number of tour buses and vans in the parking lot. We checked in and were pointed in the direction of our room … quite a ways up the hill and pretty isolated from the rest of the lodge. Maybe that was good. The receptionist asked if we were having dinner with the “group”. Ummm … we'd had a big lunch and decided to forgo the buffet featuring local beast being devoured by 60 or so German tourists. He asked if we were interested in the cat walk … a tour was just leaving. No, we'd prefer the morning, if possible. “How about 7:30?  You'll probably be the only ones on the tour.” Yup, that's what we wanted. We headed to our room, then wandered around the property for a bit. There was a springbok named Honey that roamed about freely and a friendly oryx in an enclosure that came right up to us and offered his nose for a scratch.

We were up early with the sun and wandered down for coffee and breakfast. Arniston met us right on time and we set off to see the cats … just us and the guide. We walked about 200 meters and came upon a large enclosure and there was Lisa, the leopard. The Hammerstein's son, Matthew, had adopted Lisa when she was a cub and she lived with Matthew, in his room, for over a decade. She came up to the fence immediately and Arniston began stroking her fur. Really? We can pet her? “Sure, just be careful. She can grab you with her paws.” Petting a leopard … what a thrill. Her fur was soft. She purred loudly as we stroked her. We walked the length of her large enclosure and she followed us like a puppy, rolling in the sand, rubbing against the fence, looking for, and receiving, attention.

At the next enclosure, Arniston opened the gate and we walked right inside to meet the caracals. Caracals look like very large domestic cats with long pointy ears, like a lynx. They're usually nocturnal, so we had to hunt for them. Romeo and Juliet were napping under a camelthorn bush and barely visible behind their camouflage. Again, these were rescue cats and though we prefer seeing animals in the wild, we'd probably never would have seen this species of cat at all.

Next we headed to see the cheetahs. Once again Arniston unlocked the gate. “We're going inside?”, I asked incredulously. “Yes. You may pet them if they come up to you. They are quite friendly.” Oh, my!  Take a look at this short video.

As cubs, Oscar and Wilde were allowed to roam the grounds freely, however once they discovered that the farm's sheep made a tasty meal, they were confined to quarters. We stayed for quite awhile, observing, photographing. Oscar and Wilde were pleasant, but aloof. Arniston was knowledgeable and never hurried us in the least, although I doubt he would have let us spend the day as we would have preferred

As we exited the cheetah enclosure, Lisa the leopard, in the adjoining enclosure jumped up next to David and began rubbing against him, much like a domestic cat would. He petted her and she stuck out a paw, without claws, in a playful gesture. Perhaps, David reminded her of her old master, Matthew, but she certainly was attracted to David. We always found it difficult to distinguish a cheetah from a leopard … all those spots ... but seeing them next to each other, it was now easy to tell them apart.

Time to get back on the road. From cats to castles … we're on our way to Duwisib Castle. Read about this castle in the desert in tomorrow's blog. It's Just A Little Further.

In Search of the Namib Desert Horses

Rent a car and drive 75 (125km) miles out of Lüderitz into the Namib Desert? Wild horses couldn't drag us there! Well, actually, they could. We did hire a car and drove 75 miles to view the wild desert horses at Garub… and we're glad we did.

We were looking for an interesting way to spend David's birthday. Our friend, Liz, made several suggestions, all of which we thought were worthwhile ideas. Seeing the wild horses was right up there at the top of the list. It was an unusually cold, very windy, overcast day as we walked up Bismarck Street to pick up a local rental car. We'd packed water and a picnic lunch and headed out on the B4 highway, the only road in and out of  Lüderitz, into the Namib Desert.

The desert begins immediately after leaving the coast with a huge sweeping landscape of sand … a panorama of tawny browns and tans, russet and raw umber interrupted by granite outcroppings. Scrub and hardy desert grasses cling to the desert floor. Sand blows relentlessly and drifts across the road.

We spotted an ostrich close to the side of the road, well-camouflaged until we startled him. He began to run at an amazingly fast pace, feathers ruffled, neck stretched out and his legs propelling him in maximum stride. He certainly wasn't sticking around for tourists.

Miles before we got to the turn-off for the horse viewing area, we saw a warning sign up ahead … Horses  Next 20km. We didn't have to wait long to catch sight of them.

There were horses on the right, horses on the left and horses crossing the road in front of us. With a population numbering somewhere between 100-150, these scruffy, lean equines are considered the only feral herd of horses in Africa and the only desert-dwelling feral herd in the world.

There are several theories floating around as to their origin, but even with genetic testing, none has been positively verified.  One theory purports that “they were descended from German cavalry horses abandoned during the WWI when the South Africans invaded.  Another is that they were brought by Nama raiders moving north from beyond the Orange River, whilst a third claims they're descended from a load of shipwrecked horses en route from Europe to Australia. More local (and believable), is the story they were bred from the stud stock of Baron Captain Hans-Heinrich von Wolf."

Throughout the years, the horses have gathered at a man-made bore hole (well)  near Garub, in the middle of nowhere and graze in the barren lands surrounding it. Though considered “exotics”, since they are not native to Namibia, they've been allowed to remain because of “their ties to the country's history and draw as a tourist attraction.” We found the little, poorly marked turn-off to the Garub waterhole and headed along a bumpy, dirt road into a parking area with a hide. There was not a horse to be seen! Just as well, it was so windy, we could barely open the car doors. It was blustery and cold. David lost his hat twice.

We headed back along the dirt road and were met by a line of horses coming our way. We stopped the car and sipped some tea and watched. They were neither fearful, nor interested in us. They just ambled on across the road and began grazing on the sparse grass.

We spotted one foal, trailing along behind the herd. He seemed to have a problem with his hind leg which didn't bode well for his continued survival in this harsh environment. We've read that brown hyenas prey on the weaker horses, keeping the population in check.

We had only seen brown and black horses thus far, so when we spotted a small herd of white horses gathered under a camelthorn tree, we were pleasantly surprised. We pulled over to observe them. Judging from the look on that horse's face, I guess he was surprised by us, too. He stopped whinnying in mid-sentence!

I'm not sure exactly what we expected, but we thoroughly enjoyed our short visit with these desert dwellers. Definitely a hard life, but these are free-spirited animals, roaming wild and unfettered and it was a joy to watch them.

Since we were close to the little town of Aus, we headed onward to see what we could see. Stay tuned tomorrow.

Interested in more about the Namib Desert Horses? There's a film entitled Running Free available from Amazon.