Namibia: Swakopmund
While Swakopmund’s coastline may be skeletal, the waistline of most of its residents is not. One of our first observations here is the prodigious appetite of the locals – an appetite fuelled by enormous (and delicious) plates of fried calamari, game steaks, boerwurst and heaps of French fries. Vegans need not apply – this is proper red meat country. As in Walvis Bay, we made the most of the beachfront restaurant. “The Jetty” served great seafood and its wildcard signature dish, sirloin steak with chilli chocolate sauce – strange but good.
Our reason for being in Swakopmund was to visit “crazy” Harry, a recommended local mechanic, to get Tonka’s suspension jacked up a bit. After loading him in the UK with 230 litres of diesel and 120 litres of water, he was sagging a little on his haunches! Harry, an eccentric moustachioed Frenchman, had a simple but effective solution – the rear suspension mounts were taken off, cut in half and then welded back together with a 2 inch steel spacer between them. This worked superbly and Tonka now sits level again.
Our first campsite was the very orderly but rather boring *Alte Brucke Resort*. The stiff Atlantic wind blew right across our pitch, although the novelty of our first night “under canvas” kept our spirits up. Predictably, we headed to The Jetty for dinner. Well, we had to ease into this camping thing gently.
After two nights in Swakopmund, and having stocked up on supplies, we pointed Tonka south back towards Walvis Bay, and then south-east on the C14 towards the Namib Naukluft National Park.
Days in Africa: 4
Km driven: 43
