Hiking in the Naukluft mountains

Gerine (WE) Hoff
Valeska Brodie, Grade 12, St. Paul’s College

My current favourite location is the Namib Naukluft Park. I have been there only three times, yet it continues to amaze me.

With its breathtaking landscape, there is so much to do if you are an outdoorsy person. From spending a day at the rock pools to hiking the Olive trail or the Waterkloof trail, there is so much to see. Either spending time with the family or with friends, it always ends up being a fond memory.

The best part is that it is only a couple of hours drive from Windhoek.

It is also amazing to see how the landscape changes through the seasons. With having gone there in March, the mountains were green with colourful patches of flowers blooming everywhere, whereas in December 2015 the landscape was dry and it seemed to all have the same colour, yellowish brown.

However, no matter how dry the landscape may seem, there are still the crystal clear (and ice cold) rock pools not far from the campsite that bring quite a contrast to the picture. Even at the end of the Waterkloof trail you encounter rock pools again and after hiking nearly the whole day, it is a great way to cool off. Reaching the highest peak of the hike not long before the pools, there is a fantastic view.

You need to keep a constant eye on your personal belongings, especially food, before a baboon beats you to it. When I was there in March, there were no baboon encounters however, both times before that there were multiple. This kept the family weekends interesting with someone always looking for lost belongings like sunscreen or toothpaste.

I only have fond memories of my time at the Naukluft Park. It always is a great adventure. So much to see and to do – especially hiking.

Hopefully I will be able to do the full hike next time I am there.