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Spitzkoppe

 

Spitzkoppe is located in the Namib Desert, between Swakopmund and Usakos, which is also the nearest town (approximately 50km away). It is easy to find, just keep an eye on signs beside the road.  This area is well known for its unique oversized boulders and secret caves.  When we arrived to the only campground in the area, we were pleasantly surprised by it's size and beauty.  As it was getting late, we headed straight to the Bridge to take photos of the sunset.  The cloud formations and colours were amazing.  

This campground allows visitors to camp in complete peace and tranquility. We couldn't believe that the next camping site was kilometers away from us.  We chose campsite number 5 which is right under the Bridge.  We parked our car and headed right up to the Bridge which is literaly a 2 minute walk up the granite rocks. 

 
 

After the beautiful sunset we came back to our campsite and cooked a dinner in our campervan.  It was a warm night with a sky full of stars and the serenity of the place was incredible.  We set our alarm for 3am as we wanted to take a few night pictures of the bridge with stars and then wait for sunrise.

 

Waiting for sunrise was exciting.  The large moon in the sky nicely lit the valley in front of us. Then we waited for the first rays to appear on the summit of the imposing granite rock formation in front of us, the height of which is 1,728m.

 

During the day you can drive around the camp, even climb a few rocks.  Each campsite only has dry toilets and hot showers are near the reception.  Because distances between each campsite and the reception are large, you need to drive rather than walk.  There is also a small bar but the food is quite scarce so we recommend bringing your own supplies for your stay here.

 

If you park next to site number 2, you can climb up the large rock where you'll find a rock pool.  You can have a dip there in the hot summer temperatures.

Kuiseb and Gaub Passes

 

Driving on the dirt road which traces the border of the Namib-Naukluft Park towards Solitaire, the road suddenly started winding between mountainous outcrops and we found ourselves in Kuiseb Pass.  

 

Kuiseb Pass is much more substantial than the Gaub Pass, and not so much because of the pass itself, but because of the history locked up between its rugged hills and canyons.  To most, the Kuiseb Pass will simply be a mark on a map, but not if you’ve read Henno Martin’s The Sheltering Desert about the daring of the two German geologists who preferred trekking into the desert for more than two years during the Second World War to being locked up in an internment camp

The Gaub Pass is a little bit different.  Once you descend, you drive across a banana shaped bridge over the Gaub River and you are through the pass.  We drove through this area late in the evening and the lights and shadows on the surrounding hills created a beautiful show for us.

NamibRand Nature Reserve

 

This reserve lies to the south of Sesriem, and borders on to the Namib Naukluft Park.  Covering over 2,000 square kilometres, it is one of Africa’s largest private reserves, and is certainly one of its most beautiful.

 

This is a place of contrast, it encompasses vegetated dunes, yellow plains and the Namib Mountains where Hartmann’s mountain zebra can be found.  You can take pictures of sand and gravel plains as well as stretches of savanna which alternate with mountain ranges and vegated dune belts.  

You can even see the Fairy Circles as on the slope of the above picture.  We found a few other Fairy Circles in nearby Sossusvlei.  Hot Air balooning is also quite popular here.

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