As we travelled along the empty streets of Swakopmund in Namibia, General Manager of Swakopmund Hotel and Entertainment Centre, Janet Wilson-Moore, remained mum about our next location.
"It’s the best thing you will see, " she said, before the off-road vehicle climbed up the hill, the sound of rocks hitting the vehicle. When we drove into Moon Landscape, about 30 kilometres from Swakopmund, a vast landscape of rocky granite starred back at us.
Wilson-Moore was right. It was the most beautiful place I've seen. The Moon Landscape is a famous tourist spot in Namibia, attracting hundreds of travellers from all around the world.
Believed to be around 500 million years old, the Moon Landscape is only accessible via 4x4. Once we exited the vehicle, everyone scattered to different corners of the Moon Landscape, some announcing on Instagram that they "travelled to the moon". Some would have believed them as the sight bears an uncanny resemblance to Earth's only natural satellite.
I made a beeline to the edge of the cliff, not far from where the food and drink station with fresh oysters and bubbly stood. With a glass of champagne in my hand, I took in the majestic view of the sun, which offers its final light before it retires for the evening. There’s a place called Musical Rocks, which many travellers dub the singing rocks for the sound it emits when you hit a rock against it. Private camping trips can be arranged.
Surprise number two
As if sundowners overlooking one of Namibia’s most picturesque spots weren’t enough, Wilson-Moore and her team arranged a starlight dinner at Moon Valley in the Erongo Region, which was a short drive from the Moon Landscape. Wilson-Moore originally told us that we were to dine at a famous seaside restaurant that evening, but it was all a ruse.
There are thousands of ways to describe the magical dinner spot, but none does justice as seeing it in person. The Moon Valley completely transformed with hundreds of lanterns and colourful lights. Fire dancers stood at the top of the rocks performing death-defying stuns before our eyes.
Inside our dinner set up, lined with a red carpet at the entrance, stood a fire pit, two charming dining areas with camp chairs and wine glasses and our very own private deejay for the night.
Chefs were at hand to serve an array of culinary delights, some indigenous to Namibia. The night ended with Mafikizolo’s "Ndihamba Nawe" blasting through the speakers.
clinton.moodley@inl.co.za