Photo Album: Northern Namib Naukluft Park
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In the previous part of the journey, I drove along the Atlantic coast of the Northern Namib Desert from Cape Cross's huge seal colony, and witnessed a happy Namibian wedding before arriving at Goanikonte, and enjoyed a glorious sunset atop the Moon Valley.
Early next morning at Moon Valley, after working out where I intended to go, basically was to explore the nearby deserts a little, and to find that 1500 year old zombie plant, Welwitschia Mirabilis, I decided it was better to back track to Swakopmund through a short cut ( advised by the owner of Goanikonte Oasis ), before heading further into the Park.
The short cut to Swakopmund turned out to be quite straight forward, only if I knew about it yesterday.
and I encountered a pack of beautiful flamingos.
After returning from Swakopmund with a full tank, I continued to search for the Welwitschia Mirabilis after passing the Moon Landscape again, this time in mid morning light.
It turned out that the map was quite ambiguous, but fortunately there was a road construction crew about, and they were able to give me some pointers. And here we are, a 1500 year old, dual sex Welwitschia Mirabilis, surviving the desert with fogs moisture and deep water source.
After a brief encounter with this wonderfully old plant, I continued southwards along the coast towards Walvis Bay for lunch.
But something caught my eyes as I passed this spot called Dune 7, there were plenty of families climbing a high sand dune, so I joined the fun and had lunch there instead.
Dune 7 is the highest dune in the Walvis Bay area, it is probably about the same height of Big Red in the Simpson in Australia, which is about 80 m.
A short drive from Dune 7 is Walvis Bay, a small coastal settlement, it is also a very neat town with fairly new housings along the coast.
The big question was, where could I find the lagoon where packs of flamingos are known to congregate?
Fortunately, it was not too far from the town center, along the road close to the shore, here they were, I quickly put the camera to good use.
The next part of the journey had been described by other travelers variously as scenic, and somewhat arduous, as it is a long stretch of winding dirt road cutting through a couple of mountain passes in the middle of the semi arid Naukluft National Park. My adventurous mind took over, and I decided to continue on, not knowing where I might ended up for the night. So, it was, come what might !
This bitumen highway out of Walvis Bay is quite deceiving.
The road turned into a winding mountain road soon after, but the scenery was becoming more interesting, illuminated by the lowering sun.
Further down the pass, the sun was slowly going down the horizon. But the drive so far, had not been too arduous at all, other than the snaking turns.
At here, crossing the Tropic of Capricorn again, last seen in Botswana 3 weeks or so ago.
The morning revealed the beautiful distant hills and sand dunes.
And the settings of the farm are quite nicely setup and maintained.
After a brief stop at Solitaire, a township with population of 92, to top up the fuel tank. There were quite a few groups of international tourists hanging about in the cafe, it does look like the Namib Naukluft National Park is a popular attraction.
I continued my journey south towards Sesriem, my base for exploring the immense sand dunes system of Sossusvlei, and there were quite a few cars on the way too, ostensibly, remote part of Namibia.
On arriving Sesriem, I then found out that the privately run Sossusvlei Lodge was full, except a off site camp site behind their gas station, which wasn't very appealing. So I headed into the Government run National Park Camp next door. It was full too, but fortunately, the lady managed to squeeze me into a spot between two camp sites with a power connection for charging my batteries etc.
The ability to charging the myriad electronic devices like cameras, GPS unit, computer etc. is always important to such long road trips, and I carried a electrical extension board with long cables to ensure I have access to power most nights if not every night.
After setting up, and made the booking for a hot air balloon ride early the next morning, I went straight to the nearby Sesriem Canyon exploring.
The Sesriem Canyon is quite shallow, and about 2 or 3 Km in length, however, at one end, it gets very narrow, where lies the most interesting features.
So now after 30 days, I found myself at the eastern rims of the huge and majestic sand dune system of the Namib Naukluft National Park.
Tomorrow, I shall get into the air on a hot air balloon to view the dunes from the air, which stretches from Walvis Bay about 2500 Km to the south along the coast, and about 180 Km from the coast at its widest. There lies immense wealth for Namibia, which I shall explore in a few days time.
Here is the footprint of so far, from Johannesburg to Northern Botswana, Victoria Falls at Zimbabwe, and then the Okavango Delta, Etosha National Park of Namibia, now here at Sesriem.
Next Post : Day 31 -33 Soussusvlei Dunes and beyond (a champagne breakfast in the dunes )
Early next morning at Moon Valley, after working out where I intended to go, basically was to explore the nearby deserts a little, and to find that 1500 year old zombie plant, Welwitschia Mirabilis, I decided it was better to back track to Swakopmund through a short cut ( advised by the owner of Goanikonte Oasis ), before heading further into the Park.
The short cut to Swakopmund turned out to be quite straight forward, only if I knew about it yesterday.
and I encountered a pack of beautiful flamingos.
After returning from Swakopmund with a full tank, I continued to search for the Welwitschia Mirabilis after passing the Moon Landscape again, this time in mid morning light.
It turned out that the map was quite ambiguous, but fortunately there was a road construction crew about, and they were able to give me some pointers. And here we are, a 1500 year old, dual sex Welwitschia Mirabilis, surviving the desert with fogs moisture and deep water source.
After a brief encounter with this wonderfully old plant, I continued southwards along the coast towards Walvis Bay for lunch.
But something caught my eyes as I passed this spot called Dune 7, there were plenty of families climbing a high sand dune, so I joined the fun and had lunch there instead.
Dune 7 is the highest dune in the Walvis Bay area, it is probably about the same height of Big Red in the Simpson in Australia, which is about 80 m.
This is the northern end of the great sand dunes of Southerwestern Africa, part of the Namib Desert. Here, I could get a taste of the landscapes for the trip ahead, going south along the Atlantic coast.
A short drive from Dune 7 is Walvis Bay, a small coastal settlement, it is also a very neat town with fairly new housings along the coast.
The big question was, where could I find the lagoon where packs of flamingos are known to congregate?
Fortunately, it was not too far from the town center, along the road close to the shore, here they were, I quickly put the camera to good use.
The next part of the journey had been described by other travelers variously as scenic, and somewhat arduous, as it is a long stretch of winding dirt road cutting through a couple of mountain passes in the middle of the semi arid Naukluft National Park. My adventurous mind took over, and I decided to continue on, not knowing where I might ended up for the night. So, it was, come what might !
This bitumen highway out of Walvis Bay is quite deceiving.
The road turned into a winding mountain road soon after, but the scenery was becoming more interesting, illuminated by the lowering sun.
On seeing a seemingly disabled Range Rover 4x4 sitting by the side of the road, I decided to pull up and enquired if any help was needed. Fortunately, the driver, a tourist, told me that another car had gone back to Walvis Bay for help, and he was perfectly happy with the situation.
Further down the pass, the sun was slowly going down the horizon. But the drive so far, had not been too arduous at all, other than the snaking turns.
At here, crossing the Tropic of Capricorn again, last seen in Botswana 3 weeks or so ago.
When the sun almost completed its daily journey back to the horizon, it was time to seriously consider finding somewhere to stay.
Finally, I reached the outskirt of Solitaire, and found myself a camping lodge,
with a private bathroom and kitchen, and a thatched roof for camping.
And it came with a Peacock sentinel as well.
By the time dinner was finished, the Milky Way was fully in view in the cold crispy sky above.
The morning revealed the beautiful distant hills and sand dunes.
And the settings of the farm are quite nicely setup and maintained.
After a brief stop at Solitaire, a township with population of 92, to top up the fuel tank. There were quite a few groups of international tourists hanging about in the cafe, it does look like the Namib Naukluft National Park is a popular attraction.
I continued my journey south towards Sesriem, my base for exploring the immense sand dunes system of Sossusvlei, and there were quite a few cars on the way too, ostensibly, remote part of Namibia.
On arriving Sesriem, I then found out that the privately run Sossusvlei Lodge was full, except a off site camp site behind their gas station, which wasn't very appealing. So I headed into the Government run National Park Camp next door. It was full too, but fortunately, the lady managed to squeeze me into a spot between two camp sites with a power connection for charging my batteries etc.
The ability to charging the myriad electronic devices like cameras, GPS unit, computer etc. is always important to such long road trips, and I carried a electrical extension board with long cables to ensure I have access to power most nights if not every night.
The Sesriem Canyon is quite shallow, and about 2 or 3 Km in length, however, at one end, it gets very narrow, where lies the most interesting features.
As the sunset was approaching, I went searching for the suggested spot for sunset observation, on top of Elim Dune which is only about 10 Km away. But I did not allow time for climbing the dune from the car park, it was a huge dune.
Getting to the top requires finding the best path up, but certainly not what I chose. My path had many minor dunes hiding behind one another. Sensing that by the time I can get up to the top, it'll be too late, so I just sat down, and enjoy the last bit of the sunset, there and then.
Tomorrow, I shall get into the air on a hot air balloon to view the dunes from the air, which stretches from Walvis Bay about 2500 Km to the south along the coast, and about 180 Km from the coast at its widest. There lies immense wealth for Namibia, which I shall explore in a few days time.
Here is the footprint of so far, from Johannesburg to Northern Botswana, Victoria Falls at Zimbabwe, and then the Okavango Delta, Etosha National Park of Namibia, now here at Sesriem.
Next Post : Day 31 -33 Soussusvlei Dunes and beyond (a champagne breakfast in the dunes )
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