What a most impressive view of a desert than the one taken from the sky?
We have trusted the Scenic Air company which shares its activities between the scenic flights over the Namib desert and private flights from a lodge to another one. This last option is definitely not our budget, nor the way we see the trip. For us, it's rather backpacking and sleeping in a tent or a dormitory. And all the money we save, we devote it to the activities. I would have prefered the hot-air balloon but the 350-euro price is really prohibitive.. Thus, we go aboard a Cessna, a small plane which can embark up to 6 people including the pilot.
We gain altitude and leave the city of Swakopmund to fly alongside the Kuiseb river. A bit of recalcitrant life among an arid and barren area. This green strip draws an absolute demarcation between the Namib desert on our right and the Karoo on our left. The stunning perspective between two expanses with this heap of shrubs as only transition.
We head southwest towards the dunes of Sosssusvlei. The orange- and red-hued draped ground act as a magnet. We have the nose pressed against the window. The shadows and ridges of the wind-made dunes throw us into a scenery as irrational as exquisite. And even if the view from above flattens the heights, the pleasure of admiring these dunes remains intact.
The dunes fades into the ocean ; the marker on the way back will be this sand- and navy-coloured component. The irony of fate shows this desert, so arid, is desperately short of this water the ocean has in abundance.
The Skeleton Coast contains its secrets and dangers. The Eduard Bohlen's wreck is there as an evidence. A tangle of wooden beams the time gnawed and the sand attracted far from its ocean. The desert kept its trophy and moved it 200m away from the shore.
Salterns and flying over the town finish this escapade into the air. The images keep on fluttering and fidgeting in our mind.
RTW2-Namibia
Thursday 26 June 2008
Flying over the Namib desert and the Skeleton Coast
By dorian on Thursday 26 June 2008, 11:43
Wednesday 25 June 2008
Seals by the thousand
By dorian on Wednesday 25 June 2008, 07:56
We drive northwards to get to Cape Cross. On this short rocky outgrowth, 130 kilometers north from Swakopmund, about ten thousands of seals gather. We go through the entrance gate of the reserve and a pestilential smell gets in our nostrils. We stop our car at the end of the dirt track where an improvised car park looks over a wooden footbridge. A concert of bleatings welcomes us. We can be mistaken about these animals' cry and compare it with a herd of goats' one. The comparison stops there. Thousands of dark masses fidget in front of us. In a clumsy way, the seals wriggle on the sand, attempt to climb upto the smooth rocks and it's only when they dip into the water they get back their agility and a certain grace. Despite the awkward appearance, this animal is a formidable predator since the cape fur seals that live on the Namibian and Southafrican shore gulp down more fish every year than the fishing industry of the 2 countries put together. Far from these considerations we enjoy watching these mammals, a perpetually moving picture. Not far from here, two jackals prowl around, locating some new-born young for a future feast.
The Cape Cross colony is exclusively made up of females and we shall come back for the breeding period (end of november – beginning of december) to see the 5-time-bigger males creeping out of the water. During this short season, the community outnumbers hundred thousands animals. A whole city spreading over a few hectares...
Tuesday 24 June 2008
Along the Skeleton Coast
By dorian on Tuesday 24 June 2008, 07:49
Back to the seaside where we keep on driving northwards. From the both sides of the tropic of Capricorn virtual line the animals goes on flocking to greet our visit. The sympathetic meerkat and the superb gemsbok are like shooting stars that illuminate our route. The vegetation little by little becomes scarce. The desert have taken back its land when we arrive at Walvis Bay.
We won't stay a long time in this uninteresting town. We however stop at the dune marked number 7 to devote oneself to the joys of quadbiking. With incredible gliding and skid feelings on the dunes.
As soon as we finished the quadbiking, we head for Swakopmund, the Namibian capital city for the sand- and desert-related activities. At the entrance of the city, the carcass of an old ship – the Kolmanskop – is lying on the rocks. The foam licks the hull. A boat among the others which ran aground on this frighteningly coastline over the centuries. The regular mist, strong onshore currents, sandy shallows and false luminous signals set by the miners are the factors the sailors had to make the best with to move along the Namibian shore. The numerous ships that perished in this part of Africa coined the name of this coast which is henceforth called the Skeleton coast.
After visiting Cape Cross then the scenic flight over the Namib desert (which will be the subject of my 2 next posts), we go again for a « glide session » on the sand dunes. And this time, it will be sandboarding. Exhausting and endless climb up the dune. On foot, the board wedged on the back. At the top, we coat the board with wax, we face the slope before dashing forward for a set of falls. The Namibian sand doesn't have a very good taste...
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