Namibia Day 5 - Swakopmund to Spitzkoppe

We left the Desert Breeze Lodge a little later than usual so we could stop at the Pick and Pay in Swakopmund and get some fresh meat and vegetables. After finding a parking space normal procedure is to pay a licensed attendant to watch your car while you shop to avoid someone trying to steal out of your car. It was easier just to pay.

After completing the shopping we left Swakopmund at around 11am. The initial route travelled along the coast road before we turned inland onto gravel roads leading towards Usakos and ultimately The Spitzkoppe our next camp.

The Spitzkoppe, is a group of bald granite peaks located between Usakos and Swakopmund in the Namib desert of Namibia. The granite is more than 120 million years old and the highest outcrop rises about 1,784 metres above sea level.

On the long dusty road as we neared The Spitzkoppe the views were amazing with the mountains standing majestic against the blue sky.

The final turn off was to the village of Spitzkoppe a small shanty town and all the way down the road there were little stalls full of arts and crafts made by locals with young children sitting and waving to every passing car trying to encourage you to stop and buy.

On arrival at The Spitzkoppe we were given a map and told to camp at any empty pitch. The choices were amazing with fabulous views and so inevitably we drove around investigating the options which took us a while to decide. You can see by the photos we made a good choice.

The only down side were the drop toilets and the showers which were all the way back at the entrance to the camp along with the restaurant and bar.

After deciding on our spot and reserving it by leaving out our table and chairs (this appears to be the standard here)

we then went and explored the area.

Locating the Stone Bridge and one of the rock pools we took an opportunity of taking some photos and then heading down to the bar at the entrance for a couple of cold beers to chill and relax.

On the rocks beside the pitches were creatures called Rock Dassie's. Strange little creatures and seemingly their nearest relatives are the elephant species.

Seemed strange as they were so tiny.

In the evening sitting by the fire Dave saw two bright eyes looking through the grass. it was an Africa Wild Cat came to see what we were up to . It kept running off when we tried to get closer but it was clearly quite nosey as it kept coming back to watch us for a while.

It was a great place to camp we would have happily enjoyed another night there even with a drop toilet.