We passed through Okahanja where the Herero people have their administration centre. There were dozens of makeshift stalls from polythene and canvas lining the road outside the petrol station where they sold all kinds of wood carvings. Some were half the size of a real hippo and we often see these in hotels and accommodation places. They are not really suitable for backpackers like us.
The next place was Karibib, the service town for the cattle ranchers. It also has large marble quarries and not far away was the Rossing Uranium Mine, the world's largest open cast operation.
We checked into a lodge with a camp ground and separate guesthouse accommodation not far from the city centre where we bumped into Birgit from Christchurch and Matt from New Plymouth but both working in London. Matt is an engineer working on pipelines and Birgit is with a law firm. They were heading for SA where they were to meet Matt's parents and take them around SA with them so we were able to help with their travel plans.
This area was taken over by the Germans from 1884 to 1915 so there are still some historic administration buildings from this time, when it was known as German South-West Africa. Of course it is a popular place for German tourists to visit as well.
These women from the Himba tribe were selling their crafts in the mall near the beach. While waiting for buyers they ground up ochre to mix with cattle fat to smear over their bodies as they don't wash.
Birgit and Matt were heading in their rental car south so we caught a lift with them to Walvis Bay not far from Swakopmund. We had seen a poster in the supermarket advertising an October fest so we decided to have a look and try out the German style beer that is made with only 3 ingredients as it is in Germany. We had bratwurst for lunch and listened to some German tunes. The day was a fundraiser for the local soccer club. We heard a lot of German being spoken and there were even a couple of men in their leather trousers. We found it pretty cool and windy so had our coats on. Later we saw several windsurfers in the harbour enjoying the wind.
This platform, known as Bird Island, was built in the ocean for the nesting sea birds. One thousand tonnes of guano is harvested off the island annually for fertiliser. Walvis Bay is Namibia's second largest city at 54,000 people and has a tanker berth and shipping facilities.
The lodge owner told us that there was no public transport between Swakopmund and Walvis bay and that we would have to hitch hike so when we farewelled Matt and Birgit we got a lift back to Swakopmund. My day glasses, which were new when I left NZ, fell out of my pocket into the mess in the ute we got a ride with. We left details with the lodge in case the young guy cleaned his ute and found them. He was a driller working in the desert north of Windhoek drilling for water and told us several times how much he loved his country.
Back in Swakopmund we signed up to do a morning sand-boarding with a local company. It was still quite a cool 15 degrees. We drove out to the dunes outside of town and were joined by several people from 2 different truck safari companies as well as a family of 4 from SA. We were given a piece of oil-tempered hardboard, as we chose the lie-down version of sand-boarding but others chose to stand up as they do in boots for snowboarding.
Just before the instructor pushed me over the cliff. I had to remember all the instructions: lie down knees on the board, lift the front of the board up from the corners (so you don't end up with a face and mouth full of sand or get buried), keep your elbows up parallel to the ground so you don't get sand burn or flip over, feet up and together, feet down together to slow down at the end. Even though the sand looks smooth it was surprisingly bumpy where the wind had blown furrows in the sand. On the small dune they used a gadget like a traffic policeman to record your speed and I managed to get a record 59kph. When your chin is a few centimeters from fast moving sand it seems really fast anyway.
This is John disappearing down the biggest dune where the record speed was clocked at 81kph. The two dots to the far left are the video cameraman and instructor and if you double click the photo you will see the track where everyone ended up their run, right between the two people. The board cannot be steered and each one follows the same route. Every person on the lie-down board managed to stay on the board and complete the run except one guy from Malaysia who broke his board in half a few metres from the end of his run when he dropped the front and buried it and his face in the sand! One guy on the stand-up board broke his wrist when he went over the jump. His girlfriend who was a nurse didn't seem to know how to help him so I used my Red Cross first aid skills and iced him and made a makeshift sling to elevate his arm using his girlfriend's shirt. We were able to watch a DVD of the trip later and got a copy for our selves. Quite a buzz!
Met Teresa and Daisy, two German women, who were travelling in a 4x4 with a tent on their roof. We had a good laugh with them as they told us about their adventures so far. They were older than the students we usually meet so it was nice to meet people who could laugh at themselves.
