Day 114: Swakopmund
When we were looking for activities to do in Swakopmund, the Living Desert Tour was highly recommended to us, so after a delicious breakfast in the cozy living guesthouse living room, we were picked up by Charly’s Desert Tours for a drive into the dunes. Everyone knows the Big Five of Africa (elephant, lion, leopard, Cape Buffalo and rhino – most of which we would see later in our travels), but other regions have piggybacked on this clever marketing to sell tours to see the “Small Five,” the “Ugly Five,” etc. We would be tracking the Tiny Five this morning – basically looking around for spiders, snakes and lizards.
The sky was overcast again, but unlike the day before, it didn’t burn off until late in the afternoon, giving us a very cool and cloudy tour in the desert. Our guides managed to find three of the five creatures they were searching for (the snake alluded us, due to the lack of sunshine) – while we are not normally into bugs or insects, the tour was surprisingly entertaining!
Fireside breakfast in the charming Sandfields Guesthouse
Our guide deflates his tires to 2 bar so that he can drive on the sand dunes
Driving into the dunes for the “Living Desert” tour
Our guides look for tiny holes and prints in the sand to try and find the “Tiny Five”
The Dancing Whitelady Spider – our first “Tiny 5” sighting
A baby Namaqua Chameleon
Our guide gave the chameleon a little snack, to show off his long, sticky tongue!
The Palmato Gecko
All the tourists (including Igor!) taking photos like crazy! You’d think we were all bug enthusiasts.
The sand dunes are rich with iron fragments, which can be collected with a magnet
“Namibian Sand Art”!
Driving through the dunes in Swakopmund
Even with an overcast sky, the dunes are so spectacularly beautiful
Once we returned to town, we spent an hour in the Swakopmund Museum, until the sun finally came out. We walked around the beach and had a late lunch at the lighthouse, before heading back to our guesthouse to enjoy some R&R with their lightning-fast Wifi. We headed back out in the evening to catch the sunset and to run to the grocery store to pick up some snacks for dinner.
When we got to the store, we were horrified to see signs taped up in the wine aisle stating that no alcoholic beverages would be sold after 1PM on Saturdays! Thankfully, our guesthouse had a small selection of full bottles in their “honesty bar,” so we picked up a bottle for the night, and an extra bottle to bring with us to Etosha National Park, just to make sure Lindsay could have wine on her birthday.
An educational trip to the Swakopmund Museum for a bit of Natural History, Colonial History and Indigenous History all mashed up together in one spot
Scary dental gear from the frontier days – yikes!
Walking along the beach in Swakopmund
Pizza break at the lighthouse restaurant, 22 Degrees
Two local boys drove up next to us in the beach parking lot in their Benz and started blasting nasty music while taking selfie of themselves in front of their cars. Youths. Luckily, once they felt there got their Instagram shot, they left before the sun finished setting
A beautiful Namibian sunset – our own soundtrack was playing The Eagles “Hotel California”
Enjoying another self-catered dinner by the fireplace in our room, with wine & cheese
Amazing pictures. Too funny tracking down the “Tiny Five”. Love the end of your day by the fireplace listening to The Eagles and enjoying the wine and cheese!!!