Sun Aug 09 2026
Goodbye Namibia
Goodbye Windhoek, hello Cape Town. The end of the Namibian adventure.
We woke up to pack up camp for the last time. Reflecting on the previous couple of weeks, we have done so much in such a short period of time.
It was actually quite sad as we folded the roof top tents (this time having removed the sleeping bags and pillows which made the job much easier!). It was a cold night and relatively early start as we needed to get to Warthog 4x4 to get the car checked in, and get our transfer to the airport.
But first, we had breakfast included at Urban Camp, so I nipped to the loo while the girls went to find out what the deal was for breakfast.
I walked in, and to my surprise, they had laid out some presents on the table and got the waitresses to join them in a chorus of Happy Birthday! Yes, today marked my half century!
Breakfast was great. Louise and I had lil’ English breakfasts (first time I have had an orange on the plate with my English breakfast though!), Isla had muesli with Greek yoghurt, and Edie and Mima had pancakes filled with ice cream! Edie had downed hers before you could bat an eyelid and complained of brain freeze immediately, and Mima got about half way through hers before getting defeated by the sheer volume at this time in the morning.
After breakfast, we headed back to Warthog 4x4 to check the beast back in. Slightly anxious about the state of the vehicle (we didn’t need to be as we had taken out the gold plated insurance option!). It has been such a work horse over the past two weeks, but we did have:
- a broken windscreen
- a damaged tyre that we had to swap out
- a slow puncture in another tyre
- no number plate on the back - God knows how we lost that - looks like it sheared off on some of the more brutal roads
Then we headed to the airport, sad we had finished the first part of our adventure, but excited to arrive in Cape Town.
The flight was easy and picking up the hire car was surprisingly smooth given I had gone for the cheapest possible option!
We plugged the address of our AirBnB into Google Maps, and were on our way, not really knowing what to expect, other than having seen some nice looking pictures when I booked the place.
O.M.G.
We arrived and were met by Julie, the extremely nice house keeper. She showed us down to the private garage, and we already had an idea this place would be special, as the road meandered along the hillside under Lion’s Head and above Clifton 1st beach. When she summoned the funicular to take us to the front door though, we all just glanced at each other, thinking what is this! I had to stay behind as Julie took Louise and the girls down. After a short wait, the car arrived to pick me up, so I loaded in a bunch of bags and joined everyone else.
There were shrieks of excitement and renditions of W.T.A.F. Dad! This place was like a Love Island villa (or so I am told). The sun was setting, and we had an amazing view of the ocean, over the pool, and no expenses had been spared in the house. They had laid on loads of snacks, provided a bottle of wine, a freshly baked cake (they didn’t even know it was my birthday!), a fridge full of high end soft drinks and other snacks, and bowls of crisps and sweets! Julie explained she would be here every day and could handle any questions and our laundry etc., which made us feel a bit uncomfortable, but thankful, nonetheless!
Julie left, and we made a plan - we thought about going out to a restaurant for a birthday meal but we ended up going out to find some booze (unsuccessfully) and some pizzas and watching The Lion King to reminisce about our time on safari! What we didn’t expect though, was that we would be unable to call the funicular to pick us up. There were also draw bridges between our house and the Clifton Steps which were stuck in the up position. We were stuck and didn’t know how to get out!!!
After a bit of mild panic, I climbed over the tracks and the wall opposite and walked up to the top of the funicular, where someone had left the safety gate open which meant it was never going to come and get us! Once I closed it, we were on our way!
Overall, a good travel day, and we are excited about the next few days in Cape Town.