The Awaited Journey: Namibia’s Far North West

August brought with it Namibia and a journey I’d long been waiting for: to travel through Erongo and into the far north west to Kunene region.  The stylish Alice joined me from London, and we met at Jozi airport before boarding for Walvis Bay, where Angela collected us from the next-slowest immigrations queue after Heathrow Terminal 1-3.

We began in Swakopmund on an uncharacteristically sunny day, and took Angela’s dogs for a customary walk along the beach.  The next morning we were off and away with streamlined luggage and camping gear.  We edged our way up the Skeleton Coast for 4 hours and then down an unmarked gravel track to Wereldsend, an oasis set amidst the lilacs and ochres of ancient hills and plains. 

We arrived in time for a sunset walk with Namibia’s premier conservation doyennes.  The space of Wereldsend and its surrounds is pure exhilaration.  Space, openness, and the curious feel of being with people that one has a history with.  There is grass, white grass, as far as the eye can see, uncharacteristic thanks to the heavy rains this past season, and the one before that.

Across the plains, ostrich, zebra, springbok, and the incredibly regal oryx feed in abundance. I saw my first desert elephant, and the fake-dead Weltwitschia plants which can live to be more than 1500 years old.  As Carol says, “So when Jesus was kicking around, these were here…”

Our next day in Wereldsend brought the first clouds in 3 months, graffiti-sweeps across a monumental sky.  The sunset was fluorescent, its pinks almost artificial, before we headed back to camp to imbibe the aroma of woodsmoke.  Poor Alice, fresh from London, was dealt endless lion stories around the campfire by the bush old-timers, including the one about MJ and GOS’ first night together, when GOS had his foot mauled. Uber-romantic to the extent that it no doubt created the first of their lifelong bonds. No wonder Alice nearly had a heart attack when I stepped out of the tent to pee during the night, having just heard a hyena.   I had to reassure her the next morning that it was probably about 3km away.