With 3 weeks having passed since our arrival into South Africa, we felt it was the perfect-but-really-not-perfect time for our first voyage abroad…er. Sure we were still jumping for one Airbnb to the next, and had yet to move into our future semi-permanent residence. And sure, the boys had only been at their new daycare for all of 1-1/2 weeks. But hell, why not throw their mental well-being back into the spin cycle and spend another week living out of a bag of beyond-creased clothing? Thus, we officially set our sights on our neighbor to the north — Once known as South West Africa, now a bit less directional in description, Namibia was the perfect foray into our explorations of this new continent in which we now reside. Home to just over 2.5 million people spread across 320,000 square miles of desolate sand-swept landscape, Namibia is not only the 5th least densely populated country in the world, it is undoubtedly the perfect destination to which to be traveling during a pandemic (I.e. 6 feet apart averages out a little closer to 6,000 feet apart). In order to reach our newfound “people-light” destination, we utilized a slight “shortcut” from Cape Town, embarking on a quick 2-hour flight to the Namibian capital of Windhoek. And then spent the remaining 22 hours we saved from avoiding the mind-numbing drive from South Africa, stocking up on food, drinks and any other essential item one could think of in prepration for when you are literally 2-3 hours away from, anything (we opted for a never-ending supply of snack pouches for the boys and Xanax for us once the pouches ran out). Like many of the attractions in Namibia, Sossusvlei is essentially in the middle of nowhere. And the only way to get there, unless of course you charter your own plane (sorry Julie, married the wrong guy), is via a corrugated dirt road that will vibrate your soul into utter submission. Yet, despite the physical and mental pain one experiences during 6 hours of your car doing its best impersonation of a shake weight, the awe-inspiring destination somehow promotes enough loss of memory to allow one to do it all over again a few days later. And while I could feebly attempt to describe the other worldly features of our uniquely pronounced destination (i.e. Suss-Us-Flay), it feels better to rely on some Wikipedia-sourced facts. And of course, a collection of awe-inspiring photos that would make even the most incapable disposable camera user look like the next Ansel Adams: Sossusvlei Facts:
Onto the pics: Next Post: Namibia Roadtrip (2 of 3) - Searching for Souls in Swakopmund
(NOTE: I apologize to those who are eagerly awaiting the post on Health Insurance -- Unfortunately our trip to Namibia has been promoted to the priority slot. Not to worry though, your long-awaited reunion with boredom is only a few weeks away!)
2 Comments
Melissa
9/6/2021 07:01:50 am
These photos are spectacular! What an amazing trip!!!
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Mark
9/12/2021 06:21:41 am
Thanks Melissa!
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PRIOR BLOG POSTS: Year Abroad Intro: • Welcome to our Newest Blog! Again! • The Move - Dissected, Probed and Then Probed Some More • The Voyage (Part 1) - If At First You Don't Succeed, Trying Again Won't Work Either • The Voyage (Part 2) - The Layover to Rule All Other Layovers • A Personal Life Update - Establishing Our Shallow Roots A Guide to South Africa: • How to be an Expat When You Aren't Technically an Expat (Part 1 - Bank Accounts) • How to be an Expat, When You Aren't Technically an Expat (Part 2 - Health Insurance) • Load Shedding - Keeping the Lights Off in South Africa Since 2007 • 195 Ways to Fight a Pandemic - The South Africa Edition • Halloween in South Africa - Playing Catch-Up Since 2016 • SnapScan - South Africa's Glimpse into America's Future • Thanksgiving in South Africa - Where My Turkeys Be At? • Life at the Epicenter of Omicron - A Different Type of Cancel Culture • Playgrounds - The Starbucks of South Africa • Cost of Living in South Africa - An Exploratory Journey of Everyday Expenses Trips: • Namibia Roadtrip (1 of 3) - Driving a Shake Weight to Sossusvlei • Namibia Roadtrip (2 of 3) - Searching for Souls in Swakopmund • Namibia Roadtrip (3 of 3) - Getting our Safari on at Etosha National Park • Weekend Getaway in Robertson - A Trip Down Pleasantville Lane • Summer Holiday Trip (1 of 3) - Glamping Without the Glam in the Drakensberg Mountains • Summer Holiday Trip (2 of 3) - The Historical Chronicles of Kruger National Park • Summer Holiday Trip (3 of 3) - Searching for Whales and Spare Tires in the Overberg • Visitors Round 1 - The Woodmans - An Expedited Exploration of Everything • The Great Wildebeest Migration - 15 Years of Waiting Decided in 15 Minutes • Ngorongoro Crater - A Pre-Migration Layover Inside an Inverted Volcano • Ndutu - The Safari to Rule All Other Safaris • Serengeti National Park - Seeking Out Simba at an Abandoned Pride Rock • Zanzibar - The Island of Sugar, Spice and Most Things Nice • Visitors Round 2 - Let's Ignore Our Sanity & Do All The Things • Wild Coast - A Little Tatse of the O.G. South Africa Cape Towning: • Spring Break in September - Just as Strange as it Sounds • A Day in the Life of a South African Expat - The Visual Edition • A Wrinkle in Our Spare Time • Our Final Week in South Africa - A Bittersweet Symphony of Bucket Lists The Other Stuff: • This is 40: The South Africa Version |