19 December – Henties Bay

Today we are in Henties Bay, at the Atlantic Ocean coast. It’s cool here, very admirable, even a little on the cold side (23 degrees) with a nice breeze. Monday we drove from Khorixas in southwestern direction to Uis Mine, a ride of about 100 km. The road was unpaved but in reasonable condition so an average speed of 70 km/h was feasible. In Uis we did the shopping we forgot to do in Khorixas and then drove the last 30 km to the Brandberg White Lady Lodge. This lodge/camping, with a peculiar name derived from a rockpainting of a shaman, lies at the foot of the Brandberg. This mountain got its name to the light phenomena of the sun that looks like fire. It is also a mountain that is quite lonely in the middle of the desert with a dry river at the foot. The river will be full of water in a few weeks ‘ time if the rains start to fall. At the lodge is a huge campsite with 30 places that are 100 m apart. All places have water and a BBQ and at short distance a toilet/shower ablution. The way the campings are set up here in Africa is incomparable with Europe. Here, space, luxury and beauty are the rule at a very reasonable price. Power is rather rule than exception. The lodge itself had no less than 140 solar panels for the generation of electricity and I have been taking time to think how they arrange power for the night because storage by batteries is very pricey. To store 50 KWh you just need 500 car batteries and they cost €150 per piece.

The view over the desert and the mountains is impressive as well as the silence at night. Although, the first evening we were surprised by a choir consisting of the staff of the lodge. All newcomers to the campsite were welcomed with beautiful local songs, polyphonic sung.

Because we are closer to the coast, it was less hot, only 32 degrees. Also the nights were cool with temperatures around 20 degrees, delicious just.

The next day we, with a guide, were driving around in the area. That is to say, we sat in a big truck, 3-tonner from the Army, completely open and the guide drove us through the riverbed along fantastic rock formations and over tracks that were barely visible. Sometimes we had to go through the mud. Eventually we saw desert elephants. These elephants have a much larger foot than the ordinary, elephant to be able to walk more easily on the sand. Near the lodge is a group of about 10 elephants who also regularly walk across the terrain and demolish the water taps, to drink. The guide knew exactly how to deal with these animals and we saw them from very short distance (3 meters) playing in the mud and to dug for water to drink. Really unimaginable to see and very impressive, especially the tranquility that radiate these huge animals. And you can see it all while you drive in a truck through a riverbed that is inaccessible in the rain in a month. Lisa and I were completely silent.

In the night, during the frequent toilet visits, we saw the Milky Way as we know both of our youth. So incredibly clear.

This morning we broke our camp quickly and drove through Uis to Henties Bay. On the way we helped a stranded lady with a flat tyre. She had done everything perfectly but lacked the power to pull the wheel of the shaft. Not that much traffic came along that road…..

Driving to Henties Bay a curious phenomenon occurs about 50 km from the coast. Because of the cold, Benguala current the temperature on the coast of Namibia is 20 degrees less than inland. So you see this from a large distance because clouds appear with even a speck of rain. The temperature drops very fast and one needs to turn on the car lights.

Now we have two days in Henties Bay on a campsite with, small, places but with a private shower/toilet/electricity. Small is 15 * 15 m so for European notions… Here are only Afrikaners and to make it even more specific, Afrikaner fishermen. Here they drive 4 * 4 ‘s with 5 tubes with 5 fishing rods of 5 m in length, upright! 

Sunday we are expected in Swakopmund so we’ll see how we get through the next few days. In any case, I have to book a ticket for Tamara.

All pictures (and video’s) can be seen at https://1drv.ms/f/s!Au0HRASncjXQ9j5OkuW4O-nolz0P