Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
of the country though, you really need your own wheels to fully appreciate the full ex-
panse of the desert.
Sealed roads connect Windhoek to Swakopmund and continue south to Sesriem, the
base town for Sossusvlei. If you have a 2WD vehicle, you can get within a couple of kilo-
metres of Sossusvlei, though the final stretch is only accessible by 4WD (taxis are avail-
able). Otherwise, most of the region is 2WD accessible, aside from a few minor 4WD
roads in and around Namib-Naukluft Park.
Swakopmund
064 / POP 45,000
From Windhoek, the Khomas Hochland mountain range stretches west to form a scenic
transition zone between the high central plateau and the Namib plains. En route to
Swakopmund and Walvis Bay, this scenic landform facilitates some truly pleasurable driv-
ing, though the real highlight awaits you on the coast. Just as the road begins to flatten
out, falling in line with surrounding gravel plains, deep orange dunes appear on your left,
while your nose first catches the salty breeze of the ocean just ahead - welcome to
Swakopmund!
It can be an eerie feeling entering Swakop, especially out of tourist season when the
city, sandwiched between Atlantic rollers and the Namib Desert, feels like a surreal colo-
nial remnant. Some find it soothing, others weird - personally we have a leg in either
camp. The people of Swakopmund are a quirky mix of German-Namibian residents and
overseas German tourists, who feel right at home with the town's pervasive Gemütlich-
keit, a distinctively German appreciation of comfort and hospitality. With its seaside
promenades, half-timbered homes and colonial-era buildings, it seems that only the wind-
blown sand and the palm trees distinguish Swakop from holiday towns along Germany's
North Sea and Baltic coasts.
One thing Swakopmund isn't is boring. It's Namibia's most popular holiday destina-
tion, and there are myriad attractions for enjoying the great climate, including surfing,
fishing, lolling around on the beach and finding ways to terrify yourself - it's the adven-
ture sports capital of Namibia.
History
Small bands of Nama people have occupied the Swakop River mouth from time imme-
morial, but the first permanent settlers were Germans who didn't arrive until early 1892.
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