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this is truly a spectacular place to admire the exquisite quiver trees AKA kokerbooms and to marvel at the madness of giants playground.
the fish river canyon --------------------------------- nasty looking creature, attempting suicide
our feathered friend taking a liking to a wulff chair
a fish river canyon (hobas side) sunset ------------ our masterpiece fire
leaving the canyon ------------------------------------------ the ai-ais hot springs resort
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after countless hours in the car, almost losing our way (there are so many gravel road to choose from!) and losing half the lower part of the car, we made it to the northern gate of the fish river canyon, hobas.
we did the sturdy tent, incredible mattress, comfy chairs routine and head off to see the canyon. on the way we passed the nastiest looking half-spider, half-cricket attempting to cross the road, a few ostriches with babies and many a suicidal bird (poor soul/s).
looking down at the canyon is truly impressive and walking along its cliffs magnified the sensation.
the following day, we packed up in our smokey, stinky clothes and headed the ai-ais hot springs. on arrival we were greeted by a lush, green passage. the guard said that the natural springs were too hot to bathe in so we had to swim in the lodge. that suited us fine as we were in desperate need of some water relaxation. 30 minutes soaking in the warmed pool and we felt rejuvenated for the long drive home.
luderitz camp site, in extreme windy conditions
kolmanskop
the luderitz peninsula
flamingos on one of the peninsula beaches ------------- B.Diaz cross. quite a gallavanter he was!
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it is always lovely coming back to the seaside. i would like to say that the wind isn't an issue but unfortunately it is, especially when you battle to walk against it. perhaps the only up-side to it, was its "cooling factor"...and that is an exaggeration!
as per usual, we put up the sturdiest tent (thanks to the moss'), blew up the comfiest blow-up mattress (thanks to thomas), slept in the warmest sleeping bags (thanks to jacus and mariette) and sat in the comfiest chairs (thanks to the wulffs). everything was ideal until the wind picked up (see video).
kolmanskop was a site to behold. it was established around 1908 during the diamond rush and had over 1000 diamonds collected before world war 2. it is an entirely deserted town and has been left to the ruin of sand and nature's forces. we arrived late for the tour (which happens especially when on holiday) and proceded to find a group to latch onto. the first group located at the museum was german which didn't help, the second located on the opposite side of the site, in the bowling alley, were afrikaans. initially, i thought i could wing it and catch a word or two but was smartly put into my place as i understood nada, niks, nothing! the guide then had to change to english which didn't make the 15 oumas and oupas too pleased. seb just shot them a smile and that was that. water under the bridge.
it is strange to see that not much has changed since i was there last, some 15 years ago. maybe they remove some of the sand annually?
our one night of "luxury" in keetmanshoop ------------------- "we're on the road to nowhere..."
safety in numbers seems to work for birds too
our odd campsite, sheltered from the wind -------------------- the beckoning dunes
wildlife in sossusvlei
l
gale force winds on dune 45
and the view
natures love = a sand storm
deadvlei
a carni dune dweller
the never ending straights
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the song that comes to mind when driving this stretch is "we're on the road to nowhere". indeed, this is how one feels when the GPS one, looong straight line and for as far as the eye can see, with not even a cm of a bend. the tar roads do have speed limits of 120 km/h, the gravel roads do not...not that either make much of a difference. it is easy to suddenly reach 160 (sorry margs) with not a care in the world - one doesn't pass a soul, human or animal.
the surroundings of sossusvlei were spectacular! the bold red dunes beckoned to us from the moment we laid our eyes on them. having set up camp in a rather perculier site, we watched the masses of sand change from brown to orange to brilliant red.
the following day, we faced the gale force wind and tackled dune 45 and attempted to walk 10 kms in a sand storm to deadvlei (nature proved her point, we turned back and ended up catching the taxi). deadvlei consisted of a white basin with a dead tree forest, surrounded by red sand dunes. a weird and almighty sight to behold.
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