When we went on the C28 road, it was from Swakopmund to Windhoek, the opposite direction of how I ended up writing this blog. Really, the C28 was so fun and diverse that we are planning to drive to Swakopmund in coming weeks for the sole reason to drive it again. With extra barf bags and snacks that don't smell gross when they are barfed up again...
If someone tells you to take the C28 road to/from Swakopmund, take it. Sure, it tacks on a few extra hours of driving, (even though it's technically shorter than the B1/B2) and is 90% dirt road, the sense adventure and epically gorgeous landscape make up for it. That's all of Namibia though, isn't it?
C28 starts off as Sam Nujoma Drive in Windhoek, a street named after the country's first president. The fine, smooth pavement leads out of the city, past Daan Vijoen Reserve, and into the Auas mountains. Asphalt turns to dirt and the road compliments its winding self with your first views of Windhoek aloe plants standing in groups like "zombie sentries." A beautiful cooperative community has set up shop off the left hand side, complete with a sparkling white church and schools. When everything is so dry and vast, it's always a pleasure to see functioning and thriving life beyond the city.
Further in, the abandoned Liebig House stands alone on top of a hill with stern "forbidden entry notices" at the gate. Set on a stone foundation, faded yellow paint, rusted roof, and busted out windows, the house was obviously once extravagant. Built for farm managers of the Karl Liebig Company back in 1912, the house boasted a skittle-alley (German bowling) and the farm also had a school, shop, and post office. Cattle farming was only part of the Liebig company. According to Namib-web, the man himself, Justus von Liebig invented meat extract prior to the house being built. He had the mindset to provide alternative nutrition for those who could not afford meat. He named it after himself: Extractum carnis Liebig. Today we know it as Bovril, a red capped jar that is oddly stored next to Vegemite, a vegetarian yeast extract in the supermarkets.
Through the years, the Liebig house went through other owners: a British secret agent, the South African Government, and Namibian photojournalist Margaret Courtney-Clark owns it now.
Not long after the Liebig house is a small four-room fort that was built as a German outlook post, but really, ended up being a place for soldiers to sleep off their hangovers. The sign at the base of the hill infers the same thing, and you can walk into the fort itself. Watch out for snakes though, because the grass is tall and untended.
Eventually, after a hundred more ups, downs, curves, and a region change from Khomas to Erongo, Bosua Pass peaks out at 1,728m (5,669 ft). There's two cool things to see here, and two not-so-cool things. First, there's a sign and map of the Kuiseb Ephemeral River Basin. Second, behind a pile of boulders is an open-air toilet. Obviously the view is cool, but what's not cool is that the toilet is a bottomless, rusted oil drum guaranteed to give you tetanus, and there's discarded toilet paper everywhere.
Moving down the backside, the landscape changes yet again. But, it's hard to describe: darker, greener, and definitely more vast. The road eventually flattens out, cuddled between two parks, Tsaobis Nature Park and Namib-Naukluft Park. There's no more fences to keep out the animals who will undoubtedly run across the road: oryx, springbok, and giraffe, to name a few. The birds get impressively bigger. On any particular day you may drive past a wake of lappet-faced vultures or a solitary kori bustard. Do animal sightings ever get boring? Not a chance.
Along the way, there are several detours of choice. Namibia Accommodation.com has a map to show what's beyond the C28. They are enjoyable because of their variability: hills striped with geological history, dolomite pillars that look not unlike the Organ Pipes in Kunene/Erongo region, sacred Welwitchia plants, and the eye-popping moonscape. If you do take the detours, remember to pick up a Namib-Naukluft Park permit to keep your travels on the up-and-up.
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C28 starts off as Sam Nujoma Drive in Windhoek, a street named after the country's first president. The fine, smooth pavement leads out of the city, past Daan Vijoen Reserve, and into the Auas mountains. Asphalt turns to dirt and the road compliments its winding self with your first views of Windhoek aloe plants standing in groups like "zombie sentries." A beautiful cooperative community has set up shop off the left hand side, complete with a sparkling white church and schools. When everything is so dry and vast, it's always a pleasure to see functioning and thriving life beyond the city.
Further in, the abandoned Liebig House stands alone on top of a hill with stern "forbidden entry notices" at the gate. Set on a stone foundation, faded yellow paint, rusted roof, and busted out windows, the house was obviously once extravagant. Built for farm managers of the Karl Liebig Company back in 1912, the house boasted a skittle-alley (German bowling) and the farm also had a school, shop, and post office. Cattle farming was only part of the Liebig company. According to Namib-web, the man himself, Justus von Liebig invented meat extract prior to the house being built. He had the mindset to provide alternative nutrition for those who could not afford meat. He named it after himself: Extractum carnis Liebig. Today we know it as Bovril, a red capped jar that is oddly stored next to Vegemite, a vegetarian yeast extract in the supermarkets.
Through the years, the Liebig house went through other owners: a British secret agent, the South African Government, and Namibian photojournalist Margaret Courtney-Clark owns it now.
Not long after the Liebig house is a small four-room fort that was built as a German outlook post, but really, ended up being a place for soldiers to sleep off their hangovers. The sign at the base of the hill infers the same thing, and you can walk into the fort itself. Watch out for snakes though, because the grass is tall and untended.
Eventually, after a hundred more ups, downs, curves, and a region change from Khomas to Erongo, Bosua Pass peaks out at 1,728m (5,669 ft). There's two cool things to see here, and two not-so-cool things. First, there's a sign and map of the Kuiseb Ephemeral River Basin. Second, behind a pile of boulders is an open-air toilet. Obviously the view is cool, but what's not cool is that the toilet is a bottomless, rusted oil drum guaranteed to give you tetanus, and there's discarded toilet paper everywhere.
Moving down the backside, the landscape changes yet again. But, it's hard to describe: darker, greener, and definitely more vast. The road eventually flattens out, cuddled between two parks, Tsaobis Nature Park and Namib-Naukluft Park. There's no more fences to keep out the animals who will undoubtedly run across the road: oryx, springbok, and giraffe, to name a few. The birds get impressively bigger. On any particular day you may drive past a wake of lappet-faced vultures or a solitary kori bustard. Do animal sightings ever get boring? Not a chance.
Along the way, there are several detours of choice. Namibia Accommodation.com has a map to show what's beyond the C28. They are enjoyable because of their variability: hills striped with geological history, dolomite pillars that look not unlike the Organ Pipes in Kunene/Erongo region, sacred Welwitchia plants, and the eye-popping moonscape. If you do take the detours, remember to pick up a Namib-Naukluft Park permit to keep your travels on the up-and-up.
Finally, when the hills settle and you meet up with the above-ground pipeline, know that the end is near. Bland brown dust coats everything and it feels like the terrain deserves a few ostriches. While it is unlikely to see ostrich, you may enjoy cyclists suffering exercising, or sky divers floating in the wide open space. Dirt turns into pavement and the first signs of city life let you know that the next adventure is up: Swakopmund.
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| The co-op community's church and school buildings. About an hour west from Windhoek. |
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| The Liebig House was also haunted. Must be one thirsty ghost way out here.
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Bosua Pass toilet. The seat faces north, so it's not very feng shui.
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| Gnome-like rocks, as if they've been waiting for you all this time. Creepy. Somewhere on the C28.
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| Desert adapted giraffes. |
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