Woolworths_Taste__January_2019

TASTE JAN/FEB 2019 109

It’s easy to forget you’re in the desert
when you’re devouring platters of oysters
with a good South African Chardonnay,
but back on the road towards Aus the
harsh landscape quickly restores reality.
White sand blows across the tar and in
the distance I can see a small herd of the
Namib Desert horses that call this severe
wilderness home. Like the German
expats of Kolmanskop once did, they
have somehow carved out a home in the
desert, surviving on next to nothing.

Next up is the iconic
Sossusvlei. First, I take a drive
to Dune 45, so named because it is
45 km and 45 minutes from the gate
that marks the entrance to the Namib-
Naukluft National Park. Unlike the
road to Lüderitz, the sand that shapes the
enormous dunes here is grapefruit-skin
orange, changing tone as the sun sets
to better resemble the flesh of the fruit.
I trudge up the spine of a dune where
I’m rewarded with a jaw-dropping
panorama of the world’s oldest desert.
Camping in the National Park at
Sesriem is basic and the food menu offers
typical toasties and other unimaginative
pub grub, but the town’s only fuel station
serves up a surprise. After fixing a slow
puncture (these gravel roads appear tame,
but often strike a leak into even the
hardiest 4x4 tyres) I gaze through the
glass at the display counter, settling on
a springbok sausage roll. The pastry is

GETTINGTHERE

FLIGHTS & VISASFly to Windhoek

or Walvis Bay (flights are cheapest

from Cape Town). I travelled with

Air Namibia and South African

Airways. South African passport-

holders do not require a holiday visa.

GETTING AROUNDHire a car with

clearance or a4x4ifyoucanafford

it. Although Namibia’s gravel roads

are good, they are famous for

causing punctures in inadequate

tyres. If you do hire, definitely take

thetyreandwindscreen insurance.

EXCHANGERATEThe Namibian dollar

is the official currency, but the value

is always the same as South African

rands, whichare widely acceptedtoo.

Clockwise from top left: Fishing nets and fresh seafood can be found at Diaz Coffee Shop; generous dollops of lemon

curd topped with ghostly meringue at the Ghost Town Tavern; bright seating at Swakopmund’s Fish Deli; Slowtown

Coffee Roasters looks out over Swakopmund's iconic lighthouse; pair your coffee with Slowtown's fresh pastries.