Your engine ticks as it cools. One car is still ahead of you at the pump, and beside it the wrecks sit in the sand, bodies without doors, without wheels, half buried. Inside, the apple pie waits behind glass, and that is the real reason everyone stops here.
- From Sesriem, heading north
- 85 km
- Inhabitants, as of May 2013
- 92
- Slices of apple pie a day
- About 200
- Moose McGregor
- 1957 to 2014
Solitaire is a small private settlement on a farm at the edge of the Namib-Naukluft Park, with 92 inhabitants as of May 2013. From Sesriem it is about 85 kilometres north. Its filling station and grocery shop are described as the only ones between Walvis Bay and Windhoek, and equally between Walvis Bay and the dunes of Sossusvlei. Coming from Windhoek, this is the last dependable pump before the desert.
The Moose McGregor Desert Bakery sells an average of 200 slices of apple pie a day, and plenty of people call it the best apple pie in Africa. Its founder, Moose McGregor, born Percival George Cross in 1957, died on 18 January 2014. The bakery has carried on since then with the family recipes. Outside, the wrecks that turn up in every second photo album from Namibia go on rusting.
- Time needed
- half an hour for fuel and coffee
- Cost
- whatever you spend at the pump and in the bakery
- When
- on the drive north, best in the morning
- From Sesriem
- 85.0 km
Our tipFill up at Solitaire even if the tank is still half full. Between here and the coast the C14 offers nothing that reliably has its doors open, and the run over the Gaub and Kuiseb passes takes longer than the map suggests.
Solitaire: frequently asked questions
How far is Solitaire from Sesriem?
Solitaire lies about 85 kilometres north of Sesriem, at the edge of the Namib-Naukluft Park on the route towards the coast and Windhoek.
Why is Solitaire known for apple pie?
The Moose McGregor Desert Bakery in Solitaire sells an average of 200 slices of apple pie a day and is rated by many travellers as the best bakery in the country. It was founded by Moose McGregor, who died in 2014; the family recipes are still in use.
Can you buy fuel in Solitaire?
Yes. The filling station and shop in Solitaire are described as the only ones between Walvis Bay and Windhoek, and between Walvis Bay and the dunes of Sossusvlei. On the road from Windhoek it is the last dependable place to fill up.
What are the car wrecks in Solitaire?
Outside the filling station and bakery in Solitaire stand a number of old cars rusting in the desert sand. They have become the best known photographic subject in the settlement.