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Camping in the Swakopmund River Bed — July 2005
By Alta Myburgh

On a hot Friday afternoon in mid-July, sixteen scholars from MYO together with Beverley, Alexia (an exchange student from Canada) and I set off to explore the environment to the south west of Swakopmund. The whole expedition was the brain child of Mrs Farhbach, the wife of a local business man in town and a good supporter of our program. She and her family invited us to their farm about 50km out of town for a camping trip.

On our way to the farm we passed through a geologically fascinating part of the Namib Park and our first stop was at the Moonlandscape, the local name for the badlands which is the result of 2 million years of erosion by the Swakopmund River.

Closer to the farm, the road become a track in deep river sand with massive granite domes on both side. We had to abandon the combi and get on the family’s 4-wheel drive vehicles to reach the camp site. Riding the back of the trucks was a big thrill for the kids so they wasted no time grabbing their things and making the switch.

The camp site is situated in the middle of the dry river bed with a separate kitchen on one side and sleeping quarters on the other. There is also a play area with its own net for all kinds of ball activities. As soon as we arrived at the camping site the kids immediately made use of the homemade tennis/volleyball/badminton court to show off their skills. Although we did take a rugby ball along, the popularity of soccer amongst the boys in Namibia is quite evident. We did try Rob.

After all the running and playing, stomachs were very empty and it was time for dinner. We decided to treat the kids to an international dinner. Main course by us Africans and dessert by our foreign friend. Shannon has been telling us all these stories about camping trips and smooshies, so we decided to give her Canadian neighbour the opportunity to serve those for dessert and did she rise to the occasion!

Beverley made her first ever camp fire and here we had doing a good old African braai with wors and chops. We sat around the camp fire talking until late, but the excitement of the day and the good food soon saw the kids sleeping.

At five o’clock we were awakened not by the sound of birds chirping, but by the sound of excited voices and young kids ready to get-up and explore. After multiple efforts by the frustrated MYO staff and volunteers, the kids were convinced to get back into their sleeping bags and wait for the sun to rise first.

After the sun came up, we went hiking and exploring around the camp site. We learned a little about granites, dolerite dykes and erosion processes.

The Farhbach family picked us up after breakfast and took us on a tour to see some of the vegetation and hopefully some animals. The kids were shown examples of the world famous welwitchia plant which is regarded a living fossil because it can get up to 2000 years old.

The kids were familiar with some of the plants as they have learned about them at school, but for most it was the first time that they got the opportunity to see the plants in nature. That is what the program aims for to give such opportunities to kids and it is an example of the advantages of being part of a program like MYO.

Mrs. Fahrbach made sure that we learn something and did not only explains in detail at each site, but compiled a paper with some information on the plants for the kids to take home. We had a great time and the kids thanked Mrs. Farhbach and her family for inviting us to their farm.

The Farhbach family went to a lot of trouble to make sure that we had a fun time, but also that the trip was a educational. We came back to Swakop full of sand (desert sand gets everywhere) but also with minds and hearts full of wonderful images and lots of gratitude.

Click a thumbnail below to see an enlarged photo from the adventure.

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