The trip from Poland took over 17 hours

First a flight to Frankfurt, and then to Windhoek.
There, we were greeted at the airport by McDonald – a fantastic guy from Warthog 4×4 Safari Rental. He helped us get local SIM cards right away.
Then he dropped us off in the capital at our pre-booked Vondelhof Guesthouse, where we were welcomed with open arms 😊

We spent the late afternoon having dinner at the amazing Joe’s Beerhouse.
The next morning, just before 8 AM, we were already at the rental office, where we got the car, sorted all the paperwork and had a short training on how to use the roof tent, change tires, etc.

The team at Warthog – including the lovely boss Irene – are truly friendly people who really care about their customers’ comfort and safety. That’s why I’m planning to work with them again in the future.

We did some shopping at Spar and hit the road. The drive to Sesriem was around 380 km, which took us 3 hours longer than expected.
Why? Because you simply can’t just drive through – you soak in the views, the wildlife, the plants. Every 20 km, the scenery changes dramatically.
The whole route was STUNNING, and driving through the beautiful Spreetshoogte Pass was an unforgettable experience.

We arrived at the first gate of Naukluft Park in Sesriem around 8 PM. The staff were super kind and let us drive to the campsite even though the gate is usually closed after sunset.

We spent our first night in a tent not really knowing what was around us…

Waking up in the world’s oldest desert..

..is an experience you’ll never forget.

I couldn’t stop staring at everything around me. Sesriem Oshana Camp is truly well-equipped for travelers – hot and cold water, showers, electricity, bathrooms, toilets, and your own parking spot.

It’s worth paying extra to stay here, especially since it’s located between the park gates, which lets you enter Sossusvlei earlier than others.

I woke up at 6:30 – half an hour before sunrise. We skipped sunrise in Deadvlei to catch up on sleep after the long journey, but we did hike Dune 45 and explored Sossusvlei without any rush.

Dinner was grilled food under the stars – with jackals and a Cape fox for company 😊

The next day, it was time to head to Walvis Bay – but we couldn’t leave without seeing Deadvlei.
Even though we slept in a bit, we went back to the parking area, rented a transfer for the last 5 km (getting stuck in the sand could’ve cost us an hour), and made it there just in time.

In the midday heat..

..we walked through Deadvlei – unforgettable scenery, emotions, and pure awe.
Then we drove back to the park gate, refueled, and hit the road.

We stopped in Solitaire for their now-famous apple pie and soaked in the magical atmosphere of that tiny town.
Just after sunset, we pulled over at the Tropic of Capricorn sign – a must-stop since it’s right by the road 😊

And honestly – I have no idea what the landscape looked like on our way to Walvis Bay… it was pitch black.
We finally reached WB at 10:30 PM after driving about 500 km that day.

Just a heads-up: Do NOT drive after dark in Namibia!

IT ALL STARTED WITH A PALM TREE

In 2022, after an earlier holiday in Croatia, I bought a small palm tree in a specialized center.
Following all the instructions I received, I dug it into the ground in the garden.
In Poland, we don’t really have climatic conditions for growing such plants, so even though it is frost-resistant, I was worried about how it would survive the first winter.
She survived. In 2023, it put out a dozen or so leaves and grew a little. The next winter was a little harder. In the spring of 2024, I cut off a few leaves and within a month they started growing like they were on steroids.
Currently it is in “sleeping mode” for the third winter in the same place, I hope it will survive this time 🙂

CANTEEN FOR ENTIRE BIRD FAMILIES

Due to my illness and the fact that I spent a lot of time at home this year, I came up with the idea of ​​creating a small bird feeding corner. Of course, apart from fed birds, the result was also supposed to be photos.
I started with a feeder, then sticking a few dry branches into the ground.
Tits, sparrows, jays and woodpeckers were regular customers, so much so that the daddy woodpecker came with two young ones and fed them on site until they started coming for meals on their own.
Jays also came in whole families, even 7 of them.

PAPA’S BIRD CAMP

I also hung 5 birdhouses in the spring. However, only 3 of them were permanently inhabited. We’ll see what it will be like in next year.
I will try to build a small pond so it can easily be used as a drinking area.
Now that the winter season has started, there is less traffic because the canteen is only full of birds in the morning. There has been no frost or snow so far, so I’m not panicking and I’m ready for a more difficult period 😉