Home » Namibia » The Kingsmill's Trans-Africa Overland Trip, Part 5: Namibia

4 November 1998

The Kingsmill's Trans-Africa Overland Trip, Part 5: Namibia

Geoff Kingsmill
2006-04-25 20:53:28

Displayed times (last time: )

G'day Folks,

Well the good times keep rolling on. We are now in Tsumeb, Namibia.

In our last E-mail we left you at Walvis Bay. We are still travelling with a Kenyan couple and having a really good time. It's an eye opening experience travelling with a Landrover owner. I know a lot more about repairing 20 year old 103 Series Landrovers now than I care to know.

Whilst in Walvis Bay we spent a day repairing the Landrover brakes. The next day we travelled to Sandwich Harbour which meant travelling along the beach for 40km's. It was fun however the scenery wasn't very interesting. We saw lots of Flamingos, Seals and a few Dolphins.

From here we travelled to Swakopmund which is a very touristy area. Lots of European tourists (especially Germans) come here for holidays. Throughout Namibia lots of people have Rooftop tents - especially the Britz (Australian firm), Maui and Hertz rental 4x4 vehicles.

From here we headed north through the Skeleton Coast and visited the seal colony at Cape Cross. There were literally thousands of seals. Su-lin did not enjoy the strong odour in the air. We then headed inland and bush camped on a remote mining track enroute to the Brandberg Mountains.

We visited Brandberg Mountain but didn't climb due to the number of tourists. The Landrover broke down again with a blocked carburettor. We camped early at the foot of a mountain range and walked to the top. Near the top we discovered a cave with some impressive well-preserved paintings, which was a real treat. Anywhere else you have to pay. We saw better bushman paintings for free.

Next morning we visited the Petrified Forest. On arrival, we were treated to the sound of a Damaralands men’s choir. The harmony was beautiful, enhanced by the excellent acoustics in the rondavel. The petrified trees were very interesting and looked just like an old tree yet these were fossilised rock, supposedly washed down ...