In February, we need to travel from Walvis Bay to Sossusvlei, where we will be staying nearby in a desert lodge. At the conclusion of our desert stay, we will need to transfer from Sossusvlei to Windhoek airport.
In each case, we have the choice of small plane or car and driver. Obviously, there is a significant difference of time required for a drive rather than flight. However, we wonder if the extra time of either or both drives would be worthwhile. Scenery? A look at the Namibian countryside Small villages or glimpses of Namibian life? This will be our only time in Namibian.
Or, would one or both flights be the better choice to get an overview of the countryside from the air?
Recommendations? Thanks
Walvis Bay to Sossusvlei--drive or fly????
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Have a look at our blog - the aerial photos are from our flight from Swakopmund to Sossusvlei which was a beautiful flight
http://lizandrichardsa.typepad.com/africa/2010/03/a-flight-over-the-dunes-and-the-skeleton-coast.html
However we also very much enjoyed the drive from Sossusvlei to Swakopmund - about 5 hours as I recall so it will be a little shorter from Walvis Bay.
We also drove from Windhoek to Sossusvlei which was beautiful.....not many villages - not much of anything! But beautiful nonetheless.
Maybe a combo - the flight to Sossusvlei to see it from the air and a drive to Windhoek?
The drive is pretty, but don't expect to see any namibian or village along the route. South of the cattle fence most of the land belong to big scale cattle farmers, if you want village life you should go to Caprivi.
Hmmmm... I just returned from Namibia last week. And mu view is slightly different; I'd say both drives are partly boring and partly stunning.
The dtive from Walvis Bay to Sossusvlei is not that bad, but not the most scenic either. You start off with a long stretch of nothingness. Just flat and empty land. Thenyou drive up a ridge, get to a more rocky area and you pass the Kuiseb and Gaub passes. These are nice, and a tad adventurous (steep climbs/descents), but not really that special.
The last part, when you get closer to Namib Naukluft, or when you're already in NN, now THAT's beautiful. Beautiful mountains and grassy plains. Lots of wildlife too. Look for ostriches with chicks, springbok, zebras and suricates. No need to look for pale chanting goshawks. Every tenth pole has one on it.
Sossusvlei, with it's red dunes on both sides is amazing, but I found the backlands (where all the desert lodges are) to be even more spectacular.
When you leave the area to get to Windhoek, I drove via Maltahohe and Kalkrand. If you take that route; make sure you stop to have a look behind you when you leave the sossusvlei area, because from there it's the most spectacular view. But then, again after some steep climb through a mountain pass, the landscape is flat, featureless and rocky again. It's worth while going that way though, as from Maltahohe it's tar road. And you also pass a bit of Kalahari landscape, with undulating dunes of red sand, and grassy fields in between them.
Ciao,
J.
We have driven from Sossusvlei to Walvis Bay/Swakopmund several times and, because the scenery is so unique, it is one of our favourite drives in Southern Africa - from the wide open, nothing-for-as-far-as-the-eye-can-see-in-any-direction Namib desert to the palm trees and dunes of Walvis Bay. We love it! Here is the link to my trip report from 2008, which includes many photos and a description of the route - refer to the bottom of page 55 to the middle of page 57.
http://bert-and-bin.smugmug.com/Travel/South-Africa-Namibia-2008-1/7172232_m5vbwT
If you drive, be certain to stop at Vogelfederberg, which provides wonderful views of the Namib. I have never flown this route but, judging from Elizabeth's photos, the scenery from the air would be equally spectacular.
We have also driven between Sossusvlei and Windhoek via the (very steep and impressive!) Spreetshoogte Pass (the C26 route - about 320km). It took us much longer than expected, but it was a very pretty drive. As Elizabeth wrote, not much of anything (I do not recall any villages - just sheep and cattle), but very scenic. CR
Enroute to Windhoek recently from Sossusvlei, I came through Spreetshoogte Pass (hilly and pretty) as well. If you take this route...you could see a bit of NamibRand on the way to Spreetshoogte Pass, vast grassy plains and distant mountains but like Canadian_Robin mentions, there is nothing much beyond the hills once you cross over the mountains and then just drive-drive-drive....back to Windhoek.
Btw, you might end up seeing Mountain Zebra and sociable weaver nests if you take this route...back to Windhoek.