Day 21 (Shark Island, Luderitz)

 Dad, thanks for the clarification on the vehicle - loved it!!  Also, must mention, reefer transport must have improved hugely since you were here as every little (and big) place that we come to that has a hot plate or gas stove offers "Fresh Fish - Catch of the Day" ....
Dave, we are going to take in the Canyon - last leg of the journey. Thanks.
The "overlanders" referred to in yesterday's post created havoc last night. Drunken revelry until midnight.  Oh to be young again!!  In themselves it would probably have been easier to tolerate but they were bashing out their style of music on one side of the camp and a bunch of guys from the Cape were blasting out their style on the other side.  (We were in the middle and it's not a big park!).  Anyway, ended up not being able to sleep once they had all shut down in any event so hit the road at 5:30am.  A bit scary, travelling in the dark and hoping no animals would wander into the road.  Kept the speed at 60km max until day break.
Our first stop today was Sossusvlei (via Sesriem) - an event I have looked forward to this entire trip.  We ended up being a bit disappointed as, as luck would have it, it was an overcast day and the dunes do not look as spectacular as when the sun is shining on them.  Anyway, it was still pretty awesome.  Spotted a family of 3 Bat Eared Foxes.

Before and after Sossusvlei for a long stretch, we were traveling in a fertile valley hemmed in on both sides by craggy, flat top mountains.  Went over a smallish pass (Zaris) and is was all vast, wide open plains again.  This country changes nigh on by the mile.  Eventually the flat tops started appearing again but not as close or imposing as before.

Luis spotted a Cape Cobra in the road, reared up beautifully for us:

Just outside Luderitz are the Feral Horses.  Spent a bit of time with them - although wild, they are still quite humanised.  The original horses were brought here from SA and Europe for use by German military forces.  Some wandered off and learned to fend for themselves and .... viola - feral horses.

We are in a stunning camping site - right next to the sea on Shark Island.  It's just such a pity that it is rather cold and blowy (good old Wester!!!).  Still, it's snug and warm inside the Rad. Current temperature is 15 deg.  Don't think we'll have much trouble from party animals tonight as, besides one other sedate couple in a campervan, we are the only souls here.  Haven't learned our lesson after Mile 108, obviously!

Lighthouse

Today was a relatively uneventful day considering the distance we travelled (about 640km - this takes us up to a grand total of 6 100km and still loving every minute of it).