Images - Africa 2003 ![[dashes]](img/pix155.gif){kind=small} Namibia, 2003 Desert - Etosha - Etosha 2 - Etosha 3 - Swakopmund Southern Safari- Sossuvlei, Namib Desert, Waterberg My journey started August 8th of 2003, flying from JFK New York I landed in Johannesburg South Africa and then landed in the capital of Namibia - Windhoek. With a population of under 2 million, this largely unpopulated country is a paradise of untouched desserts, dunes, and wildlife. |
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About 3 hours south of Windhoek, we drove up to this vantage point, looking towards the dessert/dunes. Luckily our brakes didn't fail us on the way down, we could smell them melting away. | ||
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Deadvlei - next to Sossusvlei is a dead forest, the dunes cut off the river leaving the trees to petrify in the sun for many hundreds of years. Beyond the tree is "Big Daddy" a dune that climbs above 300 meters, making it the tallest dune in the world. I still have red sand in my shoes. | ||
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Guilia, Eric, and Daniela - going out for a stretch after a long ride out to the Desert. | ||
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Solitaire Gas Station - on the way to Sossusvlei. Hours from anything living, but serving the best homemade warm Apple Strudel in all of Africa! | ||
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If your car runs out of gas, don't worry these trusty camels will take you to where you want to go. | ||
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Approaching Sesriem, we made the rush up a near by dune to watch the sun set. The full moon came up, the sun hit the mountains and turned them a warm red color. | ||
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At 4:30am we woke and piled into our truck sleepily, racing to the park gate so we could witness the sun rise over the Dunes. Here's a view just before the sun had risen over Dune 45. | ||
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Here comes the sun. | ||
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A lovely site, how the sun seems to warm one side of the dune, while the other is still in shadow. | ||
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The backside of Dune 45, this shot took a little extra hiking and sand in the ol' shoes. | ||
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Following the herd path back down. | ||
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Myself after climbing Dune 45, now we had a 1 hour hike ahead of us to get up to Sossusvlei and Deadvlei. | ||
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Each dune had a completely unique shape, and many of them move on a daily basis depending on wind conditions. | ||
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Beautiful contrast with the perfectly blue sky and the red dunes below | ||
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Daniela and Giulia, two wonderful Italians who were on my Safari. Big Daddy is in the background. | ||
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Deadvlei | ||
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Deadvlei | ||
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Closeup of petrified tree at Deadvlei | ||
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Dune Beetle | ||
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Our Sossusvlei group! Eric, Giulia (Italian), Michelle & Chris (Australia), Daniela, Lino and Lori (Italians). We were walking inside the Sesriem canyon that feeds Sossusvlei in the rainy season. | ||
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Daniela & Giulia taking in the sunset at the gorge. | ||
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A Kokerboom (Quiver Tree), has very lightweight branches, which were used as quivers by the San Hunters. They are a slow growing aloe. | ||
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The drive back up to Windhoek, we even got a few rain drops on our windshield on the way. The first drops in months. | ||
| More Pictures - onto Etosha Park | |||
