After breakfast we said farewell to our 2 British travellers and continued on with Baron and the German family to Swakopmund. It is a 4 – 5 hour drive along rough and dusty roads that head endlessly straight and then suddenly turn. You rattle along pretty fast as the distances in Namibia are so great. Sometimes the road is pretty good and other times horribly rutted. Mostly drivers are very considerate and drive on the opposite side for some time after passing so that following vehicles are not consumed by dust. 

We stopped to view a cactus like plant called Euphorbia which is evidently highly toxic. Bushmen used to dip their arrows in the juice to poison the prey and then had to quickly cut out around the wound before the meat was poisoned. They have these little orange brown berries that are only eaten by rhinos. 

We had seen these fairy circles in the sand at Sossussvlei which were a mystery until recently. They thought at first they might be a poison circle from the Euphorbia but a scientist discovered it is actually sand termites. Not sure what they are doing but something to do with water. 

We passed numerous ostriches and also oryx and zebras. In one isolated spot we passed this tented camp by the road that is for road workers. It is too far to commute. I hope they get paid well!

Every now and then (ie every 50 or 60km) we would come to this shack thing which is a long drop. They are generally not too bad as there is no water for a stink, but are usually just made out of sticks and often only 3 sided so there is limited privacy. 

As we got closer to Walvis Bay, the road vastly improved. Walvis bay is Namibia’s biggest port and is an industrial hub. After independence South Africa kept it as it was so economically important but Nelson Mandela arranged for its transfer after he became president. 

There are government ‘lease to buy’ housing projects on either side of the road to meet a housing shortage. Baron said they have replaced the previous ‘informal settlements’ and comprise small, single storey dwellings set in the sand. 

There are also a number of drilling rigs just offshore which Baron thought were involved in diamond mining, however our next guide says they are actually oils rigs that have been towed there from Angola for maintenance. 

Swakopmund is about 50km north of Walvis Bay and is a booming seaside town. It has many historic buildings as was the centre of German occupation until the end of WWl when the League of Nations gave Namibia to South Africa as a protectorate. 

Aside from the historic buildings the place looks like a cross between Napier and Mount Maunganui but without any high rises. It stretches north along the coast with lots of new houses and hotels along the waterfront. 

We are staying at the Brigadoon Guesthouse which is close to town and one block back from the beach. It looks small and quaint from the front but stretches back a fair way and has 7 guest rooms. It was an excellent choice and is very comfortable. The wifi is also good. 

We heard that Tug restaurant is an excellent seafood restaurant right on the pier so secured a table there for 5.45pm (the only time available). We had not had lunch so were happy to eat early and get to bed early. The long days travelling are exhausting and I’m not sure how the drivers manage. 

We had a bit of a walk around the town, found an ATM and a pharmacy for more sunscreen and then set out for dinner. A feature of the environs is sand. Some places attempt to have grass and a succulent planted garden but that requires constant watering. Otherwise, its sand, including the school yard. 

The Tug is an actual Tug that was in dry dock and was converted to a restaurant some years ago.

Outside there is not much to show its beginnings but it is clearly a Tug inside and our table was up in the wheelhouse with a view out to sea looking astern. The fish was good. You order everything separately including sauces for the fish. I had some pan fried local fish that tastes a bit like Terakihi and Mike had baked sole. Both delicious. Swakopmund is very different from Windhoek as there are no walls or security fences and we were happy to walk to and from our meal with no concern about safety.