Skydives, sand dunes and sunsets (Southern Namibia)

After almost a week travelling across northern Namibia, we arrived in Swakopmund, a town on the Atlantic coast which much like Livingstone has become a destination for adrenaline junkies. We had a weekend here which meant a few nights out of our tents and back to the relative comfort of a bunk bed and the chance to catch up on emails and get some washing done. But first, there was a skydive to do!

About ten years ago for no apparent reason I'd promised myself that I'd run a marathon, do a bungee jump and skydive out of a plane before I reached 30. I'd gone a bit overboard on the marathon front having completed four in the last five years, and with the bungee jump out of the way at Victoria Falls, only the skydive was left to do before I turn 30 next May. So I decided to bite the bullet and do it here in Namibia as there was a well established sky diving company in Swakopmund and the thought of plummeting to earth with views of the Namibian desert and the Atlantic Ocean was strangely alluring. It also helped that four other members of the group I was travelling with were up for doing it to so we were able to offer each other some moral support.

The five of us therefore booked our dive in the morning and after a nervous lunch, were driven over to the small airfield from where the planes take off and take you up to 10,000 ft. I should stress at this point that it was a tandem sky dive that I had signed up for so I would be firmly attached to someone with lots of skydiving experience who would be doing (nearly) all the work, so while nervous I knew that most of it would be out of my hands so there was nothing to worry about - right?!

The plane

Crossing my fingers for a safe flight and dive (and above all landing!)

Waving goodbye, hopefully not for the last time

The nerves grew slightly as we waited for some others to go up and do their sky dives (only two could go up in the plane at the time), but after an hour or two of waiting, it was finally my turn! Perhaps the scariest bit of the experience was the flight up, sat on the floor of a tiny plane as it steeply ascended to the jumping altitude. After about twenty minutes of climbing we were at the right height to jump and the side of the plane was opened up. The other girl on my flight was going first, but before I knew it she was out of the plane and it was my turn to go. Firmly attached to my partner, he edged us towards the exit of the plane as I tried to remember all the instructions we'd been given on the ground. For a few seconds you sit on the very edge of the plane with your legs tucked underneath the belly of the plane and then you literally just fall!

The first few seconds were filled with adrenaline and terror as I realised I was falling from a great height, but I quickly got used to the sensation and tried to relax and enjoy the ride. We were in free fall for about 30 seconds, which was an incredible sensation - better even than the bungee jump as I had long enough to take in the experience. Above all it was just very surreal - the ground is so far away that you don't feel like you're really falling and you can't really be scared of the height because your eyes can't really comprehend the distance from the ground in the way you can from a bridge or tower. However, what you do feel is the incredible force of the wind rushing around you as you shoot through the air at 200km/h!

The parachute was then pulled and after a strong jerk upwards we were falling at a more serene pace, which gave even more time to take in the scenery. I was even allowed to steer the parachute for some of the descent which was incredible, yet a little scary. After about 5 minutes of cruising down slowly under the parachute, we had a reasonably smooth landing and I was back on the ground, adrenaline pumping and full of emotion and energy - wow!!!

Heading to the ground

Coming in to land

The landing

Relieved to be back on the ground again

Merry Christmas!

A much needed stiff drink - yes that is me with the beard!

As if that wasn't enough, the next day saw more adrenaline rushes as the whole group headed off for sandboarding among the sand dunes just outside of Swakopmund. I'd done some sandboarding previously in  Australia, but the dunes here were much bigger and we had a fantastic time flying down the steep dunes on large wooden boards. We managed to reach speeds of up to 70km/h while flying only centimetres from the sand below us so it was quite a rush, even if we did end up with sand everywhere by the time we travelled back to town!

Sandboarding!

Christmas in the sand dunes

After a great weekend in Swakopmund, we continued south, crossing the Tropic of Capricorn and heading towards some even more impressive sand dunes at a place called Sossusvlei in the Namib-Naukluft Park, one of the world's largest national parks and home to the world's oldest desert. Here we took a walk around Deadvlei, a river which has been closed off by the movement of the sand dunes, creating an incredibly dry spot where the trees have dried up completely. Despite this, we still saw plenty of springbok and oryx wandering around, along with plenty of plant life specially attempted to the dry conditions.

Crossing the Tropic of Capricorn

Deadvlei

Deadvlei

Playing in the sand dunes of Sossusvlei

We then climbed Dune 45, the tallest of the largest red dunes open to the public, in order to watch the sunset. It was a tough walk along the ridge of the dune due to the soft sand and steep incline, but it was worth it for the view of the sun setting over the dunes.

The climb up Dune 45

Made it!

Sunset over Sossusvlei

Our final stopping off point in Namibia was Fish River Canyon, a 160km long canyon which reaches depths of 550m putting it up there with the Grand Canyon as one of the largest in the world. There is a five day trek that can be done through the canyon at certain times of year, but unfortunately we only had a few hours to walk along a small section of the rim of the canyon and take in another glorious sunset.

Fish River Canyon

At Fish River Canyon

And so that was Namibia - an amazing country with some epic scenery to take in, plus lots of opportunities for adventurous activities along the way. After 11 nights in the country we crossed the border in to South Africa and began the final drive down to Cape Town, somewhere that despite the good time I'd had in Namibia, I couldn't wait to get to in order to spend Christmas with Rachel - even if it did mean I would probably need to have a shave at last!