We woke to an announcement from the Captain that our first stop in Namibia, (Luderitz, a tender port), had to be cancelled due to heavy fog. Ruthie called BS so we dressed and went up on deck to look for ourselves. Even with the fog horn sounding, Ruthie was not totally convinced. It was only when she thought she had lost me but I was actually standing right next to her, she changed her mind.

The ship sailed on and the next day docked at Walvis Bay, Namibia. We joined a small group of six in a 4×4 tour and before we knew it we had stopped to admire a large flock of pink flamingos.

Our next stop was the salt ponds of a salt production operation and the lake was pink . Pity the pink flamingos didn’t settle on these pink ponds for camouflage.

No sooner were we out of the port and the desert appeared. The Namib desert is the oldest in the world and spreads into neighbouring Angola. The landscape was flat apart from these huge sand dunes. The sand is full of magnetic black properties. Our driver, Paulos, took us to Dune 7. These dunes go for 35 kilometres (this is the last one) and are 383 metres high (one of the highest in the world.) I gave it my best shot but walking along the narrow ridge atop (which is reminiscent of climbing Uluṟu) I got a bout of vertigo. Ruthie wanted to push on but I took my bat and ball and descended. It was a unique experience as the sand just kept giving way. Ruthie crawled to the top on her hands and knees.

Next stop was an area that was described as a moonscape. There’s a good chance I will never get to the moon but I fantasised that this is what it would be like.

We drove along the dry river bed of the Swakopmund river. The rock formations and colour hues did seem out of this world. The darker dolorite volcanic rock had settled atop or sent veins down the lighter coloured rocks.

There is a protected plant that grows here (Welwtschia plant) and can reach an age of 2000 years. As there is very little rain, it lives on the moisture of fog and dew. (Yes, they get fog here too!) There was very little else growing in this area.

The tour had an oasis stop and of course we refreshed with a local Windhoek beer.

The drive back to the ship went through the town of Swakopmund which was built and settled by the Germans. The thing I liked was that there was no high rise here, with a maximum 3 story height. A very colourful and clean city.

We were thinking Namibia didn’t have the poorer areas we have seen but alas, there were what our tour guide called “shacks” on the opposite side of the road to the “nice” houses. These were where the coloured people lived when there was segregation and weren’t allowed to build their shacks on the other side of the road. They can live in the “nice” houses now but can’t build their shacks there. In fact they live here waiting for a government loan which can take upwards of ten years to be approved. On the shack side, the uncle of the family has all the power. He negotiates the wedding dowry and even names the children. In case of divorce, there’s a minimum of an 8 cow trade in required!

Back on the wharf, there was a small market. Some of the stallholders here were from the Himba tribe. They don’t wear clothes but rather animal skins. They colour their skin with a herbal concoction and the women never bathe in water, just using this herbal recipe to clean themselves.

As we sat watching the sunset, the fog was coming in from the desert. Soon we’ll be sounding the foghorn again!