37 FramesThe Journey of Contrast (and Google Map Betrayals)
They say the best travel days are the ones that don’t quite make sense. The ones that detour, derail, and deliver beauty you weren’t even looking for.
That was today.
We started with a farewell.
To Cruiser. The sausage dog. Who fell deeply in love with Dee (understandably). Saying goodbye at the Maltahöhe hotel was unexpectedly hard. The little guy had soulful eyes and a quiet kind of wisdom. The kind you don’t argue with.
And then we hit the road… early morning light, full hearts, high hopes. Today was the day we’d take on the legendary D707. A road whispered about as one of the most beautiful drives in the world. The kind of route you plan a whole day around.
Except… the connecting road was closed.
Google offered us two alternatives. Both added two hours to a seven-hour drive. We paused. Briefly. But there was no real discussion. Of course we were doing it. This was why we came.
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The Detour That Became the Destination
Some drives deserve reverence. And snacks.
What followed was, honestly, hard to explain. We’ve been to beautiful places. We come from beautiful places. But this…
This was something else.
The alternate roads and D707 itself unraveled like a private performance. A symphony of silence, colour, shape, and scale. We didn’t play music. We didn’t talk much. We just looked. And felt. And drove. And every so often, stopped to marvel or fly the drone, trying to capture the uncapturable.
It was more than a beautiful road. It was an experience. A reminder that sometimes the best views come after the longest detours. The D707 is known as one of Namibia’s most scenic routes… and somehow still manages to stay under the radar. It traces the edge of the Namib-Naukluft Park, running parallel to the oldest desert in the world.
Think rugged private farmlands on one side, endless dunes on the other, and nothing in between but beauty. No towns. No cafes. No signs of life, really, except the land itself, quietly performing its ancient theatre. It’s a road for those willing to take the long way just to feel small in the best possible way.
And the Maltahöhe hotel owner had been right. Namibia would reveal its magic slowly. Daily. Quietly. With the confidence of a place that knows it doesn’t need to impress you. It just needs you to be present.
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The Rains Down in Africa (Toto Wasn’t Lying)
Halfway through the drive, the weather shifted. Dark, theatrical clouds rolled in like they were summoned.
And then… rain. Real rain. On the edge of the desert.
For an hour, we drove through it. Dust turned to scent. Light to shadow. The soundtrack now a soft drum on the roof and windshield. We were in it… this collision of elements, emotions, landscapes, and playlists left unsung.
We finally rejoined bitumen, which now felt like five-star luxury. Our bones rattled less. Our moods soared.
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Aus, Gas Stops, and the Phantom Horses
We stopped at Aus. A town built into rocks and charm. Picturesque, petite, and perfect for refueling (car and soul).
Then we reached the Garub Pan, home to Namibia’s legendary wild horses of Aus.
The wild horses of the Namib are some of the only feral desert-dwelling horses in the world. Thought to be descendants of German cavalry horses left behind during World War I, they’ve adapted to survive in one of the harshest climates on Earth. There are only around 100 left, scattered across the Garub plains, and no one really agrees on how they got here. Which just makes them more mythical.
Sadly, there were none at the viewpoint when we arrived. Doubly disappointing, as a fellow traveller at dinner the previous night had casually mentioned seeing thirty.
But somehow we knew they were out there, just beyond the ridges. Maybe galloping in that golden light, kicking up stories in the dust. And honestly? We’re okay with that.
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Entering the Edge of the World
Lüderitz didn’t creep up on us. It cracked open before us like the final act of a play. Moonscapes. Abandoned train lines. Ghost towns on the fringe of the desert. Then… color. Sea. Salt in the air.
We passed Kolmanskop (ghost town adventures await tomorrow) and landed at our hotel just as the sun set. Our room looked directly onto the Atlantic Ocean. Waves crashing. Air electric with wind and wonder.
Lüderitz is a contradiction in pastel.
It sits perched where it shouldn’t be. A quirky German-colonial town washed in salt and nostalgia. Bright facades, crusted windows, and the kind of light that photographers dream of. It doesn’t make sense… this place in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by desert, yet wrapped in sea spray.
But there it is.
Dinner? Swordfish and carrot cake (which, apparently, is the official dessert of Namibia). We ate while writing. Windswept. Sun-kissed. Soul-shifted.
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Holding It All
This is the part of the trip where the metaphors start to write themselves.
Because the truth is: contrast is a gift. And today was full of contrasts. Every step of the way.
We get so used to living in binaries. On or off. Busy or still. Happy or overwhelmed. But life’s better when it’s all tangled up together. Like driving from an inland silence so vast it echoes, straight into a town humming with gulls and wind and crashing waves.
Today reminded us that:
- You can hold longing and joy in the same breath.
- You can be deeply tired and totally thrilled.
- You can crave quiet and still be swept up by the noise of something new.
And maybe most importantly:
- You don’t have to make it all make sense.
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Today’s Stats
• Distance: 470+ kilometers and one stubborn detour
• Wildlife: Two very committed ostriches
• Emotions: Big ones
• Tunes: None. The landscape was enough.
• Wisdom: Bitumen is bliss.
• Light: Otherworldly. Especially late afternoon.
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Final Thought: When the World Surprises You (And You Let It)
You don’t need wild horses to feel something wild.
You don’t need a perfect plan to have a perfect day.
Sometimes, the road closes… and that’s the very thing that opens you up.
Today we lived the cliché (and earned it): the journey really is the destination.
Travel isn’t always about discovery. Sometimes it’s about re-discovery. Of parts of yourself you forgot. Of things you didn’t know you needed.
Today reminded us that the world is wide, and we are small, and that is exactly how it should be.
Tonight, the waves outside our room are reminding us… we’re still just getting started.
#FromSandToSea #NamibiaDetours #LuderitzArrival #D707Magic #WanderWithHeart #37FramesInNamibia
37 Frames
