5 min read

On This Desert Road

Firstly, I’d like to apologise for the delayed post about Namibia! It’s been quite something to get back into the swing of things after getting home from our holiday. But I hope you enjoy the brief run down of my family’s trip!

This type of view was one that my family and I got quickly accustomed to during June—the long unbending roads, the mountains and the shrubby scenery. In fact, the scenery was actually more desolate than in this photo for the majority of our journey!

That’s because we were in Namibia, the desert country where a two hour drive is the new thirty minutes, where you can be five minutes away from a town and still see nothing but desert, where seeing another vehicle is cause for excitement.

It’s always been a trip that my family has dreamed of doing and we finally did it! We road tripped Namibia! After 84 hours and three minutes of driving, having covered 5810 km of road, we can say we’ve seen places like Windhoek, Swakopmund, the Sossusvlei and the ghost town, Kolmanskop.

The lowlight of the trip was definitely the amount of cold showers I had, but the highlights outweighed that trifling irritation by far.

The Wild Horses

The wild horses of the Namib live in the Southwest of Namibia in a reserve. The reserve is situated along the road between Aus and Lüderitz. Naturally, seeing these wild horses was a bucket list item for our trip. And see them, we did! Early one morning (bearing in mind that the sun only rises in Namibia at about 8 o'clock during winter) we drove out of Aus, where we had been staying. We drove West, keeping our eyes peeled for the horses. We watched the most beautiful sunrise coming over the mountains that framed the eastern horizon. After about 20 minutes (which felt like five), we finally spotted a horse. It stood far away, catching the first rays of sun.

Despite watching the surroundings so intensely, or maybe because of it, we almost missed the turn off to the watering hole that the horses habitually visit during the mornings and evenings. We turned onto a sandy road and drove down a tiny valley and over a little hill. From the crest of the hill, we saw them.

They were scattered around, a herd of about fifteen horses and a few smaller bands. We probably saw about thirty to fifty in total, but we’d been told that there were more in the mountains and surrounds. Filled with excitement, we climbed out of the car and sat in a hide to watch the horses.

The sun rose gradually while the horses walked leisurely to the watering hole in their family groups. It was special enough to see the horses from the hide, which was a small distance away from the water, but then a wonderful thing happened. A stallion herded his mare and foal away from the water and toward us! They spent about 15- 20 minutes just resting right beside the hide!

Apparently, the horses prefer to keep a distance from visitors, which made this experience even more special. To us, this little family of horses was a true gift from the Lord.

Climbing Dune 45

During our journey up the coast of Namibia, we passed the Sossusvlei, an incredibly barren park. In it, there are oryx (also known as Gemsbok), brown hyenas and other desert animals. Perhaps the most interesting and beautiful feature of the Sossusvlei is the red sand. Towering high around the road are vibrant red dunes. Another intriguing part of the reserve is the fairy circles. Have you ever heard of them?

They are circular patches around the Sossusvlei where nothing– absolutely nothing– grows. Of course, the reserve is arid, but the fairy circles are sterile! The soil around the circles seems to be fertile, because tall grass edges these patches of bare desert sand.

But back to the dunes.

The most photographed dune in the Sossusvlei is Dune 45, named because it is 45 km away from the park entrance. When we arrived, there were about 4 vehicles there already. Children played in the sand (a ghastly thing to do!) and adults lounged in their camp chairs.

We grabbed our picnic lunch and headed for one of two picnic tables. After a lovely lazy lunch under the only tree in kilometres, we decided to try to tackle the dune.

Taking off my shoes, I began the climb. The first bit was not terrible, but very quickly, I realised that climbing Dune 45 was not the same as climbing a beach dune. It was much, much harder work. It was steep, it was warm under the desert sun and the dry air sucked any moisture from my mouth. Soon, I was panting. The moment I thought I had reached the top of the mountainous dune, I saw a new horizon, steeper, higher than the top that we’d seen from the ground. Needless to say, I didn’t make it all the way to the top, but I learnt three lessons while I was panting away.

Go further than you think you can go. While climbing, I kept thinking about stopping and turning back. Did I? Nope. I carried on until we had to be back on the road because we needed to get to our next accommodation. Life is like that. Keep climbing until you either get renewed strength or you are called home.
Keep your eyes on the path. This may seem obvious, but I can confirm that the moment my eyes strayed or I looked down the steep sides of the path, I started feeling nauseous. While we’re journeying through life, it’s pointless to look side to side for comparisons. They just throw you off course. If you want to stop and admire the view, stop your feet, take a breath and look around.
It’s easier with friends. I did most of my dune climb on my own, but I started out with my family. When there were people to encourage me, for me to encourage or even commiserate with, it made everything much easier! Do life with friends and family! God created us to live in fellowship. We were not designed for isolation. Encourage one another, and build each other up!

Finally, Photos!

Now that I’ve recounted a few special moments from our journey, I thought I’d share a few (maybe many) photos. After all, pictures are merely captured memories.