Damaraland and the Skeleton Coast – Namibia: Travel Blog. Our Oasis Overland ‘Accra to Cape Town’ trip continued through Damaraland and the Skeleton Coast
Damaraland
After leaving Etosha National Park, we stopped at a town called Outjo for some food shopping before driving west through Damaraland towards Twyfelfontein.
We found a place to camp and for the first time, there was not a soul in sight. We could see rain in the distance and were treated to a spectacular lightning show which lasted for hours yet somehow, we managed to avoid being rained on.
The following day we visited the nearby sites, including a petrified forest. It was fascinating to see the remains of trees which had over time, turned to stone. There was also a wealth of Welwitschia. This plant is endemic to the Namib desert and is a “living fossil” because it has existed on the planet for millions of years.
After lunch, we had a bit of fun taking photos of a ground squirrel who was carrying some of the largest nuts ever! Haha.
That afternoon was spent driving through the beautiful scenery of rocky mountains of red and sandstone. There were baboons, springbok and oryx around.
Spending the night in a desert-like oasis we witnessed yet another stunning sunset. We had to be a little cautious of our surroundings that evening, as there was the possibility that desert elephant and black rhino may have roamed into the area. Despite that, the only wildlife we saw that night was a desert hare.
Skeleton Coast
We were up early for our drive down the Skeleton Coast to Swakopmund. The scenery changed drastically several times throughout the day, from red rocky desert to sandstone dunes, to flat barren desert. We had a quick visit at an abandoned oil drilling rig in the middle of nowhere.
The other most notable places we stopped were at some of the shipwrecks, that litter the Skeleton Coast and give it its name.
Damaraland and the Skeleton Coast was an awesome area to overland. It was the first time either of us had really seen this part of Namibia and we loved it. The arid area of Damarland, which encompassed Twyfelfontein, particularly wowed us, with stunning scenery, we really did feel like we’d gone ‘a little off track.’
We reached Swakopmund in the afternoon and for the first time since Nigeria (several weeks), we slept in a proper bed and not only that, but we had a shower with hot water!
Fully refreshed we left the group for a few days to head to one of our favourite places – the Namib-Naukluft National Park
Our Oasis Overland Expedition
We travelled with Oasis Overland on the 12 week Accra-Cape Town section of their 42 Week UK-Cairo Trans Africa expedition. Doing an Overland expedition was an epic way to travel through this big and beautiful continent. It took the hassle out of travelling independently through some of most remote parts of the world. Yet, it still provided the challenges and adventures that we as well-travelled backpackers wanted. From free-camping under the stars to sweltering in the dense jungles and driving for days along dusty desolate tracks to haggling in the busy and bustling markets, this expedition had it all. We really did get a little off track!
