Swampyland...
Trip Start
Dec 02, 2007
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51
55
Trip End
Sep 01, 2008
Swakopmund,
Namibia
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
For much of the previous week or two, and particularly at bush camps, Swakopmund was held up as a holy grail of civilisation, and somewhere we were all looking forward to reaching. The attraction was twofold; the chance to participate in some extreme sports in Namibia's adrenaline capital, combined with sleeping in an actual bed for three nights in a row.
On arrival, we were treated to a presentation at the main hostel on the number of ways to kill ourselves in the region. Following this, most of us signed up to 'The Big Three' of sandboarding, quad biking and skydiving. Before the fun started though, we had the chance to see each other as proper human beings again as everyone went off to buy some new clothes and had a shower for the first time in a while in preparation for a night out.
The next morning we headed out of town to the dunes, where we would participate in sandboarding. This is a sport that comes in two types, standing up on a snowboard, and lying down on a thin piece of wood
In the hostel bar
. Both involve hurtling down steep sand dunes at speed...We're not keen snowboarders, so chose the lazy way. This also happens to be the faster way, with people in our group reaching speeds of over 70mph on the steepest dune. I wouldn't know this however, having wiped out massively half way down after hitting a bobble. It hurt, let me tell you! And yes, there is a video...
After all the fun of the sandboarding, we were hit with the bad news that the winds were too strong to head for our skydive that afternoon. We weren't disappointed for long however, as our quadbiking was switched and we headed for the dunefields.
After a brief safety instruction, and a choice of one of three types of bike, Charlotte and I set out on our semi-automatics. Somehow, I managed to find myself in the advance, fast riders group, which was great fun. We rode in groups of about ten, following a guide as the area is protected. There were some large dunes to weave through, although we were going too fast to appreciate the scenery! Despite a couple of people (including me) getting bogged at times, it was a great trip.
We awoke the next morning to more bad news - the weather still wasn't co-operating so our skydive was postponed once more. Indeed, the weather never did turn, so we ended leaving town without throwing ourselves from a plane. The rest of our time in town was generally spent shopping and eating or drinking - tough life!
