Swakopmund

the sea front

Bradt’s Namibia guidebook reckons that Swakopmund is viewed by Namibians as the country’s only seaside resort, and i reckon they are probably right.

The South Atlantic blows across the coastline bringing mist, fog and noticeably lower temperatures in this rather weird oasis.

Surrounded by the desert, the town oozes its German colonial roots at every corner. Large clean avenues and traditional German-style buildings give the town a sense of Bavaria at the beach. After our recent sojourn up in the North East of Namibia it all comes across as somewhat surreal and i have lost the sense of traditional Africa.

Surrounded by the Kalahari desert, up until very recently Swakopmund had to pipeswater into the town some 300kms away. However, a desalination plant has now been built.

Swakopmund's museum is next to the lighthouse on the front. Founded in 1952 it has a bit of everything, including natural history, archeology, minerals and a new vaguely interactive display on uranium mining. There is also a completely reconstructed dentist's surgery and old-style pharmacy. It is open weekdays 10 - 5pm and Saturday mornings. Admission is N$25.

There is an Arts and Craft market close by to the museum outside the State House.

The town also boasts a few good bookshops and a cinema which off-season can be almost empty of customers.

German style church

Swakopmund is reinventing itself as an adventure sport town with sand-boarding, kayaking, skydiving and quad-biking vying for the attention of adrenalin-seeking travellists. Desert Explorers offers quadbiking for an hour at N$300, Go-karting at N$260 per hour, sandboarding from N$250, paragliding at N$790 and and tandem skydiving at N$1900. For more passive pursuits dolphin cruises depart in the morning at N$450 (including a light lunch) and catamaran charters also at N$450.

This is also the town where Angelina Jolie came to give birth to her non-adopted brood, staying at the highly exclusive Long Beach just south of the town.

street mural

Prices seem to rival or indeed exceed Windhoek, most notably in the restaurants and accommodation, and John and i opt for the dormitories of Villa Wiese some 10 minutes walk from the town centre. These are available at N$115 per night. The villa was built in 1904 and much of the wood comes from a plethera of ships that sunk off the Namibian coast.

Beryl’s offers a cheap bite to eat in the form of burgers, pizzas, snitzels and fried chicken. I try an oryx steakburger at Bistro's which is has a slightly tougher and gamier texture to it than regular beef. They are kosher too!

Bavaria by the beach?


the Youth Hostel