Namibia lies on the West coast of Africa between South Africa in the South and Angola within the North. A scarcely populated country where you possibly can drive for one hundred’s of kilometers without seeing a town.
Swakopmund nestles between the ocean and the dunes, a real oases within the desert. The German influence remains to be strongly visible within the architecture. Hotel Europahof is but one of many many examples of this European inheritance.
Even the old prison is a good looking building.
Swakopmund is one of the most popular vacation towns for Namibians and quite busy over the Christmas holidays. Bordering the colder Atlantic ocean makes water temperatures relatively low. Early morning mist is a typical appearance. The mist can keep the whole day and create a fairytale picture on the road between Swakopmund and Walvis Bay. On the one side you have the ever changing dunes and on the opposite side the boats that look like something out of «Pirates on the Caribbean» far of in the haze over the ocean.
Lodging could be present in one of many many hotels as well as self catering residences and holiday homes. The Swakopmund Hotel and Leisure centre use to be the Old Station Building, It was superbly restored and now hosts a five star hotel with casino, eating places, shops and a cinema.
There are sufficient restaurants to keep the hungry happy. Cafe Anton is widespread for it’s typically German pastries and biscuits. The Lighthouse Pub & Restaurant has a pleasant outside space with views over the ocean. On a clear day sununits over the ocean are spectacular.
The Naukluft Park just outside Swakopmund is among the should see places within the area. It’s essential to get a entry permit on the inner affairs office before you enter. It costs N$40 (less than $four) per person and N$10 per vehicle. The big points of interest, apart from the desert dunes, are the moon landscape and the Welwitschia plants. While these plants are not significantly fairly, they definitely have a charm of their own. Some of them are over a 1 000 years old. They grow very close to the ground and have only two leaves. You won’t think this whenever you see them, as the leaves are torn from a few years of exposure to the elements of nature. They’re endemic to Namibia and a wonderful picture opportunity.
Dune 7 is the opposite must do when in Swakopmund. It is a few kilometers outside Swakopmund close to the Walvis Bay airport. Eachbody that has been to Namibia is asked the identical query » Did you climb Dune 7″ From the underside it looks relatively simple, until you start sliding back more than you go forward. In case you do not feel like climbing you can try sand boarding. You are taken up with a quad bike and then you just slide down, once more and again. Sunscreen is a necessity for this activity should you do not want to look like a prawn after just a few minutes. It’s said to be the highest sand dune within the world.
English is the official language of Namibia. Afrikaans and German are also heard so much as well as the various native languages. The currency is the Namibian dollar which is equal in worth to the South African Rand. Rands are accepted by most businesses in Namibia. Eating places and hotels in tourist areas accept most credit cards for payment. Visa gave the impression to be essentially the most widely accepted.