Namibia with Kids: Swimming in Sand in Swakopmund
Namibia is known for its gigantic red sand dunes…especially down south. Coming from the desert ourselves, we decided not to make the trek (5 hours by car) to see the most famous of Namibia’s dunes in Sossusvlei, but instead we headed out to Swakopmund on Namibia’s west coast, the capital of the country’s adventure activities.
A coastal town with a major German influence leftover from colonial days, Swakopmund offers a fantastic combination of surf and turf activities. We stay at the old train station, which has been converted into a resort called Swakopmund Hotel and Entertainment Centre, and decide to try a bit of both.
The first day we explore the ocean with Laramon Tours. The huge bay is calm and quite beautiful with huge stretches of sand reaching out in a peninsula and covered by seals and sea birds.
The seals are curious and friendly and couple even hop on board our boat. The kids love getting an up close look and learning about these funny sea creatures. We head further out into the bay looking for whales, but none appear.
After lunch – which is oysters, which Nathan insists on making Jeremy try (he’s not a big seafood lover…Nathan is) and sandwiches, we head out with Swakopmund 4×4 Tours in a 4-wheel drive jeep to explore Swakopmund’s dunes. A drive through the salt pan gives us a good taste (excuse the pun) of one of the town’s original funding sources. Today, they still use the salt flats to produce commercial salt and the flamingo’s love hanging out here. After the salt pan, it’s time to head for the hills…quite literally as our jeep revs up and down the dunes…some of which tower ab
out 50 feet above us. The kids have a blast running and jumping down the mounds of sand. But, that’s not the only way to enjoy the sand…this area is also famous for its sand boarding.
Like snow boarding, sand boarding employees a board attached to your feet on which you slide down the hill. We head out with Ultimate Sandboarding. The kids get right into it…although it’s a bit more difficult for the older folk to pick up. But, no worries. They also have sleds. No less scary though…it’s quite like skeleton in the Olympics…you fly down the hill head first on your belly at 40 mph! Much easier to do than the stand-up boards though! The kids master both options and have loads of fun flying down the dunes!
Resources:
For more information on Namibia, visit Namibia Tourism Board
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