well here I am on the road between Swakopmund just behind me and Walvos Bay the
two major towns on this part of the coastline and it's an amazing road on
the one side you've got this
the Atlantic Ocean some guys fishing on the beach a couple of kids going out
there with their boogie board the water is freezing so I don't want to be them
a light mist rolling in
the guys over there fishing on the rocks then you've got the
road and you've got the desert literally the Namib Desert is just coming across
here right there you've got the road that goes to Walvis Bay and then the Atlantic
Ocean it really really is quite remarkable and it's a beautiful scenery
this is how a lot of this area gets its moisture where the heat of the desert
meets the cold of the Atlantic Ocean and creates this sort of fine mist so although
it looks sunny and warm you quite fresh
Walvis Bay is a very important well it's the only real harbour where
most imports come into Namibia so that's so we're going to see that in a little
while but from there I'm going to turn inland and cross that desert
to go into the heart of the Namib desert to go to Sesriem
so I'm just breathing in this is my last view of the ocean on this trip from then
now on I'll be going inland into the desert into the heat again so I'm
breathing in that lovely ocean freshness and that cool feel from the sea listening
to that lovely sound the waves of lap in I hope we're being able to pick it up
nicely goodbye Swakopmund
a little bit of beach road a little bit of fantastic beach
great fishing territory this
hello desert
well I've driven for 90 minutes now, an hour and a half from Walvis Bay the coast inland
crossing what is mostly a really empty area of desert and I've come to a
viewpoint which is like a outcrop that rises up out of the ground over the
plains here we go
there's a little lay by where people park
some quiver trees that people are looking at
and then a view over there
so I'm just going to take a little walk up over these broken rocks set up on that little bit
whoops
and hopefully get a couple of
pictures looking down
now all I've got to do is work out how to climb over this
tese are the quiver trees another unique tree of Namibia and they're called quiver trees
not because they quiver at night and make a strange sound which a lot of
people think but because the branches which you can see up there are hollow and
the san people or the Bushmen that used to live here
take these branches break them off and put their arrows inside to make quivers with
hence the name quiver tree
they do quiver strangely at night as well at but
that's not where the name comes from at night all those branches they shake at
night creating very spooky sound but they're very unique tree one of the few
trees as you can see around here to survive in this really harsh arid
environment two reasons they survive the heat one is they are hollow
and all the branches are hollow so that they can
actually cause evaporation inside the tubes which is why they break off and
make good quiver the other thing they've got if you look closely if I can get in on the
bark their bark is in layers I'll not pull any off be very careful there like an
onion which protects it from the heat and traps the moisture between all the
different layers on the tree and it has this very unique color to help it
reflect the sun I can actually feel it it's actually quite hot so that's a
Namibian quiver tree and you'll see them dotted in random areas around the desert
living were pretty much nothing else can
good news folks
I found out how to synch from my ipod into the car stereo so now we got tunes
well I left the comfort of a hotel room in Swakopmund, drove down the coast road
turned inland at Walvis Bay crossing some amazing countryside I mean some
desolate some canyons heading towards Sesriem
and right now I'm at the Tropic of Capricorn
and it's beautiful I know I say this about everywhere but just Namibia
has some amazingly diverse scenery I mean it's been scrub land and flat
and sand and then there's been canyons which have gone down and out off
no water in the canyons and just over there now I don't know if you can see these
amazing looking mountains far far away I'm not sure what mountains they are
shimmering in the afternoon heat
and just down there you can't see it is the canyon
that's the car that's not so interesting but then this is the Tropic of Capricorn
okay let's get on
I've only got one hour to get to Sesriem and check in before they close the gate on me because
you gotta be there before dark something lets get going
well welcome to Sesriem arrived in the dark which is not ideal especially when camping
it's not ideal to arrive in the dark anywhere but especially at Sesriem
because they close the gates a dark
Sesriem has got this very confusing double
gate system but what I'm going to do over the next couple of days is show you
about the double gate system how to get into Sesriem what Sesriem is all about
how to get into the desert how it all works that'll be coming up tomorrow first
tonight I'm cooking me supper I've already cooked my chicken on the gas
stove I'm cheating I haven't put a fire on tonight I arrived late I arrived late
not because not have enough time but because the journey oh my goodness was
so beautiful on the way I kept having to stop and take photographs and videos and
oh I mean I could have done in half the time but scenery was too spectacular so
arrived a little bit late did just scrape in the gate they let me in
thankfully found my campsite in the dark thankfully there is a light here and one
power point so I'm going cooking my supper on a gas stove I've got some
chicken cooked a nice portion of chicken cook some for tonight and some for
tomorrow for my lunch so I can have some leftover now I'm just cooking the pasta
I'm going to put some sauce in the pasta
pasta and sauce when that's cooked toss the chicken in sprinkle some cheese on top
pour a glass of wine on the side or some juice of course some nice juice and then
I've got a nice supper and set for the night because I won't have an early
night but I've got to get prepared tonight because tomorrow morning I'm getting up
very early to drive into the desert to see sunrise in sossusvlei