Kaokoland, Northern Namibia

Pushing into northern Namibia the terrain became wilder and we entered the land of the Himba.

The deeply corrugated dirt road was tough going, but we finally bounced into Purros to set up camp for a few days.


The local Himba women daub their near-naked bodies in rich red ochre. Mixed with animal fat and black pepper it's an effective sun screen. With elaborately dreadlocked hair and bead jewellery, they take huge pride in their appearance and culture. The younger menfolk prefer jeans and sunglasses.

More traditional Himba men still live nomadically, keeping their goats safe from desert lions. A bag of flour was gratefully received for help with directions and for modern money Phil bought a handmade knife.


From our base in the dry river bed we formed a convoy with a Toyota-driving London-based couple to explore a little into the Kaokoveld.

Thanks to Nav and Sarah with their GPS gadgetry, we felt safe enough even when the going got a little hairy.

Skeleton Coast, Namibia

We were promised wild on the Skeleton Coast. The Atlantic was a mill pond when we arrived but we awoke in our roof-top tent to cloying fog thick with sand and salt.

The sea mist gave way to ferocious winds, explaining the shipwrecks strung along this coastline where dunes meet the surf.

Namib-Naukluft, Namibia

With sun-burnt necks and sand-scolded feet we left the dunes and headed for the Naukluft mountains to find refreshment in green valleys and springwater pools. Bliss.

Moving on, the landscape change yet again to vast swathes of semi-desert veld. A few animals proved their resilience in making a life here, the most charming of which we found to be the bat-eared fox. Even if a cheeky one did lap up Sam's foot spa.

We pitched camp beneath the one thing breaking the horizon of the Namib-Nauklift desert, a huge granite outcrop (spot the landy).

Only later did we discover that our kopje was the setting for the iconic opening scene of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Sossusvlei, Namibia

Sitting on top of the world's biggest sand dune we agreed that this was one of the best days of our travel lives. And it wasn't yet 9 am.


An alarm clock error put us well ahead of the tour buses in a pre-dawn dash to Sossusvlei. Our reward was to have the Namib desert to ourselves as the warm morning light crept up.


We were fascinated by these enormous dunes of fine grains of sand, shaped by the wind and shifting before our eyes. Fragile, surreal and gruelling to climb. We huffed and puffed to the top of Big Daddy, barefoot until our soles burnt.


From the beachy peak we looked out over sandy contours to the horizon in every direction.


Giggling all the way back down as we found the new pastime of sand skiing an awful lot quicker and easier. At the bottom, Deadvlei, a bleached salt pan forested by bare trees. This was a proper cinematic dreamscape and we pinched ourselves in disbelief.

As the softer light of afternoon came around we geared up for the 4x4 drive through the sand to take us back to camp.

Sandscape of the Namib (video clip)

As we breathlessly admire the views from a dune peak, a youngster show us the way down.

Sand Skiing (video clip)

Check out the not-so-steady-cam clip for our MTV moment of flinging ourselves down the world's (reputedly) biggest sand dune, Big Daddy.

Fish River Canyon, Namibia

Our first sight in Namibia was a stunner. Fish River forms the second biggest canyon in the world. To Sam's disapointment, but Phil's relief, the 5-day walk through the parched river bed was closed for the horrendous heat of summer.


So instead we pushed on through the desert, in full belief that our landrover is the toughest vehicle there is.

Northern Cape, South Africa

With a fully-loaded landrover we shot north from Cape Town until a sneaky detour took us off the tarmac highway and into diamond country.

De Beers security guards waved us through endless checkpoints and surveillance stations. We only relaxed once we made it to the banks of the beautiful Orange River.

We spotted our first game, gemsbok and ostrich, on the other side of the river, the Namibian side. Our wildlife adventures were about to begin.

Western Cape, South Africa

First stop on our landie trial run was the whale-watching mecca, Hermanus. Uncle Phil was alert on duty even if others seemed to prefer beach chatter.


At the heart of our jaunt around the southern tip of Africa were formal and fabulous celebrations with all of Phil's close family at a private game reserve. After our fill of sparkling wine we lazed in the tiny Victoria Bay. Whales, seals and dolphins were of brief interest, but not before diving into fish and chips and watching the local surfers.

From the coast we turned inland, through ostrich country, and up and over the Swartzberg Pass. Not too painful, we rested in sleepy Prince Albert before our first taste of the desert: The Great Karoo. We swept on down the N1 and into the beautiful Breede river winelands.

Here we paused a short while to train our palate. Before heading to Stellenbosch for just one more quick tasting.

Swartzberg Jazz (video clip)

A musical interlude during our first big driving test.