7-11/7 Cape town

After hiking and living in my tent for weeks it is a wonderful feeling to spoil yourself in a big town, and it's certainly not a bad idea to do it in Cape town. During our few days here we have already been bicycling around the Cape of good hopes, seen penguins, seen the Lions head by full moon, drinking delicious wines and real coffee, and got lost at the Table mountain (I know, it should be impossible at the major tourist attraction in a town of 2.5 million, but there were no-one, and we succeded..). Tomorrow we are continuing the Garden route to Hermanus where we hope to spot some whales, to Mossel bay and then some surf in Jeffrey's Bay.

I am enjoying life!

29/6-4/7 Fish River Canyon

From Luderitz we were lucky to get a ride with a couple from New Zeeland to the Fish River Canyon, the second largest canyon in the world. The canyon has a five day hike to walk, but it normally needs to be booked more than six months in advance (I had tried ever since I arrived in March). However at the main viewpoint of the canyon we have the insane luck too meet the guide of a group just going down, asking us if we didn't want to join. Of course we went with them!

The participants were all from South Africa so we were offered braai (south african barbecue) each night and did not need to worry about food (we did not bring anything but some jungle bars) since everyone had brought too much and were just happy for the opportunity to make their bags less heavy. The walk was beautiful but as Birgitte put it 'very brown'. There were though some flowers, the first ones I've seen in Namibia, so I was happy. The walk followed the river with clear and cold fresh water and after each days's walk we relaxed by the small pools in the river.

The walk was not difficult but the fifth day Birgitte and I decided to continue the last part of the hike while the rest of the group were continuing only the following day. That meant that we walked about 35-40 km in sand and sun and we totally exhausted when we finally reached the campsite and took a fanta just before sunset. It was the best fanta I have ever drinken! It was nice to do the hike but even nicer to have it done..

26-28/6 Luderitz, ghost towns and the wild horses of the Namib desert

After picking up my Norwegian friend Birgitte in Windhoek we took the only public transport available in Namibia - the minibus - to the south of the country and the coastal town Luderitz. The small town is situated right in the middle of nowhere, with arid and harsh desert on the one side and the ocean on the other.

Not far from Luderitz lies Kolmanskop, once the major mining town in Namibia with over 1000 inhabitants and now a ghost town and quiet reminder of the past. The houses are slowly filled with the sand from the adjacent desert and the vast surroundings are harsh but beautiful. The silence is compact and the only sound is the wind and some birds. How they survive in that environment is for me a mystery. The only vegetation are some plants with waterfilled leaves and dry grass. It is truly a remarkable place, quietly telling the story about the hopes and dreams of the families once living here.


As we went on to the south of Namibia we passed the wild horses of the Namib desert. It is almost hard to beleive when you see horses where there should be no life, but the horses originally from the beginning of the last century are well adapted to the environment and a beautiful contrast to the arid background.