23.12.2018 Camp Rostock Ritz

After 2 days, we left the Desert Camp and Sossuvlei and continued towards Rostock-Ritz. The gravel roads were really extreme, not for weak bladders :-)

Along the way, we stopped in the middle of nowhere in Solitaire. The only gas station and grocery store between Walvis Bay and the sand dunes in Sossusvlei are located there. The desert nest is therefore an important resting and supply point in this sparsely populated area. Solitaire even has a "airport" (runway) for small planes, not far from the Tropic of Capricorn. Right next to the store and gas station is McGregor's Desert Bakery. The apple pie prepared by 55-year-old Moose McGregor is legendary. Raised in Zambia by a German mother from Pforzheim and a Scottish father, he was drawn to Namibia. He sells more than 200 pieces of his delicacy every day. At 35 degrees Celsius in the shade, we enjoyed the cake with a delicious hot cappuccino. We then continued to Rostock-Ritz. A privately run lodge by Kücki, one of the many friends of the Röschie family. We were warmly welcomed, enjoyed the afternoon relaxing by the pool with a fantastic view of the Namib Mountains and various GT's. Then came the night - I have sweated a lot in my life, but I have never experienced anything like this before.

Marco and I had to cover ourselves with wet towels to somehow survive the night. At five o'clock in the morning, on Christmas Eve, I got up and went on a sunrise hiking tour with Frauke. It was wonderful, pleasantly cool, absolute silence, slowly getting light and the curious zebras greeted us. We also encountered oryx and a small jackal on our tour.

Such a "holy evening" - I probably won't experience that again. After a hearty breakfast, we continued through the Namib on bumpy roads back to civilization and, above all, from 40 degrees to a cool 18 degrees on the coast of Swakopmund.

It's Christmas - hooray, but the Christmas atmosphere is different in Africa, it's passing us by this year.

Silke