Day 35 - 36 A mini Grand Canyon in Southwestern Africa

Previous Post:  Day 33 - 34 Luderitz ( Diamonds are forever )

Photo Album: Fish River Canyon

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After a windy night of sands everywhere, the morning was not much different when I began my journey out of Luderitz and headed for Fish River Canyon in the south.

The bitumen road had sand drifting across until I was 10- 20 Km inland from Luderitz, some places making visibility a little low but not impossible.

It is this type of sand drifts that are slowly relcaiming Kolmanskop, the ghost diamond town. Some say Diamonds Are Forever, but not Diamond Mining towns, it seems.

Whilst having lunch at a waterhole where wild horses are known to appear, which I did  not see on the way in, it was different luck this time, a small pack turned up one by one.

And a few playful ones as well. 

From here, I started to turned south, and skirted along the eastern fringes of the Namib Deserts dunes, along a railway line, going towards Richtersveld National Park, where a mini version of the Grand Canyon is awaiting.

I finally arrived at the famed and very friendly Canon Road House, famed for its remoteness, and its "auto workshop" decor, an oasis at the southern end of the Namib Deserts.

Early the next morning, in order to catch the goldilock time for photography at sunrise, I arrived at the gate to the Fish River Canyon National Park ( Richtersveld National Park ) just after 6, and arrived at the grand view point just in time for the sun to start popping over the horizon.

It no doubt deserves the title of Mini Grand Canyon, and there are plenty of similarities, I bet the geological story behind is, quite comparable too, except at a much smaller scale.

And there are so many different view points when I wandered around and explored.

Oh my... what have we got here? ...An unmistakenly yellow truck pulled up.....another good old Tucan Overland Truck, a twin of one that I used only just 3 months ago in South America....carrying another load of adventurous passengers.

Having exactly the same group lunching arrangements.

Talking about lunch, as I just turned my head away, leaving my breads on the plate, these cheeky "bastards" stole it without hesitations...

And I returned for a sunset view of the canyons, and it did not disappoint.

So here I am, at the southwestern corner of Namibia, about to continue my journey south, crossing into South Africa.

Back to the friendly Canon Road House for a good dinner and ZZZZZ.

Next Post :  Crossing over to the Northwestern Cape Flower Route of South Africa

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Day 33 - 34 Luderitz ( Diamonds are forever )

Previous Post:  Day 31 -32 Sossusvlei and further

Photo Album: Diamonds are forever
Note: Click on an image to enlarge, tap "ESC" key to return. 

Links for previous posts are on the left. Expand the month tags to see posts for that month.

The wind must have stopped, the morning mist in Tiras were slowly receding to the mountains, until the sun was high in the sky.

On the road south, more grazing properties can be seen with hills in the distance.  The terrain is very familiar, like that of Australia.

When I reached the main east-west bitumen highway to Luderitz on the coast, at the village of Aus, there was a sign indicating there is a "Commonwealth War Grave", I thought that would be a good place to have a small break.

Though I could not find a "War Grave" deserving a big sign on the road, that's all I could discover,

The village of Aus does not seem to be a village a tourist would remember,

however, these housings caught my eyes, they are round like a half ball with eye-like windows, appears to be of alien origin !!

Throughout the trip so far, I had been bombarded with messages of my friends about the danger of Ebola, which was raging in Western Africa.  But in fact, I could not have been more safe than any people in European countries, which are highly populated, and about the same distance in flying time from here in Namibia.  And in these villages, no one is falling sick, and even remotely connected to Ebola.

Luderitz is another 125 Km towards the coast.  And I definitely think it is Ebola free as well !

The highway from Aus onward is bitumen, however both side are very arid, and become very very sandy as the coast approached.

However, the little coastal town has very comprehensive facilities, and is quite colourful and somewhat simple and quaintly colonial.  But it once was one of the richest town in Africa if not the World. aside from its humble beginning as a whaling and seal hunting trading post.

A quick trip down Diaz Point just before sunset saw a small pat of flamingos and a glorious sunset over the south Atlantic Ocean.

Diaz Point

At the local marina, a morning boat cruise was available to explore the nearby coastal features.

And there were plenty of dolphins, flamingos, and a big colony of penguins, as we cruised along.

I think these are similar to the Magellanic Penguins which I found on the other side of the southern Atlantic in Argentina, 

and they are playful, coming out to greet our boat.

Now, it is time to explore the glory diamond legacy of the town.  Just back tracking a few kilometers on the highway in, is Kolmanskop, the once thriving diamond mining town, now left to a slow reclaim by nature.

Once the Mine Manager's Residence

Diamond was first discovered here in the early 1900s, the ensuing diamond rush overwhelmed Luderitz and led to the development of Kolmanskop, the diamond town.

But later the centre of diamond mining and trading shifted south to Elizabeth Bay, which is still in operation today, though at a loss.

Kolmanskop, has now, been turned into a tourist attractions. Scheduled tours are run, to take tourists through the history behind the various decaying buildings and installations in the old diamond mine, some are now half reclaimed by sand blows.

Got a spare dime or two to pick these up for your beloved?

The old stoves of the mine's main kitchen

The sands are slowly turning Kolmanskop the Diamond Mining town, into a ghost town...some say Diamonds Are Forever !

Old hospital

an impromptu performance by our tour guide

By the look of things, micro dust storm is a regular occurrence whenever the wind comes from inland, and makes the sunset all the more moody.

Next Post : Day 35 - 36 A mini Grand Canyon in Southwestern Africa

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