On March 29th, 2021 we said goodbye to Gabi and Swakopmund. It was another foggy morning. We were happy to drive inland, where the sun shines from a blue sky. On the way to Walvis Bay, we saw several offshore oil rigs lying in front of the bay, which are being towed into the port for overhaul work.

We refueled, went shopping and then drove towards the Namib-Naukluft-Park, which extends over an area of 50,000 km2 behind Walvis Bay. Our destination was Mirabib, a huge boulder in the middle of the desert about 150 kilometers from Walvis Bay. A place where we stayed one night on our honeymoon with friends, twenty years ago. A place that sounds like a magic potion. A place where you can find solitude …

We followed the D 1983, which leads along the Kuiseb Canyon. Behind the green band of trees and bushes along the dry river that carried water this year, huge sand dunes tower up. It was a spectacular ride. And just as spectacular was the futuristic building that suddenly appeared in front of us: Gobabeb, a research station that was built here in 1963. Half an hour later we reached Mirabib. Apart from us, a few Dassis and birds there is no one here.

PS. In Stanley Kubrick’s film A Space Odyssey, Mirabib plays an important role as a location: This is where – according to the film – life on our planet begins.