Spitzkoppe - A nice rock outcrop in the desert

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After exiting Cheetah Park.. we drove out of the heavily wooded landscape, and gradually enters the gravel plains of Namibia.. today's drive was really beautiful.. you just watch in awe as you see the landscape change so drastically in front of your eyes.. and so many changes in half a day's drive..

The first upland area you take note of is Brandeberg.. or the Fiery Mountains.. known for the fiery looks it projects at sunset.. it's really a beautiful rock, and it's the highest mountain in Namibia.. there were some rock paintings by the old tribes in the mountains as well.. we stopped at the little town nearby with a supermarket to restock our supplies.. wished we could do Brandberg as well in this trip..

After the supply stop.. we drove for another 2 hours and arrive at Spitzkoppe.. a granite mountain that tho not as high as Brandeberg, but more famous.. we stopped.. set up camp.. had lunch.. and then attempted to scale Spitzkoppe.. There are several ways to climb the mountain.. or hike up the mountains.. some of them easy.. some of them more difficult.. and the route that Lee, Ryan, Steve and I decided to take.. was one of the more difficult ones..

And difficult it is.. but really interesting and adventurous.. there was no paths / trials to follow.. or at least we couldn't find any.. and we had to find our own paths amidst the cacti, thorny bushes, giant boulders.. most of time i had to use what i remembered from rock climbing.. and you really have to find grooves in the rocks to leverage yourself up further...

There were times when we were just scaling on a slanting rock face.. any slip and you may just tumble into the depths below.. we had to climb through some rock crevices / caves.. and jump from rocks to rocks.. if you slip, your legs may be caught between the rocks and you may just break something.. there was once where you have to grab hold of a tree branch and swing yourself down.. knn.. never thought this climb would be so happening.. and i brought my bluddy big camera bag.. it's more of a burden than anything.. well, i thought it's going to be just a hike up!.. am i pleasantly surprised.. .

We never manged to reach the top of Spitzkoppe.. there were many times where we would climb.. until we come into something really unpassable.. or too dangerous to venture without ropes.. and we had to climb back down a little and find another path.. but even tho we didn't reach the top, we arrived at several good lookout rock outcrops.. and the view was exhilarating..

From the highest lookout point point we managed to get to.. you can just the this vast desert/gravel landscape around you.. with some amazing rock mountains just jutting out from the dust... Look to the west, and you can catch your first glimpse of the Atlantic Ocean, which is about 140km away.. i saw some fuzzy patches at the horizon when i was up there.. not sure if it's indeed the ocean or just mirages..

The climb down was even tougher than going up.. and scarier.. and we took so many turns that we forgot which way we came up by.. so we have to find the paths down again.. quite a few places i had to jump.. wooh.. lean too much forward and you tumble tumble tumble.. was really relieved when i finally hit the ground to be truthful..

All in all.. i really enjoyed the hike.. erm.. climb.. even tho we didn't reach the top.. we were confronted with so many difficult and fun challenges that we attempted and succeeded.. of course, there were many other challenges that we didn't even dare to attempt.. haha... i'm surprised we were allowed to just go up and climb on our own like that..

I was late for the sunset when i finally got down.. didn't catch the sun going down.. but caught the beautiful dusk light after.. beautiful... such nice auras of colours, that surrounds you in circles around the entire horizon.. pity can't catch those on cameras.. but always.. mental photography makes the best pictures..

We had a small campfire that night.. and had lots of alcoholic punch and red wine to celebrate all the people who are celebrating birthdays on this trip.. which includes yours truly.. i had quite a few punches too many.. and as i layed down in my sleeping bag, i felt nauseous and crawled out of me tent and puked heartily under the silvery moonlight and amazing landscape..

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