Hot-air balloon over the Namib desert

Not a bad breakfast at the Arebbusch. We set off in search of a car at the europcar. In theory they should give a special price for cycling teams. We rent a Yaris for 4560 $N for 11 days (about 38 eur/day), including all insurances (passengers, theft, damage). We'll return it when we leave, at the airport. So we set off for our tour of the city. We start with the commercial area near the Post mall. In the morning we can't manage more than a hundred metres, there are so many craft shops with lots of interesting things and then we're always on the lookout for Birkenstocks for Mari. In the afternoon we continue the visit in the central area, also passing by the Christuskirche, the Alte Feste, the station.

Many of Windhoek's streets have been renamed and the old names of the heroes of the German colonial period have been replaced with those of current or recent heads of state, such as Fidel Castro street, Laurent Desiré Kabila and so on. Dinner at the Gathemann, an excellent restaurant in the centre of Windhoek. 3/11/2009 Trip to the Daan Viljoen Game Park, located about 25 km from Windhoek, all the park's facilities are closed, but it's still possible to visit it. A walk on foot as far as the main dam, along the way we meet kudu, wildebeest, warthogs, baboons and a large quantity of birds. 7/11/2009 Excursion to the Na'an ku sê wildlife sanctuary, located about 40 km from Windhoek, it's a reserve where injured animals are taken in. Besides various herbivores, there are cheetahs, lions, leopards, lynxes, African wild dogs and baboons.

The animals are nonetheless enclosed in large fenced areas and are fed daily. The lions don't appreciate having the camera lens pointed at them and react quite vigorously. After concluding the cycling part of the stay in Namibia, today we set off for a few days of holiday, on the programme a hot-air balloon flight over the Namib desert, a return to Swakopmund and a tour of a park to see a few animals. We take the C26 and then turn left onto the C24. Our friends in Windhoek advised us to take the Spreetshoogte Pass road. When we reach Nauchas we therefore turn right and begin the climb to the pass; after a few kilometres the spectacular view opens up over the valley of the Namib desert, a brief stop for a well-kept beer among the ice-cold bottles chilled at the Arebbusch.

We descend towards Solitaire for a breakfast based on the famous apple pie, amid a myriad of weaver birds and other passerines. We continue towards Sossusvlei, the Desert Camp a few kilometres before the main entrance of Sesriem is an enchanting place, a shame there's no room for the night, so we have no choice but to pitch our tent at the Sesriem Campsite. Dinner with kudu fillet at the campsite restaurant, at the nearby petrol station we even manage to find an internet connection. Off to bed early, tomorrow at 5 the balloon flight awaits us. 10/11/2009 Punctually at 5:30 they pick us up at the entrance of the campsite to reach the starting point of the hot-air balloon flight. From a distance we spot the silhouettes of the balloons being inflated. We get into the basket in the company of 2 Germans and the 2 operators.

They briefly explain the safety rules and the position to hold in the event of a windy landing. Without even noticing we're already lifted off the ground and flying over the dunes of the Namib desert, it's a dream! We go up and down in search of the wind currents that carry us in the right direction, we head for Sossusvlei in a continuous see-saw, skimming the vegetation, lightly touching the ground on the road then up again, the tracks traced by the animals run beneath us, the dunes are lost as far as the eye can see. After about an hour and a quarter we land gently a little way from the dry riverbed that disappears into the desert. A hearty breakfast in the middle of the desert before taking the road back.

We take down the tent and set off again towards Swakopmund, another stop at Solitaire with the inevitable apple pie to share with the friendly passerines, and we continue on the dirt road towards the Kuiseb Canyon to cross the arm of the Park that separates us from Walvis Bay. Shortly before the junction of the C26 we cross the Tropic of Capricorn, friendly squirrels watch us from the sides of the road, in the distance ostriches and oryx divide up the desolate plains. A few side detours allow us to reach the rim of the Canyon with impressive panoramic views. Then back onto the golden plains until we reach Walvis Bay in an atmosphere like a sandstorm. By phone we booked the Hotel Rapmund in Swakopmund, among the feather duvets on the beds it feels like being in Bavaria.

Not having booked, we can't find a place for dinner at "The Tag", considered among the best restaurants in Swakopmund and located right on the seafront. We head then to Kucki's Pub where a few years earlier we had delighted ourselves with a fantastic seafood mix. Hard to recognise it, the old pub had been completely refurbished, the inner courtyard turned into an enclosed room complete with mezzanine. The seafood platter is still remarkable even if it seems less generous than the one in our memories.

11/11/2009 Morning in Swakopmund to savour the calm and relaxing atmosphere of this holiday resort. A slice of strudel, a visit to the museum, the craft shops, a beer and a snack at the brewery in part of the museum, before taking the Trans-Kalahari Highway towards Usakos and Omaruru. Along the route a detour onto a dirt track of about 30 km takes us to the Spitzkoppe, a series of rocky peaks rising from the plateau. We return to the tarmac of the Trans-Kalahari Highway and then turn off towards Omaruru and again 40 km of track to the Mount Etjo Game Park which we reach now at dusk, just in time for an aperitif and dinner in the lodge's large round hall. In the evening an excursion for the lions' feeding, unfortunately the lions in this park are not free but segregated in a large fenced area and are fed every evening by the park staff.

In any case, seeing these animals at two steps from us is always very exciting.

12/11/2009 Departure at 7 for an excursion of about 3 hours in the Mount Etjo park. The park, which is one of the first private nature reserves in Namibia, is very extensive. We meet countless giraffes and then kudu, wildebeest, springbok, zebras, impala, dik-dik, waterbuck, nyala, little families of warthogs, ostriches, hippos, herons, spoonbills, marabou. Unfortunately as regards elephants and rhinos we only find their droppings. We set off again with a bit of a bitter taste, for us an African park without the big cats is half a park. We'll make up for it soon. After covering the 40 km that separate the reserve from national road 1, we head towards Windhoek, on the road still time for a few encounters with baboons perched on the electricity pylons watching the traffic on the national road.

A stop for lunch in Okahandja and a visit to the craft market considered the most important in Namibia. Most of the crafts nonetheless come from other African countries and especially from Zimbabwe and the Democratic Congo. Most of the sellers are Congolese or Angolan. Return to Windhoek, to the usual Arebbusch and the next day departure for the airport for our flight to Luanda. At the airport we discover that in Namibia (at least with Air Namibia) you pay a surcharge fee of 5 kg for the bicycle, payable moreover only in Namibian dollars. In total we covered 1800 km.