After a hot coffee it’s time to leave. We get in the truck with all the warm clothes we have and still feel kind of cold as it’s just sun rise.After not many kilometers, the truck is having some more troubles and we have to stop to let the engine cool down once again! We give it one more try, but it looks like something cannot be fixed, and we need to get a new truck which will be sent from Cape Town. It will take the whole day to come here, so as scary as it is we need to get back to the coldest camping site on Earth! As the sun gets higher it’s getting warmer though, so we can enjoy some wine and cheese just sitting outside. The mood of the group is really good, and before it’s getting dark, Mike, a nice guy from Taupo traveling with his wife, collects plenty of wood for the fire. The new truck arrives at 3 in the night, and at 6.30 we get up and start transferring all the stock and luggage to the new truck. Again, the night was very cold, and some (smart) people decided to sleep in camp site’s bathrooms instead of their tents! The process is taking about 2 hours, but after that we are ready to leave for the Naukluft Park and its huge red dunes.

We are there in time for sun set which is a soft and beautiful show. All of us take the chance to walk on top of Dune 45 in Sossusvlei and wait in silence as the shades from the dunes get longer and longer. All around the sand gets even more red, then dark, until the sun has set and it’s over. Back to our camp site, our tents are around a beautiful big tree and we are surrounded by golden desert grass. Before going to sleep a few coyotes walk around the tents, and during the night we occasionally hear them singing to each other. The sky above us is magnificent, it looks and feels bigger than we are used to! We know it’s not true, but it’s just the magic of the Milky way, so clear and bright down here! This is something that makes you feel lucky! A great place, wild animals and a clear sky.

After breakfast we head north, crossing the tropic of Capricorn, and stopping in the middle of the desert for a walk between some fantastic Quiver trees and a moon landscape.

At this point the desert has become uncomfortably warm. I switch to t-shirt and shorts for a few hours. Just few kilometers away we stop in Swakopmund, an originally German settlement, where we’ll stay for a few days. We can really feel the excitement of knowing that we can sleep inside this night, no more frozen nose! Also we get to go out for dinner. Swakopmund is a very pleasant town, German in style and heart. Here people speak German every day and welcome thousands of tourists from Europe. As the weather is nice we walk down to the beach and stop for a cappuccino in a nice bar: it’s really comfortable after so many cold and rough days! The town also offer many activities, so we decide to go horseback riding on the moon rocks: a desert of smooth gray rocks.

I actually find myself comfortable on the horse, even if it has been years since the last time, but Andreas…well, let’s just say that the horse didn’t want to do what he was supposed to. He just wanted to eat some dry grass! The experience was really nice tough! It’s extremely relaxing to ride a horse! Back to the hostel we prepare for another evening out, this time at a Mexican restaurant. As the people get wild with tequila, we realize that tomorrow it’ll be time to go back to real life: truck and tents! While we were having a good time in town for the last few days, the truck was at the garage for a check-up. When it was time to leave they have found out that the truck needed some parts to be replaced, which weren’t ready, so our departure towards Spitzkoppe has to be delayed to tomorrow. We take the chance for a run down to the water front and then back for one more night in a warm bed.

First thing this morning we stop at the beautiful site of Spitzkoppe, where in the middle of the desert, a big, round, smooth rock formation point out of the desert. After a quick lunch we are back on the truck: destination Etosha National Park.  Finally it’s time to see some wild animals! Can’t wait…