Damaraland, Namibia
Not many places make your jaw drop in amazement, or make you want to utter a lazily drawn-out expletive, because no other suitable word comes to mind. But Twyfelfontein Country Lodge did just that.
This immense thatched lodge, in the heart of red-rock country in the middle of Damaraland, Namibia, is dwarfed by giant glowing rocks, that crowd around the building. The scenery is so powerful that it filled my soul with a sense of awe. It must have filled the ancient inhabitants with creative inspiration too, as there is an abundance of Bushman artwork here, starting with the great rock at the entrance.
When art is engraved into giant boulders, it means that you have to go to the art, rather than the art coming to a gallery near you. Once engraved, this sandstone turns an everlasting white, and these engravings at the entrance to the lodge, have been visible for a good few thousand years.
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Namibia has lots of it; desert and space, and is one of my favourite southern African countries. It epitomises ‘safari’ in its meaning of ‘journeying into the wilderness’, but since the country is so large and all the natural wonders so far apart, you need time to safari in Namibia.
This usually requires a lot of road travel, and even if you are not driving, the heat and dust, (which somehow manages to penetrate into the car and even through zipped bags), is pervasive. So, when I was invited aboard the Desert Express from Swakopmund at the coast to the capital city of Windhoek, I had no hesitation in accepting. Especially as I had already done a thousand kilometres by road and the sand had by then wormed its way into every crevice of my body.