The beauty of Namibia! Our trip of a lifetime!

A few months ago, my husband @gustavpickering and I and our two friends went on a trip of a life time to Namibia - Namibia is a country that most people haven't heard of. It is North West of South Africa and only got it's independence from South Africa 30 years ago. This is where my husband was brought up and in my 5 times there, I am convinced it is a relatively undiscovered gem!

We started our travels in the capital city Windhoek, where we experienced the most beautiful sunsets, bbqs and expressions of Namibian Creativity.

I highly recommend The Namibian Craft Centre (picture above on the right) for a place to buy authentic Namibian artwork, jewellery and to support the local people. Many of the products were created by women who were providing for their families with the profits.

Because we stream our workouts from our ipads or laptops we were able to get them in almost everyday whilst we were there!

From there, we went to Etosha National Park for our first ever Safari and boy, was that an experience!! We stayed in tree houses with no gate and fence between us and the animals. It was exhilarating and terrifying at the same time, especially as there were lions roaming around and there was nothing separating up apart from a mosquito net!

This was our view onto our very own waterhole! It was a breathtaking experience and one I will cherish forever. Not only did we get to see almost all the animals we wanted to, we also had our own private chef (because we were the only people crazy enough to stay where we did!) and impala, zebra, warthogs and all manner of creatures would be the first thing we saw from our tree house in the morning! I can honestly say I have NEVER woken up like that before!

There was one night (our last one) where we finally saw a lion (we didn't see it on our game drive) and guess where it was? IN OUR WATERHOLE! We got back to have dinner and we could hear the roar of a lion all night. That night we slept with our tent sides zipped down - I know it's not much protection but it at least made us feel a bit safer ;-)

Here's a few pics from our game drive:

Even here, we found time to get a bit of fitness snuck in there ;-)

The last full day we were there, we did an early morning bush walk. That was something I have to say I was a bit hesitant about knowing what we could encounter but it was actually the highlight of my time in Etosha. It was breathtaking to be in the animal's space and see things up close and personal that you would just never see from a jeep.

Eric, our guide was so knowledgable and that gun made me feel a whole lot better about our chances if anything did go wrong!

Next, we went on to a German town called Swakopmund. The accommodation wasn't so great but the town is adorable albeit a bit odd! We stayed in a sweet, beachfront house but we had a cockroach problem - yuck! We made the most of it though and I even got a bit of work done and coached a few clients with THIS view - oh yes!

Our next stop was Sousevli - basically the desert! I have never seen such a stark contrast of beauty! The drive there was an absolute nightmare. The webiste for the lodge we were staying at said it would be fine to drive there in a normal car (it's a gravel road). 6 hours and a beat up car later, we realised that was VERY bad advice! But we did find a cafe (the only one for 6 hours) an hour from our destination which sold some of the best apple pie we've ever had, so you know, priorities!

We climbed dunes, walked in canyons and ate our weight in all sorts of different wild meats!

And I even had time to sit by the pool and read!

Our last stop before heading home was Walvis Bay - where my husband's family live and where we were headed to celebrate his birthday! First time he had been able to do that with his family in 10 years!

Namibia reminded me of what really matters in life. Spending time with the people we love, being captivated by the beauty of our planet and creating a life that allows us to do this more often.

I hope you will one day get to experience the wonder of Namibia - it truly gives the best of what our world has to offer!