Back to Windhoek

Having yomped through the dunes, this brought us to the end of our grand tour and heading back to Windhoek. I spent my last night in the tent, dozing off to sleep to the sound of howling black-backed jackals. After two weeks I had become pretty proficient in putting the tent up and taking it down again, but I was looking forward to sleeping in a proper bed again.

Our last campsite was one of the nicest, with a quirkily-designed shower block and a pool. It also had some additional accommodation that had a staircase going up to the roof area where there was a bed - so you could literally sleep under the stars if you wished to.

On the drive back to Windhoek, we stopped off at a small town called Solitaire. It was another middle of nowhere-type place in the desert, but we managed to get a coffee and a large slab of apple strudel and were offered the chance to take a ride on a camel. The town also had some rusted old cars spread decoratively around the place. None of these things in isolation are that remarkable, but when you put them together it strikes you as somewhat bizarre. But you get used to that in Namibia.

Apple strudel!

Back in Windhoek, we headed out to Joe's Beerhouse that evening which is a popular venue with visiting tourists. Aside from beer, it also offers plenty of exotic game dishes - oryx carpaccio, gemsbok steak, kudu steak, zebra steak, ostrich, crocodile.. Like typical tourists, we took photos of our meals even though it looked pretty much like any other steak.

Over a couple of bottles of South African red, we reflected on all that we had seen and the incredible beauty of the landscape. By the end of the tour, we'd covered a lot of miles. There's a lot of driving around in this vast country to get to all the main sights, but it is one of the best road trips that you'll ever do in your life.

End of tour dinner at Joe's Beerhouse!