Landing in Namibia after Lockdown

After landing, we were ready for the desert!

Finally, after almost two years without taking any plane, we flew to Namibia from South Africa, where we live. In Lent 2020 we wanted to go to this country, but with the restrictions due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, we decided to travel to South Africa. Namibia is South Africa's northern neighbour.  We flew on September 20, 2021 from Cape Town.

The safest way to drive on the streets of Namibia

First impressions of the country

We decided to fly and not travel by car, due to Covid's requirements, because it was safer that from the capital, Windhoek, we could get the results in the time necessary to take the plane to Cape Town. We arrived at the Cape Town airport and came across a desert. These are the times of Covid, hardly anyone travels. The flight was with Airlink and in less than three hours we were in Windhoek. Its airport is small, so the German plane looked like a giant on the runway. We rent a car from Europcar. 

We met this giraffe in our way to
 the Oaniob Resort

Lake Oaniob Resort

We did not leave the agency without having seen a video explaining the dangers of driving on the wild streets of Namibia. As not all roads are paved, drive slowly and try to drive from the center and not to the side, as rocks and speed can cause fatal skidding. Well, that's where the adventure began. The first giraffe appears: in a Lodge on Lake Oaniob In less than an hour down the road we started seeing Baboons monkeys on the side of the road and a giraffe. 

Best place for a family vacation

Welcome to Africa. We did the lunch break at the Lake Oaniob Resort lodge restaurant. There we ate in front of the lake. There were not many tourists, but in pre-Covid times this place was the preferred place for tourists with children. We hope those times return. This place is in the Rehoboth West region. The food was good. I had some spring rolls and my husband tried his first Cordon Bleu of the trip.

Coffee break at
 Conny´s Restaurant and
Coffee Shop

Impossible to stop pausing with Gunther, the owner of the Conny Coffee Shop The journey continued along the desert side roads to reach the Conny´s Restaurant and Coffee Shop. Out of nothing, because there is nothing between Windhoek and Sossusvlie. The owner, Gunther, of German descent, made us coffee. But first, her puppies Flecky and Panda welcomed us by biting our hands to get our attention. Don't worry, they were just messing around. The German style filter coffee was delicious. It was to be taken alone, without milk or sugar and we did it. He had chocolate muffins, which he baked, but our daughter delighted in a vanilla ice cream that he made himself. The coffee beans are imported from South Africa, from the Bean There! I can totally recommend it.

Gunther, the owner share with us the great
coffee and a nice talk!

Tourists usually arrive in trucks to have a break. His coffee is very famous in the tourist guides. Then he told us about the Covid era in his community. He also told us about his adventures in Argentina and Brazil and of course, he showed us the map of Namibia. But we had to leave to reach our destination, the lodge at NamibRand Nature Reserve, near Sossusvlei. 

And Beyond Sossusvlei Lodge,
a Hotel in the middle of the desert

Did we reach the end of the world? 

 

Finally, we had our time to enjoy!

After the delicious coffee and the pleasant talk we arrived at And Beyond Sossusvlei Lodge. Yes, in the desert the doors opened before our eyes. A curious jackal, mascot of the hotel, greeted us in the residential area of ​​the hotel employees. Growing up, this jackal is the hotel's pet that it looks for in its trash cans. When we got to the hotel, I definitely had the feeling of being in the furthest place from civilization. 

Romantic Dinner with special views

The hotel is located in a reserve of I don't know how many kilometers. The first thing that came to my memory is that this place would be ideal for any extraterrestrial civilization. Landing a ship there would be the easiest thing to do. No animal in these directions would have enemies. There would be no lions, because there were hyenas, jackals and of course, thousands of a species of cattle called Orix, the African cow. If you ask me for a description. I felt in an unreal world, without civilization, or at least what we think is a civilization. But in short, amazing, wonderful. A mystery of nature. The Namibian desert. Namib, original name And we arrived, well I will tell you about this in the next post. Thanks for reading me and see you soon.