After breakfast, we aim to be on the road by 7:30 this morning. We are heading for the Skeleton Coast, and we are taking the scenic route. We first head south on the main road, passing the small town of Outjo, and then continue west, picking up the gravel road as we travel through the area known as Damaraland.

Damaraland is renowned for its stunning scenery, majestic mountains, vast open grasslands, and tall koppies (small hills) of rounded pink granite boulders, as well as its expansive landscapes and vast blue skies. We also have the opportunity to meet some of the locals, as there are several places along our route today where we can find informal shops selling locally made, handcrafted souvenirs. Represented here are ladies from the Himba, Herero, and Damara tribes, and most often, they are wearing their traditional attire. Here we can interact with some of the colourful local characters who live in this harsh environment. Making a small purchase here is a good way to inject some cash directly into the local economy.

We continue through the beautiful landscape, making a stop for a light picnic lunch, under the shadow of Namibia’s highest mountain, the Brandberg. Rising from the desert floor, this giant monolith is 2,573 m above sea level and is formed of pink-tinged granite. We continue our journey west and soon arrive at the coast, where we encounter the chilly Atlantic Ocean. The whole coastline of Namibia is known as the Skeleton Coast, and it is easy to see why this barren seaboard is so named, with its forbidding mountains and barren beaches. The wind, the waves and the huge fog banks all conspire to push ships onto the beach. The countless mariners who, in olden times, found themselves shipwrecked here faced the stark prospect of no fresh water, no food, no rescue and a slow death by exposure. Their Shipmates who went down with their ship were thought to be the lucky ones.

Heading south on the coast road, our next stop is a more recent shipwreck. 15 km south of the small town of Henties Bay, a fishing trawler, The Zeila, was beached in 2008. She was an old vessel that had been sold for scrap and was under tow at the time. The cable snapped, and, like so many ships before her, she was caught in the swell and currents and ended up on the beach. She lies pretty close to the shore and is well-positioned for photos.

 We complete the final leg of our journey into Swakopmund, we check into our accommodation, the centrally located  A La Mer hotel and the town is easily explored on foot from our central location. Swakopmund was founded by Captain Kurt von François of the German Empire’s imperial colonial army in 1892. (He also founded Windhoek in 1890). It is an interesting town to say the least, bounded to the north, the east and the south by the mighty dunes of the Namib Desert and to the west by the Atlantic Ocean. There are still many examples of colonial German architecture to be seen, and the German language remains widely spoken.

Swakopmund boasts some truly excellent restaurants, and again, your guide will be able to provide recommendations and assist with bookings.