Sandboarding- Swakopmund, Namibia

Sandboarding - Swakopmund, Namibia

The town of Swakopmund has been described as Germany in the desert. There is a strong german influence on food, architecture and culture. The town does not feel like Africa to me.

On the outskirts of the city along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean are giant dunes. They are huge, in some cases rising several hundred feet. They put the dunes on the cape to shame.

There are two options for sandboarding. You can stand up on the board and go down the dunes like a snowboarder.  The second is to lie down on the board and essentially sled down the dunes.  I opted for the second option since the last time I tried to snowboard I ended up in the emergency room.

At the base of the dunes we were given out gear: a helmet, gloves, elbow pads and a board. The board was literally a sheet of pliable particle board, like you have on the back of cheap wood furniture. I had expected a more substantial sled.  The climb to the top of the dune was hard work. Walking in the sand is difficult enough, never mind climbing the side of a dune. Stepping into the footprint of the person who went before you helped.

The first run was scary. It's steep! Way steeper than it looks. And they expect you to slide down head first on a bit of board... hmmm... not sure how I feel about this.  I choked onmy first run, allowing the front of the board to drop into the sand and kicking up a ton of sand into my face. I swallowed a large portion of the desert. Bleh. The sand coated my face, giving me the appearance of a beard.

The next run was the easier of two courses, dizzie and lizzie. How appropriate. I was feeling a bit more confident, although this one was a lot steeper and longer.  One of the guys supervising had a speed detector. I hit 54 km/hr. It felt like I was flying. Thankfully the sand provides a soft landing. Dizzie has a small jump that will make you go airborne if you hit it just right. I did. I also clocked in at 69 km/hr, which is about 45 mph.