Hourless Life

There are 3 safe hours to drive the narrow stretch of beach at Sandwich Harbor. On one side: towering sand dunes your vehicle can't scale. On the other: the Atlantic Ocean.

Oh yeah, and we saw some astonishing things out our window.

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Overland in Namibia: Sandwich Harbor to Etosha (Video) As we overland Namibia from bottom to top, we drive the infamous Sandwich Harbor where the towering dunes meet the Atlantic Ocean.

📍Omborokko Safaris bush camp, Namibia

Thankful for friends and friends of friends. Jim at connected us with Hamma and Eunice at Omborokko Safaris. It’s a decent drive off the main road to access their ranch, and then a true bush drive to get to the off-grid campground. Water comes from a bore hole and electricity is supplied by solar. Shower and tap water is provided by the wood-fueled donkey boiler. We had everything we needed.

We were surrounded by creature signs and sounds, starting with the birds that were so excited about the new day that they started their song in pitch dark early morning. I loved taking my coffee into the dry, sandy riverbed to spoor. Africa is still so new to my mind that I’m still auto-attributing tracks to raccoon and possum. Learning this new continent and loving how much there is to learn.

We found true peace here.

📍Sandwich Harbour, Namibia

Social media and online video so shape tourism expectations, manipulating the way we sum up a country in our minds. By timing a shutter click just right, viewers imagine they’ll have the place all to themselves.

Tourists from different countries can even have differing expectations, based on the content they consume (read: the content the algorithm shows them).

For me, based on the past adventures of my traveling heroes, Namibia was Sandwich Harbour. This narrow stretch of beach is where the waves touch the towering dunes at high-tide, necessitating careful timing to avert disaster. Driving on the edge. The window of safety is only three hours long to get out and back.

I had given up the dream for myself. We have the utmost mechanical sympathy for our beloved Jeep home, now five years old with quite an old soul based on where he’s been. Between the salt water and pounding dune driving, Sandwich Harbour became the next in a long list of places we purposely decided not to go in order to make it around the world.

When Paul Lombard at Travel Uncharted Tours offered us a guided tour, I jumped at the chance. Our guide Dino was fantastic, putting many bakkies to shame with his effortless dune driving in a 4x4 van.

The beach drive was a dream. The most magic-infused, surreal moment I’ve had in Africa so far. The “I can’t believe I’m really here” point in time. After everything we’ve done and everywhere we’ve been, I don’t get this feeling often. (It’s psychology, repeated exposure.)

After nearly kissing the tide on the drive out, a much shorter distance than I expected, we ploughed into the dunes to reach the famous viewpoint. I could’ve sat there forever and ever, just taking it all in.

Can’t wait to share Sandwich Harbour and much more of Namibia with you in our upcoming video.

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“A philosopher will tell you that the mere fact that anything exists at all is actually kind of stunning. We’re just so used to it....Everything is amazing if you just haven’t forgotten it. We all live in an enchanted reality. But we’ve grown so accustomed to it that we’ve turned the enchantment off.”
—Dave Evans

Didn't expect to see this in Namibia. 🌧️

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K O L M A N S K O P ghost town | 📍Namibia

When a railway worker noticed stones sparkling on the ground, his German overseer knew what they were: diamonds. This began a mad prospecting rush in the early 1900s and the establishment of a decadent town among the dunes of the Namib Desert.

We were told one could run their hand along the bottom of the valley floor and come up with diamonds, which led to mind-bending wealth. Home supplies, appliances, and fashion were shipped in from Europe. Opera singers and circus performers took to the stage. Ice was made in an innovative fashion and delivered daily using a rail car that ran through town. The ladies hopped on to get around. The bachelors of the town had their own lounge, with a rope above the table they could pull for service.

Within view of all this, the workers lived in simple barracks. They were x-rayed to ensure they were not hiding diamonds…anywhere.

And then it was done. After a couple of decades, the diamonds had been found and the rush had moved elsewhere. The sand began to take over. Already, some of Kolmanskop’s structures are too unsound to enter. How long will it be before this town, once a scene of decadence and wealth, is completely buried?

See our visit this Sunday on YouTube. Available early for Patreon supporters at patreon.com/hourlesslife.