We were driving North with our guide, Charles, from the Hoanib River area to the Kaokoland area (now also called Kunene for the Kunene River). This area is most famous for the Himba and Herero tribes, which we would be visiting. Compared to the rest of the country, this area is less developed as the dry climate and the vast mountains make it difficult to cultivate. And as we drove, we marveled yet again at how different the terrain was. And how beautiful.
April 18-21, 2018
The Hoanib River is one of the 12 seasonal rivers in the west of Namibia, bordering the northern part of Damaraland and Kaokoland. This area is considered one of the last true wilderness areas in Namibia. It is also the one of last settlements of the desert elephant. The Murdorib flows off the Hoanib, at about 600 feet above sea level, and it is on the dry bed of the Mudorib that we would be camping for the next two nights.
Camping. Me? Those that know me know that camping is not my usual MO. How did this happen? When we met with Chris at Piper and Heath to plan our Wilderness Safari trip, the Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp was full. But we wanted to stay in this area, so Chris suggested we camp. He promised a hot shower, a toilet and someone to cook for us. So I said, “Actually sounds like fun. Why not?!” So here we were.
April 17-18, 2018, Tuesday and Wednesday
After breakfast today we hit the road heading north to the Skeleton Coast. We were driving in Dorob National Park, a protected area in this region of Erongo. It is 990 miles long and covers 41,500 square miles, from the Kuiseb Delta, just south of Walvis Bay, to the Ugab River, where we were heading. There are about 75 species of birds that live here and it feels like we saw many of them.
The road was paved, but grooved and rough, at least for a while. We were surrounded on both sides by sand. Sand, sand and more sand. And to our left, on the west side, on the other side of the sand, was the Atlantic Ocean. Other than that, there was not much to see.
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