I started my Christmas holiday going to stay with my host family in Okahandja for a few days. It was so nice to see them again. And they were so happy to see me too! I missed my host mom’s cooking – it’s soo good! It was good to walk around and do errands around Okahandja too. It’s so crazy thinking back to the first time I walked around the town and how everything seemed so strange and new; and now going back, it’s so easy to get around! I bought my very first tent to camp in. And I got a nice deal on it too! Many other volunteers came to Okahandja to stay a few days before heading to Swakopmund, so it was fun running into everyone in town.
In the morning of Christmas Eve we all started to travel to Swakopmund. When we arrived, our campsite was right next to the beach! It was so wonderful driving in and smelling the salty air of a beach town. Right after dropping off our things we headed straight to the beach. The water is so COLD! The water comes from the arctic and you can definitely tell! Our campsite was also right by the Tiger Reef beach bar. The whole bar is open to the beach and ocean. Great place to stay!
On Christmas day I woke up to find a stocking of candy outside of my tent. We also decorated the evergreen trees at our campsite with ornaments and trim. Kim baked Christmas cookies; sugar cookies cut into wreathes with green icing. Our group drew names for a Secret Springbok (like a Secret Santa) gift exchange and we all exchanged our gifts. I received a new Himba bracelet and a really cool charm for a necklace. I had requested jewelry so I was very happy! The rest of the day I spent reading and sleeping on the beach. It’s so peaceful listening to the crashing of waves. That night we had another dance party on the beach (we had one almost every night).
The next few days were spent walking around town visiting the craft market (bought a really cool stone sculpture of giraffes; haggled for the best price!), ate at some wonderful restaurants (Village Café was my favorite – ate there for breakfast three times and the place reminded me of the quirkiness that is Austin), and sitting on the beach reading and sleeping.
The 28th and 29th a group of took a trip up Skeleton Coast and back down to Walvis Bay. Day one was traveling up the coast. We stopped in Henties Bay for some fish and chips. I had the hake (a type of fish) – so GOOD! Then we continued up to see a ship wreck. The ship was being towed to India and it broke off in a storm in 2008. The beach had a lot of fisherman surrounding and we ended up coming back to this spot to camp for the night. But first we continued traveling up the coast to see Cape Cross. This is where there is one of the largest colonies of Cape Fur Seals. You could smell the seals before you could see them. There are THOUSANDS. The person at the information desk said they estimate there are 250,000 seals!November and December are the months that the pups are born so we saw a lot of babies. The pictures I took cannot do justice to the site. It was weird, but really cool too. We spent the night on the beach by the ship wreck. A fire was made and we cooked over the open flame.
The next morning we woke up and as we were packing Shakira’s Waka Waka song came on the radio. I think this is the song for our group because we go crazy every time it comes on. So we dance on the beach early in the morning as the sun is rising. Then we head back south and go to check out Dune 7. This is one of the highest dunes in Namibia. We all make it to the top though I wasn’t sure I was going to make it. The sand is very hot and every step you take you slide back some. It was a long trip up, but it was worth it because it’s cooler at the top and you can really see the landscape. They have dune boarding and sledding and four wheel bikes that you can rent. I didn’t do any of those, but they looked fun. Going down the dune was fun too. Some people did somersaults, others ran, but I just took it slowly. But not too slowly because my foot would sink down all the way to my knees practically. And again, the sand was HOT. After Dune 7 we drove back into Walvis Bay to have lunch. I had some fresh oysters – and by fresh, I mean I had to shuck it myself! They were good! We drove out to see the flamingos. Most are more of a white color than the typical pink you think of. Then we drove out to see the salt planes. This was really cool – it looked like snow almost. Dirty snow, but snow. They have many different fields where they pump in the sea water and let the water evaporate and then they process the salt that remains.
We made it back to the camp grounds and spent the rest of the time in Swakopmund doing the same things as the days before – shopping around, eating good food, and spending time on the beach. For New Years, the Tiger Reef bar has a huge party with a bonfire. We didn’t pay to go to the party, so we had our own party on the beach beside the bar. We did walk around to see the bonfire which was lit at midnight. It was really cool! Walking back to our side of the beach I almost got swept away with the incoming tide! I was soaked so I walked back to the campsite and called it a night. It was a cool way to bring in the new year.
New Year’s day was spent on the beach – it’s hard to not want to spend time on this beach. The weather is cool so you aren’t burning all day and the sand is soft to lie on. I tried to read a lot, but always ended up falling asleep and took a nap each time.
The next day we said goodbye to the beach and I headed north with friends to see their villages.
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