Review: The Hilton Windhoek, Namibia

Posted on October 7, 2021 By World Traveller 73 in Hilton + Hotels + South Africa, Namibia, Victoria Falls, Mauritius and the United Arab Emirates via Emirates First Class and Qatar Business Class + Trip Report

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There wasn’t a lot of international brand choice for our one night stay in the capital city Windhoek, Namibia. It was down to a tired looking Protea Hotel by Marriott or this locally glamorous Hilton Windhoek property. Aiming for some comfortable accommodation, we ended up booking with the Hilton and didn’t look back.

This post is one chapter on our trip to South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Mauritius and the United Arab Emirates. This trip was redeemed through American Airlines AAdvantage & Alaska Mileage Plan. For more information on how this trip was booked, please see our trip introduction here. For other parts of the trip, please see this index.

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Review: The Hilton Windhoek, Namibia

“The Hilton Windhoek provided a comfortable place to rest up for the night and can be relied upon to meet leisure or business needs; along with a locally famous roof top lounge”

Booking The Hilton Windhoek:

We booked in here as it looked much nicer than the Protea hotels in town. While I was driving around town looking for a car wash, I drove by the Protea property and it was appeared so run down, we surely had made the right choice. The Hilton hotel is in a 4 year old building, built to African standards. This means that the fit and finish is a little worse for wear. Since we had no real affiliation to Hilton Honors these days, I booked using Rocket Miles On Line Travel Agency at the same rate as offered on the Hilton website, and earned 3,500 Aeroplan Miles for the one night stay.

The Hilton Windhoek was easy to find. It was located very close to the Windhoek Central Business District and conveniently located to the city, the highway and access to the airport the next day.

Arriving to the Hilton Windhoek:

We parked out in the front loading zone while we checked in. We had a glamour arrival to a nicely attired lobby that had a little bit of contemporary African charm to it. The lobby had double floor high ceilings which made for an impressive arrival. The ceiling had lots of faux crystal along with coloured lights, which added to a sparkly but slightly odd arrival consistent with a theme night at a high school graduation.

At the front desk, we had a very polite, patient (slowwww) and professional check in. We were initially assigned room #502. We headed up to the room and started to set up shop in there.

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The Room: A King Guest Room

We were aiming to have a quick turn around having driven all day from Walvis Bay with the goal of heading out for an immediate dinner. When it came time to go for dinner, I gave the door of #502 a tug and was a bit shocked to see that it could push open without even using the key. The door wasn’t seating properly in the frame, meaning that anyone could come along, push on the door from the locked position, and open it from the closed position.

I went back down to the front desk and asked for another room. I was immediately given #417, another king bed. I went and started to move in there, but when I got there, it was full of past smoke smell. I didn’t bother to see if it was a smoking room, but instead returned to the front desk and re-explained the circumstances. We ended up in a third room #405. Although it appeared to have been smoked in, it had that fragrant smell of cover up. It was nearing 8 PM by this time, and we still hadn’t eaten dinner, and still had to break down and re-distribute the weight in our bags to comply with our economy class air tickets, so we stuck with the room behind door #3.

The bathroom had an expected one sink vanity, along with a separate tub and shower combination. It was more than adequate for a one night stay.

Aside from the slight room odour, the room was nicely appointed and consistent with a major chain hotel in any African Capital City. The room had all finishings and all expected amenities.

Food and Beverage:

Sky Bar Roof Top Casual Dining

We ended up going straight up to the Sky Bar roof top bar on the ninth floor. It was a completely outdoor affair with a bar outside in the open night air. We had some basic western food as a late dinner along with a gin and tonic and a Savanna Cider. Drinks were reasonable and it was an entertaining spot that the whole hotel happened to be through. It was another neat way to close the chapter on our Namibia driving adventure.

Views of Namibia Central Business District from SkyBar

The HighTop Bar at SkyBar at Hilton Windhoek

My Thoughts on the Hilton Windhoek:

The Hilton Windhoek wasn’t a bad place to stay while in town. We didn’t get to stay along, but stayed long enough to get a feel of the place. It was conveniently located on the highway to and from the airport, had a secure underground and had a reasonable restaurant that was outdoors on the roof tops. The rooms were typically African meaning that they had a unique personality that bordered on oddly décored and had their niggles with them. The rates were reasonable and it looked nice compared to the Protea hotels, if only from the outside. I would easily stay here again.

If you’ve stayed at the Hilton Windhoek, is it your choice over the Marriott Protea brands ?

Tags: Hilton Honors, Hotel Review, Namibia

Overland Travel: Walvis Bay – Spitskoppe – Windhoek, Namibia

Posted on October 6, 2021 By World Traveller 73 in Activity + Africa + Namibia + Region Visit + South Africa, Kenya & Mauritius via SAA, Swiss and Air Canada Business Class + Trip Report

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It was time for all good things to come to an end. As our time at the Pelican Point Lighthouse ended, it was time for us to return back towards Windhoek. Our trip today would have us pass through Spitskoppe along the way back to Namibia, travelling through scenic horizons along a reasonably well travelled road.

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Activity: Overland Travel Walvis Bay – Spitskoppe – Windhoek, Namibia

“The Driving Route from Walvis Bay to Windhoek was a pleasant day made relaxing by our leisurely pace. “

Plotting the Route:

On today’s travel agenda was to get us back to Windhoek. It was a distance of 478 km travelled over 5 hours. Our drive looked mostly like this (the blue line). With the exception of the Pelican Point sandbar departure, the route was paved all the way.

After our walk about around The Pelican Point Lighthouse, we packed up the car and headed for Walvis Bay, Swanpkomund, and onward to Windhoek. For those that are contemplating the drive in / out on the sandbar, and can’t be bothered to bring or pack the gauge, our tires looked like this in their deflated state.

It took us almost 1 hour to get off the Pelican Point sand spit, as it took us a while to find the trail head, and I was driving slowly (25 km/h- due to the deflated tires) as I didn’t want any untoward damage to the rental truck. It took us a while to find the trail head as it wasn’t sign posted easily (it seems sand bars don’t have signs) and there were a lot of tidal pools of unknown depth or firmness that prevented cris-crossing the sand bar on the east side. I wasn’t about to get a rental truck stuck there, so we played it very safe.

Headed South from the Pelican Point Lighthouse

We eventually got closer to the trail head by passing by the natural pink flamingo populations near the edge of the sand spit.

Finally back on land, I located a Shell gas station in town, tanked up the car and were able to inflate the tires. We passed by the sand dunes of Walvis Bay and the upscale houses that they had on the coast line.

We also passed by Swankpomund, which appeared to be a charming sea side town with nice coastal views. It reportedly has very cold ocean water as most of the ocean currents come from the Antarctica south.

I was looking for a car wash as the truck was looking absolutely filthy and sure to withstand an additional cleaning charge on return to the airport thanks to all the salt encrusted sand stuck all over the running boards and the salt water smearing to the windows (with those white lined water droplets over every window). As it was Sunday, most of the car washes in Walvis Bay and Swankomund were lined up 7-10 cars deep. I had hoped to find another one in a highway town on the drive back, but was unable to locate one until Windhoek.

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Checking out Spitskoppe:

We headed inland and took a drive past Spitskoppe. It was about 30 minutes off the main highway and the Namibian government wanted $16 USD for a permit for us to enter with our car, despite us only wanting to take a few pictures. Since time was tight due to the gates closing for the day and darkness falling in late afternoon, we just opted for the photographs from the roadside.

It was quite an impressive place, with a lot of opportunities to drive around. I would have loved to have spend some more time there looking as it appears that you can drive around the entire structure with lots of trails that begged to be explored on foot.

Our Views from the Outside of the Gates at Spitskoppe

Back on the Road towards Windhoek:

Without further Spitskoppe exploration, we carried on towards Windhoek. There was almost nowhere to stop for lunch or for snacks other than a few Engen gas stations that also appeared to be the town public washroom. MrsWT73 attempted to use one but found it lined up with about 20 people. Overall it was a very pretty and scenic drive from the coast to the capital.

Driving Highway B2 Spitskoppe Towards Winhoek

It took us about 6 hours of driving to get from Walvis Bay to Windhoek with the side stop at Spitskoppe. It was pretty much single file traffic the whole way with a few trucks in between. There were only a few places that had passing lanes so it was a slow go all up.

Arriving to Windhoek:

When we arrived to Windhoek at about 7:30PM on a Sunday evening, I dropped MrsWT73 at our hotel for the night, the Hilton Windhoek. I set out to attempt to wash and tank up the car prior to it’s return tomorrow I asked the hotel concierge for some recommendations for an automated car wash or a self wash bay. They suggested two places and I drove over to them but they were all closed. All the wash bays in Windhoek, and Namibia for that matter, appeared to be full service bays (using hand human washers) that closed after regular working hours. Some were only open 5 days a week and being a weekend, I appeared to be out of luck. I was unable to find any self service bays or even the basic automatic roll over car washes at gas stations that we had at home.

I ended up going old school and asked a Shell gas station attendant if he could help me clean the car. He was entrepreneur and brought out the gas station high pressure fire hose and immediately hosed down the entire car and undercarriage right then and there in the gas pump lane. He did such a through job, I gave him a 100NAD ($7 USD) tip on the spot as it would have surely saved me some time explaining the state of the car to the Hertz dealer. Receiving the tip, he looked like he had gone over the moon with happiness and frankly I was thankful for getting the car looking new again.

My Thoughts on Driving from Walvis Bay to Windhoek

Our return drive back from Walvis Bay through Spitskoppe to Windhoek, Namibia was an enjoyable drive. The road was well maintained and the scenery was also pleasant. I’d recommend bringing along some self catered sandwiches as there aren’t too many obvious restaurants on the journey. Nevertheless, if you make a day of it and don’t rush the journey, it’s a really enjoyable experience.

If you’ve driven this route, did you enjoy the isolation and experience as much as we did?

Tags: Namibia, Spitzkoppe, Walvis Bay

Review: The Pelican Point Lodge, Skeleton Coast, Walvis Bay, Namibia

Posted on October 5, 2021 By World Traveller 73 in Hotels + Independent + South Africa, Namibia, Victoria Falls, Mauritius and the United Arab Emirates via Emirates First Class and Qatar Business Class + Trip Report

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In probably among the most unique hotel stays in the world, The Pelican Point Lighthouse is situated 32 kilometers out on a sand bar from Walvis Bay Namibia. A stay at this property offers a glimpse at Lighthouse Keeper life, in the midst of five star half board luxury, all while surrounded by wildlife and the crashing waves of the Atlantic Ocean.

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Review: The Pelican Point Lodge, Skeleton Coast, Walvis Bay, Namibia

“The Pelican Point Lighthouse has to rank in one of the most unique and special hotel stays of my life; surrounding by seal colonies, nature and an exceptionally isolated experience”

Booking The Pelican Point Lodge:

As I was looking for places to stay in Walvis Bay Namibia, I found the usual Protea (now under the Marriott group) branded hotels. Some of the properties looked to be inviting but didn’t look to be too out of the ordinary. During the research part, I happened to find the Pelican Point Lodge. The Pelican Point Lodge is situated next to an old lighthouse on the sand bar outside of Walvis Bay, Namibia. You actually get to sleep adjacent to the lighthouse in the middle of nowhere. OMG Wow – it looked like a unique experience and one look at these photographs and I was sold. The top photo is courtesy of their website. You need a 4 x 4 truck to get there as the property does not have any paved access roads as it is situated in the middle of a sandbar with the Atlantic Ocean on one side, and the Walvis Bay Ocean on the other.

The Pelican Point
Image Couresty of the Pelican Point Website

Similar to my Sossus Dune Lodge booking experience, the Pelican Point Lighthouse offered a dumb (not smart) website that requires to you email the hotel to make a booking / check availability. I did email them directly but they never got back to me with a reply at all for some reason. I ended up taking the easy way out and booking with Expedia which I usually never do thanks to their over the top booking commissions that they usually charge the property (upwards of 21% at times!). The booking was prepaid and actually offered a better rate than what was listed as the posted rate on the hotel website. I mentioned this to the owners on arrival and I think that it may have been that my web browser was out of date (javascript issues) as they appeared more diligent than the initial impressions that I had. There were a lovely South African couple that previously used to manage oil executive houses in Angola.

Getting to The Pelican Point Lighthouse:

As I had mentioned earlier, the Lighthouse is situated on the middle of a sandbar just outside of Namibia. It’s approximately 32 km from town so it is a fair distance to travel to get to the Lighthouse. We had printed off map instructions from the hotel website. The instructions at the time were okay but not super specific. If you’re following along this story, you may recall that we were self driving through Namibia in a rented Toyota Hilux Truck.

Once we had driven onto the sandbar, the instructions included such specifics such as “all roads lead to Pelican Point”. In practice, this was accurate. It was just a little tough to execute. We just took a right turn after the paved roads and started driving out to the end of the sandbar. As you can see from the photos, there is absolutely no reference point or markings to drive toward and we just aimed to stay on the tracked compacted sand routes.

The hotel recommended deflating air pressure in the tires to 2/3 of the recommended maximum, and using 4X4 (H4) to get to the property. I didn’t deflate the tires at the time as I was worried about sidewall tire damage as there wasn’t a gas station anywhere to be found near the access route. Of course, I also happened to forget to pack the tyre gauge from home that I had intended to bring along. I did switch into H4 as we moved forward onto the sand at the trail head.

It was a bit of a challenging drive to say the least. Using some past 4 X 4 driving experience around Fraser Island, Australia and many logging roads in the Pacific Northwest back home, I was following in the previous sand tracks of other trucks that had already compacted the dirt. It was different than Fraser Island as most of the driving that I had done on Fraser Island was on hard sand a low tide. It so happened on the day of our arrival that the tides were exceptionally high and, as a result, the recommended route was covered in sandy shallow tidal water. Thanks to some surfers who were out enjoying the sunset, we happened to spot a sandy bar that we could get out to the property. As a descriptor, the lighthouse is approximately 7 kilometers out on the sandbar so there is no easy visual reference to drive towards (you can’t see the lighthouse from the access point). We kept driving northwards and squinting toward the horizon in hopes of finding our destination. Eventually, we were able to spot in on the skyline.

Arriving to the Pelican Point Lighthouse at Dusk

As we tore into the area of the property (I was driving at 40-50 km/h not to get us stuck) we ran out of previously tracked road. It was then that we promptly got stuck in the sand immediately in front of the Pelican Point Lighthouse. It happened to be right at sunset, and the proprietor came out and helped me deflate the tires (about 60-90 seconds worth if you don’t have a gauge). Based on that simple trick, we were unstuck and were able to safely get into the property. We arrived to a very spectacular and special location in complete and total isolation. Hey – I’m stuck, just like that. At least there is a view of off shore drilling platforms.

Getting Stuck on the Sand Bar outside the Pelican Point Lighthouse

We eventually got squared away and all parked. The stars were out twinkling, making for the location in the middle of nowhere being a very special experience.

As an aside note, the hotel also offers a transfer service. I didn’t explore this further due to my challenges getting in touch with the property through direct booking. However, I’d probably recommend using it next time since it’s a bit of a trek to get to the property and an adventure none the less.

The owners welcomed us and gave us a basic explanation of the features. They offered dinner available to us at any time between 6-10 PM. It was noteworthy that aside from us, there was only one other couple staying at the property, meaning that we pretty much had the whole place to ourselves aside from the staff.

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The Room: The Lighthouse Suite

The staff unloaded our bags and escorted us to our room. There are only 10 rooms at the Pelican Point Lighthouse, making for an exclusive and intimate stay experience.

Our assigned room, “The Lighthouse Suite” was nicely and furnished in traditional contemporary furniture. It was unique to have these type of luxury in the middle of nowhere.

The Queen Size Bed in the Lighthouse Suite

There was a small sitting space with two loungers where you could look out the window eastward towards the Coast.

I found the photography art in the room to be quite cool with images taken from the local area.

The Old Rail Line Serving the Pelican Point Lighthouse

The Ensuite Bathroom offered a half open concept with the bedroom, with a double vanity sink.

In other comments about the service, the staff to guess ratio was high – I would have guessed there were about 7 of them to cater to the 4 of us guests. We were really well looked after during our stay.

There is a rock star penthouse suite that is available. It would be pretty awesome for a multi night stay. Here is a photo courtesy of the hotel website.

The Capitan’s Cove Suite
Image Courtesy of the Pelican Point website

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Food and Beverage on the Property:

After the drive and the un-sticking of the truck, I took a bit of a much needed decompression drink in the room, and then we headed upstairs to for dinner. The staff were ready to accommodate us at any time. I gave them a time frame, but they didn’t seem to need or ask for it.

The common space was very comfortable and nicely decorated. It had many spaces to relax and had a very inviting feel to it.

The restaurant and lounge area had gas fireplace accents, which made again for a comfortable environment given the isolated area outside.

A Lounge Space Accented by Gas Fireplaces

We settled into the dining room to enjoy dinner. As there were only one other set of guests staying on our visit, it was a quiet and intimate dining experience.

The dinner offered a set menu of a three course meal. It started with Mussels in a Puff Pastry.

The main course was a tasty Beef Fillet, with mushroom sauce, blanched green beans, beet root and carrots.

We enjoyed this with a bottle of Fairview Pinotage, which was very enjoyable.

We closed out dinner with a Lemon Cheesecake with a kiwi fruit accent

Dinner was included in the half board rate, with drinks that were separate and chargeable. This is great as there are really no other options on the property and it’s not like you can zip into town for dinner.

Around the Property:

The Pelican Point Lighthouse by Moonlight:

After dinner, we went for a look outside to appreciate the sheer isolation that we were in. We could see the lights of Walvis Bay in the distance, along with some over water oil drilling tankers nearby. The sounds of crashing surf were all around. There was also a full moon out which illuminated the whole place.

Night Time Views Towards Walvis Bay Under a Full Moon

It really was quite a surreal and unique experience staying out in this location miles from anywhere under the dark moonlight with waves crashing all around you.

We eventually tucked into bed at night to the sounds of the waves crashing against the shore only a few meters from the west side of the lighthouse. They were similar in size to the waves that you’d get on the wild coast of the ocean – large magnificent and intense.

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The Next Morning: Breakfast

The next morning, we were awoken by the day light and the sounds of the crashing waves. Looking out the window, it was super foggy in the morning as it appeared to have obscured the whole peninsula.

We headed upstairs to the Great Room, which had a different feel to it by day time. The windows made the space very open and airy. It was a bright start to the day.

The Breakfast Station: Cereals and Fruit

We took in some breakfast upstairs, where there were cold offerings, in addition to hot cooked to order dishes. I went with the simple eggs and bacon offering, with some Nespresso.

Eggs and Rashers of Bacon: A Great Start

The Pelican Point Lighthouse by Daylight:

After breakfast, the fog lifted quite a bit and we were able to get a closer look at this unique property. We bundled up in jackets and took a walk on the sand point beaches that surround the lighthouse. We were instantly able to see the lighthouse which is immediately next to the hotel.

We checked out the front door of the lighthouse, which has been in place since 1915.

The Red Door on the Lighthouse; circa 1915

One of the attractions of Pelican Point isn’t pelicans or penguin’s but rather a seal colony that is near the Pelican Point lighthouse. Shortly after breakfast, we went for a walk to the nearby seal colony. The sea colonies have taken up home on the Pelican Point for a few years now. The fisherman reportedly aren’t too keen on it as they get caught in the nets / lines and destroy the local fish populations. It was pretty amazing to see as there were literally thousands of them.

Seal Colonies Around the Pelican Point Lighthouse

A Sandy Environment for these beautiful creatures

The seals didn’t like us getting too close to them, or getting in between them and the water. Our hotel proprietor indicated that several tourists or visitors had picked up baby seals for photographs, causing the adult seals to stampede and smother other baby seals due to their fright of humans. She had to tell these unfortunate stories when guests asked her why there were dead baby seals found on the beach. We didn’t happen to see any, thankfully.

Seal Colonies starting to move to the water

Eventually, our presence got to be too much for them to take… even with a 300 mm camera lens. They started to make their way into the ocean for safety. Once one started the movement, they all followed.

We also found a strange fox. It was strange in the fact that he, or she, was in the middle of nowhere in this desolate environment.

The Bottom Line on the Pelican Point Lodge:

Wow – it’s tough to describe or summarize such a unique hotel stay that is unlike any others. The Pelican Point was such a different and unusual stay experience, it’s hard to know where to begin.

The sheer isolate nature of the place made for a very private experience. Having almost an entire building to yourselves without any others made every moment a private one. When you walk out the front door and happen to be on the beach, in every direction, surrounding by seals yowling was certainly an unusual stay experience indeed. It took a little extra effort to get to, and a few extra wrinkles on the way in (use the car transfer if you have any hesitation), but was most certainly a stay I will remember for the rest of my life. The hotel was very accommodating and the service levels were excellent.

The only way I would have made the stay better was by staying an additional night (making it a two night stay) so that I could have enjoyed more time out on the sand spit. I probably would have also elected to take the hotel transfer next time as it was a bit of a white knuckle experience with the self guided transfer.

If you’ve stayed at the Pelican Point Lighthouse, did you find it to be a special corner of the world, as we did?

Tags: Hotel Review, Namibia, The Pelican Point Lighthouse

Overland Travel: Sesriem – Walvis Bay, Namibia

Posted on October 4, 2021 By World Traveller 73 in Activity + Africa + Namibia + Region Visit + South Africa, Kenya & Mauritius via SAA, Swiss and Air Canada Business Class + Trip Report

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Today’s travel experiences would have us travelling through the rugged rural landscapes of Namibia. Leaving the comforts of our camp in Sossusvlei, we’d head over land from Sesriem through the Namibian desert tundra to the coastal city of Walvis Bay. The drive was surreal, spectacular and remote; something any adventure traveler would enjoy.

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Activity: Overland Travel Sesriem to Walvis Bay, Namibia

“The Driving Route from Sesriem to Walvis Bay covered Desert to Coast topography and was among some of the most rural adventure drives of my life”

Checking out the Sesriem Canyon:

We departed the Sossus Dune Lodge and called in at Sesriem Canyon on the way out of town. It is located right across from the Sossus Dune Lodge entrance. A short clamber down what appeared to be a small river bed actually turned into a large deep ravine that contained water at one time over its life cycle.

Departing Sesriem for Walvis Bay:

Three Hundred and Twenty Kilometers Travelled.

After we explored, we left the Sesriem Canyon and started trucking North towards Solitaire. The route today was as follows. Like our earlier inbound trip, it was posted at 4 hours and change but was more like 6 hours actual time, including some stops. It was a pretty amazing drive along this route and one that I will easily remember for it’s scenic, desolate, isolated and rugged geography that was unlike anywhere that I had driven ever before.

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We started out Northward on Route C19. The views were of rural mountains without a soul around.

We frequently spotted the Social Weaver building nests in the rural trees found on the side of the road.

We approached the desert town of Solitaire and stocked up on supplies.

An antique gas pump against Cactus at Solitaire

Wild Animals Checking Out the Scenery at Solitaire

We took lunch again at Solitaire as seen above before tanking up the truck with diesel and heading West on C14: a road that was in fairly good condition. When I mean that the road was in good condition, it was free of pot holes and debris. The next 234 km were mostly unpaved and packed gravel. There were a few paved spots in river beds and on the canyon hills but that was about it. There also happened to be very few people around as you can see from the photographs.

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Heading West Towards the West African Coast:

We passed through some strong mountainous scenery, with game along the side of the road that included Impala, Oryx and Ostrich. The road was not completely fenced in all areas so we kept our eye out for wildlife.

The Decision Maker: West towards Walvis Bay

Travelling on the Namibian Highway of C14

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Crossing the Tropic of Capricorn:

As we continued our journey, we crossed the Tropic of Capricorn. When you travel, there are some stories and milestones that make for great stories. You don’t get many opportunities to say that you drove through Africa and crossed the Tropic of Capricorn. As a result, we stopped for a photograph. We had the whole stop to ourselves and for once, there was no waiting for bystanders to get out of the way to get the right photograph.

The setting was pretty surreal. It was a marker line in the middle of nowhere surrounded by beautiful mountains

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Passing through River Valleys:

Getting onwards with our trip, we passed through several mountain passes; Namibian style. These weren’t the typical interstate or highway mountain passes that we had at home, rather they were roads cut into the sides of mountains allowing the roadway to pass through canyons or hill sides and through dry river beds. Once again, there was some fascinating and rugged natural scenery as we passed through these two passes which had a lot of moonscape type of terrain.

Terrain Similar to What I’d Expect on the Moon

The last part of the drive across the Tumas flats was pretty unexciting. We had about an hour of nothing, except for the odd power pole and burnt out car, which meant in some strange way that we were getting somewhere closer towards civilization. There was still the hot desert heat and the car thermometer read between 30 – 31 degrees Celsius.

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Approaching Walvis Bay at Dune 7:

As we approached town, the Walvis Bay Sand dunes were ever present on the north side of the highway. We stopped at the locally famous Dune 7, where several locals were having a BBQ / Braii party with their car stereos pumping loud music as they took turns running up and down the shady side of the sand dune slopes. The sand here was much more grey and sandy coloured than the golds and reds of the Sossusvlei desert area.

Hanging Out with the Locals at Dune 7, Walvis Bay, Namibia

Local Entertainment: Sliding Down Dune 7

We entered into town and headed towards the Pelican Point Lighthouse. The sand was almost taking over the highway on the C14.

My Thoughts on Driving Across the Namibia Desert

It was a fascinating day of driving across a vast tundra that didn’t have anyone around. I think we saw maybe 4 cars going the opposite direction the entire day, maybe less than 5-7 people total in our 6 hour drive. It had some spectacular sights along the way. It was pretty neat to get a selfie at the Tropic of Capricorn; certainly not something that you get to do everyday.

If you’ve driven this route, did you enjoy the isolation and experience as much as we did?

Tags: Namibia, Sossusvlei

Hiking the Majestic Sand Dunes at Sossusvlei, Namib-Naukluft National Park, Sesriem, Namibia

Posted on October 3, 2021 By World Traveller 73 in Activity + Africa + Attraction + Namibia + Region Visit + South Africa, Kenya & Mauritius via SAA, Swiss and Air Canada Business Class + Trip Report

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One of Namibia’s greatest attractions are the towering sand dunes at Sossusvlei in the Namib-Naukluft National Park. Home to one of the world’s greatest salt pans, the sand dunes tower over visitors at heights of over 400 meters. A self guided visit through the park was among the highlights of our trip to Namibia.

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Activity: Hiking the Majestic Sand Dunes at Sossusvlei, Namib-Naukluft National Park, Sesriem, Namibia

“The Sossusvlei Sand Dunes are among the most photogenic sand dunes in the world; towering over the highway against deep blue skies”

We’ve been fortunate enough to have visited sand dunes in the Empty Quarter, United Arab Emirates and the Sahara Desert at Erg Chigaga, Morocco. The sand dunes at Sossusvlei are different from these in that they tower over you as among the highest sand dunes in the world.

Getting to Sossusvlei:

Sossusvlei in the Namib-Naukluft National Park contains the highest sand dunes in the world. The appeal of the Sossus Dune Lodge is that it is the only hotel within the national park gates that are locked at sun down. The advantage is that you can potentially get up early and self drive to the dunes to see them at sunlight.

The Deadvlei dunes are approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes from the Sossus Dune Lodge, or about 65 kilometers. While there are some limited tours in the area, we decided to go with a self drive option to be able to stop whenever we felt like it and spend as much time as we wanted at each site.

We slept in a little after first day’s light until about 8:30 AM and woke up to light streaming into the hut. The curtains are a little transparent but it was a beautiful view to wake up to looking out over the park.

We had a camping style breakfast included with our stay (think a bush breakfast – more cold cuts, less salmon and capers) and headed out for a day of sight seeing. There was an option to get up early at 4 AM (and have a breakfast box packed to go), but after more than 4 early morning flight wake ups, Gaansbai Shark Diving and the like, we just preferred to catch up on sleep and get adjusted to the long journey down to Southern Africa.

We headed out on the paved road in the national park, which was in the middle of nowhere. It was a bit strange since all the roads to get to this point were gravel and unsealed and here we were barreling down a paved highway at 80 km/h. You could again look for miles and see not a soul. The park was designated a UNESCO heritage site for the largest dunes in the world. We headed straight out to the Deadvlei, which was situated 65 km from the entrance gate of the hotel. The plan for us today was to get as far out as possible, then work out way back slowly.

Spotting the Dunes:

We didn’t have to wait long to see some sights. Just a few minutes down the Namib-Naukluft National Park road, the dunes started towering over us.

Setting Out on the Namib-Naukluft National Park Roadway

San Dunes Towering Over the National Park

Arriving to the Deadvlei Parking Lot:

The tarred road ends at the 2WD car park photographed below. Since it is the main attraction, it contains a bit of a round up of coaches and other groups that were staying outside of the park gates. The last 4 km of the road towards the Deadvlei is 4WD only. We shifted the Toyota into H4 and trucked through to the last parking lot. Everyone else took local tractor shuttles which appeared to be readily available at the 2WD car park (a fee was likely).

The road was pothole like semi soft sand and I kept the truck moving at about 20 – 30 km/h and didn’t attempt to stop the vehicle to see if we would have trouble getting it started again. I didn’t see anyone stuck there, but there were reports at our hotel of those that there were some that trucked in by 2WD car in the morning (thanks to tighter and firmer sand due to condensation) got stuck trying to get out.

Soft Pathway to the Deadvlei Parking Lot

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Hiking Into Deadvlei:

We took the short 2 km hike up the slope to the Deadvlei. It’s an absolutely scenic spot. At 12 PM, the hottest time of the day at 30 degrees, we had the place completely to our selves. I’d recommend bringing some proper walking shoes as the sandals against the desert hot sand might not be as comfortable as one would like. In addition to shoes, we also each packed a litre of bottled water for the hike.

Exploring the Deadvlei:

Cresting the rise, we saw our first glimpse of the Deadvlei. The Deadvlei contains trees that are aged 500 – 600 years old that have died as a result of a lack of water due to climate change.

It was a pretty surreal experience to have it completely deserted to yourself. It was totally empty on our visit, like most of our other Namibia experiences.

Towering Dunes Make Up a Spectacular Backdrop

I could have spent hours here photographing things if it weren’t for the intense sun, heat and the lack of shade. It was simply gorgeous, a natural beauty, of which there are fewer and fewer left in the world these days. It was a unique part of the world that I thought was well worth the effort to get to.

The Track Heading Back Towards the Trail Head

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Checking Out the Hiddenvlei:

We headed back to the 2WD car park and did the short 3KM walk into the Hiddenvlei. The Hiddenvlei was a pan of dead trees although it was not as pronounced as Deadvlei as it did not have the same salt pan features. Either we missed it or it just wasn’t as pretty as the Deadvlei. It was a lot larger in size from what we gathered.

There were a lot less tourists here and again, the whole experience was very serene and desolate. There was lots of interesting vegetation that seemed like it had seen better days.

Vegetation Trying to Grow Amid the Sand Dunes

The Towering “Dune 45”:

Having reached the end point of the Namib-Nakluft National Park roadway, we started back towards the Sossus Dune Lodge. Our next stop was Dune 45. It’s called this as as it is 45 km from the Sesriem entrance gate. It’s really close to the road, and made for some really picturesque shots. You can just see how large it is compared to the size of the truck.

The Dune 45 towered against the size of our rental truck. The sand dune was probably well over 400 meters tall.

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We left Dune 45 and had a quick stop at the UNESCO Heritage Sign Certification that we had passed on the way in.

The UNESCO Sight Designation for the Namib Sand Sea

Returning to Sossus Dune Lodge:

Wow – what a full day. We returned to the Sossus Dune Lodge and headed to the pool where I took another small nap and soaked up the last of the desert sun.

We later returned to the hut for Neethingshoff Sauvignon Blanc sunset sundowner that was self catered from our villa fridge.

Sun Downer from the Sossus Dune Lodge Deck

We had another quiet night at Sossus Dune Lodge of absolutely no sounds at all around our property. It was truly an unusual and unique experience like camping in the middle of the desert, except in the comfort of a a private chalet with a rain shower.

The Bottom Line: The San Dunes at Namib Naukluft National Park

The Namib-Naukluft National Park was totally worth a visit if you happened to find yourself in this particular corner of the world. It’s a definite must visit if you are heading to southern Namibia. The sand dunes that tower over the road are spectacular and unique to the world. The ability to drive and see them at your own pace is another special treat, and allows you to take in sights as you can.

If you’ve visited the sand dunes at Sossusvlei, did you find it as inspiring as we did?

Tags: Namib-Naukluft National Park, Namibia, Sand Dunes, Sossusvlei, UNESCO, Windhoek

Review: The Sossus Dune Lodge, Sossusvlei, Sesriem, Namibia

Posted on October 2, 2021 By World Traveller 73 in Hotels + Independent + South Africa, Namibia, Victoria Falls, Mauritius and the United Arab Emirates via Emirates First Class and Qatar Business Class + Trip Report

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We had a really special stay at the Sossus Dune Lodge in Sossusvlei, Sesriem Nambia at an eco-lodge located in the middle of the Namib-Naukluft National Park. The Lodge offered private and comfortable accommodations with world class views, making this lodge highly recommended on travels to Sossusvlei, Namibia.

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Review: The Sossus Dune Lodge, Sossusvlei, Sesriem, Namibia

“The Sossus Dune Lodge provided excellent eco lodge accommodations with world class views, and an unbeatable location inside the Namib-Naukluft National Park; affording earlier access to the Sossusvlei Sand Dunes”

About the Sossus Dune Lodge:

The primary advantage to the Sossus Dune Lodge is that it is located within the Namib Naukluft National Park. This allows travellers a head start on sunrise activities in the park, since they can start travelling within the park before the park gates officially open to other visitors outside of the gates. It also allows travellers to return after sunset, and avoid being “locked in” the park.

And now for the story on how we ended up here. . . One of my high school graduating class acquaintances moved on from Vancouver, Canada to London in the United Kingdom and is now a writer / editor for Lonely Planet. He had recently edited the Lonely Planet contributions to Namibia so I of course turned to him for recommendations on what to do in Namibia on a 5 day stay. His first recommendation was to stay at the Sossus Dune Lodge. Having used Lonely Planet guides for the better part of twenty years of travel, I took this as sound advice. It turned out he wasn’t wrong and I’d highly recommend this place and location for your stay in Sossusvlei.

How we Booked:

When it came time to booking the Sossus Dune Lodge, I found that it was quite heavily booked on weekends up to 3 months in advance. We had to adjust our dates to stay on a Thursday and Friday night, leaving Cape Town earlier than we would have liked, in order to get it in.

At the time of this trip, booking accommodation in Namibia was horribly out in pace with the rest of the world. I had an easier time booking accommodations in Myanmar in 2010 when it was a closed society under worldwide sanctions. Most of the booking in Namibia is off line, meaning that properties have websites, with dumb portals that don’t offer any real time information. You have to email the property, work out availability and a rate, then email payment or a wire transfer which is usually run by a third party web pirate. Most of the typical online e-commerce portals that exist with every other hotel chain or travel booking website don’t seem to exist yet in Namibia.

In this case, we emailed the property and obtained availability and a rate (not posted online) through their travel agency. The experience was time consuming. It started with the emailed presentation of an invoice (which happened to be at the wrong rate). I was then directed to an independent online payment web transfer site. I initiated the payment, which was promptly declined by my credit card bank. After 3 attempts, and 3 calls to my Mastercard credit card issuer, whom insisted to me that these were “high risk” websites, I proceeded through several interrogations by the credit card company: “Sir, may I ask if you are gambling online? May I ask have you been solicited for funds by a party that you don’t know? Did you seek out the website or did they seek you out?” Of course, the receiving travel agency rejected the final payment of the invoice, misplacing the invoice believing it was a the wrong rate since they hadn’t kept their records in order previously presenting the incorrect rate for the invoice. After about 8 back and forth emails, 90 minutes of credit card hold and bank interrogation time, we appeared to have been booked. Did I mention that these purchases also get charged as a “cash advance” in this manner ? It takes a bit of effort to stay on top of all of it. I printed off all receipts in advance to bring along with us to be safe.

We travelled overland from Windhoek to Sesriem by rental bakkie / truck, arriving to the Sossus Dune Lodge.

Arriving to the Sossus Dune Lodge:

Getting back to the trip, there was no one there to meet us at all from the parking lot so we parked out car and headed up the trail towards the main building. It was a pretty neat and cool first impression with individual huts set into the bank of a slope.

All the rooms at the Sossus Dune Lodge are private stand alone villas, with thatched roof buildings. They each have their own private bedroom, sunrise or sunset facing deck, integrated bathroom with flowing water and a dressing area and closet area.

The villas, or units (villas may be a bit of a stretch) are all attached to the mail building by using elevated walkways. We checked in (I had to print a printed voucher from the travel agency in a very old school manner) and we had our bags helped down by a man who had loaded them up from our truck in the parking lot.

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The Room: A Spacious Chalet

The rooms were fairly nicely appointed, a solid 3.5 star stretching onto a 4 star territory. There were a few torn sheets and a few missing amenities (no drinking cups in the bathroom here). Surprisingly, for a hotel in the middle of the desert and likely short on water, the in room showers were among the best that we’d had on this entire trip.

Sleeping Arrangements: Two Singles Pushed Together

Around the Property:

An Outdoor Pool

Around the property, there was also a small swimming pool and sun bathing area for when the sand dunes got to be too much. While the pool was small, recognizing that we were in the desert in an eco lodge, I wasn’t expecting grand infinity pools.

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African Sunsets at the Sossus Dune Lodge:

We settled in after our arrival and set up the room. Each room has a small outdoor deck that faces the tundra. We opted for another African Sunset and split a bottle of Protea Rose from Cape Town that MrsWT73 had arranged to bring with us on the attached out door deck over looking some terrific desert tundra sunset views. An African Sunset is one of live’s most special experiences and something that you don’t get the opportunity to experience every day.

A Fair Amount of Privacy Between Chalets

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The Food:

Our booking arrangement at the Sossus Dune Lodge was on a half board basis. We had dinner up at the main dinner hall, which was situated outside on the deck this fine evening. The dinner hours on our visit were 6-8 PM. There was only the choice of pork loin or beef steak with German themed homemade spatezel, blanched broccoli and boiled potatoes. The steaks were a little tough but, hey, we were miles from anywhere. I didn’t have any complaints with the food, although it was more on the camping side than on the fine dining side.

We arrived back to our room to find it wonderfully turned down and inviting for the evening.

We had a very restful nights sleep here thanks to no television, no wi-fi and no entertainment other than a bar and lounge that wasn’t all to busy at night. It got light at about 6 AM on our visit with light streaming into the hut thanks to the high windows and light curtains. It was a peaceful wake up that occurred naturally in complete silence.

The Bottom Line on the Sossus Dune Lodge :

The place was similar in solitude to some other desolate places that I have stayed at. The Park Hyatt Maldives comes to mind thanks to how remote the Sossus Dune Lodge was. It is nowhere near as elegant or as luxurious; you won’t be having fine food or Reidel wine glass stemware here, but the premise of isolation, tranquility and beauty in an area of beauty comes to easily mind.

If you’ve stayed in Sesriem, Namibia; was the Sossus Dune Lodge your first choice?

Tags: Hotel Review, Namib-Naukluft National Park, Namibia, Sossus Dune Lodge

Driving Into the Desert, Overland Travel from Windhoek to Sesriem, Namibia

Posted on October 1, 2021 By World Traveller 73 in Activity + Africa + Namibia + Region Visit + South Africa, Kenya & Mauritius via SAA, Swiss and Air Canada Business Class + Trip Report

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It’s always been on the list to do a driving trip through Namibia. Today’s adventure would have us setting out towards Sesriem from Windhoek in a Toyota Hilux truck. There’s something exceptionally remote about driving in Namibia thanks to its remote nature and low density of space to population. We took in the sights while we travelled across a beautiful African landscape as we headed into the desert and our final destination of Sesriem.

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Activity: Driving into the Desert, Overland Travel from Windhoek to Sesriem, Namibia

“Travelling from Windhoek to Sesriem by truck was a terrific introduction into overland travel in deserted Namibia “

Arriving at Windhoek International Airport:

After arriving on Air Nambia Cape Town – Windhoek, we picked our rental car at Hertz at the international airport. Despite being Hertz Gold Counter, level members, as is typical in Africa the whole process took well over a full hour. First there were two people ahead of us dealing with some problem, then it was another staffer that didn’t know how to operate the Hertz rental printout system. I had booked a Toyota RAV4 small sport utility vehicle but they had fortunately upgraded us to a Toyota Hilux Diesel pickup. We went through the whole outrageous credit card charge process again, this time with a 127,241 NAD$ ($8,946.36 USD) First Amount Payable deposit charged to our Amex card because we declined the Hertz Collision Damage Waivers.

We then self led ourselves out to the truck with the keys where another Hertz staffer didn’t like that I loaded the suitcases into the back bed of the trunk on the bed liner. He actually unloaded them for us, and wouldn’t let us leave until he had placed them into the back seats of the truck, citing that there couldn’t be any “scratches”. MrsWT73 almost lost her marbles at him, given what we had gone through with the 3:15 AM wake ups and the 45 minute wait at the Hertz Counter. She managed to recover somehow though . . .

Driving from Windhoek to Sesriem:

At around 9 AM, we departed off headed for the Sossus Dune Lodge at Sesriem. We had hoped to stop for some proper breakfast along the way at a restaurant where we could park and see the car with all our luggage (and laptops) in it. Unfortunately, Windhoek was not kind to us in that regard and we ended up settling for Pick and Pay (grocery store) pre-wrapped sandwiches to eat on the road while one of us guarded the car with our valuables.

Google Maps shows Windhoek to Sesriem it at about a 4.5 hour drive and it took us approximately 5 hours of driving without including the breaks. What the maps didn’t tell us is that the shortest route, via B1, C24 (D1261, D1275) and C19, was not paved for most of the way. I had thankfully purchased a proper Namibia $10 highway map at a book store in the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront mall in Cape Town that had proper distance and relief marking which was the best marital therapy decision I could have made for this portion of the trip.

The route from Windhoek to Sesriem included some really rural and fairly rugged truck terrain on highway C24. I was happy to have had the upgraded truck as I would have felt that the RAV4’s tires may have gotten shredded on some of the rocks seen on the roads. Most of the travel was at a bumpy 80 km/h on the gravel roads, with some parts of it as low as 50 km/h on rough wash-boarded gravel. The route was isolated and far from any amenities, gas, washrooms or restaurants. We were committed once we had started so we powered through and thankfully made it without any issues. I only saw about 5 cars the entire 2 hour period, which shows how isolated it was in this particular area. Here are some brief photos of the rest stop I took at the intersection of C24 and D1264. I didn’t even have to pull the truck off the road, there was that little traffic.

Coming up to the Intersection of C24 and D1264

The Deserted Intersection of C24 and D1263

Continuing onward southbound in the D1261 and D1275 sections, the roads got substantially rougher and slower. It was still scenic and very much an adventure.

African Vegetation with nothing around for miles to see

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Arriving to Solitaire, Namibia:

We ended up taking a break at Solitare; a sort of a nowhere down that happened to cater to a lot of tourists on their way through from Sesriem to Walvis Bay. We loaded up on diesel fuel, keeping our tank more than half full, and we stopped into the restaurant for a Windhoek Lager. We had a surprisingly good late lunch snack here at the Cafe Van Der Lee as we weren’t expecting to find anything in this area catering to tourists.

Filling up on Diesel at the Only Gas Station in Town

The Cafe Van Der Lee, Solitaire, Namibia

The Annual Rainfall Chart at Solitaire General Dealer

Headed South to Sesriem:

From Solitare, it was an easy 71 kilometers to Sesriem. There were more mountains surrounded by basins and plateaus and a complete absence of any one around. There were no cars, people or pedestrians in this postal code. It was still pretty mind boggling on how deserted this country was.

The Hills Grew Larger as we Approached Sesriem

The town of Sesriem itself is sort of an ugly round up of campsites, hotels and dusty entrance ways. It is the entrance to the Sossusvlei park and we picked up our government issued two day entrance fee for 2 adults + car for 340N ($28 USD). These are available to purchase on the spot without any reservations needed. A quick 10 minute drive up the road and 6 km and we arrived to Sossus Dune Lodge inside the Sossusvlei park gates.

The Bottom Line: Our Drive from Windhoek to Sesriem

All in all it was a pretty adventurous drive. I most certainly would not have attempted it at night, and was glad that we had the proper type of car to handle the rugged outback of the Namib desert. I would probably take the easier but longer paved route next time, although it was neat to see the middle of nowhere. We had no problems getting diesel fuel and the only advice I can make is to book the car well in advance for a truck and be prepared for some mild sticker shock to your credit card if you decline the rental agency insurance.

If you’ve driven in Namibia, do you have any extra advice on how to prepare for a road trip in Namibia?

Tags: Namibia, Sesriem, Windhoek

Review: Air Namibia A319, Cape Town – Windhoek

Posted on September 30, 2021 By World Traveller 73 in Air Namibia + Airbus 319 + Airline + Business Class + South Africa, Kenya & Mauritius via SAA, Swiss and Air Canada Business Class + Trip Report

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Air Namibia was the national airline of Namibia and operated a small but interesting route network across the southern saharan African belt. At the time of our travels, they operated a fleet of 4 Airbus 319’s, 2 Airbus 330’s and 4 Embraer 135 jets. Instead of staying with the mainline carriers on South African Airways or British Airways Comair, we used them to fly from Cape Town directly northward up to Namibia for our onward adventure.

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Review: Air Namibia A319, Cape Town International – Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport

“Air Namibia offered independent ‘no nonsense’ service between Cape Town and Windhoek providing scenic gateway views into our time in Namibia”

Getting to Namibia:

As I mentioned at the start of the story, we had the option of taking South African Airways or British Airways Comair from Cape Town to Namibia via Johannesburg. This would have taken us about 6 hours at the quickest. The alternate was to take the non stop flight on Air Namibia (in a third of the time) from Cape Town taking less than 2 hours. I happened to find a fairly cheap fare including our trip to Victoria Falls so we booked a one way Cape Town to Victoria Falls ticket, with a stopover in Windhoek, for about $315 USD per passenger, including all bag fees and seat assignments. Unfortunately, Air Namibia is not part of any frequent flier reward alliances, so we got no frequent flier points for this flight.

We had another dreadful early morning 3:15 AM wake up for this flight. We checked out of the Westin Cape Town and we were on our way down to the Cape Town International Airport by 4 AM on a self drive basis. We returned the car to Hertz and after attending to the counter inside, I was able to get my $7,000 deposit refund processed immediately (on view) and a final invoice printed off and emailed.

Checking Into Air Namibia:

We located the Air Namibia counters. There were only 3 of them open today with 1 being a business line but without any lines at 4:30 AM, we were checked in quickly. MrsWT73 opted for baggage wrap at 70 R after the Qatar theft fiasco. Air Namibia wasn’t too worried about us being a few pounds over the 50 lbs bag economy baggage allowance weight. Truth be told, the bags were stuffed full of wine that we had purchased on our visits to the various wineries.

Cape Town International Airport – International Departure Zone

We were one of the few headed over to the international departure lounge gates at this hour. Most of the other flights departing this hour were on the domestic side. We were stamped out of South Africa. There was only a coffee bar open at this hour in terms of eating and many of the shops were just opening for the day. There was a sole souvenir shop that gave us a last browse of Cape Town nik naks. While there was a South African Airways International Departures Lounge, we didn’t have access to it.

International Departures Hall at Cape Town International Airport at Dawn

Our Air Namibia A319 flying us today from Cape Town to Windhoek

Air Namibia
Economy Class
CPT-WDH (Cape Town International – Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport)
SW700
April 21, 2016
Booked: Airbus 320
Flown: Airbus 319
Departure: 6:35 AM
Arrival: 7:45 AM

On Board Air Namibia:

When it came time to board, it was a scramble all at once with no priority boarding was announced. I took this photo of the business class seats on the walk by. We didn’t bother to pay for the up charge for business class today at a $400 premium per person for a 1.5 hour flight. No lounge was available by the looks of it and with no priority board or line up at check in, this was likely money well saved.

We settled into a typical Airbus 319 economy configuration of 3-3 seating.

There was plenty of bin space for the rollies as many people traveling were not carrying rolling suitcases. While we were waiting to depart, I took a look at the odd yellow coloured boarding card. The yellow was similar to Lufthansa colours and is about the only other yellow boarding card out there.

Air Namibia Yellow Colored Boarding Cards

We had a quick departure out of Cape Town and a very friendly announcement from both the in flight stewards and the captain on the flight deck. The service orientation of Air Namibia seemed much greater than the usual legacy carriers and the new upstarts of the Middle East “3”.

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The Meal: A Full Hot Breakfast

After we got to altitude, we had a full hot meal offered in economy class. The meal consisted of a breakfast quiche, sausage and baked mushrooms and tomatoes. It was accompanied with a cello wrapped roll and a strawberry yogurt. This was followed by a tea / coffee service.

There are no individual entertainment screens on this aircraft. There were general entertainment promoting Namibian tourism and Air Namibia were displayed on the communal screens similar to the usual Airbus 320 series models.

Arriving to Windhoek Namibia:

I was looking out the window on the descent and the scenery just looked awesome. I was really looking forward to getting out and exploring on our self drive holiday around Namibia and the views were really interesting.

Over the Wing Views of Mountains on Descent into Windhoek

We arrived to a non gate position, and walked down the open jet bridges. All the aircraft here park on the apron. There was also a Condor Airlines and an Air Namibia A330 sitting on the apron. I enjoyed taking the photographs but I again got yelled at by security agencies at the airport for taking pictures of the planes.

Views of our Air Namibia Airbus 319 on the apron at Windhoek

Mountain Views surround the Windoek Airport

The last photo is of the Airbus 330 that serves their sole long haul route to Frankfurt, Germany. It was one of two Airbus 330’s in their long haul aircraft in their fleet.

Arriving to Windhoek International Airport

My Thoughts on Air Namibia:

All in all the Air Namibia flight was a great first impression to Namibia. It was clean and professional and all we could have asked for on our short hop up to Namibia. I was surprised that we actually got a full breakfast on a short international flight. The service was also pleasant and professional.

Unfortunately, Air Namibia suffered as a result of years of government debt and insolvency. It ceased operations in February 2021. It’s service regionally is now filled by South African Airways Airlink and British Airways Comair.

If you have flown Air Namibia in the Southern African region, did you find it to be a neat experience?

Tags: Air Namibia, CPT, SW 700, WDK

Review: Returning to The Test Kitchen, Cape Town, South Africa

Posted on September 29, 2021 By World Traveller 73 in Activity + Africa + Restaurant Review + South Africa + South Africa, Kenya & Mauritius via SAA, Swiss and Air Canada Business Class + Trip Report

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While food is always quite good in South Africa, it’s absolutely spectacular at The Test Kitchen in Cape Town, South Africa. With dozens of awards and accolades under it’s roster, dining here is a wonderful and reasonably priced experience by first world standards.

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Review: Returning to The Test Kitchen, Cape Town, South Africa

This was our second return visit to the wonderful Test Kitchen restaurant. For our previous visit, please see our previous review of The Test Kitchen.

After a terrific morning massage at the spa at The Westin Cape Town, we went onto the Test Kitchen for our lunch via Uber. This was our second visit to the restaurant, having had our first visit a few years earlier.

The Test Kitchen is frequently on the San Pellingrino Top 50 Restaurants in the world and is rated as the number one restaurant in Africa. I had attempted, once again, to get reservation for an evening dinner setting here but they must go immediately within the reservation window opening (60 days out). As a result, we had to settle for a lunch visit. We wait listed for dinner cancellations for dates during our trip but there weren’t any available or any calls to check either.

Getting to the Test Kitchen:

The Test Kitchen is located in the Old Biscuit Mill complex which is a short distance from downtown Cape Town.

Inside the Test Kitchen:

The inside of the Test Kitchen is a contemporary space. It is beautiful and contemporary, all at the same time.

The Contemporary Interior of the Test Kitchen

The Lunch Menu followed the dinner menu in featuring a five course tasting menu completely paired with South African Wines. On my visits, the menus were interesting, appealing and paired with excellent boutique South African Wines that do a terrific job of showcasing the country.

Todays’ Lunch Tasting Menu at the Test Kitchen

The Test Kitchen fixed tasting menu for a set price with wine pairings. On our visit, it was 525 / 825 ZAR ($37 / 59 USD with wine pairing) for the lunch offer, I find it to be a fairly good value for a 5 course, 5 wine meal. It’s less than $12 USD per course including wine. I had recently been promoted at work so this was taken as our celebratory lunch. It was certainly a spectacular event to celebrate a work promotion.

The Meal: A Five Course Tasting Lunch

We started off with fresh assorted breads to start, along with “The Test Kitchen Appetizers”

…with beautiful creamery butter stacked in a curved short stack

Home smoked salmon with beetroot, crème fraiche, parsley jellies, saffron pickled onions, buttermilk crème paired with Neil Ellis Amica Sauvingnon Blanc 2013.

Scallop with naturalist bacon, cauliflower salad, black garlic, caper and pine nut salad, and cauliflower cheese foam with Fable Bird Jackal Mountain 2014.

Light curry glazed kingklip, carrot and cashew puree with carrot beurre noisette Lammershoek Chenin Blanc. It was presented in a smoked stone container and presented with precision after it’s cooking process. It tasted absolutely fabulous and perfectly cooked.

A Smoked Stone Container Highlighted the Presentation

Springbok, chargrilled loin, ember roasted red cabbage, almond cream, red cabbage emulsion, pine oil paired with Joubert Traudaw Syrah 2011.

Beer barley and figs, poached fresh figs, smoked milk ice cream, beer barley fudge and fig leaf granata, paired with Jordan Mellifera 2013. A strange combination but it went together really well and was super satisfying.

And a final dessert item compliments of the chef.

Our experience at The Test Kitchen:

As always, the food product was absolutely sensational. We had the opportunity to have a brief casual discussion with the chef Luke Dale Roberts. Service was a little bit lacking as I think they are more accustomed to completing orders in a line assembly manner in sequence. MrsWT73 ordered individual wines off the list, which seemed to throw the waiter a bit. In closing, it was as enjoyable the second time around and I would easily make time to return on our next trip through Cape Town.

Editors Note:

Since our visit, The Test Kitchen has been re-branded as the The Test Kitchen Origins. The new concept features both a 3 and a 5 course menu (as opposed to solely a five course option) with wine pairings. The concept is run by the same executive chef and Team behind the original The Test Kitchen.

If you’ve visited the Test Kitchen in South Africa, did you find it an excellent dining experience?

Tags: Cape Town Restaurants, San Pelligrino Top 50 Restaurants, The Test Kitchen

Returning to Stellenbosch and Franschoek for Wine, Western Cape, South Africa

Posted on September 28, 2021 By World Traveller 73 in Activity + Africa + Region Visit + South Africa + South Africa, Kenya & Mauritius via SAA, Swiss and Air Canada Business Class + Trip Report

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Today’s visit to the Western Cape Wine Region was a trip to an often overlooked region of Paarl. Paarl is home to several major wineries and is a neighbour to the more popular Stellenbosch and Franschoek regions. Our visit to Paarl had us casually visiting several wineries as we enjoyed the region’s attractions and scenery.

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Activity: Returning to Stellenbosch and Franschoek, Western Cape Winelands, South Africa

“Our visit to low key Paarl Wine Region took us away from the mega heavyweights of Stellenbosch and Franschoek, but allowed us to discover a few hidden gems”

We took an easy breakfast at The Westin Cape Town and headed out to Stellenbosch and Franschoek. We had a bit of a late start as we were finally getting over the jet lag and our short turn around in Doha, and had a 12 hour sleep. The trip to South Africa via the Middle East really knocked us out since it was about 6-7 hours of flying out of the way instead of the usual North America – Africa connection in Europe.

Our visits today took us to some of the lessor known vineyards that had escaped us on our last visit.

Visiting Jordan Winery:

We first visited Jordan winery at the end of Stellenbosch Kloop. It’s tucked up against the hill and was well off the beaten path. This winery is not related to the Californian Jordan winery of the same name.

It was a quiet and peaceful place for a tasting overlooking a small reservoir. You can tell looking back at the photographs, there isn’t a soul here.

Locating Jordan Winery on Peaceful Roads

It was a very peaceful setting at Jordan’s Cellar Door. It was a quiet setting absent any real travellers or tourists overlooking a tranquil pond.

There were some outstanding whites, in particular their Inspector Peringuey Chenin Blanc. We collected a bottle of this for our future onwards travels to Namibia.

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Calling on Neethingshof Winery:

We continued a short way down the road to Neethlingshof. It would be pretty special to have this view as your driveway.

The restaurant buildings are traditional Cape Dutch circa the year 1814, which is always a treat when visiting Western Cape Wineries.

Traditional Dutch Buildings Built in 1814

To accommodate demand, the Neethingshof tasting centre was brand new. There were again some excellent whites of both the Sauvingon Blanc and the Chenin Blanc that received a five star rating from MrsWT73. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find these wines in Canada or the Pacific Northwest of the USA but the whites are highly recommended.

Neethingshof Tasting Room and Cellar Door

A Seated Tasting Experience at Neethingshof

Returning to Haute Caribière:

We drove up to Franschoek to our old favourite Haute Caribière. The setting of this particular winery is set into caves tucked into the side of the mountains in Franschoek.

The Scenic Roadway Outside of Haute Caribière

Goregous Mountain Roadways Outside Haute Caribière

This was our favourite winery visit on our last trip, but it seems as though the quality of the wines are slipping just a bit. The Unwooded Chardonnay and the Pinot Noir were fabulous as always but the rest of the line up was only very good, not excellent like most of the rest of the wines on offer at other wineries.

There is a tasting menu on offer here and you can of course select what wines are interest to you. MrsWT73 always has her heart set on Cap Classique sparkling, so we started with the two good sparkling wines they have on offer, before moving onto the whites and reds in a nice setting outside on the patio.

All in all, it’s among the most beautiful settings for wineries in South Africa in my humble opinion and a quiet and beautiful way to close out the tastings for the day as the sun slipped down over the mountains.

The visit to Franschoek rounded off a nice second and last day of wine tastings in South Africa

Pausing for a Photograph looking Across the Valley

Along with a lovely tasting, there were terrific valley views. This is one of the reasons why this is among one of my favourite corners in the world. The sheer beauty of the setting is spectacular.

Our visit to Stellenbosch and Franschoek:

The South Africa Western Cape Wine Experience remains one of my favourite wine regions to visit in the world. The wineries are approachable and easy to visit. The quality of the white wines remains outstanding and of excellent value. After you add beautiful mountains, it adds for a special experience.

If you’ve come all the way to the Western Cape Wine Regions, did you enjoy your visit ?

Tags: Franschhoek, Haute Caribière, Jordan, South Africa, Stellenbosch, Western Cape Winelands

The Hermanus Coastal Walk, Hermanus, South Africa

Posted on September 27, 2021 By World Traveller 73 in Activity + Africa + City Visit + Region Visit + South Africa + South Africa, Kenya & Mauritius via SAA, Swiss and Air Canada Business Class + Trip Report

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The coastal town of Hermanus has a terrific reputation as one of South Africa’s coastal town and a world renowned whale watching destination. Along with our continued exploration of the Western Cape area, we were able to stop in for a little exploring after our Shark Cage diving experience in Gansbaai.

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Activity: The Hermanus Coastal Walk, Hermanus, South Africa

“A charming seaside down marked with specular South African Coastline”

After a morning of Cage Shark Diving in Gansbaai, we finished our activity in time for lunch. Since we weren’t taking the transfer bus back with the group and had our own car rental, we took the short drive from Gansbaai and spent the afternoon in Hermanus. Since it was now daylight, we could actually see some of the wonderful coastline that we had come in on.

Visiting Hermanus:

Hermanus is the de facto southern whale watching city thanks to the bay where they seem to congregate. It was a nice and scenic drive down the Hermanus in the day light where we actually could see what we had driven through. The coastline in Hermanus is spectacular and it is a pretty place to visit.

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The Hermanus Cliff Walk:

During our visit, we wlked a portion of the Hermanus Cliff Walk. The Hermanus Cliff Walk is a long walkway that extends down the coastline along most of the town. We walked for about twenty minutes, taking in the view and eventually wandering back to town. It was much less frenzied that the crowds that visit the Cape of Good Hope.

We ran into an older man feeding Rock Dassies, which are a unique Southern Saharan animal. They are often found across South Africa and are pretty neat looking as far as a unique continental animal is concerned.

Curious Rock Hydrax coming to check us out

Hermanus is simply a gorgeous town and we appreciated the opportunity to take in the breathtaking coastline.

Patio Lunch in Hermanus:

We had eaten light in the morning, skipping a full breakfast so after the walk we wandered back into town and enjoyed lunch at the Burgundy Restaurant. It is one of the oldest buildings in Hermanus, circa 1925 era and has been declared a National Monument.

smoked salmon trout, cream cheese, cucumber ribbons and caper berries sandwich along with a garden salad with feta

We had a seat on the nice patios outside overlooking the bay. I had a smoked salmon trout, cream cheese, cucumber ribbons and caper berries sandwich with garden salad with feta and shared a bottle of Haute Caribière Pinot Chardonnay. It was lovely and a terrific value with the sandwich pricing at a mere 105 ZAR ($7.30 USD) and the wine for a bottle at 190 ZAR (13.20 USD).

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My Thoughts on our visit to Hermanus:

All in all, Hermanus was a pleasant stop over on the way back from shark diving. We didn’t happen to see any whales that the city is famous for, but the Hermanus Cliff Walk was enjoyable with the usual terrific South African coastline views. Hermanus is a beautiful spot to stop off at if you happen to be through this corner of the globe.

If you’ve been through Hermanus, did you find it as beautiful as we did?

Tags: Hermanus, Hermanus Coastal Walk, South Africa

Getting Close with the Great Whites, Shark Diving in Gansbaai, South Africa

Posted on September 26, 2021 By World Traveller 73 in Activity + Africa + Attraction + Region Visit + South Africa + South Africa, Kenya & Mauritius via SAA, Swiss and Air Canada Business Class + Trip Report

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For as long as I can remember, MrsWT73 has talked about doing a cage shark diving adventure in Cape Town, South Africa. As a lover of these slender animals, it occupied a lot of conversation about our aquatic travel adventures for quite some time. On this trip to South Africa, we made sure to allow ourselves some time to take in this experience in order to appreciate these creatures up close.

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Activity: Getting Close with the Great Whites, Shark Diving in Gansbaai, South Africa

“A day on the water allowed us to appreciate the white of their eyes”

Booking:

MrsWT73 was very keen on seeing the shark diving experience and we had missed out on this trip on our last trip to South Africa. MrsWT73 had done her Trip Advisor research and we booked through Great White Shark Diving Company. Our experience with them was quite professional and we would easily use them again and are happy to recommend them.

We booked several weeks out and were able to be accomodate on our chosen date without any issue. While they did offer a bus transfer service from Cape Town to Gansbaai, we had ourselves a rental car and just chose to self drive the 163 km. This way, we were able to stop on a leisurely basis on the drive back, and we were able to sightsee at Hermanus, South Africa. While everyone has different comfort levels operating a motor vehicle in foreign countries, I would recommend taking a rental car out to Gansbaai to allow yourself some flexibility on the afternoon drive back as we enjoyed our later visit to Hermanus.

Getting To Gaansbai:

On the morning of the second day we got up at 3:45 AM in order to participate in the day of shark diving. The shark dive site was at Gansbaai. Gansbaai is about 2.5 hours drive from Cape Town, and with excursions departing at 7 AM, we had to leave The Westin Cape Town at 4:30 AM. The things we do for happiness. . .

We drove ourselves out to Gansbaai via the N2 and the R43. It was expressway for the first part, then it turned into two lane highway for the second part as it twisted and turned through the mountains. With sunrise at approximately 6:45 AM, it was totally dark and we didn’t get the opportunity to really see what we were driving through. The road was mostly unlit as well, and with my worse than at home headlights on the rented Toyota ETIOS (aka Yaris in the Americas – no HID headlights here), it was a little hard to see at times.

Arriving to Gansbaai:

On arrival the to Gansbaai shark dive center, we had a great coastline and a nice view of the bay. The sun was slowly rising to start the day. By arriving so early, we had an early morning introduction to South Africas southern rugged coastline.

Once all the other guests had arrived, we attended for a safety briefing. We had to sign several legal waivers that were passed around in a general sense. The safety briefing included such sound advice as “never try to touch a shark”, among other good advice.

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Headed out to Sea:

After the safety briefing was completed, we headed out on the boat. Life jackets were not provided, but we were assured that they were on board. It was only a mere 10 minutes ride out into the bay. A view birds took interest in us on our way out.

Attracting the Sharks:

They had cautioned us that it was sometimes challenging to find sharks, giving the usual “it’s nature caution”. However, we were able to see some within 5 minutes of arriving. The sharks are attracted by throwing chum (a seafood mixture) and a severed bloody fish head into the water. The technique seemed to work pretty well.

I don’t know whose idea it was to put a bunch of people in a flimsy cage but it seems to be popular. It’s an accident attorney’s dream. The process involved getting into the top of the cage and being fenced in an open area while the sharks swam in front and around the sides of the cage.

MrsWT73, ever the adventurer, had wanted to do this since our last visit in 2013. Time did not present the opportunity on those travels, thanks to the 5 hours of driving that was required. I can’t say that I ever had shark diving on my list of travel experiences that I missed. I’ve regretted not getting tea at the Burj Al Arab, or taking a power boat through the canyons of Queenstown, New Zealand but shark diving has never been remotely on the list. I ended up passing and capturing the whole experience from the top of the boat. I actually got much better photographs from the top where you had a better vantage point and could actually see into the water as the visibility was a bit suspect. Indeed, the underwater camera pictures came out pretty poorly due to some opaque visibility.

Although it was a bit rough in the boat (I took several motion sickness pills) we were able to see quite a few great white sharks. It started with attracting them initially then involved viewing from the cage on a rotating basis. They are absolutely massive in person. We were also able to see them act in their natural state slipping around the water versus their attack mode when they decided to over power their prey.

The shark definitely enjoyed the nom nom’s, if his splashing is any sign.

The Closest Splashing I ever Hope to Get to a Great White

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Cage Diving in Gansbaai:

After the sharks were attracted to the area, it was time for the cage. It still baffles me a bit why you’d want to subject yourself to this but it makes for some entertaining photos. The cage was very open in design and if you didn’t hang on to the grab bar, and stretch your hand out in any means out of the cage, it would be very easy to loose a hand.

There is nothing like watching a shark coming towards people in some form of attack mode. I am sure there were a few terrified people in the cage when this happened. At least I would be if I saw this coming! By George, he’s coming right for us. And he’s hungry.

From the comfort and safety of above, I was able to get some great photographs of the shark and the cage.

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Watching a Shark Feeding Frenzy:

We also got to see a small feeding frenzy at the end to celebrate the end of the shark dive. You can even see the eyes of the shark roll back into whiteness.

Heading Back Towards Land:

After seeing these creatures attack with speed and aggression, falling victim to a shark attack would not be something that would be ever on the top of the list. A short boat ride back and we were back on land.

Once we were back on land and had packed up, we headed off to explore the nearby coastal city of Hermanus. We were also able to get in some lunch there as we were pretty hungry by this point having had such an early wake up.

My Thoughts on the Shark Cage Experience at Gansbaai:

All in this was a pretty entertaining experience and we got closer than we would have ever thought that we would have given the unpredictable nature of whether you will see sharks or not. There were no regrets on my part having not been in the water and MrsWT73 felt that it was worth every penny. We enjoyed the self drive aspect and appreciated not being stuck in a van or coach on the way back as we had the opportunity to plan the balance of the day.

If you’ve been shark cage diving at Gansbaai, South Africa; did you find it a great adventure?

Tags: Gansbaai, Shark Diving, South Africa

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Review: The Hilton Windhoek, Namibia

Booking The Hilton Windhoek:

Arriving to the Hilton Windhoek:

The Room: A King Guest Room

Food and Beverage:

Sky Bar Roof Top Casual Dining

My Thoughts on the Hilton Windhoek:

If you’ve stayed at the Hilton Windhoek, is it your choice over the Marriott Protea brands ?

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Activity: Overland Travel Walvis Bay – Spitskoppe – Windhoek, Namibia

Plotting the Route:

Checking out Spitskoppe:

Back on the Road towards Windhoek:

Arriving to Windhoek:

My Thoughts on Driving from Walvis Bay to Windhoek

If you’ve driven this route, did you enjoy the isolation and experience as much as we did?

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Review: The Pelican Point Lodge, Skeleton Coast, Walvis Bay, Namibia

Booking The Pelican Point Lodge:

Getting to The Pelican Point Lighthouse:

The Room: The Lighthouse Suite

Food and Beverage on the Property:

Around the Property:

The Pelican Point Lighthouse by Moonlight:

The Next Morning: Breakfast

The Pelican Point Lighthouse by Daylight:

The Bottom Line on the Pelican Point Lodge:

If you’ve stayed at the Pelican Point Lighthouse, did you find it to be a special corner of the world, as we did?

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Activity: Overland Travel Sesriem to Walvis Bay, Namibia

Checking out the Sesriem Canyon:

Departing Sesriem for Walvis Bay:

Three Hundred and Twenty Kilometers Travelled.

Heading West Towards the West African Coast:

Crossing the Tropic of Capricorn:

Passing through River Valleys:

Approaching Walvis Bay at Dune 7:

My Thoughts on Driving Across the Namibia Desert

If you’ve driven this route, did you enjoy the isolation and experience as much as we did?

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Activity: Hiking the Majestic Sand Dunes at Sossusvlei, Namib-Naukluft National Park, Sesriem, Namibia

Getting to Sossusvlei:

Spotting the Dunes:

Arriving to the Deadvlei Parking Lot:

Hiking Into Deadvlei:

Exploring the Deadvlei:

Checking Out the Hiddenvlei:

The Towering “Dune 45”:

Returning to Sossus Dune Lodge:

The Bottom Line: The San Dunes at Namib Naukluft National Park

If you’ve visited the sand dunes at Sossusvlei, did you find it as inspiring as we did?

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Review: The Sossus Dune Lodge, Sossusvlei, Sesriem, Namibia

About the Sossus Dune Lodge:

How we Booked:

Arriving to the Sossus Dune Lodge:

The Room: A Spacious Chalet

Around the Property:

An Outdoor Pool

African Sunsets at the Sossus Dune Lodge:

The Food:

The Bottom Line on the Sossus Dune Lodge :

If you’ve stayed in Sesriem, Namibia; was the Sossus Dune Lodge your first choice?

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Activity: Driving into the Desert, Overland Travel from Windhoek to Sesriem, Namibia

Arriving at Windhoek International Airport:

Driving from Windhoek to Sesriem:

Arriving to Solitaire, Namibia:

Headed South to Sesriem:

The Bottom Line: Our Drive from Windhoek to Sesriem

If you’ve driven in Namibia, do you have any extra advice on how to prepare for a road trip in Namibia?

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Review: Air Namibia A319, Cape Town International – Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport

Getting to Namibia:

Checking Into Air Namibia:

Air NamibiaEconomy ClassCPT-WDH (Cape Town International – Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport)SW700April 21, 2016Booked: Airbus 320Flown: Airbus 319Departure: 6:35 AMArrival: 7:45 AM

On Board Air Namibia:

The Meal: A Full Hot Breakfast

Arriving to Windhoek Namibia:

My Thoughts on Air Namibia:

Air Namibia
Economy Class
CPT-WDH (Cape Town International – Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport)
SW700
April 21, 2016
Booked: Airbus 320
Flown: Airbus 319
Departure: 6:35 AM
Arrival: 7:45 AM