Swakopmund is a German seaside town that someone dropped into the Namib Desert, and it is still a little startled to be there. Palm-lined streets, half-timbered houses, a lighthouse and a pier would suit the Baltic, yet the sand dunes begin at the edge of town and the sea is the cold, grey Atlantic, chilled by the Benguela Current. The German colonial administration founded it in 1892 as a landing point, since the lagoon harbour at Walvis Bay lay in British hands, and the old buildings, bakeries and the Kaffee und Kuchen habit are what remains.
The climate shapes everything. Sea fog rolls in on many mornings and can sit over the town until noon, while ten kilometres inland the sky is blue and the desert is hot. That sharp edge between cold coast and dry interior produces a strange light, and is the reason the dune belt south toward Walvis Bay is so photogenic. Locals pursue sandboarding, quad biking and fishing, and the oysters from Walvis Bay are among the best things you will eat in Namibia.
Riding north from here is one of the strangest roads in Africa. The coastal highway to Henties Bay is made of compacted salt, pale and hard, running between the surf and the desert, and it is oddly smooth and slippery when damp with fog. Wind-sculpted dunes lie to the right and wrecked trawlers and driftwood to the left. The road is mostly straight, so the challenge is concentration, not bends. Fog can cut visibility fast, and wind can throw sand across the carriageway, so ride with your lights on and keep your distance from lorries.
Swakopmund is the main service town on this coast, so fuel, repairs, supermarkets and hotels are all here, and it is smart to fill up before heading north, where pumps are spread out. Walvis Bay, thirty-odd kilometres to the south, is bigger still. Bring layers even in summer, since the sea breeze is chilly, and try German-style cakes and strong coffee while the fog burns off.