African Travel Resource had recommended Turnstone Tours to us, and having gone on the day tour of Sandwich Bay with them, I am recommending them to anyone who finds themsevles looking for something to do in Swakopmund...

I can honestly say I have never learnt so much about one particular area in such a short space of time. I wish I could remember the name of our Turnstone guide as I'd credit him in this entry - he was fabulous. So knowledgeable, interesting to listen to and interested in us. Earnest - that was his name, it has just come back to me!

We set off pretty early, and again we were lucky enough to be the only 2 people booked onto the trip. Birdlife in this area is prolific. On the way to Sandwich Bay we saw millions of birds: whimbrel, turns, swift turns, sanderlings, comerants, redcaps, flamingos and many, many more. We also saw a Guana Platform still in use (they used to collect the bird-poo for bombs, but now it is collected for use in fertaliser and cosmetics), we saw the salt-pans of Walvis, which produce 200,000 tonnes of salt a day, we saw underground bunkers which are about to be bulldozed for further property development along the already sprawling and ugly Long Beach....and all this before we reached the dunes leading to Sandwich Bay!

Driving towards Sandwich, we embarked on a rollercoaster ride across the dunes. Eventually, we came to a point where vehicles could get no further, so stopped and had a spot of lunch before walking the rest of the way. Lunch was a rather civillised affair! In the middle of the dunes we sat down at a table (with a table-cloth - certain people will understand the relevance of this), ate homemade pate, tuna nicoise salad and apple crumble, washed down with a flask of coffee! Stomachs full, we started on our walk to Sandwich.

The first section was a strenuous climb up a rather high dune; note Earnest our guide effortlessly made his way to the top, whilst I dragged myself on all fours! As we peered over the top we realised that the dunes steeply swept down to meet the sea. We charged down the other side - there is nothing quite like running down a massive sand dune! All along the shoreline we came upon bodies of dead seals - apparently they are dying of starvation (overall though, the seal population is increasing). They stench was unbelievable and enough to put me off visiting the Seal Colony at Cape Cross on our upcomming drive up to Terrace Bay!

Sandwich Harbour is surrounded on all sides by miles and miles of dunes, making it uninhabitable. Uninhabitable today that is; as recently as 1968 people still resided there, until eventually the natural movement of the dunes encroached upon their houses and they were forced to leave - archeologists would have a field day if they had the ability to slice the top off the dunes. Back in the 19th century this had been a thriving port, and you can still see the remains of a fresh water river seeping out of the dunes, it was this river that once sustained a community. It is times like this I wonder at what man was capable of. We talk about what technology allows us to achieve, but it is also a huge limitation and confinement. Man might not survive here now, but wildlife does. We saw many a hyena track and the occasional impala. Impala's survie in the most arrid of terrains by obtaining their water from the vegetation they eat.

Further along the bay is a tidal lagoon, this was too far to walk if we wanted to make it back before the tide carried the sea in to the dunes and claiming our footpath for itself! So, we reluctantly turned and headed back.

Walking back in the invigorating wind left us tired and refreshed. We were running so late (arriving back at the landrover when we should have been arriving back in Swakop) that a hair-raising journey across dunes and along the beach followed...It was really late when we arrived back, so we picked up some fish & chips and ate them in our room with g&t's from the mini-bar. Class!

The Stiltz is a wonderful place to stay. As well as it's perfect location, tagged onto the threads of Swakop and firmly planted in the Swakop River, it has some of the most friendly staff I have ever come across. We thought it would be tiresome staying in Swakop for so long, but if you are prepared to make the effort and book yourself on some days tours (in addition to the obligatory quad biking) you could be in for a real treat!