One of the best things to do in Namibia? If admiring the contrast of the ocean against enormous sand dunes, doing sandboarding or kayaking, skydiving, etc.. and watching wildlife to end your days in the comfort of a nice coastal town sounds exciting to you… Then this is your place to go!

Another great day enjoying the sand dunes of the Namib desert, with one interesting twist… pristine and big sand dunes meeting the Atlantic ocean as the stars of the show! Not in vane this was chosen by the movie “Dune 2” as the dream place the Frem people want to reach in their journey to the promised land in their profecies. The scene lasts 5 seconds or so, but it counts 😊

Sandwich Harbour

We are now located in the coastal town of Swakopmund. We did an excursion to Sandwhich Harbour in a 4×4 car, about 50 km south of Walvis Bay in the Namib Naukluft Park, a protected area with limited access to it. It’s renowned for its abundant birdlife, dramatic landscapes, and shifting sand dunes. Only a certain number of operators per day are allowed and you cannot leave any trace behind. THIS is what makes this place so pristine and magical, its true protected status by the government (Bravo Namibia on this!)

Side-note: Speaking of how isolated and protected this is; When I showed this pictures to my mexican family we were all joking that what happened to the umbrellas, the music and people on the beach. Who knows, in a multiverse this may look completely different, but not in Namibia 😉. End of side-note.

Similar than Sossusvlei, it´s one of those experiences that the journey itself was worth the entire trip. It´s all about nature, getting closer to the dunes and and stopping to take pictures. Once in the park, if the tide allows you get to drive on the shore, quite impressive to be between the ocean and those tall dunes and nothing else. Until you get deeper in the dunes going up and down enjoying the vastness of it.

I put together my clips of the drive, most of them at the park.

One of the epic pictures below. This was one of the steepest dunes we went down, very slowly! The small cars provide perspective!

The dunes in this area not as tall as the ones in Sossusvlei further south -those are literally high standards!- but the dunes directly dropping down to the ocean can be still impressive 100 meters tall! This is to put into perspective that these are amazing sand dunes anywhere else in the world, it only feels that way when you are coming from Sossusvlei 😉

Of all the paths you take in life, make sure some of them are sandy

The area was historically a harbor for whaling and fishing, but today it is fully protected. It features a freshwater wetland in the north and a shallow lagoon in the south, separated by beach ridges and salt pans. A large salt-pan complex, supplying over 90% of South Africa’s salt, is located southwest of the lagoon

Sandboarding

Continuing with the desert activities in this area, I tried Sandboarding for the first time! I have no comparison point but, of course, I will always think that was the best way until proven otherwise 😊The dune we went to was 100 meters tall, and very steep! which you needed to climb yourself every time – no “ski lifts” concept on the sand-

From the bottom you think… ok it does not look so bad, but it´s not until you are on the top of the dune that you say WTF! Or at least I did 😊 Seriously, I even said out loud: Sorry, there is no way I´m going down with the sandboard. Not spoiler: I did anyway! But it is true it crossed my mind the noooo way, this is so freaking scary!

I´m NOT afraid of heights, not at all, but I´m afraid of the feeling of going down in a context I cannot control. For reference, my only experience doing downhill skiing back in Chicago was a little traumatic, ever since that feeling of not being able to control the skiis, therefore your speed, is terrifying.

Fun story: During the quick introduction, the group was divided in 2. Those with experience, meaning snowboarding or downhill skiing, and those without. Then you had all the Swiss, French, Germans, etc… going to the experience line.. and then this lovely Mexican, an Indian- American, Aussies and other nationalities with the newbies 😉😉 In my defense though.. at least my group handled better the heat 😉

Frankly, it was such an awesome thing that I wished I had more videos of myself, since it was really a unique experience, but I was trying to keep myself alive, basically 😊😊😊.. so safety first!

The courage to go down first time was the most difficult.. but after that…. oh wow I really loved it. As hard as it was to come back, I was getting and better! I kept my balance more and judging my travel mates that day, I looked good on it. (I also felt so).. I have no evidence but an incredible memory of it!

Some memories… I remember debating myself for a long time between sandboarding and kayaking. In the end I decided the most unique or special thing about the place was indeed the desert, and it would be a completely new activity, so I thought.. I´d rather regret it later but at least try, so I did after researching a million times if sandboarding experience would be needed. Some people saying yes, some people saying not at all.

Last quick videos of others 😊

Swakopmund

In the beginning I mentioned Swakopmund as our base but then I went straight to the action you can have from it! Swakopmund is a coastal city in western Namibia, known for its German colonial architecture and as a popular beach resort and adventure activity hub.

Pictures below include partially stops to Walvis Bay where we saw many flamingos and closer to the National Park, the Salt.pans. Another fun fact is I bought an African dress, not as colorfoul as I would have wanted, but a sikly one which I loved as well for special occasions.

We stayed here 2 nights to choose our activities and spend some time in town. The time I actually walked in town got a bit cloudy, the coastline to me wasn´t super exciting but I understand it is popular. The city center does feel very Germany but it has a difficult heritage and history, as it is in all these countries where the descendants of the previous occupation countries and the natives are not always very happy…

Nevertheless, there are a lot of accommodations for “western” standards provided its history. For me, this is not a pre-requisite but some Europeans can feel comfortable in places like this or Cape Town.

One of my favorite traveling days for sure!!

Cheers, Nat