A diamond in the rough: day 2
Posted by Piers Ward at 10:00AM on Saturday 12 January, 2008 0 Comments
You can't believe there's so much fantastic contrasting scenery crammed into one area of a country.
Day two starts with near-40-degree heat, and we drive through moonscapes (NASA should have come to Namibia to train its astronauts), green canyons with water provided by the Orange River, and gravel roads where you need to stop when a truck comes past because the dust is so bad.
And then we finally hit Lüderitz, a coastal town that will be our base for the next few days, and where the temperature is a much fresher 20-degrees.
So far the Land Cruiser is coping well. Not that it's really been tested yet, because I've seen a Volvo S40 going the other way on a dirt road.
These gravel roads are simply incredible because they're so smooth and well maintained.
The only thing is they require a different style of driving - you've got to alternate your vision between 20 feet in front to spot the last-minute ditches, and then go a mile ahead to see a faint dot in the heat haze of an approaching car. God knows how often they're graded to get rid of corrugations, but the Highways Agency in Britain could do with taking a fact-finding visit out here.
As could anyone who thinks the UK is good value for money. We're staying at the Nest Hotel in Lüderitz (www.nesthotel.com) and a meal for three of us, including oysters and crayfish, comes to £30 a head. Well, it'd be rude not to.
But the theme of the day is snapper Steve Perry having to contain himself because he wants to stop and take photos every mile or so. We've covered about 360 miles today, and I needed to keep him firmly belted in otherwise we'd never have made it. This country is stunning.
Read the next instalment of Piers' Namibian voyage
Photography: Stephen Perry
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