TRAVERSE 156
when we visited the nature reserve , an extraordinary and unique encounter where the absolute protagonists are the animals , apparently clumsy on land but very elegant at sea . We were in the heart of the Skeleton Coast and we soon discovered the reason for the name when we came across the wreck of the motor ship Zelia stranded a few dozen metres from the shore a few kilometers after the village of Henties Bay .
By now Swakopmund , the most important maritime city in the country , already appeared in the distance with its load of history . Crossing the elegant streets of the historic centre it almost felt like diving into the past thanks to what remained of the architecture of the early twentieth century colonial period , so perfectly preserved that it transports us to the atmosphere of a typical Bavarian city .
It was perhaps the strongest sign of the presence of the Germanic Empire in these places , perhaps together with the beer , of the highest quality throughout the country , and the descendants of the former colonisers who continued to live here even after the First World War when with the end conflict , the first German colony in Africa also ceased .
About thirty kilometres away , following the road that made its way between the coast and the dunes , we arrived at Walvis Bay , the historic English enclave in whose vicinity , among the shallow waters of the lagoon from which the salt is extracted , the colony of pink flamingoes thrive . And it is from the docks of this port that 4x4 tours depart to discover Sandwich Harbour , the extraordinary place where the high dunes of the Namib desert fade into the blue of the Atlantic . These are places where only tour operator vehicles are allowed , but the experience , not exactly cheap , is unforgettable .
The time had come for us to leave the blue of the sea and follow the C14 towards Passo Kuiseb where the road immerses itself , rising and falling , into the canyons that make the landscape unique . The road was demanding , especially when after the first forty kilometres the asphalt ended and the gravel began . However , it improved after the Gaub Pass which saw us anticipate the imaginery line that is the Tropic of Capricorn before reaching another symbolic place of this magnificent country . Sossusvlei and its high sand dunes of a thousand shades .
Once past the entrance of the
TRAVERSE 156