Surrounded on 3 sides by the arid desert and on the west side by the cold waters of the Atlantic Swakopmund is one of the most unusual colonial towns in Africa. It houses one of the best preserved collections of German colonial architecture still standing. Tje pastel coloured buildings in this quirky town come as quite a surprise on this barren coastline. Because of its olde-worlde charm and relaxing atmosphere it is Namibia's premier holiday resort.

We found ourselves campd next to a couple from South Africa, Bernie and Annie whom we had seen in 2 or the rest camps at Etoshia and we spent a fun afternoon with them scrambling up Dune 7, the highest sand dune in the area. When we returned to camp that evening we spent the whole time wrapped in blankets as the damp and cold was a bit of a shock to our system after being so used to much higher temperatures. The next night the 4 of us gave up on the camp site altogether and ajourned to 'The Tug' a fish retaurant overlooking the crashing waves of the Atlantic where we enjoyed a nice relaxing evening basking in the warmth. We were sat next to a rowdy crown of drunked Russians and their South African tour guide joined us at our table at the end of the night for a bit of a break from them. He had us in stitches laughing as he told us some of their drunken antics and hair raising driving adventures!!