Bend to South Africa 2012: August 2012

Sossusvlei, Namibia

Dune at Mile 40

awn in Sossusveli

Leaving Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park in South Africa we crossed immediately into Namibia at Mata Mata. We drove on good gravel roads to Mariental, stocked up, and boogied west. We drove about 120 km on pavement, seeing only five construction vehicles and two kids riding a horse. We stopped to gas up and the road turned to good gravel. In several hours of driving we saw no other vehicles. We did pick up a hitchhiker and dropped him several kilometers down the road at a gate. He said he had walked 20 miles. And we saw two guys walking, going the other way, carrying suitcases on their heads. We saw nobody else. The road turned rough and we stopped for the night at Betesda Lodge. We set up our tent next to a dry creek bed, and then had a beer and chatted with the friendly young front desk clerk.

Pulling out early the next day we motored on a rough road, seeing nobody until we arrived at Sossusveli National Park. We set up our tent in the park campground, in spot “Overflow A”, on sand next to an unused swimming pool.

Aerial photo of Sossosvlei in the Namib Desert

Sossusvlei is a dry river valley that penetrates about 25 miles into the sand dunes that make up the Namib Desert in western Namibia. The dunes are hundreds of feet tall. It is a stark, elementally desolate, desiccatingly arid landscape. We hiked around some of the dunes and then hiked back into a sub valley called Hidden Vlei. Next day we were up before dawn and waiting in line for the gates to open at 5:50 am. We went in and parked and walked to a dune at about mile 40. We walked across open ground with the sun rising on our backs, and the color and shadow playing on the dune.

Typical Road in Namibia

Road in Sossusvlei

This is the area where we caught up with a bunch of rented 4x4 trucks all driven by Europeans. Somewhere there must be a book in the EU that commands “Go ye to Namibia and rent a four wheeler”. Pushing on north on bad gravel road we headed for the coastal town of Swakopmund, Namibia. After bumping along for hours we pulled into the village of Solitaire, which is only a lodge, gas station, tire repair shop, and bakery. They were just pulling the apple strudel out of the oven when we got there and wow it was fantastic! Sheri struck up a conversation with a group of Spaniards who were on a tour in a big overland truck. We caught up with them again at a road sign where we crossed the Tropic of Capricorn (denoting 23½ degrees south latitude). We bumped in to them again several times later during our trip. As we approached the coast we entered progressively dryer and dryer environments until at the coast there is only sand and no vegetation. We pulled into Desert Sky Backpackers in Swakopmund and spent three nights. We went to Kucki’s Pub for dinner. Curtis had Springbok sirloin medallions which were just fabulous. Unfortunately the accompanying Hansa beer brewed in Namibia was flavorless and a waste of time to drink.

Hiddenvlei

Springbok grazing at dusk

Camping in Overflow A at Sossusvlei

Overland truck that the spanish people were in

Group of friedly Spanards

Ostrich walking over sand dune

Springbok grazing

Typical driving in Namibia

Junk car at Solitare

Rocks outside of Swakopmund

Sunset from St Blair Cave in Mossel Bay

Cape Town

Sheri and Curtis spend a night in Mossel Bay in The provence of Western Cape at Mossel Bay Backpackers. It is located in the old part of near the mouth of the bay. The receptionist there, Winston, was a young guy who had dated a girl from Bend, Oregon. We stayed in a nice little room, and borrowed a heater to take the chill off (abit of a luxury in South Africa where most buildings are uninsulated and unheated). We walked along the waterfront where seals were playing and jumping out of the surf. There’s a cave above town with evidence of occupation from the Stone Age (like 100,000 years ago), and above the cave is a large fluorescently lit cross. We chilled out around a patio fire and Winston played some really good music. Next day we drove on towards Cape Town in a bit of rain and got off the main road and stopped for lunch at Birkenhead Brewery and Winery. There were like Mercedes Benzes parked out front with a white affluent looking crowd who were wearing wellingtons and riding gear. There was a bit of sun over the hills and vineyards to take the chill off and they had a big fire inside. The Cape Town rugby team was playing so everyone was glued to the TV. Our food was OK, but honestly the beer was flavorless.

Birkenhead Brewery

Scene at Birkenhead Brewery

Driving on to the town of Hermanus we passed some dramatic coastal mountains. We decided to stay in Hermanus and got a room at the backpackers hostel there. At first they said they had but one dingy room and then, by magic, they remembered they had an entire house down the street. We stayed in the house which was fairly new. Hermanus is a coastal vacation town set on a rocky coast backed but mountains. Because its winter it was pretty dead and most of the homes were empty. We walked along the coast and Curtis had his heart set on Mexican food at Amigos restaurant (not much Mexican in SA). That night we set out for our Mexican fiesta but from the afternoon to the evening there had been a kitchen fire and the place was closed. Dejected we went to the Tapas place next door which interestingly had nachos. We sat by the fire and they brought out a plateful. Good but different; they used whipped cream instead of sour cream. Back at the hostel they were having a bachelor party but they ran out of booze. South Africa has tight rules restricting liquor sales on Saturday afternoon and Sunday. They got the black security guard to go with them out to the township (black slum) and go to a shebeen (drinking shack) and pick up some booze, and the party continued.

Old port in Hermanus

Kelp pile after a storm

Next day, Sunday, we drove out following the coast until the road met with the township. We drove in. The contrast was amazing. The town of Hermanus was block after block of empty vacation homes; the township was thousands of metal shacks and the streets were loaded with people walking to or from church or going to the store. We carried on along the coast and stopped at a penguin colony and went along False Bay in a driving rain storm. In fact during our whole stay in Cape Town it rained and we never saw Table Mountain. We drove into Cape Town from the east. The freeway is lined on both sides with an enormous township, Cape Flats. Millions of people live here in shacks. Some people told us it is thought that this is the fastest growing city in Africa because of massive immigration. We left this behind and went to our accommodation at Ashanti Lodge Backpackers hostel. It was pouring rain and with not much else to do we went to Arnolds Café on Kloof Street. We had a coupon, free bottle of wine with our meal. Sheri had an Ostrich burger which she loved and Curtis a beef curry and a bottle of South African dry white wine. Cape Town seemed abit different. There were black people there who were quite stylish and could afford to eat at a place like Arnolds. Up to now the black people we’ve seen in SA are pumping gas, or patching the road, washing dishes, house keepers, parking lot attendants, carrying water or firewood on their head, etc. In Cape Town our room was about 10 feet wide and 16 feet high with a vaulted ceiling. It had a radiant panel wall heater but all the heat went up. Must have been warm 16 feet up there. We walked around the Victoria and Albert waterfront, a new development, which had a shopping mall. We stopped in for a wonderful latte at Café Via. The people watching was amazing. Some folks looked like they just walked in from Park Avenue, others had their African style, and all shades of color of people, gay and straight, hipster and old Afrikaner where mixing together. Next day we saw some sites like the Castle of Good Hope, the District Six Museum, the Slave Lodge, and Company’s Gardens. The best thing was lunch at a bazaar. Sheri had biryani rice and Curtis had bunny chow. Bunny chow is half a loaf of white bread, hollowed out, and filled with chicken curry (or other curry). A huge portion. We drove over to the Atlantic Ocean side of town and watched the huge waves crash in at sunset. After that we went back to Kloof Street and ate dinner at the Bombay Bicycle Club. It is a funky place packed with Victorian stuff and with a twist like at one table all the chairs are swings suspended from the ceiling. There’s the odd manikin and piñata hanging around. It has a strong rep so people reserve a month ahead. We squeezed in at the bar and had a vege board and chatted with the friendly bartender and a friendly young guy who gave us his spin on South Africa and also his plan for visiting seven countries in seven days. Bangkok, Hong Kong, Beijing, etc. No sleeping or hotels, just arrive, hire a cab for the day, drive around then fly out at night to the next place.


Ashanti Lodge in Cape Town

Bo-Kaap district in Cape Town, Known for their colored houses

Bo-Kaap district Cape Town


Sheri and her Ostrich Burger at Arnolds Cafe in Cape Town


Coke Cola "crate fan" at Victoria and Albert waterfront in Cape Town

District Six Museum. District six was bulldozed to make way for white development near downtown Cape Town. The residents were moved to shacks in a slum. The members of this mixed race church protested. The church was shut down and disbanded by the government as subversive.

District Six art in Cape Town

Cape Town City Hall

Slave Lodge

Cape Town winter scene

Biryani, samosas, and bunny chow, downtown Cape Town

Next day we drove down the western side of the Cape of Good Hope. Pretty nice. At one point the road is narrow and very windy and carved into the stone mountainside (Chapman’s Peak). We stopped by Kommetjie where our friends Dawn and Bob have stayed. Finally we made Cape Point which is a national park. We had picnic lunch at Buffels Bay and finally the weather broke and the sun came out. There were nice tide pools and shells and piles of kelp because of the recent storm. Walking out to Cape Point we bumped into a nice young German couple who we had met in Johannesburg and had been bumping into on and off for 4 weeks. They had been cage diving with sharks and had other adventures. The Cape of Good Hope is not the furthest south point in Africa but its close and the most famous. We walked around on a rocky beach until some ostrich showed up and caused a commotion with busloads of tourists chasing them around with their cameras. Driving on we stopped at Simon’s Town and stayed at Simon’s Town Backpacker hostel in a nice double room. It was dead. We had a couple of beers with the Danish guy who owned it (Daniel) and he told us some stories. The streets were quiet and we walked to dinner at a seafood restaurant which had been a church like in 1740 and eventually a movie theater and now a restaurant. They had old movie promotional pictures on the walls and we struck up a conversation with the manager who knew all the movies and gave us some trivia. Sheri had pasta and Curtis their special pizza that was topped with fresh avocado that Sheri loved and couldn’t get enough of. Next day was beautiful and we walked around Boulders Beach which has: house sized granite boulders; clear blue water; and a penguin colony.