Day 13: Erongo to Windhoek and Home

3 May 2019

We packed up camp after a quick breakfast, and began our drive to Windhoek. We were happy to encounter gradually better and better roads, until finally we were on tar again, just in time for Friday afternoon peak hour traffic. We spent some of the afternoon in search of a new tyre, together with what seemed like the entire population of Windhoek. We then set about exploring town, and visited the Independence Memorial Museum, which would look at home in Pyongyang. It was a fascinating museum however, and showed a different history of Namibia to the colonial German history presented by the museum in Swakopmund. We popped in at the beautiful “gingerbread church” Christuskirche, and the very tired Owela museum, before winding down for the day with a walk through the botanical gardens and dinner at the famous Joe’s Beerhouse.

The next morning we set off in the dark on our long drive home. Just outside Windhoek, Duncan had to contend with some hairy driving in the dark, as the side of the road was inhabited by all manner of wild animals. We saw kudu, oryx, springbok, eland, zebra, hares; and a variety of animals indistinguishable except for their glowing eyes. Sunrise was a welcome relief, and we crossed the border into Botswana uneventfully. Thereafter the road was lined with more domestic animals - donkeys, cattle, sheep and dogs - but the roads were quiet and we had a smooth journey back to SA, home in time for a supper of steak and chips.