avatarCatherine Duchesne

Summary

Two friends embark on a transformative journey through Namibia's Namib Naukluft Park, facing challenges and learning lessons while hiking the Waterkloof and Olive trails.

Abstract

The article narrates the travel experience of two friends who choose Namibia as their holiday destination for its natural beauty and wildlife. They start their journey in the Namib Naukluft Park, intending to hike the Waterkloof and Olive trails. Despite a restless first night in a rooftop tent and initial navigational difficulties, they encounter baboons, enjoy natural pools, and learn the importance of being prepared for the African heat and rugged terrain. They adapt their plans to avoid heatstroke and lack of water, gaining insights into the necessity of proper planning, adequate water supply, and starting hikes early to take advantage of cooler morning temperatures. The friends appreciate the stunning landscapes, the challenge of the hikes, and the wildlife encounters, despite some fear and discomfort. They reflect on their experiences and acknowledge the need for better campsite facilities, recommending the park for hiking enthusiasts while suggesting improvements for the amenities.

Opinions

  • The author initially underestimated the African environment, especially the heat and the difficulty of the hikes.
  • The park's baboons, while intimidating, provided an interesting wildlife encounter.
  • The natural pools along the Waterkloof Trail offered a refreshing yet nerve-racking experience due to fear of potential dangerous animals.
  • The author regrets not starting the Olive Trail hike earlier to avoid the intense midday heat.
  • The park's stunning landscapes, particularly the gorge on the Olive Trail, are highly praised.
  • The campsite's lack of electricity is seen as a significant inconvenience, leading to food waste.
  • The author acknowledges the importance of learning from their experiences to better plan future adventures.
  • The article suggests that other travelers can learn from the author's missteps to enhance their own experiences in the park.
  • The author expresses a desire to return to Namibia and complete the unfinished Waterkloof Trail.
  • The author recommends reading another traveler's account of Namibia for additional insights and experiences.

Unfinished Business at the Namib Naukluft Park

African lessons learned the hard way

The entrance of the park — Picture by the author

After spending a few holidays up in the northern countries such as Iceland, Norway and Scotland, we thought it would be a good idea to do something entirely different.

Africa came to mind and it didn’t take us long to choose Namibia as our next destination: a stable country with an impeccable self-drive reputation, stunning nature scenes and precious wildlife. In other words: the entire package!

First up on our travel plan was the Namib Naukluft Park.What attracted us to visit? Two hikes called The Waterkloof Trail and The Olive Trail. Not only do their names sound beautiful, they really are both stunning hikes. But let’s not rush things.

After a first good night’s sleep …. — Ehm … I wish! — Truth is, there’s no bed like your home bed, and rooftop tents don’t come anywhere near it! So after a pretty bad first night’s sleep, we had scheduled to take on the Waterkloof Trail.

This is a 17 km round hike that is said to be very well marked by yellow-painted footsteps. Except for this one point, not far from the start of the trail, where you can easily miss the right turn (which of course we did). No worries, about 5 meters further on, some yellow painted arrows and the word STOP did make it very clear we needed to turn back and look for a yellow footprint somewhere else.

Some baboon left his own mark on the yellow footprint marking the Waterkloof trail. — by the author

About ten minutes later we bumped into our first family of baboons sitting on the path. They’re not exactly our favourite animals and we were a bit hesitant to approach (did you see the size of their canine teeth?). However, the ones at the Namib Naukluft Park are still wild enough to run (or actually it was more walk) away once you get too close.

Some Baboons chilling — by the author

Further down the track, the path leads you to some beautiful natural pools.

I knew I would regret it if I didn’t jump in that clear water, but at the same time I admit I was a little scared. What if there was some dangerous animal in there? (Like a deadly water snake or something).

B. convinced me he would have me out of the water in no time should anything go wrong…and so I jumped…

Me jumping into one of these natural pools — Picture by Bernd Van de Cruys

Looking back, I’m really happy I did it. Although there was this little sense of fear right up until the moment I stepped out of the water. And it definitely helped that we only came across the dead carcass of a hoofed animal lying right next to one of the pools afterwards.

Refreshed and well, we were ready to continue our hike. We passed dozens of butterflies, bright red dragonflies and more baboons than we could count.

We enjoyed every bit of it, all the while suffering from the boiling heat Africa is known for. By noon we arrived to the canyon part. Closed in by the high stone walls, the thin air became even warmer. It was as if someone was blowing a hairdryer right into our face. On top of that, we were quickly running out of water supply and we weren’t even half way…

Looking for some shade and resting a bit at the beginning of the canyon — Picture by Bernd Van de Cruys

Common sense took over and we decided to turn around and head back.

We weren’t happy about it, but it was definitely the right choice.

At least this way we got to hang out some more with the baboons at the creek.

Wait, who’s staring at who? — By the author

As soon as we were back, we rushed over to the reception area to get some fresh drinks from the bar. A fresh beer in one hand and a bottle of water in the other, we began to understand a few important things.

We didn’t set our alarm clock that morning, because we thought the first daylight would wake us up. Which it did many of the following mornings, but of course not this first day after a 10h flight, a 4h drive on the left side of the road (so not at all what we’re used to), setting up our rooftop tent for the first time and cooking our own dinner. (Mind you, we did nail those last two!)

We shouldn’t have planned such a long hike the very first day of our stay. We weren’t used to theAfrican heat yet (I honestly think I only just escaped a sunstroke) and it’s not as if the Namibian hikes are easy strolls.

We should have brought more water and snacks (3L per person as a minimum).

All valuable lessons we learned that first day and we were confident we’d do a better job the next day hiking The Olive Trail.

The start of the Olive Trail — By the author

Of course the main advantage of this trail is that it’s only a 10km round hike.

At 9am (one hour earlier to the day before), we were ready to go. Actually, this was still pretty late. We should have started hiking around 7 to make full use of the ‘bearable’ morning temperatures.

More so because the Olive Trail immediately starts off with a steep climb up to the top of the plateau. After about ten minutes we were sweating like pigs! (At the Waterkloof Trail the hike up the mountain is only later down the track…we unfortunately never even reached it).

All this hard work to go downhill again after just a glimpse of the surroundings at the top (don’t get me wrong, they’re totally worth the effort).

Bernd enjoying the view at the top — by the author

It’s a good thing we brought decent hiking shoes! These rocks can have very sharp edges. But although tricky sometimes, the way down the river bed was a piece of cake compared to the climb earlier that morning.

From that point on, the hike consists of following the gorge.

A little selfie of our scrambling — Picture by Bernd Van de Cruys

All of a sudden we noticed the rocks were getting bigger and bigger, to the point where we could no longer just walk over them but had to climb over and around them. Not long after that part we reached the highlight of this hike.

The gorge of the Olive Trail — By the author

Two chains allow you to safely pass alongside the pool at the bottom of the gorge. There was hardly any water left because of the drought they’ve been experiencing in the entire southern part of Africa for the last years. Rainy season normally starts somewhere along October. It was now the end of the month and not a single drop had fallen from the sky yet. Not that the low water level made the view any less spectacular!

Holding on to the chains is not so hard. It’s only for a few steps anyway. The trickiest part was reaching the chains in the first place. They are attached rather far away, don’t you think?

Me holding on tightly to the chains — Picture by Bernd Van de Cruys

The gorge truly is stunning.

The gorge captured from the other side — by the author

But the structure of the rocks in itself is pretty amazing too!

After the chains it’s not long before you reach a 4x4 gravel road that leads you straight back to the parking lot. Walking those last kms of the trail we encountered some locals (or what was left of some of them). This unidentified creator’s skull was already clean enough to be touched. Something we didn’t do with the remains of the half eaten zebra we found a little further on. (Nor did we take a picture of that sad sight.) Then we bumped into a gigantic antelope species that stormed away once it saw us, granting us the perfect picnic spot in the shade of a tree.

Africa really did change Bernd ;) — by the author

We ended up having one last drink from the bar before leaving the Namib Naukluft Park to drive up to our next destination.

We would definitely recommend this park if you’re into hiking! As far as the campsite goes… check if they’ve upgraded their facilities by now because it was one of the few campsites in Namibia that didn’t provide electricity when we were there (meaning no refrigerator). A bit unfortunate for us because we went to the supermarket before driving out there and our food supply contained lots of yoghurt for breakfast. We ended up having to throw most of it away… (and I hate wasting food).

I still hope to walk the entire Waterkloof trail someday, but when I read about the adventures Anne Bonfert experienced in Namibia and how it took her and her friend 7 hours to walk this trail I quickly realised how life saving our decision to return to the campsite had been.

And while I wouldn’t go for the Tiger fishing, I would love to try the sandboarding or the river tubing she experienced over there. Read all about it here:

Although it seems we mostly experienced different activities during our holidays in Namibia, I couldn’t help laughing when she talked about the hard climb up the sand dunes. This was something I experienced first hand at Sossusvlei. Curious about my adventure over there? You can find it here:

And as Corsica might end up being our next holiday destination, I’m now browsing through articles about this Mediterranean island. I really liked the humorous style of Rada Jones MD MBA describing her road trip over there. She has me slightly worried about the winding roads as I have a history of getting car sick, but as I learned from experience: a full stomach can help, so I’m ready to have a bite of the deliciousness served under the Corsican sun. And don’t worry Rada, I’ve got good teeth.

Goodbye Namib Naukluft Park. Till we meet again! — Picture by Bernd Van de Cruys
Monthly Challenge
Africa
Travel
Namibia
Hiking
Recommended from ReadMedium
avatarAndrew Mullikin
Exploring Uzbekistan — Three Days in Tashkent

Why you should embrace time spent in cities most travelers skip

6 min read
avatarAlex English
My dream city is 100% walkable

Pockets of foot-level life are the magical and serendipitous parts of all cities. It’s where meet-cutes occur and neighbors bond.

6 min read
avatarJoshua Samuel Brown
Virgin in the Dive Zone

Travel writer confronts a lifelong fear of the deep

7 min read
avatarCathi Harris
Three Days in Amsterdam

And the only red lights were traffic signals

12 min read
avatarMystical Aries
Hiking Trails of Lake Königssee

Exploring Bavaria’s pristine landscape amid clouds and raindrops

2 min read
avatarJoe Palermo
Separate Pricing for Foreigners in Japan

Really? Does this make any sense?

2 min read