The school takes a long weekend for Easter every year, so we thought, why not travel 1000km down to Luderitz for it.
We set off on the Thursday around 12 as soon as school closed and began the long hike south. As soon as we arrived at the hitch-hike point we were automatically picked up by a man travelling to Windhoek. We got there at about half past 2 and then we had a long struggle trying to find the ideal spot to go to to hike further along.
After around half an hour a man stopped his car for us and said that he had a friend travelling in our direction and contacted him to find out whether he could give us a lift.
Luckily his friend was leaving straight away and we were well on our way again to Luderitz.
The man we was travelling had traveled well and we enjoyed the stories that he told us about what he had seen and done, all the way to Mariental.
We reached Mariental by dark and decided to try for another lift to Keetmanshoop before calling it a night. This way we would only have to travel the road to Luderitz the next day.
Our final lift was with 2 young guys on their way to Cape Town for a party weekend. They agreed to give us a lift to Keetmans because it was on their way and we spent that part of the journey getting in the party mood. It was also nice to find out that one of them had schooled with some of our friends in Omaruru and when we finally got to Keetmanshoop they brought us a meal at wimpy before heading off.
Now we had to find a place to stay for the night, so we asked at wimpy whether we could stay there and were turned down; and Tyche didn't mind pitching our tent at the side of the road, but I insisted that we stay at a close by lodge, remembering stories that we have been told of the B1 Butcher. A notorious serial killer that dismembers hikers.
The next morning we woke early and were at the top of the road to Luderitz by 6am. We got a lift just before 7 with a family and their friends riding in 2 cars. At half past 7, they stopped on the road. The driver asked whether we drank, and stupidly Tyche said yes. We had our first drink at half 7. 15 ciders later we arrived in Luderitz. Pissed. At noon. Every 50km or so, the family stopped the car to top up drinks and have a chat. They even stopped to Braai, so we also got a nice breakfast of boerewors.
I was hungover by 3 and feeling very sick.
When we arrived in Luderitz, we were greeted by Alex. The ever so loveable Scottish lass. Taken to Diaz coffee shop, we met everyone else. Including Simone, Tyches fellow Dutch company. It was the opening day of the coffee shop, so I can now proudly say that I tried one of their very first milkshakes and bacon and banana toasties.
Later on everyone made a move to the beach and we spent the rest of the evening there drinking and braai'ing.
Saturday we woke early and dressed to go and enjoy the delights of the yearly Luderitz cray fish festival. There was lots going on down at the water front. Lots of drinking, many different stalls selling cray fish, or you could attempt to catch some yourself. Down at the Nest Hotel there was a fun day with volley ball, a bouncy castle and food so we sunbathed there for a while and then went for a brief afternoon nap.
The night was lively, spent in Barrels a cosy bar that Alex and her boyfriend work at. There was also a short trip to the beach to watch the sun go down. We ended up running into the family that had given us a lift there and was stuck with them buying us drink after drink after shot for the rest of the night.
Sunday was our last day spent in Luderitz. All morning we enjoyed a drink with the girls and enjoyed the views of the sea at the yacht club. Another trip to Diaz coffee shop for lunch then the evening at a friends flat where we all did some baking and watched films.
On Monday morning, it was agreed that we would be at the hitch-hike point by 5am. We got there and spent 2 hours singing and dancing, failing to get a lift. Finally, a woman stopped her car and informed us that she would be leaving in an hours time and we could get a lift with her. She said that she would take us back to the flat and pick us up from there when she was leaving. We wanted to stay at the point to see if we could get an earlier lift but she insisted.
At 8o'clock she picked us up and demanded that if we were to ride with her then she wanted money. When told by us that we didn't have any money, she moved on to say that she would go to the hitch-hike point and if there was anybody willing to pay then we had to get out. We were furious. 2 extra people were squeezed into the car and we were allowed to stay. But not that we wanted to in the end. The woman drove 65km per hour along the road out of Luderitz. We needed to get back to Omaruru that day. If we stayed in the car with her then we wouldn't even reach Windhoek. An hour and a half later she stopped at Aus (100ish km from Luderitz), to fill up on petrol. We got out of the car and just walked off.
After an hour of waiting we jumped in the back of a backkie somewhere along the road and were finally on our way again. It was not long until we passed the woman still going at 65km in her car. We were glad to be out of there.
By 12o'clock we had reached Keetmanshoop and stayed in the back up till Mariental at around 2o'clock. The rest of the journey we hopped for car-to-car and were home in Omaruru by 9pm. It was an enjoyable weekend. The journey there and back though was a killer.
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