This is our bucket list item, to see the Namibia dunes.
Since we will be already in South Africa, practically next door, we couldn’t skip the opportunity to go there.
But how?
The original idea was to skip the last return leg from Maun to Gabarone and instead fly to Windhoek, see the dunes at Sesreim (there is conveniently an airstrip at the entrance to the park) and return via the Skeleton Coast and Luderitz to Cape Town.
The only trouble was, we were supposed to fly a Cessna 172M. For those who weren’t born when that model was manufactured, that airplane has 150HP engine and 38 gallon tanks. The terrain out there is sort of unforgiving with no trace of human activity for hundreds of miles. A bit of headwind, maybe tired engine and airframe and we would be camping out there for several months until somebody finds us.
After due exercise of my superior ADM skills (for non pilots reading this, that’s Aeronautical Decision Making – FAA loves acronyms), I decided to scrap that idea and we are flying commercial: Johannesburg to Cape Town, 5 days to visit the city, than Cape Town to Windhoek, rent a car, drive to see the dunes, and fly commercial Windhoek back to Johannesburg.
For those who think that I chickened out, the map shows distances.