The 4½-hour (360km) route westward is a fascinating journey where the tree-filled landscape around Windhoek gradually transforms into the gravel plains of the Namib Desert. As you near Swakopmund, you often enter a curtain of mist that offers welcome respite from the heat as well as life-giving moisture for desert-adapted flora and fauna. Your destination is The Delight Hotel, a fresh, innovative and colourful base from which to explore.