Swakopmund; Thursday, 17 April, 2003

Last nights storm took a slightly different turn during the night and the winds came across from the desert, subsequently the whole of the town has a slight surplus of sand that has blown in!

Today was the start of a 6 day, 5 night safari. The safari itself started the previous day in Windhoek but all they had done was to drive down to Swakopmund and then do Quad Biking or Parachuting. After a roadside lunch stop and a chance to meet the other people on the safari we set off to head up the coast to Cape Cross.

Cape Cross has a seal colony on it.... Approximately 250,000 seals... That's 250,000 large, slightly slimy fish eating aquatic mammals... all living together in a very small space. To say that the smell is strong would be an understatement. Despite the smell it is still a spectacular sight to see that number of seals up close.

After Cape Cross we drive towards Spitzkoff, a mountain in the middle of the desert where we set up camp for the night. It is the only point on the trip where we will really camp in the wild as the other campsites will have running water and other amenities, tonight the only light is from the fire. The stars are so clear and then with the moon rose. By pure chance it was a full moon and a completely clear sky. It was amazing how bright it was. The light that the moon gave off was enough to be able to easily see everything without needing a torch!