Leaving Etosha with fond farewell to friends old and new, we headed southwards in Namibia to Kamanjab, Swakopmund, Solitaire, Reitoog  and then on to Windhoek for our flight to Cape Town.

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Otjitotongwe is located about 30kms from the town of Kamanjab. It is dedicated to the preservation of the cheetah species. It is estimated that Namibia has 2000-2500 cheetah, of which 95% are on private (game or cattle) farms. Unfortunately, some farmers have continued to shoot cheetah because of their tendency to raid stock, particularly where their natural prey species are scarce or absent.

The owners of  Otjitotongwe Cheetah Park used to shoot cheetahs because they would kill their stock, but that all changed about 24 years ago when some orphaned cubs were found on the side of the road. The owner brought them home and hand raised them. This inspired the family to dedicate their lives to the preservation of this species. 

Since then, they have taken in quite a few problem cheetahs rather than letting them be destroyed. They offer to buy problem cheetahs from surrounding farms where they are suspected of raiding stock. If the family didn't rescue the cheetahs, farmers would likely shoot them. 

They have a huge enclosure to live out their lives, and even though they must be fed daily as their space isn't large enough to support them to kill sufficient food, this is far preferable to the alternative.  .

Swakopmund was founded in 1892 when Namibia was colonised by the Germans. Its current architecture still distinctly reflects German grandeur from bygone days. Its name is derived from the German language meaning ‘mouth of Swakop’, alluding to the historic overflow and flooding of the Swakop River.

Once again we stayed at the glorious Desert Breeze lodge with its sweeping views over the magnificent rolling sand dunes. And once again we were very privileged to stay in the glorious 3-bedroom Villa with its amazing views from every window. The view of the desert at night from the bedroom window on our first night was breathtaking! Thank you Daanie, Margaret, Andrea and all of the wonderful staff for a fabulous visit.

We did a full day 4-wheel-drive tour from Swakopmund to visit Walvis Bay and Sandwich Harbour and then along the beautiful dune chain adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean. 

The lagoons at Walvis Bay are full of various birds, the most obvious of all being the large flocks of bright pink flamingos. 

The next section of our journey had us driving along the beach of Sandwich Harbour with the wild Atlantic Ocean on one side and the towering dunes of the Namib Desert on the other.

After a delicious picnic lunch, the fun continued with an exhilarating drive up and down the amazing dunes and plenty of photo stops for the various plants and animals we saw along the way.

Situated about 40kms  from Swakopmund, Moon Valley is an awe-inspiring sight to behold. We drove through the flat Namib Desert for about half an hour and then … seemingly out of nowhere … we arrived at the first viewpoint of this amazing place. Looking across the desolate landscape of a vast valley leading to the towering eroded mountains, it almost feels like you’ve been transported to the surface of the moon.

For the past two million years, the Swakop River and its many tributaries flowed through this valley, giving it life and shaping this natural phenomenon. According to geologists, the group of mountains was pushed up through the earth’s surface about 500 million years ago.

After driving alongside Moon Valley for about 20 minutes, the signpost for Goanikontes Oasis points down a road that leads to this magical and crazy place, tucked away in Moon Valley and located alongside the now dry Swakop riverbed.

Driving back to Swakopund, we passed a number of Welwitschia Mirabilis plants. This odd-looking plant grows only in the Namib Desert and is often referred to as a living fossil as the oldest living specimen is estimated to be 2.000 years old. 

The plants never grow more than 2 metres above the ground, but the bigger plants have underground stems up to 4 metres long. Each plant has only two leaves that curl, twist split and droop in opposite directions. If one of the leaves dies, so does the entire plant. They survive their arid surroundings by absorbing water from the sea mists that drift off the icy Atlantic ocean.

And so our time in Namibia draws to an end. 

From Swakopmund we drove south, across the Tropic of Capricorn, to our overnight stay at “Soft Adventure Camp”, set in The Namib Naukluft National Park on an open plain with granite hills as a backdrop. It was very different to the luxury of the previous nights as the room had a solid base but its walls were made of canvas with windows of thick mesh to protect against bugs and dust but still allow fresh air. Unfortunately the night we stayed was VERY windy and the various tent fittings creaked and jangled all night! But the views over the plains were definitely worth the visit! The sunset was glorious with such vast skies. And they had a HUGE Sociable Weaver Bird nest in a tree just next to the dining area.

Next day we headed off via a lovely little “iconic” place called Solitaire and then on to our accommodation via the Spreetshoogte Pass, the steepest pass in Namibia, with its VERY windy, steep road and amazing views.

Our final night on the road was a lovely small B&B called Tismaree Guestfarm, located just outside of the little village of Rietoog about 200 km southwest of Windhoek. We were met by the owner, a delightful man called Henry who welcomed us like old friends. Our room was comfy enough, but the highlight was Henry himself! He went out of his way to make sure we were comfortable, and then, as we were the only 2 people staying there, he joined us for the delicious dinner he’d made for us. It was a fabulous evening of great conversation and lots of laughter!