Sorry about the pictures being on a different post, I ran out of time at the internet cafe
Well this is going to be another, and unfortunately probably one of the last updates from me on this blog. I will be writting this entry as I travel in the evenings, so if it seems a little scattered I appologize. Thank you all for the comments on the last one, the pictures were right out of camera and I have not edited them at all so some might be a bit wonky in the last update.
After uploadingthe last entry in the coastal town of Swakopmund (those of you who have been followingthe blog know that I seem to frequent that town), my party decided to head up to Cape Cross. It was nice to finally get here as this is attempt number two after nearly 3000km of travel around northern Namibia. There are alot of seals... Like over 200,000. I was fortunate to get here a month after the pups were born. The entire coast was littered with these little furry guys. Not too many pictures of the pups as most of the mwere playing in the ocean. The first thing you notice when you get there is the sound... hundreds of thousands of seals barking. Then unfortunately you notice the smell of Dead Fish, Excriment and rotting flesh. The first to are self explanitory, the last is something un-expected. There were thousands of dead decaying corpes of seal pups everywhere. I won't post any pictures of them but they were not plesant at all. The pictures are of a small portion of the colony and them two of the females arguing over who gets to dry off on the big rock.
After Cape Cross we returned to Swakopmund for one more night. From here I said good by to Ian (the brit who I travelled over to Namibia with) and headed off through the desert. Our first stop on our way to Sossu Vlei was Welwitchia. This is the name of Namibias national plant. This one here is over 1500 years old. The old ones are massive, under 400 years old they are still relatively small, but this one... well let Leslie (who is in the background) give you a sense of scale. They can live up to 2000 years old and this one is the oldest known one in Namibia.
We made it to Sossu Vlei by sunset and managed to hike up one of the dunes to watch it set. The colors here were incredible. The dunes all run north to west so you get really interesting shadows with the setting sun. These dunes are not quite all the way to Sossuvlei.
The Sossuvlei trip really began the next day. In the morning we drove back into the park and all the way down the valley. We decided to hike one of the dunes (a little one that was about 100m vertical or 330ft for you imperialists). The hike was fine, but we didnt antisipate the heat of the sand... it was around 60 degrees celius and burned the skin. We were all in sandals and I thought my feet were on fire when sand poured in. I have not felt that much pain in a long time. After the painfully journey back down the dune we had a quick lunch then headed for Dead Vlei.
I was the only one ambitious enough for the hike, so I set off alone. After about 2km in the desert I arrived at Dead Vlei (Dead Valley). There are a bunch of dead trees in this place and it it is very eary. Not five minutes after I had arrived I noticed some sand being kicked up at the far end, and within about 2 minutes I was in a sandstorm... I had to turn around, I couldn't open my eyes, and the sand burned agains my legs and arms... I was litterally being sand blasted. The winds must have been about 80kmph. The visibilty dropped to less then 100m. Fortunately the sand storm only lasted about 10 minutes, Unfortunately it stopped due to a much bigger storm.
This valley sees rain once every couple years, and sure enough I was there for a massive thunder storm. I ended up curling up under a tree stump, huddled around my camera trying to protected it from the rain. By the end of the hour long thunderstorm, I was drenched, my camera was soaked, and I was freezing. I can't beleive that my camera still works after that soaking... Once the rain had stopped the valley was un real. It was a lake about 6inches deep. The light was amazing and the pictures do not do the area justice.
After about an hour of wondering through the dead trees I saw the biggest dune I have ever seen in my life. Later my GPS would tell me that it was over 340 meters high (over 1100ft). I started to climb this dune thinking that it would take about 30 minutes... an hour and a half later I reached the summit exhausted. By the end I was having to take a break every 40 steps or so. The vue was worth it though. It was amazing. The walk down took less then 5 minutes thanks the the steepness. Every step I took I could get almost 2 meters. I ended up running down the dune.
From here it was back to Dune 45 for another sunset, then off to bed. You Can see my
foot steps on the dune, and a Dune in the background.
From Sossu Vlei we headed down south, almost as far as the South African border. On our way we managed to spot the wild horses of Aus. Population of about 150 horses, there are several theories on how the horses got to the desert, to name a few: Shipwreck, A german Baron, Lost. They have already changed in that they are smaller then standard horses and consume far less water, also they pee less.
This is the Ghost town of Kolemanskopp, a large (relatively) town completely abbandoned, located in the forbiden diamond area.
Having tea at the local gas station is Aus, the owner was very talkative and it wasnt long before the Fish he caught the previous day came out.
The road to the Fish River Canyon, we only made it around the corner before the road was closed due to flooding.
After a 500km detour, another road closed on the way to the Canyon... as you can see, not really passible, i'm only about 20ft off shore and again standing in the middle of the road.
Fish River Canyon at last for sunset, after multiple detours totaling over 800km, two flooded roads, and one swim in the middle of the road.
The stars in the southern hemisphere... You can see the Milky Way (the colored portion) and the souther cross (the southern equivalent to the north star Polaris).
Anyways that's all for me, i'll see about updating again in a week before I leave Namibia. I'm back in Canada the week of the 7th of march, can't wait to see you all...
PS: Carla, Gerald, Jack, Sam: I'm really debating getting off my plane in Philly and coming for a visit... i'll looking at my financial situation when I leave the continent and will keep you posted.
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