No Schlink car trip can ever start off without my preoccupation with stockpiling essentials like snacks, water, and sunscreen. Mark worries about much less important things like printing out proof of insurance, the spare tire and securely fastening down the duffel bags. What kind of priorities are those, am I right? Once satisfied, I had enough apples, dried fruit, and biltong to go with the waffles, soft pretzels, cheese, crackers, and several gallons of water, and celebratory stock of gin, tonic and limes- off we went, headed south through Namibia. The kids were giddy with 6am excitement, unable to go back to sleep- ignorant of the long hours ahead. I desperately wanted to nod off, but as the first leg co-pilot, I knew my allegiances should remain awake with Mark. For our first burst of excitement, we drove past the Tropic of Capricorn, completing a lifelong dream photoshoot at the southernmost latitude point that receives sunlight directly overhead.
The best part of driving in southern Namibia is that the landscape is consistently unique. Not having been particularly far north, east, or west I can't speak to them yet. But the south is definitely cool and unpredictable. One minute we would drive past rolling mountains, another past rocky steppe, or farm land, and another through canyons. Sometimes all four seemed to happen at once and although Namibia is drought ridden, there's still a mess Pantone colors swathing the landscape. It's pretty great. The only thing that is less great, is the endless, straight road (though the B1 highway is well paved and marked) which will make any driver sleepy.
A few hours later we approached our next pit stop of Keetmanshoop, and decided on a detour to the Quiver Tree Forest/Rest Camp. Owned by a German family with what seemed like 43 sheep dogs, this private property contains an impressive spread of quiver trees which are part of the aloe family. The owner estimated that some of these trees are over 300 years old. It's impressive they don't whither in the hot sun, which at our time of arrival, reached 40C (104F). Beet faced and only "slightly" sweating, we explored the rocky and hilly terrain chasing lizards. After chugging the once cold turned tepid bubble water, we visited the Giant's Playground: a place filled with very old, very big rock piles. Essentially, they are 160-180 million year old igneous rocks spread over 180,000 square kilometers. Essentially, it's pretty cool. And hot at the same time.
I love how Google has its mind made up with the most efficient way to arrive, but then promptly changes to divert via dirt roads. Yet, I still believed as we bid goodbye to the B1. Perhaps it saved 3-5 minutes, perhaps not. What the new route did do was take us to through suspiciously green, and soldier straight vineyards and palm tree farms. It was a pleasant surprise, even if we were only 90% certain of the correct way. Finally, with an eminent arrival to the Gondwana Canyon Village, we enjoyed spartan yet massive rock columns, and buttes, along with a sneak preview of the Fish River Canyon. Everything mind you, was dotted with oryx, gembock, and ostriches. Once we checked in and pretended not to notice it was 42C, we had no choice but to cool off by swimming and taking a sunset hike before eating dinner under the stars. Dinners here start and end late. So much that, the kids wanted to skip dessert, falling into bed at 9:30, with us not far behind at 9:31. We all had enough bursts of excitement for the day.
The best part of driving in southern Namibia is that the landscape is consistently unique. Not having been particularly far north, east, or west I can't speak to them yet. But the south is definitely cool and unpredictable. One minute we would drive past rolling mountains, another past rocky steppe, or farm land, and another through canyons. Sometimes all four seemed to happen at once and although Namibia is drought ridden, there's still a mess Pantone colors swathing the landscape. It's pretty great. The only thing that is less great, is the endless, straight road (though the B1 highway is well paved and marked) which will make any driver sleepy.
A few hours later we approached our next pit stop of Keetmanshoop, and decided on a detour to the Quiver Tree Forest/Rest Camp. Owned by a German family with what seemed like 43 sheep dogs, this private property contains an impressive spread of quiver trees which are part of the aloe family. The owner estimated that some of these trees are over 300 years old. It's impressive they don't whither in the hot sun, which at our time of arrival, reached 40C (104F). Beet faced and only "slightly" sweating, we explored the rocky and hilly terrain chasing lizards. After chugging the once cold turned tepid bubble water, we visited the Giant's Playground: a place filled with very old, very big rock piles. Essentially, they are 160-180 million year old igneous rocks spread over 180,000 square kilometers. Essentially, it's pretty cool. And hot at the same time.
I love how Google has its mind made up with the most efficient way to arrive, but then promptly changes to divert via dirt roads. Yet, I still believed as we bid goodbye to the B1. Perhaps it saved 3-5 minutes, perhaps not. What the new route did do was take us to through suspiciously green, and soldier straight vineyards and palm tree farms. It was a pleasant surprise, even if we were only 90% certain of the correct way. Finally, with an eminent arrival to the Gondwana Canyon Village, we enjoyed spartan yet massive rock columns, and buttes, along with a sneak preview of the Fish River Canyon. Everything mind you, was dotted with oryx, gembock, and ostriches. Once we checked in and pretended not to notice it was 42C, we had no choice but to cool off by swimming and taking a sunset hike before eating dinner under the stars. Dinners here start and end late. So much that, the kids wanted to skip dessert, falling into bed at 9:30, with us not far behind at 9:31. We all had enough bursts of excitement for the day.
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| 23°26′13.5″ |
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| Quiver tree forest! |
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| Photo credit: Deets. |
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| Mistakingly taking a selfie with a quiver tree photobomb. |
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| Hiking around the Canyon Village. |
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| View from the shade in which I was hiding. |
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| View from the porch of our "chalet." |
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| View of the village from above. |
Namibia is on our projected list...
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