Cruise The World With Us

Friday – April 18, 2025

What, you may ask, is a sand slider. Well…it is Kelsey on 2′ X 4′ piece of flexible masonite going down a 30 foot plus sand dune! As part of the excursion we took today the guides stopped at a place where people could slide down a large sand dune and to our surprise, Kelsey was one of those people! You’ll find the video of her slide in today’s media along with some stills as she climbed back up the dune.

We signed up for a 4 X 4 desert excursion last Summer. When we reached Australia it looked like very few if any people on the ship would be taking excursions in Namibia because Namibia was going to impose a 90 Euro per person visa charge. This was not just aimed at the United States but a long list of mostly European nations. We were unwilling to pay a 39% premium for the excursion and planned to cancel it. As we traveled on our off-ship Australia excursion we found that the cost was going to be lowered from 90 Euros per person to 15 Euros per person. So we kept the excursion on the books.

The day began not looking very favorable – overcast and slightly cold. Kelsey and Jan brought jackets and I wore a long-sleeve t-shirt. The excursion was set for a maximum of 4 people per vehicle so we had something like a Toyota 4Runner to ourselves and the driver, Roger. Roger is 58, was born in Cape Town and moved to Walvis Bay at age 4 because his dad got a good job here. His wife and daughter are accountants.

We started by driving along the interior lagoon in search of flamingos. Didn’t have to drive long before they were spotted in the water. Tide was going out so the birds weren’t very close to the shore – but that is what telephoto lenses were made for! We watched as the birds walked and flew along the water. We drove a bit further (and closer) so we could see them using their feet to stir the water and expose food. Roger said that this time of year there aren’t as many birds but we saw a couple nice-sized groups.

Our vehicle was part of a group of 10-12 that was being led by an experienced desert driver. Roger was familiar with desert driving but it sounded like his usual excursions involved taking people to the city of Swakopmund – about 20 miles North of Walvis Bay. So our position in the group was nearer the end of the line. We headed for the edge of the desert then stopped so all tires could have their air pressure reduced to about half. This would allow for better traction in the sand.

As the guides were adjusting their tires we noticed the sand had bits of dark brown, almost black rock in it. Roger said this gravel-like material was added to help prevent the sand from blowing into the town. It was applied for a few hundred feet into the dunes and apparently did help prevent shifting sand.

We have never driven in a desert so weren’t sure what to expect. We went up and down over sand dunes as we drove further from civilization. You’ll see plenty of video and photos of the desert – probably too many – because we were fascinated with the changing “lay” of the dunes. We encountered our first “slip face” and survived. A slip face is the steep side of a dune that you drive down – like the downhill portion of a roller coaster after you’ve been pulled up in the air. The danger of the slip face is that the vehicle can turn sideways and roll down the dune – we didn’t want to do that. You may hear Jan holding her breath in some of the video when we went down larger slip faces.

Roger told us that people live in the desert of Namibia. As we drove we came to the encampment of one such person. The group stopped to visit with him, look at how he lives and explore one of the dunes near his home. We were shown how to collect fresh water from the sand – you can read about that by doing a Google search. We were also shown the desert fruit Nara and the uses it has. The man living here had a pile of Nara skins and seeds spread on a table to dry. While walking we saw Namib Desert dune ants (you see a photo) scurrying about. The coloring of their body is quite different from what I’m used to seeing at home. Some of our group wanted to climb a small dune – so they did and found more sand on the other side (surprise, surprise!).

Also at this area were skinks – a lizard with no legs. The guides dug for and picked up several skinks to show us what they look like and how to eat them. You’ll see a couple photos showing their bodies with eyes in one end and the remainder of the body looking like an earthworm. One of the guides demonstrated how to eat a skink. There were no takers in the group for that delicacy!

Off we drove for more slip faces and misadventure in the desert. Our next stop was an area that used to be a riverbed and burial ground for people who lived in the desert. In 2015 there was a huge flood that covered this area and raised the bones of the dead humans and animals to the surface. We saw pieces of skeletal bone as well as pottery that was used by the people of this area. After 2015 the river changed course and the area we saw has been dry since.

Not far from the bones area we came across another desert dwelling and its owner. He has been living there for 20 years. Don’t know why someone would want that life but he appeared content. You’ll note by the photo that he doesn’t want people in his home (Don’t Come In was painted on a board).

We drove on looking for more slip faces to conquer – and we found them. We also stopped at the top of a dune where people could slide down on a 2′ X 4′ piece of board. One of those people was Kelsey! You’ll see video and stills of her ride down the face of the dune. It is hard to gauge distance but it looks like it was at least 30 feet from the top to the bottom. Like sledding in Iowa in Winter but without the heavy clothes and the cold. Her largest problem was removing all the sand that got in her pockets on the way down. The guides had sandwiches and cold drinks for everyone after sand sledding was finished.

Next stop was at a mound with a good sized Nara bush. Bush seems like the wrong word to use since there are no leaves. The fruit is attached to vines with large thorns but no leaves. The plant uses photosynthesis but it is carried out by the vine and thorns. It also can have taproots that extend up to 150 feet below the level of the sand. WOW – I would hate to have to remove that bush!

After the Nara experience we drove and stopped at the top of what I thought was a pretty steep dune face. The head guide encouraged people to run to the edge of the dune and jump while he would take their photo. I could just see someone landing wrong and rolling all the way to the bottom (must be a pessimist). Nothing bad happened – just people jumping over the edge of a sand dune. Silly me.

Our last stop of the day was near an area where they process salt. Salt is one of Namibia’s exports. Uranium is their largest export but we didn’t trek to any uranium mining areas. The salt is spread over large flat areas and as the water evaporates the salt is gathered with end loaders. The end loaders take it to an area where large piles are ready to be processed. We saw an inventory of bags of salt – each weighing 1 ton – waiting to be picked up and shipped out of the country. Most of the salt is destined for other African countries but I made a note that these 1 ton bags will probably be offered for sale at Sam’s Clubs and Costco soon as both sell in large quantities. Might take us a while to use a ton – even during sweet corn season!

We returned to the ship after a stop at some stores on the dock to purchase t-shirts. Kelsey found a shirt with the face of a cheetah – something she had been looking for. Jan and I got shirts that have what looks like a Land Rover logo but the text is “Sand Lover”. Back at the ship we found a large vessel tethered to our port side. It was a fuel tanker. Probably topping up our tanks for the next 7 days at sea. There is a time lapse showing it departing and us as well.

Tonight’s entertainment was the main production troop performing “Legends of Rock”. They did many well-know songs by groups from the 70’s and 80’s.

Tomorrow begins 7 at sea days so you are likely to see lots of those “At Sea” featured photos with not too much to report. We have begun to talk about how we are going to bring back all the “stuff” we have accumulated over the 100+ days we have been on this voyage. Looks like we will be shipping back at least 1 box from Genoa.

You can find today’s video and photos here – and there are lots of photos and videos of the desert – couldn’t get enough of it as it was something we haven’t experienced before.