Fish River Canyon and Lüderitz

Trip Start Sep 25, 2006

Trip End Apr 01, 2007

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Where I stayed

Oranje River Lodge

(Luderitz hotels)

Flag of Namibia Lüderitz/Luderitz, Namibia
Friday, October 6, 2006

Today the most amazing drive started, clearly the top in my short life. The drive from Cape Town up along the west coast to the border is fantastic. You drive a lot and fast, but still you absorb the changing landscapes around you.

We finally found the N7 heading north and Phil did the driving today. The Opel Corsa surprised us by suddenly only going FULL speed!!! A bit scary, but when you remembered there is something called clutch...things went better. Managed to fix it at the side of the road. Or more correctly, Phil did...

Passed through Citrusdal and Clanwilliam, where the Cedarberg should be visited. But not on this trip for us. Then we stopped in Klawer, where we tasted some quite medium wine before continuing. Not the driver of course, only the lucky passenger.

001 The drive from Cape Town to Namibia

Stayed over the border at Oranje River Lodge. Nothing to write home about, except from a world class T-bone steak. Fantastic!

Next day we started our adventure on gravel roads. (Please do not let the rental company read this.) Visited the hot springs and then had a stunning scenic drive to Fish River Canyon, the second biggest in the world. 12 USD to get into the park, but worth it to see the canyon. Or just drive next to it and enjoy. After that we headed for Luderitz (or Lüderitz) on the coast. Almost didn´t make it because we forgot to fill the tank, only 2l left when we got there.

One of the most unbelievable things happened through the 100km trip through the desert from Aus to Luderitz on the coast. Collision with birds! Happened both ways. Horrible, we must have killed 150 small birds by crashing into them. They stayed on the road and did not fly away when the car came. Even when we honked and slowed down they kept on sitting there. Imagine how the front of the car looked like when we came to the petrol station. The guys working there was just laughing. Horrible!

Also passed Kolmanskop, the ghost town close to Luderitz. Fascinating.
Had a great evening, visiting the Yacht Club, the Barrel´s and Butcher´s Shop & Grill. Got help from a guy at the Yacht Club, called Rocko. The Barrel´s is a nice pub and Butcher´s Shop & Grill serves a gigantic seafood platter. Yummy!