Getting back from Fish River Canyon was a long trip, but I was with a genuinely great group of people, and that made the ride fly by. My guide dropped me at the airport so I could collect my car, and this is where the trip properly turned solo.
I had read on a few other sites that a normal sedan would do the job for this route. My friend, who had done the same trip before, told me to rather book a 4x4. I am so glad I listened. I honestly do not know how I would have coped with some of that off road driving otherwise.
The first surprise came before I had even left the rental desk. Someone was showing me how to change a tyre, and my first thought was, what, why. Then I remembered where I was. In the Namib Desert, changing your own tyre on the side of the road is not a hypothetical. It is just something that happens.
So there I was, in a 4x4, driving to Windhoek for my first night alone on this trip. I booked an Airbnb for one night to rest before the real driving began. The next morning I left early enough to grab a coffee and a snack before getting properly on the road.
FIRST STOP
Windhoek to the Namib Desert Lodge
It was a four hour drive to the Namib Desert Lodge, part of the Gondwana Collection, and easily one of the best lodges I have ever stayed in. The route started on tar, then fairly quickly turned to a well maintained gravel road. It was a great drive. Music blasting, snacks within reach, the kind of solo stretch that reminds you why you do this in the first place.
Along the way I passed through Solitaire, and it is exactly as special as everyone says. Something about that place makes you pause, even if you cannot quite explain why. There is a small church there, slightly eerie, and interesting for it. I stopped for petrol and discovered my tyres were overinflated and needed to be let down a little for the gravel roads ahead. Small lessons, learned in real time.
SECOND STOP
Sossusvlei
The next morning I decided to take a tour to Sossusvlei instead of driving myself, and it was the right call. The road to the lodge had already been choppy at best, I had never driven in sand before, and I did not want that particular drama on a day I was hoping to actually enjoy. Taking the shuttle meant I could nap properly on the way there and back, and for once, I actually felt rested.
Sossusvlei is a magical place. Photos do not do it justice, and I had seen plenty of photos before I arrived. It is one of those places that is simply more beautiful in person, no matter how many times you have already seen it online. I spent a couple of genuinely magical days out there in the desert.
THIRD STOP
Walvis Bay to Swakopmund
From Sossusvlei I drove a properly rough, unprepared road to Walvis Bay to collect a friend who had decided to join the second half of my solo trip. From there we drove on together to Swakopmund, a lovely little town that felt like a well earned reward after all that sand and gravel.
Things we did in Swakopmund
- Quad biking in the dunes
- Fresh oysters by the seaside
- A day trip out into the dunes
- A visit to the pink river
- A slow walk around the town itself
Namibia truly stole my heart. From trekking through Fish River Canyon, to the desert, to finally reaching Swakopmund, a place I had been wanting to visit for years, I am just so glad I finally did it.
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