Namibia, which surprised us from the very first hours: a pink lake, a starry sky, and a road we will remember
Honestly, I wasn't expecting such service on a two-hour flight.
We flew from Cape Town to Walvis Bay on Airlink flight 4Z341. We had very comfortable double seats – almost like business class. During the two-hour, twenty-minute flight, we were served a full hot meal, beautifully garnished with microgreens and pastries, and were offered wine, spirits, juices, and water. But what surprised me most was the café au lait – for the first time in all my flights, it was truly delicious, and I didn't want to leave it half-finished.
Walvis Bay Airport turned out to be quite small. We picked up a rental car from AVIS there. A standard Visa debit card was accepted, but the employee warned us that the deposit would be returned in about a month – credit cards are faster.
Almost all roads in Namibia are gravel or sand, so we rented a Toyota Urban Cruiser XR. A two-day rental cost around 15,000 rubles (plus a deposit), and it quickly became clear why they take such care in choosing a car.
Our first stop was Lagoon View Point, where pink flamingos gracefully stood amidst the shallow waters. We then headed to Pink Salt Lake. Along the way, we encountered enormous, snow-white mountains of salt, like snowdrifts in the middle of the African desert. The landscapes were so unusual that at times it seemed as if we'd landed on another planet.
We also really wanted to visit Pelican Point, home to thousands of seals and a multitude of birds. But here, our first disappointment awaited us. Despite Google Maps' reliable route planning, the final kilometers were covered in deep sand. Even owners of larger SUVs turned around rather than risk getting stuck.
After buying groceries at Checkers, we decided not to waste time and headed to the famous dunes late at night.
And that's where the real adventure began. Most of the road was gravel. Then a switchback road appeared, and everything became completely dark, with visibility dramatically deteriorating. The car climbed steeply, then plunged sharply downward. Hares, owls, and even foxes suddenly appeared in the headlights. There were no gas stations along the road. Luckily, the full tank we'd been given when we rented the car barely lasted until we reached the national park.
Right at the entrance, we were met by the only Shell gas station for many kilometers, a small cafe, and a campsite.
We knew the gates opened at dawn, so we decided to wait right at the entrance. And it turned out to be one of the most beautiful moments of the entire trip.
An incredible starry sky stretched over the desert. It seemed there were dozens of times more stars here than anywhere else. The Milky Way was clearly visible to the naked eye, and everything was absolutely silent.
But in the morning, an unexpected surprise awaited us. National park staff informed us that tourists staying overnight outside the park would be allowed in at 7:30 AM instead of the usual 6:30 AM. However, if you're camping inside the park, there's no such restriction—you can visit the dunes at any time. The entrance fee was about 3,000 rubles for two, and you pay for the ticket upon exiting.
Once we finally got inside, the road itself turned into a safari.
Antelopes, ostriches, and local goats with their unusual tufted tails roamed everywhere. We stopped at the first tall dune, climbed up, and realized why photographers from all over the world flock here. Enormous red sand waves stretched to the horizon, and the views were simply fantastic.
Our next destination was the famous Big Daddy—one of the tallest dunes in the world.
But just a few kilometers before it, we were stopped by a park employee. It turned out that further on, a stretch of very deep sand began, accessible only to all-terrain vehicles. Our SUV could easily get stuck. Tickets for special SUV shuttles were already being sold nearby. The ride cost about 1,000 rubles per person.
We decided we'd seen enough, took lots of photos, and headed back.
But the return trip was also one of the most vivid experiences.
During the day, we revealed what had been hidden in the darkness at night: incredible canyons, winding mountain passes, giant cacti, and rocks shimmering with dozens of shades—pink, lilac, orange, green, and gray. Each new turn in the road looked like a separate postcard.
We returned to Walvis Bay in the evening. It was already dark, and we stopped in a parking lot near one of the buildings to choose a hotel in peace.
About fifteen minutes later, I noticed a man with a machine gun and a covered face slowly walking toward our car. For a few seconds, my heart literally stopped.
Coming closer, the man calmly asked,
"Are you all right?"
Only then did I realize he was just a security guard.
We replied that everything was fine, he nodded, and left, leaving us laughing for a long time about how we'd managed to create an entire action movie for ourselves.
The next morning, a flight back to Cape Town awaited us.
In two days, Namibia had shown us almost everything: endless desert, pink lakes, flocks of flamingos, a starry sky devoid of a single light from civilization, wild animals right off the road, and landscapes that are difficult to describe in words. It was one of those trips after which you realize: some places look beautiful in photographs, but in person, they simply leave you speechless.
#Namibia #WalvisBay #BigDaddy #dunes