Day 43 Off to the desert

How do you explore a desert? It's simple, you rent a quad bike and ride off. That's exactly what we did. The Namib Desert is located right next to the ocean in Swakopmund.

We drove around the desert and over dunes for 2 hours with a guide. What a blast.

Luckily, we had a guide with us because I lost my way after the first 2 dunes. We had to take short breaks every 45 minutes to let the quad bikes' engines cool down. This gave us the opportunity to admire the view and vastness of the desert.

We had a clear blue sky in the desert, only a thick fog bank hung over the coast.

Since I missed sledding at home this winter, we decided to try sandboarding. In the desert, it's called sandboarding. The principle is simple. Climb up a dune, lie face down on a greased board

get a push

and enjoy the ride.

You get really fast and there's no real way to brake. The ride ends when you lose momentum or fall off the board. You steer with your feet, but it's more of a token exercise.

And a little insider tip, keep your mouth closed. Otherwise, you'll have your mouth full of sand, especially when you hit a small wave or fall off. And yes, I speak from experience.

The annoying thing about sandboarding, just like sledding, is that after the great ride, you have to climb back up the hill or dune. And if you've ever climbed a dune, you can imagine how it is. Be the leader, it's very exhausting and you don't really make much progress.

After all the fun, a shower was first on the agenda. You won't believe where you can still find sand.