hiking

Tips for Sossusvlei

April 23, 2018 by jackson

Welcome to Sossusvlei: One of the Most Impressive Places on the Planet.

Busting the crap out of our calf muscles climbing Dune 45.

Sossusvlei is located in one of the oldest deserts in the world, deep in the heart of the Namib along Namibia’s Western coast. The Namib-Naukluft National Park is easily one of the top destinations for visitors to Namibia and for good reason: it’s absolutely spectacular. If you are in Namibia, you need to visit.

Sossusvlei features some of the tallest and oldest sand dunes on the planet and can give even the most deranged camera-operator some stunning shots. You could throw your camera in the air and shoot fifty times and come up with amazing pictures. This place is unreal!

How to Get to Sossusvlei

From Walvis Bay/Swakopmund

Taking the C14 road from Walvis Bay south will take between 5-6 hours of driving. The roads are, at times, extremely bumpy. The drive will take you through the northern part of Namib-Naukluft national park, which is beautiful. Keep an eye out for zebra!

From Windhoek

The most direct route is C26 -> C14 -> C19 South, but this road can be very iffy. (We cracked our windshield on C26). C26 is a STUNNING drive, you’ll drive through some very empty, hilly country. It’ll take about 5-6 hours of driving.

For a slightly less bumpy ride, you can take B1 to Hardap and then get on C19 going West. C19 was pretty corrugated, but we were able to drive this road pretty easily in a 2×4 car. This will also take about 4-5 hours. (Namibia’s huge, yo!).

From the South/ Fish River Canyon

Come up B1 and turn West on C19 (that’s what we did). Took about 5 hours.

If you have a sweet 4×4, you can come up from Aus along C13 -> C27. Don’t know how long this would take! But I do know that if Google cites you 4 hours, add another hour.

Where to stay for cheap in Sesriem

Don’t have $200 bucks to fork over for a lodge? That’s ok! Do what we did and camp!

We stayed at Sossus Oasis Campsite. It was one of our favorite campsites in Namibia. It was clean, had private camping blocks (including a kitchen and bathroom) and was really close to the main gate to the park. There’s a convenience store and a gas station within walking distance to the campsite, plus a sweet pool!

Rates for 2018: 200 Namibian dollars per person/ per night (kids under 11 years old are 100). That works out to about $16.75 USD per person at the time of writing this.

Tips about the Park:

The park opens to the public at sunrise. This meant 7am when we were there, but will change depending on the time of year you are in town. Don’t believe anyone when they say “6am” or “8am” or whatever. We heard a lot of different times being thrown around while there. Just go at sunrise.

The road into the park is paved! It’s a gorgeous road! We were driving over 100km/hr in our little 2×4 and it was buttery smooth.

After the parking lot the road becomes sand, though. No more 2x4s.

This is the 4×4 area. See that sand? That’s the ROAD.

Tickets/Fees:

Tickets are purchased INSIDE the park when you are FINISHED and on your way out. This is to prevent a major line to pay at the entrance and is, in my opinion, freakin’ brilliant.

You buy your ticket at the lodge immediately inside the park gates. Fees for 2018 were:

80 Namibian per person (x2 for the both of us)

10 Namibian for the car

Total: 170 Namibian (about $14 USD).

The Shuttle:

To get to Sossusvlei and Deadvlei and Big Daddy, you’ll need to get on the shuttle. The roads are incredibly sandy beyond the parking lot and only super-duper 4x4s will get in there. These tickets can be purchased for N$170 ($14 USD) each**. Once you have a shuttle pass you can use it to get around the park easily.

**I would HIGHLY recommend getting a shuttle ticket rather than self-drive even if you have a fancy car. These roads are no kidding around.

What to Do in Sossusvlei:

Dune 45

45 is the first dune you can really climb once in the park. It’s impressive as all hell.

This is also where a lot of tour buses will dump their passengers first thing in the morning, so be prepared to hike with a bunch of dumpy, middle-aged tourists who never hike and stop frequently up the hill to curse.

This took us about 45 min to hike up and down.

The views from the top are breathtaking and it’s about half the height of Big Daddy…

Big Daddy

This is a behemoth; a seriously large sand dune 1,000 feet high. We blew our energy on Deadvlei and Dune 45 so we didn’t hike this, but it sure looked amazing!

At the bottom of this major feature is Deadvlei and we would frequently see people running down the sides of the dune to get to the Deadvlei valley. Would I recommend running down the side of a sand dune? Probably not, but it would sure beat walking back downhill. (Have you ever tried walking up and down hill on sand for a few hours? It is A BUTT-KICKER).

Sossusvlei

Another dune a bit deeper into the park and one that gets fewer visitors. We got there around 11am and it was balls hot so we didn’t climb it, but we were the only ones there (other than the majestic Oryx we saw). I’d recommend coming out here when you first arrive at the park (rather than stopping at Dune 45 first) and go for a hike up this fella’. We didn’t because it was so hot, but had we had another day I would have done that.

Deadvlei

At the bottom of Big Daddy lies this strange, straight-out-of-a-desktop-screensaver area. This is a must-see while at the park. You cannot miss this.

I mean. These dead trees are hundreds of years old and look so… well, you gotta’ see it to believe it. Also: you can’t take a bad picture here.

Deadvlei is a 20-min walk from the parking lot. Bring a ton of water.

Time of Day to Visit:

Go either in the early morning or at sunset. This place is 7th-circle-of-hell hot and unless you get there early or late you will suffer.

We got there as soon as the park opened. It was pretty crowded. Some friends of ours went later in the day and said they had the place to themselves. Maybe you’ll get lucky?

Cederberg Camera Roll

South Africa

April 15, 2018 by jackson

Mountains, wilderness, waterfalls, and rock paintings

View from the balcony of our safari tent.

There were a heap of bottles filled with sweet liquid for the birds to gorge themselves on hanging around the common areas.

Taking an evening walk over to Leopard Rock to check out the super old rock paintings.

The hand print of one of the tiny humans who used to inhabit the region.

Climbing to the top to watch the sunset.

The following day we went on a hike to a waterfall. Given the rainy season had been lacklustre, we were warned it wasn’t as impressive as usual.

Still, the views along the way were nice.

After taking a quick dip in the pool at the bottom, we took our time to have some lunch, and dry in the sun.

Following the hike, we took a drive through the valley to a little town nearby. I really liked the colours here.

Final stop in Cederberg was Elephant Rock. Well named.

Table Mountain Camera Roll

South Africa

April 12, 2018 by jackson

We decided to hike up the Skeleton Gorge route, which started us off in the Kirstenbosch Gardens.

The climb was pretty steep, with not much in the way of a view (too many trees), but once you reach the top, you get to a rather nice (but cold) “beach”.

Opposite the “beach” is the dam which creates it. Nice to walk along, but even in nice weather the wind can be a bit chilly.

Looking out over some of the eastern neighbourhoods of Cape Town.

What is Namibia Like?

April 11, 2018 by jackson

Our road trip in Namibia was one of the best road trips we have ever taken.

What is Namibia Like? Namibia is breathtakingly beautiful, vast, and empty. It’s easy to explore independently, the locals are friendly, it’s safe, and tourists are almost non-existent in some places. It’s a great time.

Quiver tree forest near Keetmanshoop, Namibia.

It’s the Perfect First Splash into Africa.

Ever dreamed about African travel but didn’t know where to start? Namibia is the place to go. Screw Botswana: it’s expensive and teeming with tourists!

Many people think of Africa as a country (it’s not) riddled with AIDS, sketchy thieves, and Malaria. This can be true of almost anywhere on the planet (hate to tell you this, but there’s AIDS in The States, too!). I think a lot of people opt for the overland tours and pre-arranged itineraries “just to be safe”, but that is so not necessary for Namibia! You can easily do it independently. And, I think, you’ll enjoy yourself more.

There are some bumpy roads and some seriously empty places (bring water and food in case you get stuck for a few hours…) but otherwise traveling on your own here is not too much worse than travel in any other “western” style country.

Busting the crap out of our calf muscles climbing this sand dune.

Namibians speak English! Woohoo! Oh, they also speak German, too! You can get directions, order food, talk about the weather and even eat delicious German cuisine.

Petty theft is not really a thing to worry about in Namibia outside of the major city centers. Your biggest concerns will be based around your car: flat tires, cracked windshields, busted suspension coils, running out of gas, and getting stuck in sand are very common problems on the road.

Namibia has so much to offer the adventure seeker, the wildlife enthusiast, the star-gazer, the camper, the explorer and even the lazy. Etosha National park boasts elephants, rhinos, cheetahs, giraffes, zebras and much more. You can go to the desert to climb sand dunes at sunrise. There are incredible dark skies to watch the stars. Rivers to swim in that are full of hippos and crocs! You can check out massive canyons and empty parks that will stretch on into the horizon. Truly, this country feels untouched, pristine, and away from everything. It’s perfect.

Namibia is not Well-Known.

Recently, Mr. Trump called Namibia “Nambia” and referred to African countries as “shitholes.” He couldn’t have been farther from the truth (or more embarrassing, but that’s a different story…).

Very few people know about Namibia (even the president of the USA, for that matter!) Because this is so not well-known (outside of Germany that is) you will not be competing with hordes of tourists. In fact, you’ll likely be the only person on that canyon ledge or driving along that gravel road in the middle of the beautiful park you’ll be cruising through.

A walk along the Fish River Canyon Edge.

It Feels Like No One Lives Here.

Namibia is one of the least densely populated countries on the planet. As a result: it’ll be empty road for hours. No cars. No people. No houses. Well, maybe a zebra.

It’s Not Cheap.

I hate to tell you this, but Namibia is not for the shoe-string traveler. We did our damn best to keep our travel expenses to a minimum while traveling around for a month and it was hard. There are precious few hostels (and you’ll only find them in city centers), lodges are mighty expensive, and gas will really start to add up.

If you’re not willing to part with the $100-200 dollars per night to stay in a lodge, prepare thyself for camping.

Generally, camping will cost between $20-50 dollars per night for a couple.

Renting a car will cost about $30-50 bucks a day for an SUV, about $100 for a fully loaded 4×4 camper van. Entrance fees will run you between $5-20 bucks, depending on the park.

Dinner will cost about $10-15 dollars per person in a restaurant.

You’ll Need to Rely on Yourself.

There is no public transportation easily accessible to tourists. Other than an overland tour, you’re going to have to rent a car and do A LOT of driving.

Renting a car is your best option, but if you can’t drive stick shift on the right side of the road (they drive the same side as the British!) you’ll need to get on a tour.

Most travelers will opt for the loaded 4×4 (did I mention it was $100 bucks a day!?!). We tried to do the trip in a 2-wheeler which turned out disastrous for us, and eventually swapped up for an SUV which made the travel SO MUCH BETTER. (Here are some tips about renting a car in Namibia.)

The Internet is Almost Non-Existent.

Sorry, but if you like connecting to Facebook at the end of the day you’re gonna be very sad. There were precious few times we could connect to the internet or even get data on our phones. Jackson got a Namibian SIM card which only worked in the towns and cities (that made getting stuck in sand in the desert for a few hours REALLY fun because our phones didn’t work…). WiFi is slow and expensive at camps. Bring a lot of books or a kindle.

No internet? We went to the Swakopmund Museum for a little afternoon entertainment.

You Can’t Trust what Google Says.

Don’t rely on google to help you. It is surprisingly out of date about what roads exist, padstals (farm-to-table restaurants) you can get food in or even what towns exist on the map. We used the “MapFactor Navigator” App (free!) which was invaluable to us. You can download the map beforehand and it acts like a GPS even when you don’t get signal (which is most of the time!).

You’ll likely get free Namibian maps at the borders and in the cities, which can also be a big help.

Sometimes it felt like we were looking at maps like this for direction…

Namibia’s Pixelated Unless you have a Zoom Lens.

iPhone pictures will not do your trip justice. Zebras will cross the roads and get close sometimes, but usually hang out in watering holes way over *there* and your only hope of capturing that is with a zoom lens. If you’re gonna come down here, come prepared!

This Place is Impossible Unless you get Yourself Some Comprehensive Travel and Car Insurance.

You will get a flat tire. You will crack your windshield. You will need insurance to help you out. Just accept it and enjoy yourself.

Getting that first crack in our windshield fixed.

Namibia’s Full of Varying Weather.

We visited in the shoulder season of March (the rainy season). In the desert that means a whole lot of nothing because you’ll have blue skies and hot hot sun no matter what time of year you’re there.

In Caprivi, in the North, it meant tons of thunderstorms.

On the coast, it meant a lot of wind and mist.

In the rest of the country it was hot, dry and beautiful.

Rainy season also means a lot of green growth, plentiful watering holes and fat animals. You won’t see as many animals as you would if you were to go during the dry season, but you will see lush forests, full rivers, and tons of birds.

What’s Namibia Like?

In one word: Awesome.

Convinced?

I hope you are. So many people will overlook Namibia simply because they’ve never heard of it. Botswana has got Prince Harry’s approval, so it’s overrun with tourists and is very expensive. I’ve got so many stories to share of how wonderful this country is. I hope one day you get a chance to see it for yourself.

Gecko Creek: South Africa

March 30, 2018 by jackson

We sat in a row along Linton’s porch step at Gecko Creek wilderness lodge. The silence was broken by the wind, the occasional stomach gurgle, and swallow.

In fact, come to think of it, I’d never thought of how loud my swallows actually were. There I was, drinking my bottle of 28-year-old red wine and I was fixated on how to minimize the sound of the wine sliding down my throat. I found this all too funny and started to giggle.

You ever start to giggle when you know you shouldn’t? Like, when a friend pukes? Or an elderly family member trips? Like: you KNOW you shouldn’t, but the thought sends you into even more giggles and soon tears are streaming down your face and you feel like you might pee in your pants for no other reason than you’re a little drunk on a savannah in South Africa waiting for the full moon to rise and everyone else is being deathly quiet. Ha ha.

I tried to stifle my laughter by drinking again and only managed to choke, spitting more red wine out into the wind and causing my idiot-self to laugh even more. The worst part was that no one else was laughing. They were all staring at the ridge of the mountains waiting for the full moon to eventually peak its face over the crest. I tried to find my zen. I calmed down. The wind picked up again and I managed to take a sip without choking. Linton, the owner, took another comparatively noisy drag on his cigarette and winked at me. I’ll bet he’s seen all types while doing this.

Watching a moon rise over a mountain top in Africa is breathtaking. It is such a simple thing yet the thought that ancestors 20,000 years ago were doing the same thing and that I am joining a tradition of humanity that goes back to the dawn of eyeballs is a really wonderful feeling.

20,000 years ago, some very small humans were living in a cave not too far from where we were perched. On the walls of that cave they had painted animals, humans, leopard prints and hand prints. Over the millennia the paint had faded and much of it had washed away, but earlier that day Jackson and I got a chance to see the “I was here” hand print of some long-forgotten ancestor up close and personal and I felt chills. Say what you will of Shakespeare’s lasting power: this hand print was ancient.

Our guide showing us the cave paintings.

We had climbed on top of the cave and listened to the drum beat of an African drum as we watched the sun stain the mountains behind us orange, then red, then purple.

When the tip of the white moon poked its head out from behind the mountain and flooded the valley with a light that felt as bright as a truck’s high-beams on a highway at midnight, I squinted and wondered when the last time I had watched a moon rise. I’ll glance at the moon, but when had I last really looked at it? The 10 of us watched the moon as it shot out into the night sky, obliterating the stars and illuminating the world with bright blue light.

We went hiking at a waterfall the next morning.

The route to the waterfall leaving from the Algeria Campsite. About and 45min up and 30 min back down. The waterfall was a 45 min drive from Gecko Creek.

Because Western South Africa is experiencing such a drought the waterfall was little more than a trickle.

It was shockingly cold, though. Jackson and I hiked up the mountain to see the tiny little pool that was fed by the trickle. I counted the tadpoles, frogs and crabs that were swimming aimlessly in the small body of water. It was simple and lovely. We had the top to ourselves for more than an hour before anyone else showed up, then we decided to scram.

Aside from the crappy roads, Gecko Creek was a great place to stop. I’d highly recommend it for anyone looking for a chance to stay in a really nice tent and watch the night sky.